Found a Vanquish I can afford to buy

[999gsi]

Ever since I was a child growing up in Bedford, my father would divert and drive past the AM factory in Newport Pagnell every time we went to The wonderful Milton Keynes shopping centre as he knew I loved the cars. Mum preferred shopping.

I always wanted a 1980's era AM Vantage in blue as it was a car my neighbours friend had and he paid me £5 to wash it.. A lot of money to a 12yr old in 1985.

I can no longer afford my dream car but I'm now in a position to Purchase my second in line coolest AM and that is the 2012 onwards Vanquish.

Due to suffering near fatal injuries in a non fault motorcycle RTC a number of years ago, I can only drive automatics and my cars have to be adapted as I need a left foot accelerator. The local adaption company to me who convert all my cars can supply a custom fit left foot accelerator for the Vanquish.

I have seen this one on AT. I just wanted the opinion of owners out there regarding the price ,company and should I get a the car checked over by a specialist. I've downloaded the Gaydon era book on my kindle but owner experience is what I'm after.

My local dealer (Stratton motor company)have a Vanquish for sale but its out of my budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202505292...

[NDA]

I had a Vanquish when they first came out - I always thought the gearbox/clutch was more than a bit flakey. Lots of Google results on that!

Essentially a manual box with a paddle shift... no torque converter which you'd have in an auto. So you roll when in 1st gear meaning left foot braking for hill starts (if that makes sense?).

I have no idea what happened with Vanquishes after the original V12 Vanquish and therefore if the one you're looking at has the same arrangement.

Just thought I'd mention it.

[NickXX]

The era the OP is looking at is a proper auto gearbox. ZF6 (6 speed) or ZF8 (8 speed) depending on age.

[Simpo Two]

999gsi said:

I can no longer afford my dream car but I'm now in a position to Purchase my second in line coolest AM and that is the 2012 onwards Vanquish.

As it happens so am I But I'm after a Volante, and not black or white.

I'm still on my first Aston, a DB9, but can tell you that the bills will be much higher that for running a normal car. Any garage bill under £1K is a good result, and some places won't touch them. So don't spend everything on the purchase, have reserves for the unexpected.

One piece of advice I strongly impart is to avoid that dealer.

ETA That's about the cheapest Vanquish 2 I've seen. Would a DB9 be a safer bet for now?

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 28th July 22:42

[paulrog1]

I've got a DB9 and never driven a Vanquish, they are beautiful and very special cars.

I would recommend a pre purchase inspection by Bamford Rose, the carbon brakes need to be checked and all the normal wear and tear items looked at. I've not had any dealings with that garage so buyer beware.

But these cars are a continuation starting from a DB9 to a DBS then to a Virage to a DB9.2 ending in a Gaydon Vanquish so lots of niggles have been ironed but before this Vanquish came out.

Best V12 by far, very jealous.

Edited by paulrog1 on Monday 28th July 22:56

Edited by paulrog1 on Tuesday 29th July 07:05

[NDA]

NickXX said:

The era the OP is looking at is a proper auto gearbox. ZF6 (6 speed) or ZF8 (8 speed) depending on age.

Ah OK, I wasn't sure if they changed the gearboxes in later models.

[filski]

Simpo Two said:

As it happens so am I But I'm after a Volante, and not black or white.

I'm still on my first Aston, a DB9, but can tell you that the bills will be much higher that for running a normal car. Any garage bill under £1K is a good result, and some places won't touch them. So don't spend everything on the purchase, have reserves for the unexpected.

One piece of advice I strongly impart is to avoid that dealer.

ETA That's about the cheapest Vanquish 2 I've seen. Would a DB9 be a safer bet for now?

Edited by Simpo Two on Monday 28th July 22:42

I would agree on bills, put money aside for anything unforeseen, I was just a little unfortunate with a 3k bill recently + 1k for service

I was about to say that I have bought my Aston from performance paddock, and found the experience was quite pleasant, they were more than happy to accommodate and take the car for a pre purchase inspection and issues I have identified through pre purchase inspection they have rectified.

[999gsi]

Thankyou for your kind replies. I do have a contingency fund for running costs .

Simpo I do recall the Pm messages we had and your experience of SMC... I've have looked at the DB9 but I love the look of the Vanquish . I also like the DBS but reading on here and other sites, the Vanquish get more of the votes. SMC have got for sale a dark redish DBS which has been for sale since 2023. I'm curious as to why it hasn't sold.

I will get an inspection done before I part with any money.

[camel_landy]

Simpo Two said:

As it happens so am I But I'm after a Volante, and not black or white.

AM Cheltenham have a very pretty Vanquish Volante at the moment, which meets that spec.

M

[Simpo Two]

camel_landy said:

AM Cheltenham have a very pretty Vanquish Volante at the moment, which meets that spec.

Ah yes, thanks :-) I pondered a red one a few months ago but no matter how hard I tried, red didn't seem quite right on that shape.

[Jon39]

Simpo Two said:

camel_landy said:

AM Cheltenham have a very pretty Vanquish Volante at the moment, which meets that spec.

Ah yes, thanks :-) I pondered a red one a few months ago but no matter how hard I tried, red didn't seem quite right on that shape.

If you buy an aeroplane to park beside, then a red Vanquish does look good.
I think the Red Arrows planes are at some point going to be retired, so you may be in luck.