V12 Vantage - Missed Service

[John-ryxrp]

What are peoples thoughts on missed services when purchasing a V12V? Even if it was over the covid period and has recently had a full service from AM Works?

Cheers

[ds666]

I wouldn’t be too bothered - what’s the mileage between services ?

[John-ryxrp]

Thanks for replying. After doing some further digging, it hasn’t had a service since the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2021. So it missed 18,19 and 20. However, it’s only covered 4k miles over that period... But as mentioned has just had a full service from AM Works.

[bogie]

Depends how many miles, no harm in going 2 years between services for a low mile car. I'm sure there are quite a few of us on here who may have skipped/extended a service interval last year. I went from doing 6k miles a year for pleasure to about 1500. Just having it serviced now after 23 months.

[John-ryxrp]

Yeah, well it's done 4,000 between services, I guess you just don't know how it's been driven though... That's my worry.

But I don't plan on owning it for a year or two and then getting rid, I want to have it for a long time.

[Buster73]

If it’s in good condition all round and priced accordingly I’d have no hesitation buying it.

If you're not happy just walk away.

[JJbing]

I wouldn’t be happy. But depends on the deal. There’s no excuse for not servicing every year on a 6.0L V12.

If you’re paying top dollar walk away.

[John-ryxrp]

JJbing said:

I wouldn’t be happy. But depends on the deal. There’s no excuse for not servicing every year on a 6.0L V12.

If you’re paying top dollar walk away.

Surely the excuse is cost sometimes as I hear and read they're not cheap! But I also understand that you wouldn't usually buy a car like this if you can't afford to keep it...

[Greg_D]

i'd be very sceptical... if they are looking to save money on things like servicing, i'd be looking for cost-cutting elsewhere.

what fuel do they use?
are there mismatched tyres?
has elective maintenance been skipped?
what condition are the brakes in?

i would certainly get it fully inspected by a trusted, picky specialist before going anywhere near it...

[BiggaJ]

Have you called AM works and asked about its overall condition etc?

It wouldn't bother me too much about not having had a service in 4000 miles as long as it came with a warranty or you had it checked over by an independent garage. I'm sure the seller, being confident in their car, would not have a problem with you agreeing to have it checked over.

[vpr]

JJbing said:

I wouldn’t be happy. But depends on the deal. There’s no excuse for not servicing every year on a 6.0L V12.

If you’re paying top dollar walk away.

Yeah there’s an excuse, a waste of money would be my reasoning.

Almost every car I own (except the classics) has at least a two year interval for servicing requirements. What’s more is the ridiculous costs.

When you break it down, most services are oil change, the rest of the time is a visual inspection. Modern Oil can last years and a lot of miles

[John-ryxrp]

BiggaJ said:

Have you called AM works and asked about its overall condition etc?

It wouldn't bother me too much about not having had a service in 4000 miles as long as it came with a warranty or you had it checked over by an independent garage. I'm sure the seller, being confident in their car, would not have a problem with you agreeing to have it checked over.

No, but I am going to speak to the specialist at AM Works who did the service and I'll probably get it serviced there from now on...

[JJbing]

vpr said:

Yeah there’s an excuse, a waste of money would be my reasoning.

Almost every car I own (except the classics) has at least a two year interval for servicing requirements. What’s more is the ridiculous costs.

When you break it down, most services are oil change, the rest of the time is a visual inspection. Modern Oil can last years and a lot of miles

You shouldn’t be buying cars of this calibre if you’re trying to save money. Less than £1k a year to service a toy and the peace of mind it brings, plus you don’t have issues such as this thread when coming to sell.

[vpr]

I think I can buy whatever I fancy and service it how I fancy.

Problem is this isn’t my only “toy” and one AM in particular does 25 miles p/a, the V12v perhaps 2k Max. Servicing both of these annually is simply ludicrous

It’s a waste of hard earned..... no question.

[Dewi 2]

John-ryxrp said:

Thanks for replying. After doing some further digging, it hasn’t had a service since the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2021. So it missed 18,19 and 20. However, it’s only covered 4k miles over that period... But as mentioned has just had a full service from AM Works.

Ignoring whether a person can afford substantial service bills, many engineers do agree that a bi-annual service is fine for very low mileage cars.
However, I would not stretch mine beyond two years.

You describe a two year gap, after which the pandemic began and then 2 years became 3 years.
Unique circumstances, so not sure whether that would be a worry.
I have forgotten what age car we are talking about, but have you looked online at the recent MoTs. The mileages might reveal that the car was unused during 2020.

Anyway, if you are having a BR PPI before agreeing purchase, you should then have full information to assist with your buying decision.

Is the interior pristine? That is one of my indicators, of whether a car has been cared for.

[Big Ry]

The low miles and lack of services wouldn't concern me "too" much, but I would wonder why. Also, 2 years between is one thing, but approaching 3.5 years is a bit much to be fair.

What service to AMW just do ? If it was just a straight oil and filter then I think I'd want a full and proper inspection done. Everything would probably come back fine, but I would want that confirmation prior to buying.

Must admit, at no more than 2k per annum I'm quite tempted to knock my V12VSMR down to bi-annual servicing, but the OCD in me is saying no, stick to the book

Also, remember you're going to have to explain come resale why the car has a gaping hole in the service history, so make sure you have documented proof etc. We all say they're keepers, but more often than not something else catches our eye and then we sell.

[AstonV]

I would hope it at least had its oil changed every year, regardless of mileage. Other than that if AM just did a full service on it I would not worry about it too much if the car is in good condition.

[johnnyBv8]

I think missing one service due to low mileage is probably fine if it’s a one-off in the history (ie the rest are annual)...but missing 3 in a row just points to an owner that hasn’t been prepared to maintain the car properly.

[Dewi 2]

AstonV said:

I would hope it at least had its oil changed every year, regardless of mileage. Other than that if AM just did a full service on it I would not worry about it too much if the car is in good condition.

Mercedes-Benz (an Aston Martin approved supplier) have put in writing, that fully synthetic oil is good for 2 years when their cars are doing fewer than 7,000 miles per year.

Big Ry said:

Also, remember you're going to have to explain come resale why the car has a gaping hole in the service history, so make sure you have documented proof etc. We all say they're keepers, but more often than not something else catches our eye and then we sell.

Yes, I understand that when buying, the salesman says, "A missed service does warrent a price reduction Sir".
When trading-in the salesman says, "Oh dear Sir, your service record is incomplete, so that means a value reduction".

Fortunately, I have a track record of keeping cars, so bi-annual servicing is just fine. Isolation resulted in only 200 miles last year !!
Imagine a service after 200 miles, draining 'as new' oil out and pouring new oil in. That salesman quoted above, might pour the same oil back in.
Who would ever know?
Looks identical on the dip stick.

[vpr]

Indeed, it’s why most manufacturers are 2 yr intervals 20k miles