Considering returning to an AM Vantage
Discussion
About 10 years ago, I owned a 2006 4.3 Vantage - for about 4 years.
A year ago, I wanted a daily car - my wife thought I should buy an Aston, but for the budget I'd set - that would have meant buying the same age Vantage as I'd previously owned, and I thought that was a bit pointless.
However - the budget increased a bit before I bought a car, and I ended up with an Alfa Quadrifoglio. When I test drove one - and initially after buying it - I thought it was brilliant. It is excellent at trundling around as a daily (apart from poor mpg), and is very quick when you want it to be.
But...... although I like it, and appreciate that technically it's a brilliant car - I don't love it. My wife thinks it's "boring" and isn't a fan at all.
So, I'm toying with the idea of selling it and replacing it with an AM Vantage. I don't really want to add money - so that puts me around the mid-30s, which should get me a nice 4.7. But I'm wondering if it's a sensible idea..........
Pros / con's:
Size / Practicality: One of the things that annoys me a bit about the Alfa is that it is a big car. On the other hand, that's occasionally useful - the other sensible car we have is a BMW 220i, which is a far bit smaller. We rarely need a 5 seater car (BMW is 4) but even so, it would means the BMW is the only car we have with more than 2 seats.
Running costs: I expect the Aston to be similar to the Alfa - maybe even slightly cheaper. Servicing is likely to be similar (my local specialist does Alfa and Aston). Insurance is high on the Alfa due to a security vulnerability, so I think the Aston would be less - on the other hand, the Alfa is £200 a year to tax and the Aston is almost £800.
Having said all that - I spent a lot on the service last year getting everything done - including brakes all around. Inevitably, if I buy an Aston the first service is likely to cost me a chunk doing much the same.
Power: The Alfa is a clear winner here. On the other hand, this isn't my "fun" car and I think the Aston would be plenty fast enough. It's pretty rare that the Alfa is driven "properly"
Tech: Android Auto in the Alfa isn't the best - but it does have it, and it's quite nice. The Aston is pretty dated - I remember thinking the flip up screen was brilliant when I owned my previous one, but now it just looks old. I actually can't remember if my 4.3 allowed streaming from the phone - I assume a 4.7 does? It's an essential feature for me.
Useability: Although I am a bit careful where I park the Alfa, I am happy to go to Tesco and park between other cars. I wasn't happy to do that in the previous Aston I had - always parked furthest away from the shop, and there were places I wouldn't take it because I wasn't sure that the parking would be "suitable". I suspect I'd be the same if I replaced the Alfa with a Vantage, and that isn't ideal since it's supposed to be a daily car.
Hassle: I'm not actually a big fan of buying cars - it's a time sink which I don't enjoy. Plus, to sell the Alfa I need to take the private plate off - and somehow tell DVLA that I don't want the original plate assigned to the car, because it was cloned at the time I purchased the car. The lazy option is definitely to stick with what I've got.
Interested in any opinions that might sway me one way or another - particularly from Vantage 4.7 owners.
A year ago, I wanted a daily car - my wife thought I should buy an Aston, but for the budget I'd set - that would have meant buying the same age Vantage as I'd previously owned, and I thought that was a bit pointless.
However - the budget increased a bit before I bought a car, and I ended up with an Alfa Quadrifoglio. When I test drove one - and initially after buying it - I thought it was brilliant. It is excellent at trundling around as a daily (apart from poor mpg), and is very quick when you want it to be.
But...... although I like it, and appreciate that technically it's a brilliant car - I don't love it. My wife thinks it's "boring" and isn't a fan at all.
So, I'm toying with the idea of selling it and replacing it with an AM Vantage. I don't really want to add money - so that puts me around the mid-30s, which should get me a nice 4.7. But I'm wondering if it's a sensible idea..........
Pros / con's:
Size / Practicality: One of the things that annoys me a bit about the Alfa is that it is a big car. On the other hand, that's occasionally useful - the other sensible car we have is a BMW 220i, which is a far bit smaller. We rarely need a 5 seater car (BMW is 4) but even so, it would means the BMW is the only car we have with more than 2 seats.
Running costs: I expect the Aston to be similar to the Alfa - maybe even slightly cheaper. Servicing is likely to be similar (my local specialist does Alfa and Aston). Insurance is high on the Alfa due to a security vulnerability, so I think the Aston would be less - on the other hand, the Alfa is £200 a year to tax and the Aston is almost £800.
Having said all that - I spent a lot on the service last year getting everything done - including brakes all around. Inevitably, if I buy an Aston the first service is likely to cost me a chunk doing much the same.
Power: The Alfa is a clear winner here. On the other hand, this isn't my "fun" car and I think the Aston would be plenty fast enough. It's pretty rare that the Alfa is driven "properly"
Tech: Android Auto in the Alfa isn't the best - but it does have it, and it's quite nice. The Aston is pretty dated - I remember thinking the flip up screen was brilliant when I owned my previous one, but now it just looks old. I actually can't remember if my 4.3 allowed streaming from the phone - I assume a 4.7 does? It's an essential feature for me.
Useability: Although I am a bit careful where I park the Alfa, I am happy to go to Tesco and park between other cars. I wasn't happy to do that in the previous Aston I had - always parked furthest away from the shop, and there were places I wouldn't take it because I wasn't sure that the parking would be "suitable". I suspect I'd be the same if I replaced the Alfa with a Vantage, and that isn't ideal since it's supposed to be a daily car.
Hassle: I'm not actually a big fan of buying cars - it's a time sink which I don't enjoy. Plus, to sell the Alfa I need to take the private plate off - and somehow tell DVLA that I don't want the original plate assigned to the car, because it was cloned at the time I purchased the car. The lazy option is definitely to stick with what I've got.
Interested in any opinions that might sway me one way or another - particularly from Vantage 4.7 owners.
Is it a sports shift vantage you’d be after? I guess 35k is the bottom of the manual 4.7 market.
I like your choice of daily drivers though, both great cars, but very different, a tough choice. Vantage will be more of an event, sound a lot better too, but will attract more attention too, as most folk have no idea what a quadrifoglio is, unlike an Aston. I think both will hold value well too.
Once you have ‘enough’ performance, to me, it doesn’t really matter if one car is much faster than another, it’s more about how it makes you feel, especially a daily. Sounds like you could have bought a guilia veloce TI for the amount of time you’ve used the QF capabilities. Just wouldn’t have sounded as good.
I like your choice of daily drivers though, both great cars, but very different, a tough choice. Vantage will be more of an event, sound a lot better too, but will attract more attention too, as most folk have no idea what a quadrifoglio is, unlike an Aston. I think both will hold value well too.
Once you have ‘enough’ performance, to me, it doesn’t really matter if one car is much faster than another, it’s more about how it makes you feel, especially a daily. Sounds like you could have bought a guilia veloce TI for the amount of time you’ve used the QF capabilities. Just wouldn’t have sounded as good.
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