V8 Vantage Passenger Seat Adjust ???

[S1M VP]

Not the normal question but the story goes ...

My dad has always loved cars, but as with all dads he's always put everyone else first and the best car he's ever owned is his 1.8 ford focus.

Now he's retired, he's finally decided to treat himself to a sports car with max budget of around £30k
As with all things, by stretching the budget you can get so much more but when I saw a 2006 pre-owned V8 Vantage at a main dealer for £36k ... I suggested it could be worth going to see one, which we did last week.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...


Needless to say he absolutely loved it and has today taken my mum up to see it as well.

He's 68 so a few different things come into play ... They both feel very comfortable in the car and driving it (far more than they thought they would) but are a bit worried about getting in and out of the car because it's so low ... The drivers seat can be height adjusted which makes it much better, but the passenger side is the issue for my mum.


Later cars seem to have adjustable height passenger seats, but earlier cars don't (later cars being a hike in £ and way beyond budget)


Does anyone know if earlier cars could be retro fitted with the adjustable base? (My guess is the loom could be different?)

Is there another solution? (Maybe blocks/spacers between floor pan and rails?)


He's thinking if he doesn't do it now he'll never get the chance, so any help/ideas would be appreciated.

[krisdelta]

I can't comment on seat base antics, but suggest a simple high density foam wedge from somewhere like this would do the trick. £50 is cheaper than buying a newer model car Unless of course you want the excuse

[mikey k]

You can change the subframe but I'm not sure whether the later on will go on an early seat
Then there is the question of the wiring to control the extra motor

[Neil1300R]

Mine's a 2006 and you can adjust the passenger seat in the same way as the drivers seat. Are you sure you weren't looking at one with ISOFX fitting, which has limited movement?

[S1M VP]

Neil1300R said:

Mine's a 2006 and you can adjust the passenger seat in the same way as the drivers seat. Are you sure you weren't looking at one with ISOFX fitting, which has limited movement?

Neil, you may just have saved us lots of messing about.
I do remember him mentioning in passing whilst showing us the car about front isofix on passenger seat so this could be the reason for no height adjustment.

Will look at more cars to see!

Thanks guys

[Grant3]

Good point by Neil, but it is also worth noting that (strangely!) passenger seat height adjust was an option up until the 08MY when it became standard. Your Mum isn't the only one to highlight the low seat position, one of the owners pieces in the guide highlighted that their wife couldn't get comfortable because of the lack of height adjust. Most dealer tend not to list it on the optional extra list, so you will probably have to phone to find out if a car is so equipped.
Tell your Mum and Dad to take their time and find what spec they want as there is a good selection of cars around that price point. Best of luck

[S1M VP]

Thanks for all your help last week.

My mum & dad drove down to see a car at Grange on Friday, that I'd already spoken to the dealer about and all seemed perfect with all the right options and in his favourite colour .... Wanted him to have it in time for Father's Day, so was really chuft when he called to say it was FANTASTIC.

Special thanks to Martin (Grange Salesman) and David (Locktons Insurance) who helped me sort the details, while they went for a pub lunch .... 2 hours later he was driving home in his first Aston, a very happy man.

A few pictures from when he called in to show me on his way home.