Pre purchase inspection
Discussion
Hi
I am on the verge of buying my first Aston and wondered whether anyone can recommend someone to carry out a thorough pre purchase inspection in the Cambridgeshire area? I was sold on the idea of a V8V, but am getting cold feet due to all the stories of woe with clutches! What's the consensus on this, weak clutches or bad driving? DB9 is also on the cards but my concern there is with coil packs. How frequent a problem is it? Any advice or input would be gratefully received as I really can't afford to buy a lemon!
Thanks and regards to all.
Russ
I am on the verge of buying my first Aston and wondered whether anyone can recommend someone to carry out a thorough pre purchase inspection in the Cambridgeshire area? I was sold on the idea of a V8V, but am getting cold feet due to all the stories of woe with clutches! What's the consensus on this, weak clutches or bad driving? DB9 is also on the cards but my concern there is with coil packs. How frequent a problem is it? Any advice or input would be gratefully received as I really can't afford to buy a lemon!
Thanks and regards to all.
Russ
Russ, have you checked out the FAQ section and also invested in Grant's excellent book? If not these are worth a read.
Yes V8V clutch stories are abound on here, but there were many others that had no such issues (my old one included). Tell us more about the year, mileage and gearbox type (manual, ASM 1 or ASM 2) and I am sure that some advice will be forthcoming. Bamford Rose are always a useful place to get advice on their thread. As I understand it there is a way of checking clutch wear (although a visual inspection is best) through a clutch wear indicator.
Yes V8V clutch stories are abound on here, but there were many others that had no such issues (my old one included). Tell us more about the year, mileage and gearbox type (manual, ASM 1 or ASM 2) and I am sure that some advice will be forthcoming. Bamford Rose are always a useful place to get advice on their thread. As I understand it there is a way of checking clutch wear (although a visual inspection is best) through a clutch wear indicator.
Both items you have posted are consumables - with the greatest of respect if you can't afford the consumables, which are considerable, is it the right car for you? A worn clutch or coils that need doing does not make a car a lemon, same as worn tyres or lipped discs don't make it any form of citus fruit.
A PPI will not pick up a worn clutch unless it is very severly worn and you'd notice it anyway. Likewise the coils on a DB9 should have been replaced at service if needed. They can go pop unex-pectdly but with a fully serviced car, you'll either know they are to be done in the next service or already have been done previously. They can go on a low miler, but that is due to the car being a certain age and they should have been replaced anyway. The problem is not as severe as DB7 anyway which seemed to go around the 7 year mark regardless of miles and wer enever changed before they needed to be.
Both items that concern you have a lifespan, Vantage clutch lasts anything from 15k to 60k+ dependent on driver and useage but average seems to be 20-30k miles. The clutch is not weak, its a powerful V8 car and the clutch wears when reversing a lot or driving round town, same as all powerful manual cars. Sportsshift clutches often wear faster, especially with town driving. If you post the age and year of the cars you look at, we can probably tell you what to look for.
A PPI is of enormous value elsewhere however, oil leaks, worn belts, brake condition, electrics, paintwork etc, things you may miss on your own test drive. A very thorough check of the history will also tell you what was done and what wasn't, many owners tend to miss things off at service to save a few pennies. Unfortunately some poor sod down the line then has to buy their 'FSH' car and live with the consequences
Good luck, pick some cars and post them up!
A PPI will not pick up a worn clutch unless it is very severly worn and you'd notice it anyway. Likewise the coils on a DB9 should have been replaced at service if needed. They can go pop unex-pectdly but with a fully serviced car, you'll either know they are to be done in the next service or already have been done previously. They can go on a low miler, but that is due to the car being a certain age and they should have been replaced anyway. The problem is not as severe as DB7 anyway which seemed to go around the 7 year mark regardless of miles and wer enever changed before they needed to be.
Both items that concern you have a lifespan, Vantage clutch lasts anything from 15k to 60k+ dependent on driver and useage but average seems to be 20-30k miles. The clutch is not weak, its a powerful V8 car and the clutch wears when reversing a lot or driving round town, same as all powerful manual cars. Sportsshift clutches often wear faster, especially with town driving. If you post the age and year of the cars you look at, we can probably tell you what to look for.
A PPI is of enormous value elsewhere however, oil leaks, worn belts, brake condition, electrics, paintwork etc, things you may miss on your own test drive. A very thorough check of the history will also tell you what was done and what wasn't, many owners tend to miss things off at service to save a few pennies. Unfortunately some poor sod down the line then has to buy their 'FSH' car and live with the consequences
Good luck, pick some cars and post them up!
Cockernee said:
As I understand it there is a way of checking clutch wear (although a visual inspection is best) through a clutch wear indicator.
I didn't know that! You could check a Maserati 4200 CambioCorsa clutch wear but not the manual car, it was very annoying for potential owners. yeti said:
Cockernee said:
As I understand it there is a way of checking clutch wear (although a visual inspection is best) through a clutch wear indicator.
I didn't know that! You could check a Maserati 4200 CambioCorsa clutch wear but not the manual car, it was very annoying for potential owners. Jockman said:
You can just look at the logbook to check the condition of the clutch 
If the previous owner was one of the following....
J. Gladman
A. Duckhouse
N. Toms
L. Evans
M. Knowles
......then you should be budgeting for a new engine, let alone a new clutch
And if it has:If the previous owner was one of the following....
J. Gladman
A. Duckhouse
N. Toms
L. Evans
M. Knowles
......then you should be budgeting for a new engine, let alone a new clutch
G. Hindle
You should be budgeting for a 1,000 mile service
Jockman said:
You can just look at the logbook to check the condition of the clutch
If the previous owner was one of the following....
J. Gladman
A. Duckhouse
N. Toms
L. Evans
M. Knowles
......then you should be budgeting for a new engine, let alone a new clutch
Cheeky fecker If the previous owner was one of the following....
J. Gladman
A. Duckhouse
N. Toms
L. Evans
M. Knowles
......then you should be budgeting for a new engine, let alone a new clutch
Mine would need new brakes, tyres and soot removed from the boot as well 
Yeah, these are not cheap cars to run, especially if you develop a Bamford Rose habit But they're not really that much worse that similarly priced cars on average, tales of really big expensive disasters are pretty rare, though not unknown.
Generally you have to be a bit of a tit to rack up a five figure repair bill, but you should expect it to cost you a few grand a year in servicing and wear and tear I reckon. You can get through brakes and tires at a ferocious rate if you try, and they're not cheap.
As someone else said, buy "Grant's Book" (there's a sticky thread about it). It's got loads of useful info.
Running costs between V8V and DB9 are probably pretty similar over a few years, but don't buy one based on which you think will be cheaper to run! They're quite different cars.
But they're not really that much worse that similarly priced cars on average, tales of really big expensive disasters are pretty rare, though not unknown.Generally you have to be a bit of a tit to rack up a five figure repair bill, but you should expect it to cost you a few grand a year in servicing and wear and tear I reckon. You can get through brakes and tires at a ferocious rate if you try, and they're not cheap.
As someone else said, buy "Grant's Book" (there's a sticky thread about it). It's got loads of useful info.
Running costs between V8V and DB9 are probably pretty similar over a few years, but don't buy one based on which you think will be cheaper to run! They're quite different cars.
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