End of term report
Discussion
Well the Aston V8V has gone.
I owned mine from new and had it for 8.75yrs. Whilst I'm not a serial car changer, that speaks a lot for the car and I loved owning it. But it was time for a change and one issue was getting under my skin sufficiently that I didn't want it to sour the experience any further . So a deal was struck.
I'm one of those saddos that keeps records of everything spent on the car, so if it's of any interest at all the car cost me £1.78 per mile to run including fuel, insurance, depreciation, servicing etc etc. If any prospective owners would like any info, just ask. (As a point of ref this is ball park the same as the F355 I owned before it - bought and sold well before prices went silly
I suspect most high performance cars will cost in this region if used properly...).
My car was pretty much issue free (save for the one item that's irked me). It had quite a few warranty items addressed in the first couple of years of ownership, but they were dealt with very easily through HWM (who I would recommend) and nothing major ever needed doing to it. It never, ever let me down.
In 55.5k miles the car never needed a clutch, went through a full set of discs and pads plus another set of rear pads and one set of handbrake pads. I got through a smidge over 2 sets of tyres. It averaged 17mpg (I know this because I never reset the trip computer) over a reasonable mix of roads and usage. The car was used all year round for much of its life and was always "enjoyed" from a driving perspective
I took two brother-in-laws to their weddings in the car (plus sundry best men) along with a couple of other mates to theirs. And drove myself to mine with my best man driving it home (something he enjoyed very much). The car was loved by everyone and never encouraged a bad reaction from the public (but then I've never experienced issues in my cars other than one experience driving my 7 through Clapham at 0100).
The one blot on its copybook was the paint. I've moaned about this ad nauseum on this forum so will keep this short here, but Aston really, really need to get a grip of this and the way they are prepared to deal with it. If this hadn't afflicted my car, OR been addressed properly by Aston I might well have considered another Aston. As it stands, neither happened and I'm not convinced I'll come back to the marque unless I can see evidence that this problem is history and that the company stands by its product more comprehensively.
I think they also need to hurry up with moving the cars on design and technology wise otherwise they will be in trouble...but I've posted that frequently here too
I'll have very fond memories of the car...wedding use plus some great road trips incl. my wife's first road trip (around Spain and Portugal). They can cope with strong miles being put on them (the first 40k miles went on in around its first 4yrs) and use in all weathers - I think they benefit from both in many respects as long as they are serviced properly (ignoring paint!).
They're really very, very good cars. Well balanced and much quicker than they feel. Mine was a 4.3 and I never felt it especially lacking point to point. I test drove a V12 and am apparently the only person alive not to have needed to buy one afterwards (not that they're bad cars...just not worth the difference in money 99% of the time. IMO). They're great value now if you can find one without gremlins, and to me the 2007 model year is pretty much the sweet spot - most issues ironed out and unadulterated styling outside and in. Again, if any prospective owner needs info I'm happy to help.
I really want Aston to survive. The tie up with AMG is potentially one of the best things they've done in a long while and I'll be interested to see how things progress. Meanwhile I've gone back to an Italian....
I owned mine from new and had it for 8.75yrs. Whilst I'm not a serial car changer, that speaks a lot for the car and I loved owning it. But it was time for a change and one issue was getting under my skin sufficiently that I didn't want it to sour the experience any further . So a deal was struck.
I'm one of those saddos that keeps records of everything spent on the car, so if it's of any interest at all the car cost me £1.78 per mile to run including fuel, insurance, depreciation, servicing etc etc. If any prospective owners would like any info, just ask. (As a point of ref this is ball park the same as the F355 I owned before it - bought and sold well before prices went silly
I suspect most high performance cars will cost in this region if used properly...).My car was pretty much issue free (save for the one item that's irked me). It had quite a few warranty items addressed in the first couple of years of ownership, but they were dealt with very easily through HWM (who I would recommend) and nothing major ever needed doing to it. It never, ever let me down.
In 55.5k miles the car never needed a clutch, went through a full set of discs and pads plus another set of rear pads and one set of handbrake pads. I got through a smidge over 2 sets of tyres. It averaged 17mpg (I know this because I never reset the trip computer
) over a reasonable mix of roads and usage. The car was used all year round for much of its life and was always "enjoyed" from a driving perspective I took two brother-in-laws to their weddings in the car (plus sundry best men) along with a couple of other mates to theirs. And drove myself to mine with my best man driving it home (something he enjoyed very much). The car was loved by everyone and never encouraged a bad reaction from the public (but then I've never experienced issues in my cars other than one experience driving my 7 through Clapham at 0100).
The one blot on its copybook was the paint. I've moaned about this ad nauseum on this forum so will keep this short here, but Aston really, really need to get a grip of this and the way they are prepared to deal with it. If this hadn't afflicted my car, OR been addressed properly by Aston I might well have considered another Aston. As it stands, neither happened and I'm not convinced I'll come back to the marque unless I can see evidence that this problem is history and that the company stands by its product more comprehensively.
I think they also need to hurry up with moving the cars on design and technology wise otherwise they will be in trouble...but I've posted that frequently here too
I'll have very fond memories of the car...wedding use plus some great road trips incl. my wife's first road trip (around Spain and Portugal). They can cope with strong miles being put on them (the first 40k miles went on in around its first 4yrs) and use in all weathers - I think they benefit from both in many respects as long as they are serviced properly (ignoring paint!).
They're really very, very good cars. Well balanced and much quicker than they feel. Mine was a 4.3 and I never felt it especially lacking point to point. I test drove a V12 and am apparently the only person alive not to have needed to buy one afterwards (not that they're bad cars...just not worth the difference in money 99% of the time. IMO). They're great value now if you can find one without gremlins, and to me the 2007 model year is pretty much the sweet spot - most issues ironed out and unadulterated styling outside and in. Again, if any prospective owner needs info I'm happy to help.
I really want Aston to survive. The tie up with AMG is potentially one of the best things they've done in a long while and I'll be interested to see how things progress. Meanwhile I've gone back to an Italian....
That's a great write up about your experience with the Aston
I wish you many happy miles in the Maserati though, it's another car that I will own at some point!
As a prospective buyer I'd appreciate any facts and figures you can share, feel free to email them if you'd rather keep them off the main board.
Regards
David.
I wish you many happy miles in the Maserati though, it's another car that I will own at some point!
As a prospective buyer I'd appreciate any facts and figures you can share, feel free to email them if you'd rather keep them off the main board.
Regards
David.
That's a great write up about your experience with the Aston
I wish you many happy miles in the Maserati though, it's another car that I will own at some point!
As a prospective buyer I'd appreciate any facts and figures you can share, feel free to email them if you'd rather keep them off the main board.
Regards
David.
I wish you many happy miles in the Maserati though, it's another car that I will own at some point!
As a prospective buyer I'd appreciate any facts and figures you can share, feel free to email them if you'd rather keep them off the main board.
Regards
David.
Edited by dhallworth on Saturday 16th January 23:21
I guess it had to happen sometime, until we meet again Murph nice write up and very similar to my own experience. Im 9 years and 76k miles in on my 10 yr old Vantage. Its had a clutch and 3 wheel bearings now. Nothing else major though and never let me down.
The paint on my car is not good though, with at least 4 paint defects of note and its well stone chipped too.
This year may be my last year with it, lets see .....
nice write up and very similar to my own experience. Im 9 years and 76k miles in on my 10 yr old Vantage. Its had a clutch and 3 wheel bearings now. Nothing else major though and never let me down.The paint on my car is not good though, with at least 4 paint defects of note and its well stone chipped too.
This year may be my last year with it, lets see .....
Murph,
Mind divulging a few more details on the Mas - PM if you prefer.
I've started toying with the idea of a 2009-2011 4.7
By the way your new car looks stunning 😄 , it looks new, so maybe the below questions are mute.
Will you be a using an independent for servicing ? Recommendations ?
Any 'buying guides' out there ?
Cheers,
Nick
Mind divulging a few more details on the Mas - PM if you prefer.
I've started toying with the idea of a 2009-2011 4.7
By the way your new car looks stunning 😄 , it looks new, so maybe the below questions are mute.
Will you be a using an independent for servicing ? Recommendations ?
Any 'buying guides' out there ?
Cheers,
Nick
Another fan of the write up.....nice one and agree with you regards paint etc.....masser looks really good ...but will you now get the mechanical problems with it...I hope not....oh..be careful in reverse...its Italian ..they always go faster going backwards according to my grandad.....
Jock an good to see you back , thought you had gone the way of the dodo......how you getting on with the DBS?....
Jock an good to see you back , thought you had gone the way of the dodo......how you getting on with the DBS?....
Crikey, where did that time go?
Great write-up. I remember on CS when you went from F355 to the Vantage and couldn't believe anyone would make that move. Subsequently, I ended up owning a V8V as well and haven't had a bad word to say about it and, like you I never found the 4.3 to be lacking in performance. There will always be "faster" but I think the Vantage itself is pretty much in the sweet spot for classy performance.
Now, I look at the pic of the Maserati and .... can't believe anyone would make that move lol
Great write-up. I remember on CS when you went from F355 to the Vantage and couldn't believe anyone would make that move. Subsequently, I ended up owning a V8V as well and haven't had a bad word to say about it and, like you I never found the 4.3 to be lacking in performance. There will always be "faster" but I think the Vantage itself is pretty much in the sweet spot for classy performance.
Now, I look at the pic of the Maserati and .... can't believe anyone would make that move lol
Murph7355 said:
Emailed.
I think the email system must be down at the moment as I've not received anything through and when I tried sending myself a message it's not come through either.If you'd send it directly I'd be eternally grateful.
David.
Edited by dhallworth on Sunday 17th January 23:24
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