Discussion
As a AM Virgin and newbie to this forum I would welcome advice for potential first V8V purchase as upgrade from Chimaera. I have read some of the posts, and have Grants book. Have decided that original budget of £36k for 06 coupe needs to increase to c £50k for a 4.7. Undecided about roadster v coupe but having real issues about colour. Sad I know. I do not like grey/silver or white, and black shows the marks too much. Why no racing green cars or that nice silvery green that I see on DB7s? Wait for non-standard colour? Black interior is a no no too.
Also any recommendations for sales / service in North / West Yorkshire? Any comments allowable on GC Motors or Alexanders? Or should I stick to main dealers??
Also any recommendations for sales / service in North / West Yorkshire? Any comments allowable on GC Motors or Alexanders? Or should I stick to main dealers??
Welcome! Top budget stretching, I am impressed 
If I could have extended my budget to a roadster, I would have without question. You could be in a for a bit of a wait on non-standard colours, I've managed to get a black and red interior on a meteorite car, which really lifts it for me, but looking at the market suggests I am in the minority - so much black leather!
Another option is to get a regular colour and wrap it? There is a thread about someone on here getting theirs wrapped in a very funky orange.
If I could have extended my budget to a roadster, I would have without question. You could be in a for a bit of a wait on non-standard colours, I've managed to get a black and red interior on a meteorite car, which really lifts it for me, but looking at the market suggests I am in the minority - so much black leather! Another option is to get a regular colour and wrap it? There is a thread about someone on here getting theirs wrapped in a very funky orange.
Welcome to the forum.
I went exactly the same route, from long-time (15 years) Chimaera owner to Vantage. Started by aiming for a 4.3, then realised it had to be a 4.7.
Now have the 4.7, and love it. TVR to Aston Martin is a natural progression. I live about 3 miles from the old TVR factory, and was at the AM factory three weeks ago. It couldn't be more different, but the enthusiasm is just the same, and the AM rep said that one of the cars they benchmarked the Vantage against was a TVR, they respected aspects of the TVR so much.
Convertible or hardtop is a personal choice, I went hardtop because they look sooo much better than convertible with the roof up. But do miss the ability to get out in the sunshine.
I went exactly the same route, from long-time (15 years) Chimaera owner to Vantage. Started by aiming for a 4.3, then realised it had to be a 4.7.
Now have the 4.7, and love it. TVR to Aston Martin is a natural progression. I live about 3 miles from the old TVR factory, and was at the AM factory three weeks ago. It couldn't be more different, but the enthusiasm is just the same, and the AM rep said that one of the cars they benchmarked the Vantage against was a TVR, they respected aspects of the TVR so much.
Convertible or hardtop is a personal choice, I went hardtop because they look sooo much better than convertible with the roof up. But do miss the ability to get out in the sunshine.
Welcome to another from the TVR fold. There's a few of us here! I had 5 TVR's before getting my 4.7 V8 coupe. Like you I stretched my budget to go for the best spec I could get. I stuck with manual as I felt more comfortable with it than the sportshift but there's plenty on here that prefer the latter. Coupe or Roadster also depends on what you like. Like you and I suspect a few ex-TVR owners I had some issues with colour choices and interior options. It seems there's more emphasis placed on specs that will have good resale potential for what is generally a slightly more prestigious market and different buyer profile on the whole to TVR. Apart from going the new route and choosing your spec it may be a wait to get what you want or as mentioned consider a wrap. I went Quantum Silver with black interior. The contrasting silver stitching does give it a lift. Whatever you go for however, I reckon you'll be grinning ear to ear whenever you're in it as the whole experience is something else. Go for it 
I think the dealers have built a myth around grey and black being the only cars they can sell.
They order grey with black, then discount it because its costing money to hold it in stock. If you want any other colour its much more expensive and you have to order it weeks ahead. So you buy the grey one, and the dealer thinks, "I was right again, those grey ones fly out of the door", and they order another grey one to replace their stock.
How many of us ordered grey when we bought TVRs? But now we're forced to buy grey because of the dealers self-confirming myth about grey.
They order grey with black, then discount it because its costing money to hold it in stock. If you want any other colour its much more expensive and you have to order it weeks ahead. So you buy the grey one, and the dealer thinks, "I was right again, those grey ones fly out of the door", and they order another grey one to replace their stock.
How many of us ordered grey when we bought TVRs? But now we're forced to buy grey because of the dealers self-confirming myth about grey.
shearsbug said:
As a AM Virgin and newbie to this forum I would welcome advice for potential first V8V purchase as upgrade from Chimaera. I have read some of the posts, and have Grants book. Have decided that original budget of £36k for 06 coupe needs to increase to c £50k for a 4.7. Undecided about roadster v coupe but having real issues about colour. Sad I know. I do not like grey/silver or white, and black shows the marks too much. Why no racing green cars or that nice silvery green that I see on DB7s? Wait for non-standard colour? Black interior is a no no too.
Also any recommendations for sales / service in North / West Yorkshire? Any comments allowable on GC Motors or Alexanders? Or should I stick to main dealers??
Nice to see you've done some research Shearsbug !!Also any recommendations for sales / service in North / West Yorkshire? Any comments allowable on GC Motors or Alexanders? Or should I stick to main dealers??
Just been on the preowned site and there are 8 non-silver/black/grey Vantages available of various specs, including a nice Pentland Green one.
You could ask a couple of Dealers to look out for you, though this can be akin to asking a child to choose their own sweets.
Servicing available through Dealers at Wilmslow, Leeds and Houghton-le-Spring, or Bridge Mill Indy at Macclesfield
It's move you won't regret, also I am an ex Tvr owner 4.5 chimera then a tamora, loved them and all the passion which went in to making them.
I now have a Aston green vantage but at the time I couldn't afford to buy a 4.7 but there are ways to get all the performance and more and have a very individual and unique car. I now have some thing which is very special and not much will come close to it for performance.
Whatever you choose to do you will not regrete it. Welcome and enjoy.
I now have a Aston green vantage but at the time I couldn't afford to buy a 4.7 but there are ways to get all the performance and more and have a very individual and unique car. I now have some thing which is very special and not much will come close to it for performance.
Whatever you choose to do you will not regrete it. Welcome and enjoy.
I think the reason you see so many Astons in grey/silver/black is because they look so damm good in those colours......I have owned a Aston Racing Green DB7V which I loved......the best advice I can give you is be patient......your perfect car will turn up.....good luck, and remember, half the fun is the looking.....it’s a bit like sex.....the anticipation is almost as good as the sex
Good choice, that man!
I think by swapping from a TVR to a Vantage you won't lose the same sense of theatre and occasion that surrounds the two marques.
I did the same as you. I initially had a budget of about £40k and was looking for a 4.3. Then bought Grant's book and upped my budget to £60k for a 4.7 and bought myself a 4.7 with Sports Pack (which is well worth it if you are an ex TVR owner, I would have thought (not that I have owned one myself but a mate has one and i've driven his back to back with the Aston for comparison.))
I echo the comments above about non-standard colours. I went for Tungsten Silver as personally I thought the colour really popped. I would have bought the Cobalt Blue V8VS that was sat next to it but my budget juuuust wouldn't stretch that far!
God luck, the search is half the fun!
I think by swapping from a TVR to a Vantage you won't lose the same sense of theatre and occasion that surrounds the two marques.
I did the same as you. I initially had a budget of about £40k and was looking for a 4.3. Then bought Grant's book and upped my budget to £60k for a 4.7 and bought myself a 4.7 with Sports Pack (which is well worth it if you are an ex TVR owner, I would have thought (not that I have owned one myself but a mate has one and i've driven his back to back with the Aston for comparison.))
I echo the comments above about non-standard colours. I went for Tungsten Silver as personally I thought the colour really popped. I would have bought the Cobalt Blue V8VS that was sat next to it but my budget juuuust wouldn't stretch that far!
God luck, the search is half the fun!
Welcome
I'd highly recommend a 4.7 sport pack roadster
(or an N400 roadster?)
Great handling and ALL the noise
Though your budget may struggle this time of year for a 4.7 roadster.
One good thing is going for an unusual colour will drive the price down.
It may be a bit of a waiting game for the combination you are looking for.
Here's a few in and around you budget
Blue on Blue 4.3 roadster
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3727180.htm
N400 roadster in a really nice black
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3684678.htm
Banana yellow that's been for sale for ages so haggle room
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1761489.htm
Anothe N400 & my favourite, but I'm biased it loos like mother of pearl in the sun
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3769758.htm
N400 in uver rare colour!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3772971.htm
Cheapest 4.7 roadster & sandstone interior
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3547472.htm
I'd highly recommend a 4.7 sport pack roadster
(or an N400 roadster?)Great handling and ALL the noise
Though your budget may struggle this time of year for a 4.7 roadster.
One good thing is going for an unusual colour will drive the price down.
It may be a bit of a waiting game for the combination you are looking for.
Here's a few in and around you budget
Blue on Blue 4.3 roadster
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3727180.htm
N400 roadster in a really nice black
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3684678.htm
Banana yellow that's been for sale for ages so haggle room
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1761489.htm
Anothe N400 & my favourite, but I'm biased it loos like mother of pearl in the sun
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3769758.htm
N400 in uver rare colour!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3772971.htm
Cheapest 4.7 roadster & sandstone interior
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3547472.htm
Welcome Shearsbug, I too am an ex-TVR owner and loved every minute of it. Like was said before, a move to Aston seems to be the natural progression . I was looking for over a year, I knew I wanted a DB9 but wasn't sure on colours either so I travelled all over the place to view them, in the end I knew it had to be meteorite silver for me as it just shows up the curves and detail so well and looks so classy, but each to their own and like Mr Gould said, just be patient don't rush in and blow your wad....so to speak, glean as much information as you can from these guys on here, I found their help invaluable.
mikey k said:
N400 in uver rare colour!
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3772971.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3772971.htm
That is just fantastic. Doubt I could live with the colour though.For your budget, I would be looking at this 4.7 that is unique as the owner says:
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3754888.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3754888.htm
Edited by PDC V8V on Friday 30th March 09:36
Don't discount the black interior if its got contrasting or the coarse silver stitching. lifts the interior, gives definition to all the leather and looks classy. If getting a coupe with the black interior, make sure it has the Taylor Grey headlining and not black, otherwise its is too gloomy
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