Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Manual
Discussion
Having relocated from Canada back the UK and finally having access to garage to store a car again - I set my heart & mind on an VH era Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
My initial list of requirements when searching were pretty simple: not black or light silver, 4.7 litre engine, manual transmission.
One came up for sale at Autolounge: A manual Vantage S in Metorite Grey over black, 48,000 miles, AM service history. The S has a few nice extras over the Vantage: 10 extra BHP, aero bits such as a carbon front splitter carbon ear valance & larger flick on the boot lid, quicker steering rack, S specific wheels.
A few messages back and forth including a very detailed video and the deal was done.
It had a couple of bits done by the dealer before it was ready to collect, including a spot of corrosion by the windscreen, a small spot of wear on the bolster and the chrome of the side strakes were starting to flake. On the latter point, rather than replacing them, they were painted silver and I may look to replace them in the future with new parts at a later date (available at £281.12 / side from scuderia parts).
Collection day meant an early train from Lancaster to Stonehaven where Paul collected us and took us to their facility; a quick tour around the place before handing over the car.
Rather than taking the direct route home, I decided to spend a couple of days going across to Avimore, Glencoe, Loch Lomond, before heading south and aiming for the Lake District. ~450 miles.
First overnight stop was Thainstone House 25 miles up the road and the initial drive was a chance to get familiar with the car, and uncovered the first issue at a fuel stop…. the fuel filler cap doesn’t always fully release when the button is pressed. Seems to be a very common issue with the V8V and the first item added to the todo list: adjust fuel filler cap.
That evening, at the hotel I took the time to pair my phone with the cars primitive infotainment system - and while doing so (on ignition only) the ‘Battery Low’ warning popped up. Hmmm.
The next morning, the Battery Low warning flashed up again before starting the engine, but the engine fired up keenly enough and everything seemed fine except the cabin fan wasn’t blowing. A power cycle after the first stop of the day and all was well again.
The drive through the Cairngorms and across to Avimore was amazing. Great scenery and smooth flowing roads.
Shortly after resuming the drive Avimore after lunch, the check engine light came on and the “Emission System Service Required” warning popped up. My research pre purchase had indicated this is not an uncommon thing with Astons of this era. I’d forgotten to pack my OBDII reader so ignored it until we got home (fault self cleared after a while, and then came back). Pulling the codes when I got home showed PO136, PO137 and PO150…. codes reset, I expect replacing the lambda sensors will be on the todo list if it reoccurs.
The drive from Fort William to Glencoe was even more spectacular. While I refuse to embrace the Bond connection with Astons, I’d always wanted to visit the road to Glen Etvie from Skyfall regardless of what car I was driving. Sadly the road was closed for repair work, so that provides an excuse to head back to western Scotland in the near future.
The overnight stop was the Lodge at Loch Lomond, just outside Luss. A great property with a private beach and jetty into the Loch - perfect for a cold dip the next morning.
The final day was a quick stop at Glengoyne and Auchentoshan to pick up a coupe of bottles of whisky, before pointing south and taking the motorway home.
One final issue that came up was the drivers windscreen wiper arm wasn’t sitting flush with the screen after a ‘down stroke’. A quick look indicated the combination of the spring tension and a slightly seized pin in the wiper arm was the issue - £0.02 worth of WD40 into the pin and all was well.
Current to do list:
My initial list of requirements when searching were pretty simple: not black or light silver, 4.7 litre engine, manual transmission.
One came up for sale at Autolounge: A manual Vantage S in Metorite Grey over black, 48,000 miles, AM service history. The S has a few nice extras over the Vantage: 10 extra BHP, aero bits such as a carbon front splitter carbon ear valance & larger flick on the boot lid, quicker steering rack, S specific wheels.
A few messages back and forth including a very detailed video and the deal was done.
It had a couple of bits done by the dealer before it was ready to collect, including a spot of corrosion by the windscreen, a small spot of wear on the bolster and the chrome of the side strakes were starting to flake. On the latter point, rather than replacing them, they were painted silver and I may look to replace them in the future with new parts at a later date (available at £281.12 / side from scuderia parts).
Collection day meant an early train from Lancaster to Stonehaven where Paul collected us and took us to their facility; a quick tour around the place before handing over the car.
Rather than taking the direct route home, I decided to spend a couple of days going across to Avimore, Glencoe, Loch Lomond, before heading south and aiming for the Lake District. ~450 miles.
First overnight stop was Thainstone House 25 miles up the road and the initial drive was a chance to get familiar with the car, and uncovered the first issue at a fuel stop…. the fuel filler cap doesn’t always fully release when the button is pressed. Seems to be a very common issue with the V8V and the first item added to the todo list: adjust fuel filler cap.
That evening, at the hotel I took the time to pair my phone with the cars primitive infotainment system - and while doing so (on ignition only) the ‘Battery Low’ warning popped up. Hmmm.
The next morning, the Battery Low warning flashed up again before starting the engine, but the engine fired up keenly enough and everything seemed fine except the cabin fan wasn’t blowing. A power cycle after the first stop of the day and all was well again.
The drive through the Cairngorms and across to Avimore was amazing. Great scenery and smooth flowing roads.
Shortly after resuming the drive Avimore after lunch, the check engine light came on and the “Emission System Service Required” warning popped up. My research pre purchase had indicated this is not an uncommon thing with Astons of this era. I’d forgotten to pack my OBDII reader so ignored it until we got home (fault self cleared after a while, and then came back). Pulling the codes when I got home showed PO136, PO137 and PO150…. codes reset, I expect replacing the lambda sensors will be on the todo list if it reoccurs.
The drive from Fort William to Glencoe was even more spectacular. While I refuse to embrace the Bond connection with Astons, I’d always wanted to visit the road to Glen Etvie from Skyfall regardless of what car I was driving. Sadly the road was closed for repair work, so that provides an excuse to head back to western Scotland in the near future.
The overnight stop was the Lodge at Loch Lomond, just outside Luss. A great property with a private beach and jetty into the Loch - perfect for a cold dip the next morning.
The final day was a quick stop at Glengoyne and Auchentoshan to pick up a coupe of bottles of whisky, before pointing south and taking the motorway home.
One final issue that came up was the drivers windscreen wiper arm wasn’t sitting flush with the screen after a ‘down stroke’. A quick look indicated the combination of the spring tension and a slightly seized pin in the wiper arm was the issue - £0.02 worth of WD40 into the pin and all was well.
Current to do list:
- Get the battery onto a conditioner and see how things progress from there.
- Monitor for more emissions/lambda sensor fault codes
- Adjust fuel filler cap
- Consider addressing some minor cosmetic items: replace chrome side strakes, glass on the key is also chipped where the previous owner dropped the key (£700 for the repair kit!?)
- Find a solution for wireless audio and ideally CarPlay integration.
- Give the alcantara on the steering wheel a good clean and bring back some of the ‘pile’.
Edited by TheHoof on Sunday 25th May 22:38
Edited by TheHoof on Sunday 25th May 22:39
Edited by TheHoof on Monday 26th May 07:12
Superb! Bet the V8 AM soundtrack is excellent too...
Does the dash have missing pixels (have I missed that bit)?
What bottles did you get from Glengoyne and Auchy?
This is one of my special bottles that rarely gets an outing:
Auchentoshan was my Granddads favourite distillery being a Glaswegian; so it's always had a special place in our hearts
Does the dash have missing pixels (have I missed that bit)?
What bottles did you get from Glengoyne and Auchy?
This is one of my special bottles that rarely gets an outing:Auchentoshan was my Granddads favourite distillery being a Glaswegian; so it's always had a special place in our hearts
The sound is amazing, especially when the valves open at 3,000 RPM.
No broken pixels on the dash - the gaps in the photo in the post are a function of LCD refresh rate and iPhone camera shutter speed.
I picked up the Glengoyne Cask Strength Limited Batch & the Auchentoshan "Bartenders Malt" edition #2 & I plan to open them tomorrow evening
No broken pixels on the dash - the gaps in the photo in the post are a function of LCD refresh rate and iPhone camera shutter speed.
I picked up the Glengoyne Cask Strength Limited Batch & the Auchentoshan "Bartenders Malt" edition #2 & I plan to open them tomorrow evening
A couple of small jobs taken care of:
Firstly, adjusted the fuel filler cap. The right hand screw in this photograph wasn't tight, and allowing a bit of 'play' which looks like it was contributing to the occasional binding. Loosened both, adjusted the position, tightened up and the door now opens on the button every time. I've left a couple of plastic trim removers in the boot just in case it get stuck again after the car has been in the baking sun, but I'm fairly confident it's sorted.
Next up, a bit of time with some microfibres, interior shampoo and a soft bristled brush to bring back some depth to the pile on the steering wheel.
The car has been on a CTEK battery conditioner for the last few days... 140 miles today and no sign of the reoccurring CEL/Emissions warning. The Bamford Rose video explaining the conditions for the CEL triggering checks to be performed was an interesting watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVg5sbn6w2Q
I've also added a couple of minor cosmetic things to the todo list:
Low priority stuff which I'll get to when time permits. The car would also benefit from a proper detail - some gravel rash on the rear quarter and bonnet which may look better post detailing. I'll save any paint work for whenever it needs to go to the body shop for the inevitable ali corrosion/bubbling which plagues all Astons of this era.
Firstly, adjusted the fuel filler cap. The right hand screw in this photograph wasn't tight, and allowing a bit of 'play' which looks like it was contributing to the occasional binding. Loosened both, adjusted the position, tightened up and the door now opens on the button every time. I've left a couple of plastic trim removers in the boot just in case it get stuck again after the car has been in the baking sun, but I'm fairly confident it's sorted.
Next up, a bit of time with some microfibres, interior shampoo and a soft bristled brush to bring back some depth to the pile on the steering wheel.
The car has been on a CTEK battery conditioner for the last few days... 140 miles today and no sign of the reoccurring CEL/Emissions warning. The Bamford Rose video explaining the conditions for the CEL triggering checks to be performed was an interesting watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVg5sbn6w2Q
I've also added a couple of minor cosmetic things to the todo list:
- The studs that hold the registration plate plinth have some unsightly corrosion on them
- The gas struts on the boot lid are perfectly functional however they too have some surface corrosion on them - and it's noticeable when opening the boot.
Low priority stuff which I'll get to when time permits. The car would also benefit from a proper detail - some gravel rash on the rear quarter and bonnet which may look better post detailing. I'll save any paint work for whenever it needs to go to the body shop for the inevitable ali corrosion/bubbling which plagues all Astons of this era.
Wow what a collection trip!
Congratulations, that is a truly spectacular example. Really keen to hear how the ownership experience goes, a few others here on the forum with varied experiences, but you are well informed and going in 'with eyes wide open'.
Keen to meet up later at Bicester PH or another event while the sun lasts. I hereby volunteer for clay bar duties. Good stuff.
Congratulations, that is a truly spectacular example. Really keen to hear how the ownership experience goes, a few others here on the forum with varied experiences, but you are well informed and going in 'with eyes wide open'.
Keen to meet up later at Bicester PH or another event while the sun lasts. I hereby volunteer for clay bar duties. Good stuff.
I took the Vantage on a run to Le Mans - full write up to come however the abridged version is, it's a wonderful car, O2 sensor codes continue to get thrown (and a plan is in place to address them, more on that below) and the 1,300 mile round trip was a great way to form a bond with the car.
A couple of small bits have since been care of:
1) The boot gas struts have been replaced to tidy up the boot. £60.84+Vat from Astonstore for OEM struts.
Before:
After:
2) The studs that were visible behind the registration plate holder were replaced. £10+vat for 2 studs from aston store.
Before:
Forgot to take an after pic, however while taking the registration plate holder off, it became apparent that the thin plastic of the plinth that holds the registration plate has failed at 2 of the bolts causing it to sag. From the looks of it, were the plinth not broken, the studs wouldn't be visible. I'll order a replacement plinth at some-point in the future...
3) I'd noticed a vibration coming from the rear when engine was between ~2-3k RPM and found the heat shield attached to the inside of the drivers side wheel arch liner was loose, nay unattached... all 3 fixings had failed, the holes for the fixings in the heat shield had torn themselves larger than the 5mm diameter that was originally in them. I briefly considered replacing the heat shield however it appears from the parts diagram, the shield isn't sold separately and comes riveted to the arch liner. £360+vat for a new arch liner wasn't happening.
Drilled out the old fixings and used some £6 heat shield washers and some new stainless nuts & bolts to affect a repair.
4) O2 sensor. The repeat offenders for throwing codes were bank 1 sensor 2 (downstream of the cat) and bank 2 sensor 1 (upstream of the cat) with the codes being various permutations of either circuit to the sensor and/or low voltage from the sensor.
New OEM sensors from aston store were £153.63+vat for the upstream and £71.49+vat for the downstream. The workshop manual says the exhaust needs to be dropped to replace them while other seem to be able to do it without. I jacked the car up, took one look and decided this was one job I'm going to to outsource. Very little room to work under the car and will be far easier with a lift. The car is booked in to AM Performance later this month for them to swap the sensors out. Since returning from Le Mans the CEL light hasn't come back but given it was such a regular issue before, it seems a sensible course of action...
A couple of small bits have since been care of:
1) The boot gas struts have been replaced to tidy up the boot. £60.84+Vat from Astonstore for OEM struts.
Before:
After:
2) The studs that were visible behind the registration plate holder were replaced. £10+vat for 2 studs from aston store.
Before:
Forgot to take an after pic, however while taking the registration plate holder off, it became apparent that the thin plastic of the plinth that holds the registration plate has failed at 2 of the bolts causing it to sag. From the looks of it, were the plinth not broken, the studs wouldn't be visible. I'll order a replacement plinth at some-point in the future...
3) I'd noticed a vibration coming from the rear when engine was between ~2-3k RPM and found the heat shield attached to the inside of the drivers side wheel arch liner was loose, nay unattached... all 3 fixings had failed, the holes for the fixings in the heat shield had torn themselves larger than the 5mm diameter that was originally in them. I briefly considered replacing the heat shield however it appears from the parts diagram, the shield isn't sold separately and comes riveted to the arch liner. £360+vat for a new arch liner wasn't happening.
Drilled out the old fixings and used some £6 heat shield washers and some new stainless nuts & bolts to affect a repair.
4) O2 sensor. The repeat offenders for throwing codes were bank 1 sensor 2 (downstream of the cat) and bank 2 sensor 1 (upstream of the cat) with the codes being various permutations of either circuit to the sensor and/or low voltage from the sensor.
New OEM sensors from aston store were £153.63+vat for the upstream and £71.49+vat for the downstream. The workshop manual says the exhaust needs to be dropped to replace them while other seem to be able to do it without. I jacked the car up, took one look and decided this was one job I'm going to to outsource. Very little room to work under the car and will be far easier with a lift. The car is booked in to AM Performance later this month for them to swap the sensors out. Since returning from Le Mans the CEL light hasn't come back but given it was such a regular issue before, it seems a sensible course of action...
Edited by TheHoof on Sunday 6th July 10:00
Approaching the end of summer and having picked up several stone chips in the windscreen, it was time for a replacement under my insurance policy. 115 excess and a new screen fitted at Autoglass in Kendal. Great service from the 2 guys working there and the phone call 3 minutes after dropping the car off asking how to turn the handbrake off gave me a chuckle. The fly off handbrake on the right of the drivers seat is an oddity.
8 miles after picking the car up and this happened
In all my years of driving, prior to this car I've only had 1 stone chip (on a Caterham with a very upright windscreen). Is the Vantage particularly prone to chips given the rake of the screen, or have I just been really unlucky over the last few months? I'll be getting this chip injection repaired at some point in the near future.
I've also spent a bit of time trying to track down the source of another annoying rattle that's become audible after the exhaust heat shield was repaired. Was really difficult to place exactly where it was coming from while driving but having a poke around the cabin revealed the aluminium strip that runs behind the seats wasn't fully secured at the end by the passengers seat. Looks to me like these aren't OEM fixings; given everything else in the car, I'd have expected torx bolts.
8 miles after picking the car up and this happened
In all my years of driving, prior to this car I've only had 1 stone chip (on a Caterham with a very upright windscreen). Is the Vantage particularly prone to chips given the rake of the screen, or have I just been really unlucky over the last few months? I'll be getting this chip injection repaired at some point in the near future.
I've also spent a bit of time trying to track down the source of another annoying rattle that's become audible after the exhaust heat shield was repaired. Was really difficult to place exactly where it was coming from while driving but having a poke around the cabin revealed the aluminium strip that runs behind the seats wasn't fully secured at the end by the passengers seat. Looks to me like these aren't OEM fixings; given everything else in the car, I'd have expected torx bolts.
At the end of September, National Windscreens visited to do a gel repair on the chipped windscreen. The chap doing the work seemed pretty chuffed to be working on an Aston Martin.
After a few really
weeks, I needed some me time. With the weather looking fine, a Sunday morning of driving just for the sake of driving beckoned.
I remembered the roads around Western side of the Yorkshire Dales being fun from a trip ~15 years ago so a plan was formed. Early start, run out to Ingleton, then point north up to Hawes, onto Thwaite via the Buttertubs Pass, turnaround back to Hawes, before heading West to Sedburgh, and home:
07:30 Sunday morning and the sky was grey with thick fog over the fells so a relaxed drive out until just outside Ingleton, the fog suddenly cleared and the Dales were bathed in glorious autumnal morning sun.
The B625 is a great piece of road to drive; empty heading north, fast, flowing and some stunning scenery over the Dales. Obligatory picture stop just past the Ribblehead Viaduct.
The Buttertubs pass is less flowing, tighter with some intimidating looking drops off the left side when heading south.
A quick pause in Hawes at Caffe Curva who supplied an excellent Sausage Roll, before pointing west to head home.
The rattle referenced in the previous post does appear to have gone away after tightening the loose trim. There still remains another intermittent rattle coming from the ski slope which I think is (in part?) caused by the grill over the centre speaker. Something for the winter fettling list.
A great day out which helped clear the head & bring a smile to my face. I need to explore more of the Yorkshire Dales.
To answer Spinakerrs question; the plan is to park the car up for the winter. I m not sure how much salt they use up in this part of the world. While the body of the car is Aluminium, the sub frame is steel and I d rather delay the need for an sub-frame recondition, at the expense of not using the car throughout the winter months. That said, if the opportunity arises perhaps there will be the odd run out here and there. When I ran the Caterham, an early morning blat on Christmas morning when the roads were quite became an annual tradition.
I've now put over 3,000 miles on the car since picking it up in May and I'm smitten with it. The car feels a like a very special thing and every drive has a sense of occasion to it.
In my initial post, I mentioned CarPlay integration. I ve used the stock (Garmin) SatNav unit a few times now and it is perfectly functional. However, when cruising on a motorway and not listening to the musical V8, being able to control Spotify for music/podcasts would be welcome. Some research turned up a couple of options:
1- Aston Installations - I've ruled this out as it requires installing an additional joystick controller in the cabin. I want something that retains cabin as is.
2 - Dealer fitted option - Retains everything in the cabin as OEM and uses the controller integrated in the waterfall as per the current nav unit. Unfortunately it is pricey - cheapest quote to date is £1,400 installed. I'll be leaving it as is for the time being... possibly something for 2026. The more I drive the car, the longer I can see myself keeping it.
Next up - I've got The Flying Technician from HWM Aston Martin coming to service the car at my house at the end of the month.
More pictures from a wonderful morning:
After a few really
weeks, I needed some me time. With the weather looking fine, a Sunday morning of driving just for the sake of driving beckoned.I remembered the roads around Western side of the Yorkshire Dales being fun from a trip ~15 years ago so a plan was formed. Early start, run out to Ingleton, then point north up to Hawes, onto Thwaite via the Buttertubs Pass, turnaround back to Hawes, before heading West to Sedburgh, and home:
07:30 Sunday morning and the sky was grey with thick fog over the fells so a relaxed drive out until just outside Ingleton, the fog suddenly cleared and the Dales were bathed in glorious autumnal morning sun.
The B625 is a great piece of road to drive; empty heading north, fast, flowing and some stunning scenery over the Dales. Obligatory picture stop just past the Ribblehead Viaduct.
The Buttertubs pass is less flowing, tighter with some intimidating looking drops off the left side when heading south.
A quick pause in Hawes at Caffe Curva who supplied an excellent Sausage Roll, before pointing west to head home.
The rattle referenced in the previous post does appear to have gone away after tightening the loose trim. There still remains another intermittent rattle coming from the ski slope which I think is (in part?) caused by the grill over the centre speaker. Something for the winter fettling list.
A great day out which helped clear the head & bring a smile to my face. I need to explore more of the Yorkshire Dales.
To answer Spinakerrs question; the plan is to park the car up for the winter. I m not sure how much salt they use up in this part of the world. While the body of the car is Aluminium, the sub frame is steel and I d rather delay the need for an sub-frame recondition, at the expense of not using the car throughout the winter months. That said, if the opportunity arises perhaps there will be the odd run out here and there. When I ran the Caterham, an early morning blat on Christmas morning when the roads were quite became an annual tradition.
I've now put over 3,000 miles on the car since picking it up in May and I'm smitten with it. The car feels a like a very special thing and every drive has a sense of occasion to it.
In my initial post, I mentioned CarPlay integration. I ve used the stock (Garmin) SatNav unit a few times now and it is perfectly functional. However, when cruising on a motorway and not listening to the musical V8, being able to control Spotify for music/podcasts would be welcome. Some research turned up a couple of options:
1- Aston Installations - I've ruled this out as it requires installing an additional joystick controller in the cabin. I want something that retains cabin as is.
2 - Dealer fitted option - Retains everything in the cabin as OEM and uses the controller integrated in the waterfall as per the current nav unit. Unfortunately it is pricey - cheapest quote to date is £1,400 installed. I'll be leaving it as is for the time being... possibly something for 2026. The more I drive the car, the longer I can see myself keeping it.
Next up - I've got The Flying Technician from HWM Aston Martin coming to service the car at my house at the end of the month.
More pictures from a wonderful morning:
Edited by TheHoof on Monday 13th October 17:15
Edited by TheHoof on Monday 13th October 17:16
Edited by TheHoof on Monday 13th October 17:18
Excellent. Looks very therapeutic and a great car for those roads. I did a long trip around the country a while ago at a similar time of year which took in the Yorkshire Dales and it was some of the best landscape of the whole route. Also the worst road surfaces, but that might have changed by now.
Rumdoodle said:
Excellent. Looks very therapeutic and a great car for those roads. I did a long trip around the country a while ago at a similar time of year which took in the Yorkshire Dales and it was some of the best landscape of the whole route. Also the worst road surfaces, but that might have changed by now.
The road surfaces weren't bad, bar the odd cattle grid. Certainly better than North Oxfordshire which is my personal benchmark for terrible road surfaces. I have family that way - every time I'm dismayed at how bad the roads get as soon as you cross the county border.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff