We never need an excuse to delve into the PH Classifieds, but it's far easier to while away the day (sorry, research) when actually required to. So, with a scheduled YKYWT slot and a recently published
V8 Vantage Buying Guide
, there was only one logical choice.
Still looks great nearly eight years on
So here we are PHers, the £30,000 Aston V8 Vantage (you can haggle off the extra £750). A
55-plate 4.3 manual
, it's being sold privately after three years and 10,000 miles in the hands of the current owner. So far, so good, and the encouraging news keeps coming: Tungsten Silver is a good colour, mileage is fine at 38,000 and it has a full Aston Martin service history. Tax and MOT run until next July and heck, the description is even lucid and informative, which is more than can be said for a significant amount of classifieds listings.
If the advert and images are an accurate reflection of the car, it could be a fantastic first Aston. Personally, a DB7 Vantage wouldn't get a look next to a V8, though it would surely be a fantastic (if agonising) decision for someone to make.
With weather like this, it would be rude not to...
Reading through our buying guide shows there aren't too many issues surrounding used V8 Vantages. However, its consumables can be expensive and so should be used as a bargaining tool. Usefully, our featured car has new rear tyres, but check the history for regular work on the brakes too. Despite this, it won't require mollycoddling like older Astons, allowing even more opportunities to enjoy one.
But then given the stunning summer Britain is experiencing, how about a V8 Roadster? More noise, more style and, er, more reflections off that shiny dashboard. Roadsters appear to live even more cherished lives than the coupes, with all the cars under £50,000 having covered less than 30,000 miles. An automatic is perhaps more acceptable with the soft-top V8; this auto in grey with red leather is one of the cheapest on PH despite just 12,000 miles. Manual fans are catered for by this Midnight Blue Roadster, complete with fresh brake pads at all four corners.
A 420hp Vantage for £40K? Try this Bamford 4.3
4.7s
is £50,000, the additional 40hp and 33lb ft of torque making the V8 Vantage the car many wanted from 2005. A more unconventional route to a 400+hp V8 Vantage is offered by this alluring £40,000
Bamford Rose 4.3
So the choice is out there, and everything to be wary of can be found in the PH Buying Guide. The £30K V8 Vantage is a reality, so what's stopping you? Sorry, none of the V8s are fast enough? V12 Vantages are right this way...
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Price: £30,750
Why you should: It's a modern, cherished, desirable Aston for £30,000
Why you shouldn't: The 4.7 (or that Bamford Rose) is probably worth the extra...
See the original advert here