Buying a V8V Privately

[poll250]

Hi all.

I'm currently running a Cayman S, but looking to move into a V8 Vantage Coupe in the next few months. I can't resist the urge to own a V8 any longer, and I've always had a soft spot for AM.

I've been checking the market for a while now, and have noticed that there are very few for sale privately: currently ~4/150ish on Pistonheads. Are most of these on SOR at 'specialist' dealers?

I prefer to buy my cars privately, and would much rather it comes from a Pistonheads/AMOC enthusiast. It seems like the only way to go about that is by putting up a 'Wanted' thread when I'm ready, which doesn't seem ideal.

Does anyone have a better idea? Will more private cars come onto the market in the spring?

[krisdelta]

Hello and welcome!

My observation is that the volume available for sale has been pretty constant (@200 on AT for the last few months), I think the value and volume of supply means many are at dealers, either as retail or SoR. I did buy privately and I can see there are 12 private ads up at the moment for V8's under £40k. They're very robust cars, so there is no reason not to buy a well cared for example privately.

Have fun with your search, oh and buy the AM buyers guide (sticky at top of AM section) to help you pick your new toy!

[Jon39]

Might I be correct, if I assume you want to buy privately to purchase at a lower price?

What is apparent from this forum, is that potential buyers usually decide initially, what specification they want. Frequently asking others for opinions. Their choice eventually often becomes quite specific regarding colour and various options.

If there are so few private sale cars available, potential buyers would be very unlikely to find the car they want to own.

The Aston Martin 'Pre-owned' listing at least shows a large number of cars, even though one obviously has to pay dealer prices. If most buyers pay extra to obtain what they want, perhaps that is why there are few private sales.

[poll250]

Thanks for the welcome, I bought myself the Buyer's Guide at Christmas- it's a great read.

I would be looking for a MY06/07 car, so at the lower end of the scale certainly. I've always bought privately before as I like to know a car's history, and would prefer to buy from a forum member. I'm ok to go without a warranty and would rather keep my own 'slush fund'. As mentioned, V8V's seem to be robust cars in any case.

I'll keep checking AT and PH, I'm sure the right car will come up in time.

Thanks,
Andrew

[mikey k]

AT seems to have more private sales though less likely to be an "enthusiast" owner
Don't discount dealer (see what I did there ) they will often add sweeteners and some will haggle
Good luck with the hunt

[n8ony]

Andrew

I also have historically always bought privately including my last 5 Porsches and a TVR. However, when it came to an AMV8 I decided to buy from a dealer, and although I knew I would pay slightly more, I made sure they did everything I needed before I took delivery rather than having to do this later after a purchase at my expense.

I also wanted the first years warranty and could then decide whether I continued with this or took the risk myself.

I don't regret my dealer purchase, as I particularly wanted a very low mileage car and found that these generally were only available through the main dealers.

Find the right car and enjoy !!

[jazzyjeff]

Hi Andrew, I came to my Aston from a Cayman S as well. You do miss one or two very minor lifestyle practicalities (such as the flip-out cup holders, swivelling sun visors and little lidded compartments in the doors), but trust me, it's a buying decision you won't regret :-)

Cars do come up for sale from time to time. For example, I'm planning on advertising mine privately later this month. However, I'll unfortunately need to get the clutch changed first, but that will provide some peace of mind to potential buyers, as it's the one cost they all seem to fret about ;-)

[hanny1973]

jazzyjeff said:

Hi Andrew, I came to my Aston from a Cayman S as well. You do miss one or two very minor lifestyle practicalities (such as the flip-out cup holders, swivelling sun visors and little lidded compartments in the doors), but trust me, it's a buying decision you won't regret :-)

Cars do come up for sale from time to time. For example, I'm planning on advertising mine privately later this month. However, I'll unfortunately need to get the clutch changed first, but that will provide some peace of mind to potential buyers, as it's the one cost they all seem to fret about ;-)

Just out of interest where are you getting your clutch changed? Are you going to Aston or an independent?

[jazzyjeff]

hanny1973 said:

Just out of interest where are you getting your clutch changed? Are you going to Aston or an independent?

Hi Hanny, I've had a few quotes - I'll PM you the details along with my current choice of agent

[michael gould]

i have purchased all 3 of my Astons privately without problems…….in fact apart from SL500 Merc which I purchased from a dealer (because they wanted to dump it before the end of September and offered it to me at private price money) I have always purchased privately. I would totally agree that buying a car off somebody on this forum is a good idea as you can check its history far better than from a dealer. Dealers have to make a profit and will normally have 5-7k in a 40k car. The ideal situation is to buy privately with the remainder of some AM warranty.

I suggest you keep coming back to this forum and let it be known that your after a V8V circa 33k or whatever your budget is.good luck with your hunt, it will be worth it when the right car comes along

[ident]

Morning

I agree totally, I think you buy as much from the person as you do actually viewing the car

In fact my Vantage is potentially for sale as I would like to give the roadster experience a go ... owned it for 5 years now and it has been a joy

If you are interested then please PM me and I can give you more detail but basically its a Toro Rosso 2006, manual with 21 K on it and in perfect condition

Cheers

Ian