Buying a Vantage, having second thoughts due to paintwork

[rossyl]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading up about Vantages and they generally sound pretty reliable. Thanks for the wealth of information. I am looking at a MY2007, manual.

Clutches being a bit of a concern but ultimately a consumable. The LED lights dying is a bit of an issue, but there seems a relatively sensible solution.

I don't think that there are many other considerable potential issues unless I have missed something? Do let me know if I have.

The major issue is the paint defects. Paint bubbling seemingly in many potential areas of the Vantage from what I have read. I had a Mercedes CLK MY2000, it had growing from the inside outwards rust issues that they all suffer from. I know how expensive that can be, especially when it recurs, also in my mind it is extremely annoying as it us essentially a manufacturing defect. So somewhat ruined the ownership experience.

The Vantage would LIVE OUTSIDE. Does anyone else's? How have you found it if so in terms of paint or anything else? I'm in London,so there is no option of anything else.


How much has it cost people to repair the various bubbles?

Is Meteorite a very hard colour to blend in that would require an entire panel painting for the sake of say a door handle?

Look forward to some advice.

Thanks very much
R

[steveatesh]

rossyl said:

Hi everyone,

I've been reading up about Vantages and they generally sound pretty reliable. Thanks for the wealth of information. I am looking at a MY2007, manual.

Clutches being a bit of a concern but ultimately a consumable. The LED lights dying is a bit of an issue, but there seems a relatively sensible solution.

I don't think that there are many other considerable potential issues unless I have missed something? Do let me know if I have.

The major issue is the paint defects. Paint bubbling seemingly in many potential areas of the Vantage from what I have read. I had a Mercedes CLK MY2000, it had growing from the inside outwards rust issues that they all suffer from. I know how expensive that can be, especially when it recurs, also in my mind it is extremely annoying as it us essentially a manufacturing defect. So somewhat ruined the ownership experience.

The Vantage would LIVE OUTSIDE. Does anyone else's? How have you found it if so in terms of paint or anything else? I'm in London,so there is no option of anything else.


How much has it cost people to repair the various bubbles?

Is Meteorite a very hard colour to blend in that would require an entire panel painting for the sake of say a door handle?

Look forward to some advice.

Thanks very much
R

Hi OP, first the LED's please share what the sensible solution is, I had to replace one under warranty then one after warranty at just under £1500 . The "sensible" comment by my dealer was that many modern cars suffer from LED problems. I'm not at all convinced they all cost so much to put right what is essentially a side light bulb.

Anyway, the paint work. The bubbling is not rust, it is not the same as the Mercedes rust problem. Yes it is poor preparation during manufacturing, but the metal itself is not rusting. I had both door handles done under warranty, but the match was perfect and it's been fine since. I'm not convinced you have to go to AM Works etc. for this type of work, any good body shop should do equally as good a job. In fact my local dealer outsources bodywork to a local body shop.

My car is MY2010 and lives outside, has done since new. The paintwork is perfect, it starts and runs superbly, and doesnt seem to suffer for being outside. My colour is Lightning Silver, no idea about meteorite. Hope that helps.

[bogie]

If a 2007 car isnt showing the paint defects by now, likely it never will. It is generally assumed to affect a limited batch of cars with poor paint preparation

So if the paint is good on the car you are looking at, I wouldn't worry about it. Get the car bought and enjoy driving it

[Murph7355]

bogie said:

If a 2007 car isnt showing the paint defects by now, likely it never will. It is generally assumed to affect a limited batch of cars with poor paint preparation

So if the paint is good on the car you are looking at, I wouldn't worry about it. Get the car bought and enjoy driving it

I'd like to see empirical evidence of that before I bet anything on it I'm afraid. Scanning various threads here and elsewhere paint issues have been seen on cars of many ages. There isn't enough objective information to say definitively under what circumstances cars do and don't suffer, and Aston Martin have never made anything public that I'm aware of.

Being cynical, if this problem was isolated and a one time hit, why don't Aston routinely address it? My personal opinion is that they do not want the open ended cheque book of claims due to piss poor paint.

OP - go into ownership expecting issues in this area. Ditto lights and the other common issues you'll have read about. Then factor it into the ownership costs. All cars suffer their own little foibles. The great thing about the internet is that manufacturers can no longer hide them, and the resourceful people out there find ways around them or at least make the repair costs known. I wouldn't let this sort of thing put you off ownership, just go in eyes open.

If you fancy a 2007 manual Vantage that is pretty much perfect apart from its paint, let me know as I'm on the verge of trading mine in Happy to take PM's about it too - mine lived outside for half its life and, again apart from the paint, it's been fine.

[NealCS]

2 yrs into owning a 2007 vantage living outdoors - no bubbles and Grigio Titanio bodywork paint is bearing up better than my previous four cars (two Mercedes two BMWs) and much better than the dreadfully thin fragile paint on the Honda I had before that. Though I do wax and polish frequently.

Had a key-scratch painted - partial panel blended in but full panel clear-coat, used my usual local spray shop and the results are invisible -was £400ish.

However beware the black alloy/aluminium/steel mirror stalks and wipers - they can peel. In the wipers case it took me under a day to remove, rub down to bare metal and respray myself. Easy DIY job - getting the mirror stalks off looks tricky so may have to do those in situ. Look out for it on your intended purchase.

Starts like a dream even after a couple of weeks away, I use it as a 'daily driver' - never lets me down and never fails to turn a drive into an occasion, I'd say don't let the paint put you off Unless the car you look at is a bubbly one!

[Jibberingloon]

I have a 2007 model and it is suffering from tiny bubbles around door handle, I have no immediate plans to get the paint done.

I treat it as a Cindy Crawford beauty spot.....

Every Supermodel have a little something that isn't perfect.....

Same as the Aston

Just live with it and understand the other 99% is perfect in every way!!!


As if you would say no!!!!

[steveatesh]

Jibberingloon said:

I have a 2007 model and it is suffering from tiny bubbles around door handle, I have no immediate plans to get the paint done.

I treat it as a Cindy Crawford beauty spot.....

Every Supermodel have a little something that isn't perfect.....

Same as the Aston

Just live with it and understand the other 99% is perfect in every way!!!


As if you would say no!!!!

I wouldn't say no to a test drive, but I'd need more information before committing

[rossyl]

Thanks guys.

I am having the paintwork checked carefully. Fingers crossed it comes back positive.

Glad to hear that prices for repair don't seem too painful.

[IanV12VR]

Murph7355 said:

bogie said:

If a 2007 car isnt showing the paint defects by now, likely it never will. It is generally assumed to affect a limited batch of cars with poor paint preparation

So if the paint is good on the car you are looking at, I wouldn't worry about it. Get the car bought and enjoy driving it

I'd like to see empirical evidence of that before I bet anything on it I'm afraid. Scanning various threads here and elsewhere paint issues have been seen on cars of many ages. There isn't enough objective information to say definitively under what circumstances cars do and don't suffer, and Aston Martin have never made anything public that I'm aware of.

Being cynical, if this problem was isolated and a one time hit, why don't Aston routinely address it? My personal opinion is that they do not want the open ended cheque book of claims due to piss poor paint.

OP - go into ownership expecting issues in this area. Ditto lights and the other common issues you'll have read about. Then factor it into the ownership costs. All cars suffer their own little foibles. The great thing about the internet is that manufacturers can no longer hide them, and the resourceful people out there find ways around them or at least make the repair costs known. I wouldn't let this sort of thing put you off ownership, just go in eyes open.

If you fancy a 2007 manual Vantage that is pretty much perfect apart from its paint, let me know as I'm on the verge of trading mine in Happy to take PM's about it too - mine lived outside for half its life and, again apart from the paint, it's been fine.

I am afraid that this is an issue which continues on more recent cars as well so not down to a batch of cars in 2007. My 2012 V12VR is currently having paint bubble issues, although tiny, sorted under warranty and I have a friend who has a 2009 V12V that has similar, but worse, issues. I had an email from him saying he was happy with his dealings with the local dealer and AML Customer Services so I assume he will be getting them sorted even though the car is outside warranty. My issue came as quite a shock because the car has been outstanding and when I cleaned the car some three weeks before I found them there was not a sign of any problem. It came on very quickly!

As has been said by others it would not put me off buying an Aston but if you are buying a 7/8 year old car you do need to budget for these smaller issues to be resolved.

[bogie]

My Jan 06 car has the bubbles in a few places, has had since 2009 ish ...appeared in the first few years..just out of factory warranty really. Was offered a contribution towards re-paint at Aston and it was 3x the regular cost ...left it and never bothered since. Its not affecting the trade in value much on a 9 year old car.....

[notsaV8V]

Murph7355 said:

The great thing about the internet is that manufacturers can no longer hide them, and the resourceful people out there find ways around them or at least make the repair costs known. I wouldn't let this sort of thing put you off ownership, just go in eyes open.

The downside of the internet is that problems tend to get more prominence. Most people have got better things to do than post "I have no paint issues on my car". It tends to be only when there's a problem that help is sought on the forum. There are clearly issues on some cars but there are thousands of others that have avoided them. Thankfully, I'm one of what I suspect is the majority so far as bodywork paint is concerned. I did have a problem with the wing mirror support on the driver's side but that only cost a few pounds for a paint shop to sort. Could have been a problem with prep but equally could have been corrosion following a stone chip - no way of telling.

As others have said, go in with your eyes open but don't be put off by thoughts that it is inevitable paint problems will develop.

[northernmedia]

My MY07 V8V has had the drivers side wing mirror hanger painted by a main dealer (£40 via JCT) & the wiper arms & assembly painted by local bodyshop (£40).
The main cause for concern tho are two very small patches of bubbling on the passenger door where the wing mirror hanger meets it.
I've had quotes of about £500 to repair it (black car).
Decided to leave as is for the moment as I may also get the front blown over due to stone chips.

These issues wouldn't stop me buying what is in most other respects an excellent & rewarding car.

[Quinny]

When I had my 06 car (bought 2010) it was mint, I garaged it, and looked after it religiously.... But in my ownership it had just started to show signs of paintwork trouble ahead....this and the anxiety of a stupid bill for, LED's, clutch or whatever, ultimately spoiled my ownership experience..... It was a great car, I enjoyed driving it, but I wouldn't buy another.

[rossyl]

Out of interest Quinny, was it like a teen breaking out in spots - lots of paint problems all over? Also, what did you (or have you) had instead of it?

[Quinny]

rossyl said:

Out of interest Quinny, was it like a teen breaking out in spots - lots of paint problems all over? Also, what did you (or have you) had instead of it?

It wasn't all over, and it wasn't bad, just some light and I mean really slight bubbling around the door handles and the mirrors.
But what pissed me off, was that this was happening on a 6 year old car, that had been babied its whole life...and I'd put a lot of effort into keeping it in the best condition possible, garaged, car cover, not used in winter that much, and always kept clean.... In the end I just thought, sod it, what will it be like if I keep it another 3 years?? So I sold it whilst it still looked pretty good.... My wife's 13 year old Yaris, has sat outside most of its life, and had better paintwork..

I haven't got a special car at the moment

[Neil1300r]

Quinny said:

When I had my 06 car (bought 2010) it was mint, I garaged it, and looked after it religiously.... But in my ownership it had just started to show signs of paintwork trouble ahead....this and the anxiety of a stupid bill for, LED's, clutch or whatever, ultimately spoiled my ownership experience..... It was a great car, I enjoyed driving it, but I wouldn't buy another.

When I had my 06 car (bought 2009) it was mint, I garaged and looked after it religously.... but in my ownership it had never shown signs of painwork trouble. Had a stupid bill for LED's (swapped to clears), still on original clutch. It was a great car, I enjoyed driving it, but I wouldn't buy another (due to back issues).

[Murph7355]

notsaV8V said:

The downside of the internet is that problems tend to get more prominence. Most people have got better things to do than post "I have no paint issues on my car". It tends to be only when there's a problem that help is sought on the forum. There are clearly issues on some cars but there are thousands of others that have avoided them. Thankfully, I'm one of what I suspect is the majority so far as bodywork paint is concerned. I did have a problem with the wing mirror support on the driver's side but that only cost a few pounds for a paint shop to sort. Could have been a problem with prep but equally could have been corrosion following a stone chip - no way of telling.
...

I'm afraid the one thing that makes me doubt this is an infrequent occurrence is Aston's response to it. Generally all that is offered is a "contribution" which at best brings a main dealer fix more or less in line with someone who knows what they're doing. The exception seems to be cars inside a few years old, but then so it bloody well should be on cars costing 6 figures.

If there were so few cars affected, why wouldn't Aston just fix them foc? The amount of good will generated would be massive, rather than the exact opposite.

[SFO]

once fixed, does the door handle paint issue recur?

[northernmedia]

SFO said:

once fixed, does the door handle paint issue recur?

Not if you swap them for carbon ones

[JS1500]

My 2007 V8V is kept outdoors.

Before I took delivery of it both sides of the car were totally resprayed by an AM-approved bodyshop as part of an agreement with the selling dealer. The bodyshop cited "slight oxidation to the bottoms of both doors" as the reason.

The front bumper was also resprayed due to stonechips and the dealer told me this was the only bit he had to pay for as the rest was covered by the warranty.

I'm hoping that no bubbling ever comes back. The mirror stalks are a tiny bit oxidised and I'll get these seen to soon.