Review of Servicing @ David Appleby Engineering :) Top Marks

[Jibberingloon]

Well I have been looking at various Independent Aston Martin places to have my car serviced and looked after since I bought my V8V a few months back. Ive spoken with the guys at BR / McGurks / DAE etc etc and read lots of reviews from people during this process.

In the end I settled with DAE as they were the closest and have some good racing pedigree and knowledge, and would have to say I am very happy with the service and advice.

Went in for a full service and a change of spark plugs, the car has done 18k miles, but I know some have said there is no need to change the plugs for low mileage even if it 6-7 years old, but I felt it was worth it for the extra money for the peace of mind.

Anyway it was really nice to have a poke around the underneath of the car when they had all the under trays off and have a good chat with the mechanics. The leave of detail the guys went to was great, they even pressure washed all the under trays / wheel arch liners before they were put back on, as well as cleaning the face and behind the wheels while off the car, which is more than I have got when I use to service my Porsches at the OPC.

The initial inspection came back with no sign of any damage, worn parts or leaking anywhere They even said it was one of the cleanest example for its age and mileage (Which put a smile on my face, but maybe they say that to everyone....... I hope not )

As a Mechanical Engineer by degree and trade it was good to see how everything was put together / designed you can read all the New Era Gaydon book to find out some detail, but actually seeing things in the metal was great. However I still cant understand why they put the air filters behind wheel arch liners but hey ho!


Anyway a couple of pictures of the job being done.

Thanks again to all the guys at DAE, they put up with all my questions and requests, and supplied me with some enough tea to sink a battleship and some sausages!

Edited by Jibberingloon on Monday 7th October 21:41

[AMDBSNick]

A lovely story including pictures for the thick amongst us. You'll be telling us you've been in the Royal Marines next

[Jon39]

Beautiful car Mark.
The pure 'classic' shape Vantage (no protruding bits).

Your second photograph shows some interesting exhaust parts on the workbench.

[Tony V12V]

AMDBSNick said:

A lovely story including pictures for the thick amongst us. You'll be telling us you've been in the Royal Marines next

HE SHOOTS....

HE SCORES....

[J12MOC]

Nice blue tinge to the front disks there Mark! obviously been driven properly......

[gibbon]

Great review and pictures.

So i guess if it was the spark plug service it was number 7? Is that right? Did they do they job whilst you were there? May I ask how much the charged?

I have just had this done at a main dealer as my car is under warranty, but think i will go to one of the well known and respected indies next time.

[Jibberingloon]

Actual Royal Engineers!, lol

As for brakes........ I am looking to upgrade as the std do seem to fade a little under hard driving. Might change just the pads initially and change the fluid too then see if there is much of an improvement.

[Lunablack]

AMDBSNick said:

A lovely story including pictures for the thick amongst us. You'll be telling us you've been in the Royal Marines next

Those 4 metal bits in the bottom pic are spark plugs Nick......... The big grey thing in the top pic, is a car..

[AMDBSNick]

Lunablack said:

Those 4 metal bits in the bottom pic are spark plugs Nick......... The big grey thing in the top pic, is a car..

Morning Andy,

Many thanks for the clarification

Nick

[northernmedia]

They have an interesting Vantage for sale...
130,000 miler!

http://www.davidapplebyengineering.com/4.3roadcar....

[Speculatore]

northernmedia said:

They have an interesting Vantage for sale...
130,000 miler!

http://www.davidapplebyengineering.com/4.3roadcar....

What a bargin...And you get driver and passenger seats, steering wheel AND a gear knob....

[northernmedia]

...New Parts fitted 10,000 miles ago:

etc etc

But still, seems a little steep to me.

Maybe ex hire?

[897sma]

looks a bit steep to me too, you can get an 08 with 10k miles for that money or a 4.7 for not much more.

Edited by 897sma on Tuesday 8th October 17:03

[Lunablack]

897sma said:

looks a bit steep to me too, you can get an 08 with 10k miles for that money or a 4.7 for not much more.

Edited by 897sma on Tuesday 8th October 17:03

Yeah..... But will it have a steering wheel and 2 seats???

[Jibberingloon]

Would have agree its a little bit pricey early 30's perhaps, , but I'm sure if you priced it to build it would be a hell of a lot of money.

Would love to have all the Vantage S bumpers on mine think they look awesome. Also think the white and black n carbon works well.

[With these feet]

Good to see James getting his hands dirty!

The 2011 "S" bumper upgrade is several thousand on its own, along with the beam and different arch liners, undertray etc.
An 08 car would still have the early body shape, this one would keep 'em guessing!

[Bravo73]

With these feet said:

The 2011 "S" bumper upgrade is several thousand on its own, along with the beam and different arch liners, undertray etc.
An 08 car would still have the early body shape, this one would keep 'em guessing!

The suspension and exhaust system would be at least another £10k (off the shelf).