Really bad experience with a 2010 Vantage
Discussion
I've owned a 2010 4.7 V8 Vantage for 2 years now & I'm seriously thinking about handing the keys to the dealer for them to sell on. It's been nothing but trouble. The car has 57,000 miles and a full AM service history and allegedly has been well looked after. When I originally looked at the car it was immaculate and was taken on a very satisfying test drive by the owner. I must have spent close onto £9,000 on the car in repairs and servicing since first owning the car and have driven only 1,500 miles in that time...ouch! When I bought the car I knew I would paying out, but this is another level. The final crunch came yesterday, when I drove the car to Great Yarmouth for a meeting (a journey of 82 miles). On the way back the car stuck in first gear (Sportshift) and wouldn't go over 5 mph. I pulled over in a lay-by and managed to get it recovered late into the evening to my home. It had been fully serviced only 200 miles previously/3 weeks ago. Have any other Vantage drivers experienced this level of problems/gremlins or am I just one unlucky owner!!
That just sounds like bad luck with the gearbox issue.
I have had 3 Vantages over the last 20 years and covered >150k miles in the first 2. The worst years for running costs were when clutches failed, probably spent £6k those years but mostly averaging about £2.5 to £3k per year depending on consumables needed and common fault repairs like; thermostat, ABS transducer, AC compressor, door module, wheel bearings, light units.
Ive had a clutch last 71k miles and yet another go in just 19k miles (albeit it was the release bearing jammed, not the clutch worn)
You have to consider you have a 16 year old car, even if it was a mainstream car, components do start to fail. Much can be down to luck. If you own the car for a few years, spend £10k on servicing/fixing stuff then get fed up with it, you sell it on with all the maintenance done. Someone else buys it, does 5k miles a year for 3 years with no issues, just routine servicing and sells it on proclaiming its one of the "most reliable" cars they have had.
Hopefully you can get the gearbox issue sorted and enjoy many miles trouble free.
I have had 3 Vantages over the last 20 years and covered >150k miles in the first 2. The worst years for running costs were when clutches failed, probably spent £6k those years but mostly averaging about £2.5 to £3k per year depending on consumables needed and common fault repairs like; thermostat, ABS transducer, AC compressor, door module, wheel bearings, light units.
Ive had a clutch last 71k miles and yet another go in just 19k miles (albeit it was the release bearing jammed, not the clutch worn)
You have to consider you have a 16 year old car, even if it was a mainstream car, components do start to fail. Much can be down to luck. If you own the car for a few years, spend £10k on servicing/fixing stuff then get fed up with it, you sell it on with all the maintenance done. Someone else buys it, does 5k miles a year for 3 years with no issues, just routine servicing and sells it on proclaiming its one of the "most reliable" cars they have had.
Hopefully you can get the gearbox issue sorted and enjoy many miles trouble free.
I feel your pain
I am 4 years in, knew it would be expensive but my service and mot each year averages at 5k
Biggest bill in second year was 9k
Then there is insurance and tax which is another 1k
And we haven t even got to the rear sub frame renovation!
There is always something that needs doing even though I only do 3000 miles a year, and mine was from a main dealer with warranty
They are not for the faint hearted but I still love having one
I say to myself, if they were cheap , everyone would have one!
Kev
I am 4 years in, knew it would be expensive but my service and mot each year averages at 5k
Biggest bill in second year was 9k
Then there is insurance and tax which is another 1k
And we haven t even got to the rear sub frame renovation!
There is always something that needs doing even though I only do 3000 miles a year, and mine was from a main dealer with warranty
They are not for the faint hearted but I still love having one
I say to myself, if they were cheap , everyone would have one!
Kev
Edited by kevin_cambs_uk on Friday 1st May 13:49
Edited by kevin_cambs_uk on Friday 1st May 13:51
Edited by kevin_cambs_uk on Friday 1st May 13:55
Edited by kevin_cambs_uk on Friday 1st May 13:59
I have had mine for 7 years, and my service and maintenance is around the £1.5k a year. However, I have owned the car from new, so I know the history and always look after it.
My 2 cents is that you have been a bit unlucky, combined with servicing from main dealers. In my experience, main dealers are terrible.
On the plus side, having now "invested" this money into your car, you will now have a very well sorted car!
My 2 cents is that you have been a bit unlucky, combined with servicing from main dealers. In my experience, main dealers are terrible.
On the plus side, having now "invested" this money into your car, you will now have a very well sorted car!
I wish my spend was only £9k… I’ve had a single bill in excess of that and my total spend over the last 5 years has been as much as I paid for the car. That said, I probably now have ‘a good one’…
Yes, you’ve been a bit unlucky, especially with so few miles covered. In your position, I’d fix it, but then I’m driven by my heart and not my head, so I’m probably not the best to advise.
Yes, you’ve been a bit unlucky, especially with so few miles covered. In your position, I’d fix it, but then I’m driven by my heart and not my head, so I’m probably not the best to advise.
That’s an absolute gutter. Really feel for you. It’s such a kick when you just want to enjoy something and feel the reward for all it has cost. With the very few miles you’re doing each year, it’s hard to say it’s worth it to you.i do 8k a year, so it’s easier to swallow.
At 57k, I hate to say this but perhaps you should get your pre cats checked, as that’s a potentially big expense on the horizon. Maybe get the clutch wear read too. After that, then try to make a decision.
In an ideal world, I hope you’ve had all your shockers in close succession, so now you can go on to enjoy smiles for many miles.
John
At 57k, I hate to say this but perhaps you should get your pre cats checked, as that’s a potentially big expense on the horizon. Maybe get the clutch wear read too. After that, then try to make a decision.
In an ideal world, I hope you’ve had all your shockers in close succession, so now you can go on to enjoy smiles for many miles.
John
ChevyHead55 said:
On the way back the car stuck in first gear (Sportshift) and wouldn't go over 5 mph. I pulled over in a lay-by and managed to get it recovered late into the evening to my home. It had been fully serviced only 200 miles previously/3 weeks ago.
Did they change the gearbox oil by any chance?ChevyHead55 said:
Yes the gearbox oil was changed in the last service.
Check that they used the right oil. My DB9 needed a new torque converter because the oil hadn't been changed; my Vanquish needed a new diff because the wrong oil had been used (luckily before I owned it!). In both cases AM dealers were responsible.Go60 Jay said:
At 57k, I hate to say this but perhaps you should get your pre cats checked, as that s a potentially big expense on the horizon.
John
If you're suggesting this because of potential cat ingestion then the V8 engine doesn't suffer from this potential issue because of different designs to the V12. If you're not and you have something else in mind then I'd be interested in your reasoningJohn
Sad to hear of your bad luck. But, unfortunately you are not alone. I bought a V8 vantage with just 6k miles on the car from main dealer, they delivered it with big ends knocking. They said they would fit new engine, but I later found that Aston Martin don't fit new engines, just refurbished units and the one they fitted had to be replaced with another as top end was rattling away. Then had gearbox replaced as it was whining as bad as me, seat modules as got pinned to the steering wheel. So, 3 engines, two gearboxes and other bits and I sold at 12k miles. All fixed and confident but lost the love for it. AM Gaydon were fantastic though as was my local main dealer in Birmingham, top class from both. But the main supplying dealer were out right LIARS! Bust of luck and hope you get sorted. Yet I still find myself looking at these beautiful cars.
Edited by macdeb on Saturday 2nd May 13:33
camel_landy said:
Fix it and then drive it. Use it as a daily, go shopping, take crap to the tip, etc. Cars really don't like being left standing around and need to be used.
M
Definitely agree with that. No matter the make and model, cars need to be driven. Astons deserve to be driven M
John
LTP said:
If you're suggesting this because of potential cat ingestion then the V8 engine doesn't suffer from this potential issue because of different designs to the V12. If you're not and you have something else in mind then I'd be interested in your reasoning
Hi,Nope not because of the V12 issue, regarding cat ingestion. My response is far from scientific or a pattern, but it’s roughly where my 2012 cats started to break down and with another owner having the same issue around the same time as me. So it’s more from my personal experience.
Like I said, it’s not a scientific response. But I’d hate to see him spend all he has already spent, and then hear in a few months he has another costly bill for the cats this time. Maybe an inspection now, just for a heads up wouldn’t be a terrible idea. At least if they’re definitely good, he may feel a bit more confident about not having that cost in the near future.
Just an idea in my opinion. I’m sure there are plenty of V8V that have lasted less miles or much more miles.
John
When I have dared to suggest on PH that a vantage of this era can cost you a fair whack to run, I’ve been faced with a few of this forum regulars telling me how they’ve owned their cars 43 years and it’s cost them no more than £50 a year etc and making out I’m full of crap.
Sorry to hear OP. Always a difficult choice to now know you have invested so much and it might now pay you back in being trouble free for a long while.
Sorry to hear OP. Always a difficult choice to now know you have invested so much and it might now pay you back in being trouble free for a long while.
And at 57,000 miles the obvious internet answer to this owner´s problems is, of course, "cars really don't like being left standing around and need to be used."
Yeah, that will for sure help to lower his costs significantly in the future. Foremost, it will prevent the catalyzers from breaking up because when permanently heated, there will be no issues on that front.
N.B.: The latter is by no means a scientific assessment, of course. Just an opinion. Which could be wrong, though.
Yeah, that will for sure help to lower his costs significantly in the future. Foremost, it will prevent the catalyzers from breaking up because when permanently heated, there will be no issues on that front. N.B.: The latter is by no means a scientific assessment, of course. Just an opinion. Which could be wrong, though.Emilio Largo said:
Yeah, that will for sure help to lower his costs significantly in the future.
Depends on how you want to approach it but not using a car is often a false economy. If it's not being used, the electrical contacts start to fail, rubber components perish and you get flat-spots on the tyres. Cost per mile of your garage queen ends up being quite significant.However... If you use it enough to keep the oil seals fresh, wear out sets of tyres, brake pads, etc. and keep the battery topped up, your cost per mile will probably be a lot less as it's not in the dealers every 400 miles.
M
Shnozz said:
When I have dared to suggest on PH that a vantage of this era can cost you a fair whack to run, I've been faced with a few of this forum regulars telling me how they've owned their cars 43 years and it s cost them no more than £50 a year etc and making out I'm full of cheek.
I doubt that such posters are seeking to be critical of you.
Perhaps they have just experienced very few faults.
Could they just be the lucky few, or are most Aston Martins fairly reliable?
I realise that it is probably only the repair shops, who could really answer that question.
Edited by Dewi 2 on Saturday 2nd May 20:28
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