Vantage @ £35k

[Calculator]

Does anyone know this car?

http://www.oakmeremotorgroup.co.uk/specialist/used...

I took a quick look yesterday whilst passing (only had 5 minutes). The paint looked as if it could do with some correction and obviously I didn't drive it but it seems like fantastic value on the face of it.

I had been looking for an MY07 but at that price could be tempted. Would this car be eligible for AM warranty? If so, what is the annual cost?

Are the upgrades on the MY07 worth the extra spend?

[bogie]

every year got upgrades, personally Id either get a good value early car (like that) or save up for a 4.7 ..paying £5K or £10k for an "in between" car makes no odds to me, particularly to the driving experience

if you want to see the model differences, get a copy of www.astonmartinreview.co.uk - £20 well spent for any owner/buyer

that looks like fair value for an 06 with 37K miles, not sure about warranty, but assume you could have the extended warranty on it...costs around £1300-1500 a year and needs an inspection

personally I wouldnt bother with that either - its not like a new car warranty that covers every niggle, its more of a major breakdown warranty, and to date ive not heard of a Vantage with anything major going wrong ...its just well known niggly bits and consumables

Ive been out of warranty for 3 years now - Ive had an 06 for 6 months old, done 60K miles in it and its just fine ...sure its had consumables and a few bits n bobs, but nothing worth £4500 of extended warranty

the warranty is an insurance policy thats all, you could stick the £1500 a year in an ISA and sit on it, statistically you lose and warranty companies win, otherwise they wouldnt be in business...just depends if you lucky I guess

[Lunablack]

I don't know that car, but what I can add, is that overall Christopeher Neils, has a pretty good reputation, they've been in business a long time, and have a good workshop.

[mikey k]

I live 3 miles down the road and have tried to buy from them several times in the past.
They are very rigid in their test route and will not budge on price.
They have had a yellow Vantage roadster on for well over a year, they keep reducing it a little but it is still well over priced.

ETA I'm happy to go and have a look for you if you wish?

Edited by mikey k on Sunday 8th April 15:01

[Calculator]

Thanks for the responses.

Mikey - very generous offer. I have taken a brief look and may pop back for a proper chat/test drive. I think I may prefer to pay more for a lower mileage example (appreciating this may be flawed logic!).

I will only use the car for pleasure, probably 4k miles pa and so perhaps a higher mileage version is the one to go for (if the condition is right)?

I saw the yellow roadster. Looked very nice although the colour is not for me. I didn't realise they had had it in for so long!

[bogie]

for 4k miles a year you may as well get one thats been used and had all its niggles sorted - some small issues dont show up for 10-20K miles, so you could buy a 6 yr old car out of warranty, with 10K on the clock and get all the new owner niggles come out

get one thats been used and had common service items done i.e. stiff gearchange fix, squeaky brakes

no point in paying a premium for a low mileage car , then not using it much but enjoying all that extra depreciation...may as well buy something thats done most of its deprication already

[Slarti]

Mine is MY07 and as far as I can see the major upgrades are the new style seats, Bluetooth and rear parking sensors as standard. Those are fairly significant upgrades IMHO. You may or may not like seats but they look very different and 'age' the older style interiors sufficiently that the older interior cars could depreciate faster in future.

[Tidybeard]

Haven't seen that particular car yet although I discussed it with them earlier in the week before it came in. Apparently it has a full AM history.

I've bought a few cars from them and they are a decent bunch. Very low staff turnover too, which I always see as a good sign.

Mikey, you must have been unlucky as they have loaned me cars to test drive by myself several times.

The yellow car belongs to the owner of the dealership (they are a main Lotus dealer and share a site with Oakmere Toyota next door and the same chap owns both businesses). Apparently, he doesn't really want to sell it!

[mikey k]

Bogie - the way it has been looked after needs to be considered as well. My last vantage had new calipers wheel returns new seat frame and loom new wing mirror mounts before it was 2 years old because it lived outside and was not looked after correctly.
Tidybear - luck should not be a factor in the service you get from dealer

[mikey k]

Calculator - for my money I would buy a 2.5 year old car and make sure ALL the niggles are sorted before it comes out of factory warranty.

[Johnfrancis]

Fwiw....check chassis no, the first 1000 cars were built with higher spec components.....apparently

[bogie]

mikey k said:

Bogie - the way it has been looked after needs to be considered as well. My last vantage had new calipers wheel returns new seat frame and loom new wing mirror mounts before it was 2 years old because it lived outside and was not looked after correctly.
Tidybear - luck should not be a factor in the service you get from dealer

yes, of course...thats going to vary a bit, one would hope this kind of car has been looked after properly, but you never know ...some of those £29K ex hire car examples could have lots of hidden worn out parts

if you are buying at the bottom end of the market, an independant inspection has got to be worth the cash, or just buy within manufacturers warranty for the safety net

[michael gould]

As always when buying an older car do your homework......ring up the previous owner.....Ring the dealership who last serviced the car......you would be surprised how much information you can deem with a few phone calls.....the car in question looks good value.....but do your homework

[Grant3]

Great advice as always (& cheers for the mention) you can get official A.M. plus cover on cars over 5 years old (10k individual claim limit, but unlimited claims up to value of the car), but you will need to have the car inspected by an official dealer - no bad thing.

[Calculator]

Thanks for the advice guys, all very helpful.

I will order myself the book - it looks a great read.

I noticed this one came up (and sold) today. Looks like good value and includes a warranty.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3746081.htm

I think I will look out for an earlier model (£35-38k) rather than spending £45k on an MY07 model. I guess that will minimise depreciation too.

[mikey k]

Tidybeard said:

The yellow car belongs to the owner of the dealership (they are a main Lotus dealer and share a site with Oakmere Toyota next door and the same chap owns both businesses). Apparently, he doesn't really want to sell it!

I know he used to have a red 4.3 coupe before that.
I have tried to buy a Noble and a 997 GT3 from them in the past and got a lack lustre response both times
Calculator I'm passing tomorrow so will call in and have a quick mooch for you.

[mikey k]

Had a quick look on the way through this morning (in the pissing rain )
Can't tell on the paint as it was wet
Bonnet is not lined up to drivers wing
A few scuffs on the alloys and a bit of wear to drivers seat
Other than that it looks like a prett straight early car.
Worth a test drive in the dty IMHO

[Calculator]

Mikey - appreciate your efforts (in the rain!).

The car was indoors over the weekend and the paint did look in need of some 'correction' (just swirls rather than anything too worrying).

How wary should I be of wear to the drivers seat? The interior was in generlly good shape and I assumed some wear to the leather (though it was more creasing) would be the norm at > 30k miles?

The car in question seems to have disappeared from their site/AT now but it has been useful for me to start to understand what to expect for my money.

I am hopeful of getting out to see more examples (across a range of prices) over this weekend.

[Calculator]

Another quick question (I have ordered the book so most will hopefully be answered by that), what is the situation re getting an inspection (I would like to get a feel for clutch condition, brakes etc) when buying private/outside the AM network?