2018 Vantage (Mk2) panels and alignment
Discussion
I recently went to look at a low mileage, low owner Vantage which had been sold and serviced throughout its ownership at the same AM main dealer. Overall the car looked lovely and it drove well and my intention was to buy it but there were a couple of things which niggled enough for me the walk away. I mean I REALLY wanted to buy it my instinct was just holding me back.
Specifically, the front bumper was not aligned at the corners by the headlights (the 'v' ends were slightly turned up), the rear boot was sitting too high on the right, the quad exausts seemed to sit unnaturally high in the rear bumper (I figure they should be dead centre all around) and there was a very odd paint blemish on the bottom of the rear wing which was under the laquer/paintwork but looked like two pin prick white dots with a black circle around them. Really odd. The attached pictures sort of show but the boot lid was c. 3 mm higher on the right than the left and there was a contact point on the left inner boot wall where the lid had/is rubbing against the body.
Am I being overly precious or am I rightly expecting something of higher presentation when forking out £70k+ for a 7 year old AM with only 20k on the clock??
Specifically, the front bumper was not aligned at the corners by the headlights (the 'v' ends were slightly turned up), the rear boot was sitting too high on the right, the quad exausts seemed to sit unnaturally high in the rear bumper (I figure they should be dead centre all around) and there was a very odd paint blemish on the bottom of the rear wing which was under the laquer/paintwork but looked like two pin prick white dots with a black circle around them. Really odd. The attached pictures sort of show but the boot lid was c. 3 mm higher on the right than the left and there was a contact point on the left inner boot wall where the lid had/is rubbing against the body.
Am I being overly precious or am I rightly expecting something of higher presentation when forking out £70k+ for a 7 year old AM with only 20k on the clock??
If I purchased a new AM car like that it would have been rejected.
Even if you use car vertical which should highlight any previous insurance claims it may not as most AM cars get repaired at main dealers and most are repaired then sold on.
The only way of finding out is to see the vehicle history from the AM dealer, they will then throw data protection at you so you will not determine if it has been repaired.
Highlight the problems you have observed to the dealer and see what they say.
Even if you use car vertical which should highlight any previous insurance claims it may not as most AM cars get repaired at main dealers and most are repaired then sold on.
The only way of finding out is to see the vehicle history from the AM dealer, they will then throw data protection at you so you will not determine if it has been repaired.
Highlight the problems you have observed to the dealer and see what they say.
Thanks. I did have a good chat with the dealer and basically he acknowledged that the first batch of Vantages in 2018 had bad QC and it was a real challenge getting them sold to customers due to issues with panel alignment and exhausts. I was hoping that he would come back and convince me everything could be adjusted and re-aligned but his advice was to go for a later model which would likely have less issues. Whilst I definitely appreciated the candour, it's a real shame as I was hoping it was fixable and wanted to buy the car! Anyway, probably for the best.
christianjennings said:
Thanks. I did have a good chat with the dealer and basically he acknowledged that the first batch of Vantages in 2018 had bad QC and it was a real challenge getting them sold to customers due to issues with panel alignment and exhausts. I was hoping that he would come back and convince me everything could be adjusted and re-aligned but his advice was to go for a later model which would likely have less issues. Whilst I definitely appreciated the candour, it's a real shame as I was hoping it was fixable and wanted to buy the car! Anyway, probably for the best.
Yes, that is also my understanding.
I attended the unveiling of that model and would you believe it, very dodgy panel gaps were immediately obvious from 20 feet away.
Unbelieveable that AML selected such a car for dealer launches.
Presumably you will have to find a later model.
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