Hardly, Nearly, Almost.
Discussion
In my late 20's and early 30's I used to upgrade my car every few years, but in 2005 not long after replacing my black k-series Elise with then new Elise 111R, I decided this storm titanium coloured car was a keeper.
That decision meant that I was going to have to alter my approach to car ownership. I was going to need to have a plan. If I wanted to have other cool cars in my garage I was going to have to try to buy smart and I was going to be limited to how often I could have new car. One problem is that having emigrated to New Zealand from the UK 15 years ago, many of the cars I like are in very short supply and rather costly. Especially as I like manual cars and they are even rarer. The arrival of my daughter in 2008 complicated things greatly, the original idea of upgrading SWMBO's E46 320 to a M3 wasn't going to help. If I was going to keep the Elise I would need to have a practical car in the background for doing the family stuff and the splitting the milage. Introducing the 2006 Legacy GT, 2.0 turbo manual, 276bhp AWD. Close to STi running gear in a Q wagon.
Then life started to get really hectic. Birth of son, resigned from job, rubbish cash flow, new job, too much travel, new job but in new area, sell home, buy home, reversed SWMBO's BMW in to a tree, at speed in the rain, after tyre puncture, write off. (Did you notice all those racing car driver like excuses?) Need to by her a new car. Finally after about 5 years things started to settle down. I was tempted to sell the Elise a couple of times but I was pretty sure I would regret it. I kept convincing myself to stick to the plan and it would all work out. Instead I did what nearly every Elise owner does, I gradually modified it. I'm not quite sure what happened to those 5 years we were so busy. When I look back it all a bit of a blur but it has somehow all worked out. Kids are at school, love my job, cool house and wife is happy, hence by default I am happy too;-)
About 18 months ago I started searching for a new car, a new keeper. Looking for one was a bit of an issue as I wasn't sure what I wanted. I had some idea of what it objectives it had to fulfill. It had to be a sporty and engaging drive. It needed to be more capable of covering distance than the Lotus, more long legged. It needed to feel 'special'. My max budget was about 50k GBP and I was pretty convinced it had to be manual. I went and tried a Cayman GTS with PDK just incase. It did 2 things, convinced me that I really did want a manual and that I didn't want a Cayman. Great car but didn't fit in between the Lotus and the Subaru. I liked the Gen II 997, but when I drove them, I just didn't get the emotional pull. Drove a R35 GTR, scary fast but not my cup of tea. Thought about a V8 R8 but seemed like an Elise upgrade not another car to have with it. I considered most of the other usual suspects too, BMW M cars, AMGs but nothing was rocking my boat.
Then recently I saw the pics of a Hardly green Vantage for sale in Auckland, the pics weren't great with the colour looking really washed out, but I was fairly sure I knew what the colour really should look like. I've always had a soft spot for Astons. I'm sure it's having grown up in middle England, Warwickshire. When I was a kid they were a very rare, special sight and let's not forget there association with an English MI6 agent. Beyond that though when I was small I used to get taken to Silverstone to watch the endurance racing with the Silk Cut Jags and the Kouros Mercedes. In the '90s when I still lived in England I did the pilgrimage to Le Mans in my 60's Triumph Spitfire. Each year see whats happening for the great race, promising myself I will return one day and hence I have followed Astons return to racing in the last 10 years with great interest. There aren't many Astons in NZ, the dealer believes less than a thousand total and before this car I hadn't seen one that would fit my requirements within my budget.
I spent a couple of evenings learning as much as I could, including rereading the buying guides I had seen here and in Evo magazine. I wrote myself a long list of the things I needed to find out from the dealer; Spec, history, servicing intervals and costs. After I had a long chat with the dealer, he forwarded me all the information.
4.7L V8 Vantage Coupe-2010.5 model year, 36000km, FSH, AM approved car with AM warranty,
Hardly Green, Obsidian Black with green stitching interior
Blue tooth telephone preparation
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) satellite navigation system
10 Spoke Forged Alloy wheels with Diamond Turned and Silver Finish
Bright finish grille
1000W Bang & Olufsen Beosound Audio System
N400 Sill Design
Magnum Silver bonnet and side strake meshes
Auto dimming interior rear view mirror with garage door opener
Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)
Memory seats and exterior mirrors (3 positions)
Heated seats
Piano Black facia trim
Polished Alloy Tread Plates
Front parking sensors
Auckland is about 3 hours drive away and so I couldn't just nip to see it, besides I knew the urgent priority was achieving wife approval. I didn't think that this would be to difficult to achieve if I could get her to go and look at the car. Lets face it, if the 1st car your now husband ever took you out for a date in was a 1954 Morris Minor and you have spent the last 14 years being driven around in an Elises, you're unlikely to dismiss the idea of an Aston Martin Vantage entering your life. I managed to persuade her to go an check out the car whilst she was in Auckland. I wanted to see what she thought and I needed her to take some pictures for me to check the colour.
Mission successful! She liked the car and the colour. From the photos I knew that I needed to go and see it myself. I managed to organise my life and arrange a test drive the following week. The dealer talked me through the car and in all honesty I loved it from the first moment. However I was concerned that as this car did not have the sports pack, coming form an Elise that I would find it to soft and heavy feeling. With that in mind I contained my emotion and headed out of the city for an extended test drive. Within 40 minutes I was on some pretty challenging roads; winding, changing elevation and camber, the car was just soaking it up. It was doing the other things well too, I was involved, enjoying the engine, heel & toeing the manual gears, feeling the road through my seat and the steering wheel. The pace was picking up, the car sucking me in, I felt confident in the chassis, it was riding the difficult roads superbly but this could get out of hand, I needed to pause, I needed to breath. I parked up at a coffee place in the middle of nowhere, drinking my triple shot long black and looking back at the car.
The vantage in this colour looks so much better out of the urban environment. In the surroundings of autumn, the subtlety of the colour really works, it oozes style, elegance and poise. As I took the photos you see here I had a moment of clarity. If everything checked out, if it all worked, I had found it, my new keeper.
I headed back to the dealer and parked up next to my Lotus. I chatted to the dealer and we agreed a securing deposit. I would have a week to do my due diligence, get official SWMBO approval and sleep on it.
The week has gone by now and nearly everything seems to have checked out. The passenger door handle had a bubble on it which the dealer is going to sort out. The car wasn't going to be ready this weekend and I am not free again until next Sunday. Its almost mine, only 7 more days to wait and it seems a good time remember why one should 'stick to the plan'.
That decision meant that I was going to have to alter my approach to car ownership. I was going to need to have a plan. If I wanted to have other cool cars in my garage I was going to have to try to buy smart and I was going to be limited to how often I could have new car. One problem is that having emigrated to New Zealand from the UK 15 years ago, many of the cars I like are in very short supply and rather costly. Especially as I like manual cars and they are even rarer. The arrival of my daughter in 2008 complicated things greatly, the original idea of upgrading SWMBO's E46 320 to a M3 wasn't going to help. If I was going to keep the Elise I would need to have a practical car in the background for doing the family stuff and the splitting the milage. Introducing the 2006 Legacy GT, 2.0 turbo manual, 276bhp AWD. Close to STi running gear in a Q wagon.
Then life started to get really hectic. Birth of son, resigned from job, rubbish cash flow, new job, too much travel, new job but in new area, sell home, buy home, reversed SWMBO's BMW in to a tree, at speed in the rain, after tyre puncture, write off. (Did you notice all those racing car driver like excuses?) Need to by her a new car. Finally after about 5 years things started to settle down. I was tempted to sell the Elise a couple of times but I was pretty sure I would regret it. I kept convincing myself to stick to the plan and it would all work out. Instead I did what nearly every Elise owner does, I gradually modified it. I'm not quite sure what happened to those 5 years we were so busy. When I look back it all a bit of a blur but it has somehow all worked out. Kids are at school, love my job, cool house and wife is happy, hence by default I am happy too;-)
About 18 months ago I started searching for a new car, a new keeper. Looking for one was a bit of an issue as I wasn't sure what I wanted. I had some idea of what it objectives it had to fulfill. It had to be a sporty and engaging drive. It needed to be more capable of covering distance than the Lotus, more long legged. It needed to feel 'special'. My max budget was about 50k GBP and I was pretty convinced it had to be manual. I went and tried a Cayman GTS with PDK just incase. It did 2 things, convinced me that I really did want a manual and that I didn't want a Cayman. Great car but didn't fit in between the Lotus and the Subaru. I liked the Gen II 997, but when I drove them, I just didn't get the emotional pull. Drove a R35 GTR, scary fast but not my cup of tea. Thought about a V8 R8 but seemed like an Elise upgrade not another car to have with it. I considered most of the other usual suspects too, BMW M cars, AMGs but nothing was rocking my boat.
Then recently I saw the pics of a Hardly green Vantage for sale in Auckland, the pics weren't great with the colour looking really washed out, but I was fairly sure I knew what the colour really should look like. I've always had a soft spot for Astons. I'm sure it's having grown up in middle England, Warwickshire. When I was a kid they were a very rare, special sight and let's not forget there association with an English MI6 agent. Beyond that though when I was small I used to get taken to Silverstone to watch the endurance racing with the Silk Cut Jags and the Kouros Mercedes. In the '90s when I still lived in England I did the pilgrimage to Le Mans in my 60's Triumph Spitfire. Each year see whats happening for the great race, promising myself I will return one day and hence I have followed Astons return to racing in the last 10 years with great interest. There aren't many Astons in NZ, the dealer believes less than a thousand total and before this car I hadn't seen one that would fit my requirements within my budget.
I spent a couple of evenings learning as much as I could, including rereading the buying guides I had seen here and in Evo magazine. I wrote myself a long list of the things I needed to find out from the dealer; Spec, history, servicing intervals and costs. After I had a long chat with the dealer, he forwarded me all the information.
4.7L V8 Vantage Coupe-2010.5 model year, 36000km, FSH, AM approved car with AM warranty,
Hardly Green, Obsidian Black with green stitching interior
Blue tooth telephone preparation
Hard Disk Drive (HDD) satellite navigation system
10 Spoke Forged Alloy wheels with Diamond Turned and Silver Finish
Bright finish grille
1000W Bang & Olufsen Beosound Audio System
N400 Sill Design
Magnum Silver bonnet and side strake meshes
Auto dimming interior rear view mirror with garage door opener
Alarm upgrade (volumetric and tilt sensor)
Memory seats and exterior mirrors (3 positions)
Heated seats
Piano Black facia trim
Polished Alloy Tread Plates
Front parking sensors
Auckland is about 3 hours drive away and so I couldn't just nip to see it, besides I knew the urgent priority was achieving wife approval. I didn't think that this would be to difficult to achieve if I could get her to go and look at the car. Lets face it, if the 1st car your now husband ever took you out for a date in was a 1954 Morris Minor and you have spent the last 14 years being driven around in an Elises, you're unlikely to dismiss the idea of an Aston Martin Vantage entering your life. I managed to persuade her to go an check out the car whilst she was in Auckland. I wanted to see what she thought and I needed her to take some pictures for me to check the colour.
Mission successful! She liked the car and the colour. From the photos I knew that I needed to go and see it myself. I managed to organise my life and arrange a test drive the following week. The dealer talked me through the car and in all honesty I loved it from the first moment. However I was concerned that as this car did not have the sports pack, coming form an Elise that I would find it to soft and heavy feeling. With that in mind I contained my emotion and headed out of the city for an extended test drive. Within 40 minutes I was on some pretty challenging roads; winding, changing elevation and camber, the car was just soaking it up. It was doing the other things well too, I was involved, enjoying the engine, heel & toeing the manual gears, feeling the road through my seat and the steering wheel. The pace was picking up, the car sucking me in, I felt confident in the chassis, it was riding the difficult roads superbly but this could get out of hand, I needed to pause, I needed to breath. I parked up at a coffee place in the middle of nowhere, drinking my triple shot long black and looking back at the car.
The vantage in this colour looks so much better out of the urban environment. In the surroundings of autumn, the subtlety of the colour really works, it oozes style, elegance and poise. As I took the photos you see here I had a moment of clarity. If everything checked out, if it all worked, I had found it, my new keeper.
I headed back to the dealer and parked up next to my Lotus. I chatted to the dealer and we agreed a securing deposit. I would have a week to do my due diligence, get official SWMBO approval and sleep on it.
The week has gone by now and nearly everything seems to have checked out. The passenger door handle had a bubble on it which the dealer is going to sort out. The car wasn't going to be ready this weekend and I am not free again until next Sunday. Its almost mine, only 7 more days to wait and it seems a good time remember why one should 'stick to the plan'.
Edited by drac on Sunday 24th April 06:19
Thanks Alan, it took me quite a while to put together.
A couple of questions for those spec gurus out there;
1. The wheels on the hardly green car appear to be the same design as what is now described as '10-SPOKE FORGED ALLOY SILVER DIAMOND-TURNED' available as an option on the V8 & N430.
On my original spec build sheet they are described as 10 spoke silver diamond turned. Are they the same or did they just carry forward the design to the lightweight forged wheel?
2. The spec sheet describes the interior as Obsidian black (contemporary) with green stitch(matches the outside of the car), does this mean this it has the upgraded Caithness leather?
What is the difference between the Primary Strathmore leather and the Contemporary Caithness leather?
A couple of questions for those spec gurus out there;
1. The wheels on the hardly green car appear to be the same design as what is now described as '10-SPOKE FORGED ALLOY SILVER DIAMOND-TURNED' available as an option on the V8 & N430.
On my original spec build sheet they are described as 10 spoke silver diamond turned. Are they the same or did they just carry forward the design to the lightweight forged wheel?
2. The spec sheet describes the interior as Obsidian black (contemporary) with green stitch(matches the outside of the car), does this mean this it has the upgraded Caithness leather?
What is the difference between the Primary Strathmore leather and the Contemporary Caithness leather?
Edited by drac on Sunday 24th April 10:07
drac said:
2. The spec sheet describes the interior as Obsidian black (contemporary) with green stitch(matches the outside of the car), does this mean this it has the upgraded Cathiness leather?
What is the difference between the Primary Strathmore leather and the Contemporary Cathiness leather?
Congrats, that's a lovely car and a very nice and rare colour too!What is the difference between the Primary Strathmore leather and the Contemporary Cathiness leather?
The three grades of leather, Strathmore and Balmoral are all exactly the same colour, and Obsidian Black is the only colour available in all three grades. The difference is just the quality of the leather. Your dealer should have samples of each if you want to see/touch them all. To me Strathmore felt quite budget, like a leather jacket from a cheap store, Caithness was a big jump up in quality for the relatively modest increase in price (hence why most cars are sold in this), and Balmoral was even better still but it is quite a bit more expensive and may not wear as well given how soft it is.
To answer your question, yes if it says Contemporary leather then you have Caithness.
More info here: http://www.astonmartin.com/colour-and-trim/palette
That was a good read thanks drac (are you actually from Transylvania?), and took me back to the days of driving those terrific kiwi roads and stopping at cafes or pubs in the middle of no where for a coffee (or a cold beer or vino...) - there's some great driving in Aotearoa, I drove my first Aston, a DB7, up around the Bay of Islands.
I was trawling around on TradeMe a couple of weeks back as I had a mate down there selling his 911 and had a nosy at the Astons (as you do) and seem to recall your Hardly Green machine listed there and thought it was a nice, well specced example. I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new keeper!
I was trawling around on TradeMe a couple of weeks back as I had a mate down there selling his 911 and had a nosy at the Astons (as you do) and seem to recall your Hardly Green machine listed there and thought it was a nice, well specced example. I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new keeper!
Thank you for sharing your experience.
You have 2 fine sportscars there.
Think you'll find quite a few have come from lotus to a Vantage (and kept the lotus as in your case).
I had an 111R and regreted selling so bought an exige s1 years after thats also a keeper.
You have 2 fine sportscars there.
Think you'll find quite a few have come from lotus to a Vantage (and kept the lotus as in your case).
I had an 111R and regreted selling so bought an exige s1 years after thats also a keeper.
Edited by Mansfield on Sunday 24th April 11:33
AdamV12V said:
Congrats, that's a lovely car and a very nice and rare colour too!
The three grades of leather, Strathmore and Balmoral are all exactly the same colour, and Obsidian Black is the only colour available in all three grades. The difference is just the quality of the leather. Your dealer should have samples of each if you want to see/touch them all. To me Strathmore felt quite budget, like a leather jacket from a cheap store, Caithness was a big jump up in quality for the relatively modest increase in price (hence why most cars are sold in this), and Balmoral was even better still but it is quite a bit more expensive and may not wear as well given how soft it is.
To answer your question, yes if it says Contemporary leather then you have Caithness.
More info here: http://www.astonmartin.com/colour-and-trim/palette
HI Adam, thanks for the support and all the great information. Sorry for the dyslexic moment over Caithness but its nice to know that it has a good leather interior. I had a look at the Aston site and saw all the colour range information but there is very little information on the leathers.The three grades of leather, Strathmore and Balmoral are all exactly the same colour, and Obsidian Black is the only colour available in all three grades. The difference is just the quality of the leather. Your dealer should have samples of each if you want to see/touch them all. To me Strathmore felt quite budget, like a leather jacket from a cheap store, Caithness was a big jump up in quality for the relatively modest increase in price (hence why most cars are sold in this), and Balmoral was even better still but it is quite a bit more expensive and may not wear as well given how soft it is.
To answer your question, yes if it says Contemporary leather then you have Caithness.
More info here: http://www.astonmartin.com/colour-and-trim/palette
Edited by drac on Monday 25th April 02:05
Mr.Tremlini said:
That was a good read thanks drac (are you actually from Transylvania?), and took me back to the days of driving those terrific kiwi roads and stopping at cafes or pubs in the middle of no where for a coffee (or a cold beer or vino...) - there's some great driving in Aotearoa, I drove my first Aston, a DB7, up around the Bay of Islands.
I was trawling around on TradeMe a couple of weeks back as I had a mate down there selling his 911 and had a nosy at the Astons (as you do) and seem to recall your Hardly Green machine listed there and thought it was a nice, well specced example. I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new keeper!
No I'm not a vampire, it's just my initials. I'm not that far from the Bay of Islands, about 50 miles South. Driving in NZ is an odd mix. Some amazing roads with minimal traffic away from the centres, but then inadequate state highways that are heavily policed. Please don't get me started on the inept approach to road works or the quality of the road surface here. There is also no where that you can truly let a fast car run free.I was trawling around on TradeMe a couple of weeks back as I had a mate down there selling his 911 and had a nosy at the Astons (as you do) and seem to recall your Hardly Green machine listed there and thought it was a nice, well specced example. I hope you get many years of enjoyment from your new keeper!
Trade Me has become the most relevant point of car sale. Nearly ever car, even those from the dealers is advertised on it. The Hardly green car was on there and then they dropped the price slightly bringing it more into my budget range and hence I acted quickly. I too hope I get many years out of it. I've been really lucky with my Elise and the potential for big unexpected bills is my only reservations about entering the Aston world.
Mansfield said:
I had an 111R and regreted selling so bought an exige s1 years after thats also a keeper.
Edited by Mansfield on Sunday 24th April 11:33
AdamV8V said:
Congrats from another Hardly owner, and thanks for the write-up!
I also came from a 111R Elise (Starlight Black) which was the last car I owned in Sydney before moving back to the UK and getting my first Vantage (a 4.3 coupe in Tungsten).
Mansfield and Adam good to hear others have treaded the same track as I am about to. It encourages me that I'm on target. The Exige S1 is a fabulous car. I've been out for a ride in George's (esprit off SELOC) and it's a beauty.I also came from a 111R Elise (Starlight Black) which was the last car I owned in Sydney before moving back to the UK and getting my first Vantage (a 4.3 coupe in Tungsten).
Adam the hardly green colour looks lovely in your pic, I really can't wait for mine.
Congrats from a fellow Kiwi and ex-V8VR owner! Looking at your photos made me realise there's no AM colour I dislike. Each one is just stunning and looks just right. I remember seeing yours on TradeMe and a 4.7 is the engine to have too.
Interesting that your dealer says there's only 1,000 Astons in New Zealand. I thought there might be more as we have the highest ownership per capita in the world according to a press statement a few years back. But then we only have 4-point-something million population so maybe that's right.
Interesting that your dealer says there's only 1,000 Astons in New Zealand. I thought there might be more as we have the highest ownership per capita in the world according to a press statement a few years back. But then we only have 4-point-something million population so maybe that's right.
krisdelta said:
Lovely car and hardly green is stunning. It's a shame so few stray from blacks and greys when ordering from the factory.
justin220 said:
I really like that colour! Nice to see something different 
Thanks guys, I was determined not to have a grey, silver or black. Mainly because I've already got one black car and when I ordered my Elise I chose a titanium one. 
kensilver said:
Congrats from a fellow Kiwi and ex-V8VR owner! Looking at your photos made me realise there's no AM colour I dislike. Each one is just stunning and looks just right. I remember seeing yours on TradeMe and a 4.7 is the engine to have too.
Interesting that your dealer says there's only 1,000 Astons in New Zealand. I thought there might be more as we have the highest ownership per capita in the world according to a press statement a few years back. But then we only have 4-point-something million population so maybe that's right.
Hi Kensilver, I agree that AM has a great colour palatte. I have wasted quite a few hours on the configurator. I hadn't really considered a Vantage until this one as I wanted a 4.7L manual and hadn't seen one priced right. The dealer was Andrew at Independent Prestige but I agree that those 2 facts are mutually exclusive. It would imply that there are less than 15,000 in the UK which cant be right. (1000/4,000,000*60,000,000) I checked out your profile too, that's one interesting and varied car history you have.Interesting that your dealer says there's only 1,000 Astons in New Zealand. I thought there might be more as we have the highest ownership per capita in the world according to a press statement a few years back. But then we only have 4-point-something million population so maybe that's right.
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