Vantage 4.3 ownership on a (relative) budget?
Discussion
Hi all, I'm currently looking at options for a new second car. Something reliable, comfortable for long journeys, engaging and low fuss/cheap to maintain. I will do about 8k a year on a mixture of short long and some track days (Brands, Ring).
With a budget of around 35k, would a v8 vantage fit the bill do you think? Love the proposition of an Aston but worried that annual costs could be 'keen'.
Any thoughts appreciated! Will go and look at a few if the answers aren't too off putting.
With a budget of around 35k, would a v8 vantage fit the bill do you think? Love the proposition of an Aston but worried that annual costs could be 'keen'.
Any thoughts appreciated! Will go and look at a few if the answers aren't too off putting.
Not sure of your location. 35k in dollars won't get you a vantage, not sure about UK pricing (I'm guessing you're uk.
Not sure this car will fit the bill, horrible gas mileage, the car the pretty reliable as high performance cars go are very expensive if anything goes wrong, both parts and labor costs. Keep in mind, the V8 vantage was a plus 100k US dollars new. So parts and labor costs are reflective of the new price and not current market value.
All that said, I love mine, but I've only owned a couple months so still in the honeymoon phase with no issues so far!
Chris
Not sure this car will fit the bill, horrible gas mileage, the car the pretty reliable as high performance cars go are very expensive if anything goes wrong, both parts and labor costs. Keep in mind, the V8 vantage was a plus 100k US dollars new. So parts and labor costs are reflective of the new price and not current market value.
All that said, I love mine, but I've only owned a couple months so still in the honeymoon phase with no issues so far!
Chris
nightSpirit said:
Hi all, I'm currently looking at options for a new second car. Something reliable, comfortable for long journeys, engaging and low fuss/cheap to maintain. I will do about 8k a year on a mixture of short long and some track days (Brands, Ring).
With a budget of around 35k, would a v8 vantage fit the bill do you think? Love the proposition of an Aston but worried that annual costs could be 'keen'.
Any thoughts appreciated! Will go and look at a few if the answers aren't too off putting.
With a budget of around 35k, would a v8 vantage fit the bill do you think? Love the proposition of an Aston but worried that annual costs could be 'keen'.
Any thoughts appreciated! Will go and look at a few if the answers aren't too off putting.
Hiya Mark,
I am in the same position and picked up a facelifted '07 V8V just before Christmas.
You can get a good one for 35k - I spent considerably less for a high-mileage one and it's been good so far.
It still had warranty on it, so I have had it serviced at a main dealer (in order to get warranty work done) for £650 inclusive.
On top of that, I will need new rear tyres soon and a new clutch probably within the next 5-10k miles.
Tyres can be expensive (compared to other tin-tops) and you can pay a fotrune for a clutch if you go the main dealer route, but I will probably go to DAE, either for their 'plate only' 31k option, or will get their twin-plate setup (including lighter flywheel) if I am feeling flush.
I'll be having all future servicing done by Independents as my experience with the main dealer service I have had has been abysmal.
They are built by Ford and have a lot of Mondeo/Volvo parts, so look to be reliable and don't need to be expensive to run/maintain (except for fuel - ~18mpg so far).
Feel free to mail me (we're in Fleet) if you want to chat or have a look round.
Cheers - Simon
I am in the same position and picked up a facelifted '07 V8V just before Christmas.
You can get a good one for 35k - I spent considerably less for a high-mileage one and it's been good so far.
It still had warranty on it, so I have had it serviced at a main dealer (in order to get warranty work done) for £650 inclusive.
On top of that, I will need new rear tyres soon and a new clutch probably within the next 5-10k miles.
Tyres can be expensive (compared to other tin-tops) and you can pay a fotrune for a clutch if you go the main dealer route, but I will probably go to DAE, either for their 'plate only' 31k option, or will get their twin-plate setup (including lighter flywheel) if I am feeling flush.
I'll be having all future servicing done by Independents as my experience with the main dealer service I have had has been abysmal.
They are built by Ford and have a lot of Mondeo/Volvo parts, so look to be reliable and don't need to be expensive to run/maintain (except for fuel - ~18mpg so far).
Feel free to mail me (we're in Fleet) if you want to chat or have a look round.
Cheers - Simon
In the UK you can run a Vantage for a reasonable place, using specialists
However if you run it on track, its a heavy car (compared to an Elise or Caterham) and will eat consumables at a fast rate, which are not cheap...really depends on how you drive it of course
Below prics approx at a specialist, dealer labour rates are higher
Generally for 10K miles a year budget on a £600 service
Front tyres last 20-30K miles of road use, rear tyres 15-20K...so every 2 years that could be a £1K bill
Discs last about 30K miles of road use - about £1300 for new discs n pads fitted all round
Ive had my Vantage since 2007 and its had about £1k of non service items in 68k miles; aircon compressor, sensors, belt, wheel bearing, thermostat. They are generally "reliable" cars with a list of common known issues
Biggest bill to come is the clutch - anywhere from £1300 to £3k depending where you go and which bits are replaced. After that it will be suspension components, which are expensive on most premium cars
However if you run it on track, its a heavy car (compared to an Elise or Caterham) and will eat consumables at a fast rate, which are not cheap...really depends on how you drive it of course
Below prics approx at a specialist, dealer labour rates are higher
Generally for 10K miles a year budget on a £600 service
Front tyres last 20-30K miles of road use, rear tyres 15-20K...so every 2 years that could be a £1K bill
Discs last about 30K miles of road use - about £1300 for new discs n pads fitted all round
Ive had my Vantage since 2007 and its had about £1k of non service items in 68k miles; aircon compressor, sensors, belt, wheel bearing, thermostat. They are generally "reliable" cars with a list of common known issues
Biggest bill to come is the clutch - anywhere from £1300 to £3k depending where you go and which bits are replaced. After that it will be suspension components, which are expensive on most premium cars
Reliable - Yes
Comfortable - Yes
Engaging - Oh Yes!!
But running costs....
You'll spend
£2.5K on petrol
£500 on road tax
£250 on Tracker subscription
£1K on main dealer service/MOT
£1K on insurance
£250 on a tyre
£5500 Total per year.
Approximately, of course!! There are some variables in there and as others have mentioned, you made need a new clutch at some point.
Comfortable - Yes
Engaging - Oh Yes!!
But running costs....
You'll spend
£2.5K on petrol
£500 on road tax
£250 on Tracker subscription
£1K on main dealer service/MOT
£1K on insurance
£250 on a tyre
£5500 Total per year.
Approximately, of course!! There are some variables in there and as others have mentioned, you made need a new clutch at some point.
BravoV8V said:
Ice27 said:
But running costs....
You'll spend
£2.5K on petrol
£500 on road tax
£250 on Tracker subscription
£1K on main dealer service/MOT
£1K on insurance
£250 on a tyre
£5500 Total per year.
That is remarkably accurate. Aye carumba! You'll spend
£2.5K on petrol
£500 on road tax
£250 on Tracker subscription
£1K on main dealer service/MOT
£1K on insurance
£250 on a tyre
£5500 Total per year.
Petrol = on fuel card, so pay 40% tax on cash benefit value, say £500
pre March 2006 = £285
lifetime tracker = paid £300 one off fee back in 2007
£600 service every year at indy
£450 insurance
tyres and other consumables - same as everyone else
So about £1800 a year ish + consumables every year or two
bargain motoring for such a lovely car
I used to see this a lot on my Esprit forum. Just because you can afford to buy one doesn't mean you can necessarily afford to own one. As others have said, maintenance and running costs are what really get you. I used to think costs for parts for the Esprit were expensive. Aston parts are 2x to 10x more. I don't want to shoot down your dream. You should just know what you're getting into.
I was in a very similar situation 2 years ago when I purchased my 06 Vantage. Here's the approximate running costs over the last 24 months, excluding fuel:
Insurance. £600 (no idea why so cheap. Admiral multicar deal)
Tyres. £2500 (2 sets of rears, one front set)
Warranty. £3800 (ouch!)
Servicing. £2000 (main dealer)
Brake pads. £1200 (at a specialist)
Tax. £1000
So that's about £5.5k a year. Fuel is probably about a couple of grand too.
It would be a lot less if I went without the warranty but I just can't afford the risk of a £10k engine bill hitting me.
Insurance. £600 (no idea why so cheap. Admiral multicar deal)
Tyres. £2500 (2 sets of rears, one front set)
Warranty. £3800 (ouch!)
Servicing. £2000 (main dealer)
Brake pads. £1200 (at a specialist)
Tax. £1000
So that's about £5.5k a year. Fuel is probably about a couple of grand too.
It would be a lot less if I went without the warranty but I just can't afford the risk of a £10k engine bill hitting me.
Dick Dastardly said:
I was in a very similar situation 2 years ago when I purchased my 06 Vantage. Here's the approximate running costs over the last 24 months, excluding fuel:
Insurance. £600 (no idea why so cheap. Admiral multicar deal)
Tyres. £2500 (2 sets of rears, one front set)
Warranty. £3800 (ouch!)
Servicing. £2000 (main dealer)
Brake pads. £1200 (at a specialist)
Tax. £1000
So that's about £5.5k a year. Fuel is probably about a couple of grand too.
It would be a lot less if I went without the warranty but I just can't afford the risk of a £10k engine bill hitting me.
Did you make any calls on the warranty?Insurance. £600 (no idea why so cheap. Admiral multicar deal)
Tyres. £2500 (2 sets of rears, one front set)
Warranty. £3800 (ouch!)
Servicing. £2000 (main dealer)
Brake pads. £1200 (at a specialist)
Tax. £1000
So that's about £5.5k a year. Fuel is probably about a couple of grand too.
It would be a lot less if I went without the warranty but I just can't afford the risk of a £10k engine bill hitting me.
Has anyone ever heard of any issues with the V8 engine?
£3800 would probably get you a refresh and reasonable upgrade with a decent engine builder.
Brake pads cost under £200 for a full set and any workshop could change them - so could most home mechanics.
If you changed discs (if they were really needed), that's a different matter.
Thanks all,
Simon I've sent you a mail...
Insurance quote came back (with Admiral) at 560 all in, I reckon with a specialist I can get that a bit lower. I'm expecting on any car to need tyres and brakes, pads I can do myself etc (I'm handy with the spanners after building 4-5 track cars over the years). Tyre wear doesn't sound bad? Servicing also at around £600-750 per year is very doable! One of my previous cars was a TVR so I know all about the potential for big bills although I was lucky with my Tamora.
If I were to keep a car in top shape for 2 years, what do think the drop in resale price will be? I've done well with my last few cars (ish).
On the track days, it really will be once a year for 10-12 laps of the Ring and a few evenings at Brands etc. I'm sympathetic to my cars and drive smoothly on the whole so as long as the V8V doesn't explode as soon as it touches a rumble strip it should serve me well. I know it won't be as quick as an Exige say on the twisties but I wouldn't buy it for that.
Simon I've sent you a mail...
Insurance quote came back (with Admiral) at 560 all in, I reckon with a specialist I can get that a bit lower. I'm expecting on any car to need tyres and brakes, pads I can do myself etc (I'm handy with the spanners after building 4-5 track cars over the years). Tyre wear doesn't sound bad? Servicing also at around £600-750 per year is very doable! One of my previous cars was a TVR so I know all about the potential for big bills although I was lucky with my Tamora.
If I were to keep a car in top shape for 2 years, what do think the drop in resale price will be? I've done well with my last few cars (ish).
On the track days, it really will be once a year for 10-12 laps of the Ring and a few evenings at Brands etc. I'm sympathetic to my cars and drive smoothly on the whole so as long as the V8V doesn't explode as soon as it touches a rumble strip it should serve me well. I know it won't be as quick as an Exige say on the twisties but I wouldn't buy it for that.
nightSpirit said:
Thanks all,
If I were to keep a car in top shape for 2 years, what do think the drop in resale price will be? I've done well with my last few cars (ish).
I bought an early Vantage V8 at the start of 2013. I think depreciation is almost flat on like for like cars now, however these cars are more mileage sensitive than Porsches etc, though not as bad as some Italian marques, and I also noticed that the best cars, even at the lower end seemed to all be in dealer networks, obviously this is not always the case, but certainly seemed to be the norm. So although depreciation is flattish, you will right off £5k dealer margin instantly, and will loose maybe a thousand pounds or so per 5k miles done, approximately.If I were to keep a car in top shape for 2 years, what do think the drop in resale price will be? I've done well with my last few cars (ish).
one thing you need to consider is that as cars get older, generally more goes wrong with them ......so buying a 6 YO Aston you will probably have to replace the clutch and probably replace suspension bits and probably have a front light fail on you.
Your far better paying a little more and buying a car that has had f these thinks already replaced
realistically budget for 5k/ year for 8k miles (and worth every penny)
Good luck
Your far better paying a little more and buying a car that has had f these thinks already replaced
realistically budget for 5k/ year for 8k miles (and worth every penny)
Good luck
Thanks again,
It's finding that balance between something you can afford to own and afford to enjoy, I think the AM is close (but not too close) to that line!
Now I need to find some decent cars round Birmingham or London to view I've noticed quite a few on Ebay also. I think regardless, asking the seller for any receipts for work will help in understanding what's likely to be an upcoming cost re clutch and so on.
Does anyone track their v8v now and again?
It's finding that balance between something you can afford to own and afford to enjoy, I think the AM is close (but not too close) to that line!
Now I need to find some decent cars round Birmingham or London to view
I've noticed quite a few on Ebay also. I think regardless, asking the seller for any receipts for work will help in understanding what's likely to be an upcoming cost re clutch and so on.Does anyone track their v8v now and again?
nightSpirit said:
Does anyone track their v8v now and again?
Some do...http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=135...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gAssing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by BravoV8V on Tuesday 10th June 10:17
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