I bought my first “proper” sports car
Discussion
Hi all,
I (33M) have been a long time PH lurker over the years undertaking due diligence on a couple of cars I’ve bought on my journey (Golf R 7.5 and F83 M4 Comp Cab). As the next step up, I considered buying (and researched to death) a shortlist of cars (R8 Plus, 991 GT3, F Type SVR, AMG GTR, 570 S) but eventually settled & pulled the trigger on a VH era V12 Vantage S. It ticked all my boxes for looks, sound, experience, usable speed & relative rarity. The car will never be tracked and is for evening / weekend drives and U.K. / Euro trips. I read many of the posts on here and the information within helped me decide on my purchase, so thank you. The AM forum seems like a very helpful & knowledgable group, which I’m glad to now be a part of 👍🏼
Now, for the interesting part …
COLOUR
Whilst I genuinely feel Astons look great in any colour (never seen one I didn't like), I wanted something different from the majority silver / grey / black. This is also my first “proper” sports car and I wanted a brighter colour to match the rest of the visceral experience. Eventually, I settled on Flugplatz Blue, which I appreciate is not for everyone but for me is perfect! I loved the colour when first seeing it in photos and was sold upon seeing it in person. Day / night, clean / dirty the colour pops and looks incredible.
OPTIONS
The carbon bucket seats were a ‘’must have” for me when searching. I test drove the comfort seats, which were ok, but having seen opinions on here I wanted the carbon buckets. Budget limitations had meant that I was looking at SS3 cars, which I was fine with having been educated by prior posts on here, although a manual would have been my preference given my other 2 cars are auto. Other important options to me were alcantara seats (rather than full leather - thinking ahead to summer), lightweight wheels, AMI3 (for Apple CarPlay), carbon waterfall dash & carbon door handles. I had initially really wanted the carbon bonnet louvres but having seen the mesh option in person I actually decided that these tie in nicely with the mesh on the grille & front bumper.
FINAL CAR
Upon browsing AT, I noticed a car for sale at AM Works which ticked all my boxes but was a manual and thus unfortunately quite a way outside my budget. Any other FP Blue cars on the market just didn’t have the options I wanted, mainly the lack of CF seats or older style dash. This was the case for many weeks. Disappointed and with the wind taken out of my sails, I started thinking what I would compromise on to find an available car and regularly checked AT (seemingly a nightly ritual, even now) to keep myself entertained. Then one day I noticed the Works car had been substantially reduced overnight and was much closer to the top end of my budget, almost within reach … I drove up to see the car next day, which confirmed that I definitely wanted the spec I had been holding out for. A few (read many) emails asking detailed questions learnt from both this forum and BR on YouTube, a bit of negotiation (including a secondary decat), some man maths and the car was mine. In Jul 2024 (this post is late I know), I purchased a 2016 V12 Vantage S manual coupe in Flugplatz Blue and couldn’t be happier.
EXPERIENCE
The manual box has it’s quirks but is great fun and when you nail the shifts it’s so rewarding. The sounds is incredible at full beans or doing 20 around town and is my favourite aspect of the car. It makes me smile every time I see / drive the car. Without fail I look back every time I park up and even find myself going out to look at it at home, just standing there in silence staring. I have received nothing but positive comments about the car’s colour, looks & sound when out & about. People let me out at junctions and allow me to change lane in traffic if I’m in the wrong one. I also receive many stares, points, head turns & thumbs up and when driving or getting in / out. Male / female, old / young, people seem to love it. The special feeling though is seeing how happy it makes kids. They record from cars passing on the motorway, take pictures when parked up, record fly bys when they hear me coming, I’ve even heard a few “woah” and “look at that race car” when passing at low speeds windows open. Wherever possible I let kids get in, take photos & even a little rev (if warm), as I feel giving back is a responsibility for those of us lucky enough to own these cars. We were all young & car mad once and with the crackdown on ICE and constant push of electric cars we need to keep the next generations engaged in “proper” cars. In a seemingly broken & depressing world at times it’s a small slice of constant happiness.
I’ll upload some photos once I figure out how to do it on an iPhone. I’ve also made a few mods which I’ll include pictures of. Is that best done on this thread or on existing threads of related topics for each mod? Not sure of best practice on here, please advise.
I’m based in Leigh on Sea (Essex) and not part of any car clubs / groups, so would be great to meet up with other like minded car nuts if anyone is near by!
I (33M) have been a long time PH lurker over the years undertaking due diligence on a couple of cars I’ve bought on my journey (Golf R 7.5 and F83 M4 Comp Cab). As the next step up, I considered buying (and researched to death) a shortlist of cars (R8 Plus, 991 GT3, F Type SVR, AMG GTR, 570 S) but eventually settled & pulled the trigger on a VH era V12 Vantage S. It ticked all my boxes for looks, sound, experience, usable speed & relative rarity. The car will never be tracked and is for evening / weekend drives and U.K. / Euro trips. I read many of the posts on here and the information within helped me decide on my purchase, so thank you. The AM forum seems like a very helpful & knowledgable group, which I’m glad to now be a part of 👍🏼
Now, for the interesting part …
COLOUR
Whilst I genuinely feel Astons look great in any colour (never seen one I didn't like), I wanted something different from the majority silver / grey / black. This is also my first “proper” sports car and I wanted a brighter colour to match the rest of the visceral experience. Eventually, I settled on Flugplatz Blue, which I appreciate is not for everyone but for me is perfect! I loved the colour when first seeing it in photos and was sold upon seeing it in person. Day / night, clean / dirty the colour pops and looks incredible.
OPTIONS
The carbon bucket seats were a ‘’must have” for me when searching. I test drove the comfort seats, which were ok, but having seen opinions on here I wanted the carbon buckets. Budget limitations had meant that I was looking at SS3 cars, which I was fine with having been educated by prior posts on here, although a manual would have been my preference given my other 2 cars are auto. Other important options to me were alcantara seats (rather than full leather - thinking ahead to summer), lightweight wheels, AMI3 (for Apple CarPlay), carbon waterfall dash & carbon door handles. I had initially really wanted the carbon bonnet louvres but having seen the mesh option in person I actually decided that these tie in nicely with the mesh on the grille & front bumper.
FINAL CAR
Upon browsing AT, I noticed a car for sale at AM Works which ticked all my boxes but was a manual and thus unfortunately quite a way outside my budget. Any other FP Blue cars on the market just didn’t have the options I wanted, mainly the lack of CF seats or older style dash. This was the case for many weeks. Disappointed and with the wind taken out of my sails, I started thinking what I would compromise on to find an available car and regularly checked AT (seemingly a nightly ritual, even now) to keep myself entertained. Then one day I noticed the Works car had been substantially reduced overnight and was much closer to the top end of my budget, almost within reach … I drove up to see the car next day, which confirmed that I definitely wanted the spec I had been holding out for. A few (read many) emails asking detailed questions learnt from both this forum and BR on YouTube, a bit of negotiation (including a secondary decat), some man maths and the car was mine. In Jul 2024 (this post is late I know), I purchased a 2016 V12 Vantage S manual coupe in Flugplatz Blue and couldn’t be happier.
EXPERIENCE
The manual box has it’s quirks but is great fun and when you nail the shifts it’s so rewarding. The sounds is incredible at full beans or doing 20 around town and is my favourite aspect of the car. It makes me smile every time I see / drive the car. Without fail I look back every time I park up and even find myself going out to look at it at home, just standing there in silence staring. I have received nothing but positive comments about the car’s colour, looks & sound when out & about. People let me out at junctions and allow me to change lane in traffic if I’m in the wrong one. I also receive many stares, points, head turns & thumbs up and when driving or getting in / out. Male / female, old / young, people seem to love it. The special feeling though is seeing how happy it makes kids. They record from cars passing on the motorway, take pictures when parked up, record fly bys when they hear me coming, I’ve even heard a few “woah” and “look at that race car” when passing at low speeds windows open. Wherever possible I let kids get in, take photos & even a little rev (if warm), as I feel giving back is a responsibility for those of us lucky enough to own these cars. We were all young & car mad once and with the crackdown on ICE and constant push of electric cars we need to keep the next generations engaged in “proper” cars. In a seemingly broken & depressing world at times it’s a small slice of constant happiness.
I’ll upload some photos once I figure out how to do it on an iPhone. I’ve also made a few mods which I’ll include pictures of. Is that best done on this thread or on existing threads of related topics for each mod? Not sure of best practice on here, please advise.
I’m based in Leigh on Sea (Essex) and not part of any car clubs / groups, so would be great to meet up with other like minded car nuts if anyone is near by!
Congratulations. One idea, I have been volunteering to take kids to their school prom for the last couple of years in exchange for a donation to charity (they choose the amount). They love it, so do I and the charity wins. And it can be done on your normal insurance as there is no hire or reward involved. Just a thought.
MrBurgers91 said:
... I purchased a 2016 V12 Vantage S manual coupe in Flugplatz Blue and couldn’t be happier.
... regularly checked AT (seemingly a nightly ritual, even now) to keep myself entertained.
... regularly checked AT (seemingly a nightly ritual, even now) to keep myself entertained.
Welcome to the forum, Mr Burgers.
You have certainly researched thoroughly and have also been patient, both are of course usually important when seeking the right car.
I think you have got yourself a keeper.
If you want even more AT entertainment, try Electric cars / First registration 2022 to 2023 / Mileage 0 to 100.
Get the Price Tracker working and I think you might be amazed at what is going on.
You may see some 2 year olds, with 2 owners and under 10 miles 'on the clock' !
The first registration date can be interesting too. Usually the last day of a month (to boost 'sales' figures for that period).
Enjoy your V12VSM.
Great car, colour and spec. Congratulations, you made the right decision to hold on and look for the spec you wanted.
I’ve owned mine, a Mako Blue V12 Vantage S Roadster with the Performance Pack (and carbon bucket seats!), 9 years and a half now and although I’ve been close to selling it twice, each time I eventually decided to keep as I really wouldn’t know what to replace it with.
There’s a Colourful V12 Vantage WhatsApp group with a great bunch of owners meeting sometimes.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to attend as I’m based in the South of France but well worth joining.
Wishing you many happy (s)miles!
I’ve owned mine, a Mako Blue V12 Vantage S Roadster with the Performance Pack (and carbon bucket seats!), 9 years and a half now and although I’ve been close to selling it twice, each time I eventually decided to keep as I really wouldn’t know what to replace it with.
There’s a Colourful V12 Vantage WhatsApp group with a great bunch of owners meeting sometimes.
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to attend as I’m based in the South of France but well worth joining.
Wishing you many happy (s)miles!
stevenichols said:
If that's the school it's not too shabby!If Castle Hedingham isn't too far from the OP they have a good car show in August; there'll be a DB6 and DB9 there! Kersey Mill in Suffolk is very good too.
Simpo Two said:
stevenichols said:
If that's the school it's not too shabby!If Castle Hedingham isn't too far from the OP they have a good car show in August; there'll be a DB6 and DB9 there! Kersey Mill in Suffolk is very good too.
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