Aston Martin V8 Vantage: PH Carpool
A JDM lover has fallen for this British brute
Car: Aston Martin V8 Vantage (4.3)
Owned since: July 2017
Currently owned: V8 Vantage, Abarth 124 Spider
Previously owned: Nissan 370Z (Abbey Motorsport tuned), Mazda RX-8 PZ, Audi A4 (B7, in life sapping rep-mobile spec)
Why I bought it:
"I've developed a curious 'system' for when it comes to buying cars. Almost immediately after I buy one, I'll begin planning the next one (by planning, I mean spending my daily commute scrolling through the classifieds praying for glorious depreciation on the models that I lust after). I'll spend a lot of time researching, and curating a carefully considered shortlist, but somehow I always seem to end up buying a car that was never considered. During my 18-month 370Z ownership, I flip flopped between myriad options as to what to replace it with. My criteria were fairly clear - £40 - £50k, charismatic, loud, fun, dynamically rewarding, and ideally something that was already at the bottom of its depreciation curve (or at least wasn't going to lose 50 per cent in 2 years). This didn't narrow the options much though - should I finally succumb to my inner Gran Turismo playing teenager and fulfil a long held desire to own a Nissan GT-R? Should I finally check a Porsche off the list (as all true car lovers have to at some point) and opt for a 997.2 Carrera S? Would an attractively priced Lotus Evora S provide the junior supercar thrills I was craving?
"In the end there was one overwhelming itch that I was desperate to scratch - a naturally aspirated V8, and a manual gearbox. I've been destined to own a V8 for a long time, and after coming painfully close to buying both a W204 C63 and a Mustang GT over the last year, I couldn't face not getting a V8 this time round. Now that narrowed things down fairly quickly and I'd pretty much made my mind up to look for an early V8 R8 with that gorgeous gated manual. But then up pops this '07 V8 Vantage in the classifieds... I can't even recall why I was looking at Astons now. I suppose out of curiosity, as I knew they were in the right price bracket. But to tell the truth, I'd never really lusted after a Vantage. Or any Aston, to be honest. I'd grown up on a strict diet of Japanese imports and unlike so many car lovers, I never had that iconic defining moment in my formative years of staring at James Bond's preferred marque deciding that I 'just had to have one'.
"Something about it just grabbed me, and I ended up putting the deposit down for it over the phone. The test drive and the viewing confirmed what I'd already known, and I drove away very happy with my purchase."
What I wish I'd known:
"Despite the relatively short courtship, I'd made sure to do my due diligence before picking her up. I'm always careful to heed the advice that 'it's one thing to buy a car; it's another thing to own it'. I knew I was signing up to some punchy servicing costs and some potentially expensive maintenance if anything went wrong, but I had peace of mind knowing that it was Approved Used and fully warrantied.
"They have a reputation for being fairly mechanically sound, barring a slightly weak clutch (we'll come back to that later). The best advice I can give to any would be secondhand Vantage purchasers? Buy one with a bumper to bumper warranty, for gawd's sake."
"I can't decide what I love more - the looks or the noise. I've never bought a car for its aesthetic beauty before, and in fact I've even bought what I considered to be very ugly cars (see: Nissan 370Z) in spite of their looks, just because I liked the way they drove. So to value the looks of the Vantage above all else is a new sensation for me, but I cannot help but agree with the opinion that so many automotive journalists and car enthusiasts before me have put forward - the Vantage is arguably one of the best looking cars in history. Full stop. Especially from the front. I know this is all very subjective territory, but Mr Fisker has struck the perfect balance between effortless elegance, and subtle, purposeful aggression. After all, we're talking about the design that defined a decade of Aston Martin products. It's THE iconic shape that is now ubiquitous when you think of Aston Martin.
"Now for the noise. It's an interesting blend between low-end growls and high end screams (I've obviously removed fuse 22, because I'm from Essex and we all inherently understand that our neighbours actually really enjoy loud exhausts). It hasn't got the iconic 'supercar' V8 wail that you get from a Ferrari flat plane crank V8, but at the same time it's not quite got the baritone rumble of a 'muscle car' V8 found in the likes of a Mustang or an AMG. One thing's for sure though - it never fails to elicit a smile when you rev it out to the redline (still not sure why Aston Martin refuse to put a visible red line on their tachometers?).
"Finally, it has to be the quality of Aston Martin interiors. Once again, interior quality has always been low down the priority list when buying a sports car, but everything is just so well finished. Every surface is covered in leather or suede (apart from the cheap Volvo indicator stalks). The door handles are metal rather than the plastic you get in so many cars, and even many of the dials and switchgear are metal as opposed to plastic. It's just incredibly well finished. I was fortunate (or unfortunate - more on that later) to have a very well specced up 2017 Porsche 911 C4S on a two-month loan last year, and for a £120k car, I was incredibly underwhelmed with the interior when compared to a 10 year-old Aston Martin. The interior still feels modern and almost unused in this example (just don't mention the infotainment system). Mrs El Shafto put it better than I ever could: "It's like climbing into a gentleman's slipper". I mean, how many other manufacturers give you a suede roof? Who even touches the roof while they're driving? I do now!"
"Well let's lead with the complete absence of a redline on the tach. I realise that it might ruin the clean, minimalist aesthetic of the dash, but in a sports car with a manual gearbox, this seems like a glaring omission. While we're on the subject, the gearbox is far from the best. It's clunky and the throw is too long for my taste. It can't be rushed, which is particularly frustrating when making progress down a B-road. The ratios are also too long for my liking. I suppose I should be thankful that it's not the most enjoyable gear shifting action; if the ratios were shorter I'd have more clunky shifts to moan about! But it just feels like they set the gearbox up as a grand tourer, whereas the engine and the chassis scream 'sports car'. If you could put something like the six-speed manual that Porsche uses in the Cayman GT4 into this Vantage, it would transform the car at nine and 10 tenths. Which leads me onto the final thing...
"Now I can't claim to 'hate' this at all, it's just a bit of a surprising discovery - the 'whole' is much more relaxed than the sum of the parts suggest it should be. When you look at the recipe, this car should be something that handles and drives like a thoroughbred sports car. A proper 911 baiting machine. But to me, it feels a bit 'soft'. It's amazing as a GT car, but although it feels very dynamically 'hooked up' it just doesn't feel rewarding to push it to the limit. Although the more I think about it, the more I think that's largely down to the gearbox. That'd probably solve all of my gripes alone, because the chassis and steering are fantastic. I think that's also partly due to me owning two previous cars that were fettled and tuned fairly extensively so I'm not used to driving a sports car the way the manufacturer intended it."
Costs:
"Spoiler alert - lots.
"Insurance isn't too expensive (at £850 per year for a late 20s gent with 5 points on his licence), and I was already in the top tax bracket with the 370Z and the RX-8 anyway, so I've been used to paying £535 per year road tax for as long as I can remember. Although my insurance company wouldn't insure me unless I had an active GPS tracker in the car, so I've had to pay the £250 annual subscription fee/protection money to the company that operates Aston Martin's anti-theft tracking systems (Euro Watch I think?).
"The repair work took the best part of two months to complete (which is when I was lucky enough to have the aforementioned C4S as a courtesy car). Then, less than one week after picking it back up, I had (what felt like) a fairly spectacular clutch failure at 70mph approaching a roundabout. I limped the car home as I was only about a mile away, and hoped to dear god that it wasn't the dreaded clutch failure that everyone warns you about with secondhand Vantages... An inspection at Aston Martin Sevenoaks confirmed my fears that the clutch has completely gone, and taken the flywheel with it. Parts and labour to fit a new clutch and flywheel? Call it £3,500. I'm not entirely sure how, but somehow I managed to convince them to repair this under warranty, despite the clutch being a wear-and-tear item, so I'm very thankful to Grange Aston Martin in Brentwood for that (as they are the ones who sold me the car and agreed to cover the repairs).
"Thankfully, since then, there have been no more mechanical failures or accidents. Just the routine annual service, which came in at £720 - about what I had budgeted for. And from what we can tell, the engine, bodywork and suspension is all in great shape, and the consumables like brakes and tyres have a good amount of life in them yet.
"It's probably no surprise that fuel is a considerable cost in a car with a V8 that's almost as old as the dinosaur fossils that it burns, and I've averaged just over 14mpg during my ownership - but come on, you kind of just write off the whole fuel economy discussion when you buy a 10 year-old Aston."
"I wish I could say Monte Carlo, Cannes, and Le Mans, but with the repairs and the clutch failure I've not had the chance to go on any road trips worthy of such a car yet. The country roads of Kent have provided ample opportunity to get a feel for the Vantage's dynamic ability. I should have driven it to Cardiff last year, but fate conspired against me and I ended up taking the courtesy Porsche instead (which converted me into a 911 fanboy over night). 2018 will hold at least one long road trip but the location is still up for discussion."
What's next?
"This is a truly fantastic car, and having the opportunity to own an Aston Martin is something that I've relished, but I never planned to kept it for the long term (hence the decision to buy something that was unlikely to depreciate much). I'd planned to keep it 18 months maximum, and I'm starting to think that once it gets out of warranty, my repair bill anxiety will severely hamper the enjoyment, so I'm planning to change it late 2018. I also think I may have gone for an Aston a bit too early in my life to properly appreciate it. As accomplished as it is, it just doesn't feel focused enough for my tastes. I like my sports cars to be a bit more unapologetic in their approach. I want to drive something that makes every journey an event, but sadly the Vantage just doesn't provide that. The best way I can describe it is that the Aston Martin Vantage is like a finely tailored tuxedo: it's luxurious, well made and exquisitely appointed. But unfortunately I'm still at the point in my life where I prefer a pair of hi-tops and a snapback.
"In hindsight I should have shelled out the extra cash and opted for the 4.7 V8 instead of the 4.3, as the 4.3 doesn't feel any faster than my tuned Zed did. The extra torque and power is supposedly transformative (from what I hear), and the Bluetooth streaming would have been a nice bonus feature.
"So I'm looking at something with slightly harder edges next. I did consider the V12 Vantage or a 2013 Vanquish S as they've both depreciated to reasonable territory, but I don't like to own the same marque twice in a row. The Cayman GT4 is very tempting, and will certainly have the poise and focus I'm looking for in a car, but it depends which way the prices go over the next nine months. The two front runners as of now are the 991.1 Carrera GTS (GT3 would be the dream, but is just out of budget sadly), or a Gen 2, '16 plate R8 (in either plus or vanilla form, I'm not too fussy). A big part of me is leaning towards the R8, given that I've now owned rotary, four, six, and eight-cylinder engines already, so a wailing V10 seems like the natural next step on my way to completing the full house. It also feels like time is running out fairly quickly in the world of V10 supercars, so we need to make the most of it while we still can.
"But as I've already established, I rarely end up buying the car that I set out looking for..."
If you would like to feature your car in PH Carpool, please email carpool@pistonheads.com
The true cost of running these cars is the servicing, and I suspect that is why they are so cheap. Porsche ownership is far, far cheaper. Aston dealer servicing costs are hilarious, and specialists also hilarious. I posted a thread on here detailing an attempt to, frankly, rip me off.
The thing is, you have to work out whether the full service history is important. I am changing all of the brakes myself (or rather having my trusted mechanic do it), as paying Aston or a specialist £1000 a corner to supply and fit pads and discs (yes, really!) is stupid. I will do it for less than a third of that using original parts - and if that takes some money of the residual value of the car, I don't really care. I know my guy does a good job - he has taken care of my cars in London since 2004, with the exception of my Morgans as they really needed a dealer, being so, well, odd.
I suspect that bodywork will be pricey too but as with all of these cars, those costs will come down as more people run them on a budget (and they are now a "budget" V8 sportscar really - a TVR Griffith in good nick is now more expensive to get into.
To drive, the gearbox turns what should be a sports car into a GT, as it just cannot be hurried. But what surprised me is how raw this car is, actually - it's a bit unpolished with plenty of noise, jerkiness in the drivetrain and clonks etc. Nothing worrrying - as my friend stated, "sometimes it feels like a nicely built TVR". The 4.7 versions are more refined.
As to the 4.7 vs the 4.3, yes, the later engine is better. But the 4.3 is an absolute bargain for what it is these days The 4.7 is more comparable with an Audi R8 in terms of pricing, and there, the case for the Aston starts to look a bit weak. A decent 4.3 can be had for £30k., with a bit of looking - higher miles are fine if brakes and clutch have been replaced. That is a seriously good car for the money. Performance wise it is brisk by today's standards rather than fast: any of the new brand of DSG boxed, turbocharged uber-hatches is as quick in a straight line (at least until aerodynamics come into pay at illegal speeds), and will monster it point to point with average drivers behind the wheel. But it is plenty fast enough for UK use, especially in the crowded South East.
And, lastly, the looks. It is an old design, but it is an absolute classic, especially these early versions which lack the tinselly wheels and (in my mind) overly aggressive sill and bumper mods of the later cars. The proportions are aggressive yet elegant, and somehow a bit old school. For example, it makes an F-type look slab sided and toy-like when parked next to each other. This is one car that every time I park it, I cannot resist a look back. It's a bit like the MGB GT - only the fact that they are relatively common hides the extremely pretty design.
Mine has been perfectly reliable, but needs some new consumables - I am replacing brakes and suspension dampers and springs this year, and a lambda sensor. Once this is done, it may be hard to part with it; but a baby arriving in August means that this car may not get a lot of use for the next few years.
I am currently trying to work out whether to sell it and but an AMG or RS Audi estate. I suspect that I will end up keeping this car though - it is at the bottom of its depreciation curve, Aston's Ferrari-like move upmarket can only do good things for the brand. And it is just a thing of beauty to behold and sit in. And the noise, with Fuse 22 removed (we Londoners do it too!) is extraordinary. Of all the cars I have owned, and most that I have driven sub the supercar space, only my Morgan Aero 8 Series 1 with Librands pipes sounded better. The Aston has a real repertoire, from burble to scream, and you never get tired of hearing it. Where something like a C63 AMG is loud and brash, or an F-Type weirdly farty, this car has a proper vocal range - muscle car to race car as you get up through the rev range. Lovely.
Mine has been in storage since last autumn as it only gets summer use. I am looking forward to some motoring this summer.
Untitled by baconrashers, on Flickr
Untitled by baconrashers, on FlickrThe true cost of running these cars is the servicing, and I suspect that is why they are so cheap. Porsche ownership is far, far cheaper. Aston dealer servicing costs are hilarious, and specialists also hilarious. I posted a thread on here detailing an attempt to, frankly, rip me off.
//
A major service is a lot more than £720.
tton even with normal cars. Heck last time I was in crash (somebody crashed to rear of the car when I was waiting for lights) it was our S40 in '99 and it cost equal of 4k€ todays money. Even airbags didn't explode, but the rear bumper was cracked a bit and the rear had some structural damage (didn't show in any way).
Gearbox? Ok once warmed up, and check if its using the updated gearbox oil - there was a service bulletin on it.
Handling- Geo check / change. Not quite as good as a 911 but makes a surprising difference on the Vantage especially with an no factory setting.
Repair bills? Didn't ask left my insurance company to pay for it
4.3 not that fast
Evora S is a wonderful beast.
I'd scratch that GTR itch if I were you OP.
Had an Evora in the past and it was the sharper to drive but cannot give the same sense of occasion. As Harry Flashman said, those classic looks are hard to beat and the new one only serves to highlight that, IMO. Its an achingly beautiful car and sounds better than 99% out there as standard (with F22 removed). I can overlook a whole host of its less than dynamic drive just for the looks, inside and out. It's also surprisingly practical in many ways too so to use day to day never really much of a chore.
Running costs are, however, pricey. My service history is littered with bills of £2.5k - £10k (the former being my last one which wasn't massively problematic but my radiator was starting to leak - common fault, and needed a new headlight washer assembly - the latter was one paid for thankfully by the previous owner for tappets). There does seem to be a common belief the cheques are blank for Aston owners and so I do think there are many examples of high costs that might be far less with a more questioning owner with less deep pockets and it seems as these cars are now in that price bracket, some of the new generation of owners are being more resourceful and avoiding some of the pants down prices by sourcing the parts themselves, or the alternative part (OEM but direct from manufacturer such as Bosch etc) and avoiding the Aston tax. A few more independents are also on hand to deal at non-Aston rates.
Drives very much like my old TVRs in many ways.
I've always been a Porsche guy - yet to own one, mind! - so that's my scratch that needs itching. But, I can't help but notice that an AMV8 can be got into for the same money as a 997 and it does perhaps have a bit more of a sense of occasion about it.
A chap I worked for leased one in 2007 and that's probably where it came onto my desirability radar - that whole 'one day I'll get a car like that' thing.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff