Advice needed. Buying a AM V8 vantage.

[BLUETHUNDER]

Looking to buy a Vantage. Any problem areas to look at??. I have heard about clutches being a problem. I have taken a slight interest in the high mileage one advertised on Autotrader, that seems to have benefited from a recent new clutch.

Anyone that can give me advice on the pro,s and cons of ownership. Currently run a Mercedes 500 SL. And in the past Corvettes and TVR,s.

[tonyhall38]

There should be a pre set text layout.....get Grants book....look at top of page...all you need to know....oh...and good luck with your search

[Neil1300R]

As Tony said, buy the book.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[bomberh]

Neil1300R said:

As Tony said, buy the book.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Yep what everyone will say, get the book, a must, best money you will spend when buying an Aston.

[sukh_m]

Quick summary:

The clutch is like any other car, prone to wear and tear. Also depends how it's been driven by previous owners but if it's had a new one then maybe nothing to worry about?

Pro's: just great all-round, go and drive one.
Con's: a few common faults/niggles but nothing that can't be sorted hence why I'd buy with a warranty from a dealer.

Buy grant's book, everything you ever wanted to know about the car.

Good luck

[michael gould]

BLUETHUNDER said:

Looking to buy a Vantage. Any problem areas to look at??. I have heard about clutches being a problem. I have taken a slight interest in the high mileage one advertised on Autotrader, that seems to have benefited from a recent new clutch.

Anyone that can give me advice on the pro,s and cons of ownership. Currently run a Mercedes 500 SL. And in the past Corvettes and TVR,s.

I had a SL55 prior to my DB9 .....the Merc is more comfortable than the Vantage......but the Merc has no sense of occasion .....buy the book and don't rush into any purchase.....good luck, half the fun of ownership is in the search

[Neilc123]

Everyone says buy the book. Makes sense.

I had a Merc before the Aston as well. Depends what you want - if you want mass produced with fancy gadgets, speed and interior lester "look" then stick to the Merc.

If you want leather interior, hand-made, nice engine and a car with has a few glitches which comes with being bespoke then go for the Aston.

Neil

[drcarrera]

Don't let talk of "glitches" put you off, either!
My wife had a new SLK and that had far more problems and annoying "idiosyncrasies" than my V8V.
I find the car very easy to live with.
If you're going to use it regularly my advice would be to buy the newest car you can afford. But whatever you get you'll love it!

[SL500UK]

Personally, I would just buy the best V8V your budget allows. I'm assuming you have in mind a manual V8V as you want more driver involvement and more fun. Once you're behind the wheel of the Aston, when compared to the SL, you will not be disappointed. However as people have already said, if you're into comfort and gizmos stick with the SL - which btw is a great looking car. If you can, get an 07 model year (many were registered in 2006), I wasn't that bothered with all the extras and in fact when I bought mine I didn't even know it had the premium audio - but this was a blessing as it's a great system.

Edited by SL500UK on Tuesday 13th August 16:37

[BLUETHUNDER]

Thanks for the reply's so far fella's. So the book it is. In all fairness the SL was a bit of a stop gap. I just wanted to try one. Previous to that i had a Corvette C6 Z51. Which lived above expectation. Trips across Europe. Track days and all with minium maintenance. I.e all it required was oil and filter changes yearly.

Regarding the Vantage. Purchase budget is at the lower end of the scale £30,000. And manual is a must,as i want as much driver enjoyment as possible. Anyone know of a good independent in s.e London/kent area.

[yeti]

BLUETHUNDER said:

Anyone know of a good independent in s.e London/kent area.

For service or purchase?

Tony Hall recommends Pugsley & Lewis in Beckenham for service, no experience of them myself.

Sales, you'll have to cross town but Neal at Nick Mee (Hammersmith/Fulham) might be able to help you.

[BLUETHUNDER]

Pugsley and Lewis it seems is on my doorstep. Sales wise i was going to go private.

[eoinbenjimancox]

BLUETHUNDER said:

Looking to buy a Vantage. Any problem areas to look at??. I have heard about clutches being a problem. I have taken a slight interest in the high mileage one advertised on Autotrader, that seems to have benefited from a recent new clutch.

Anyone that can give me advice on the pro,s and cons of ownership. Currently run a Mercedes 500 SL. And in the past Corvettes and TVR,s.

if thats the one with 108,000 miles that was my car!

[BLUETHUNDER]

eoinbenjimancox said:

if thats the one with 108,000 miles that was my car!

YHM

[divetheworld]

BLUETHUNDER said:

Thanks for the reply's so far fella's. So the book it is.

Regarding the Vantage. Purchase budget is at the lower end of the scale £30,000. And manual is a must,as i want as much driver enjoyment as possible.

You should get a good value V8V with that. there's quite a few on PH, Autotrader and fleabay to look at.