experience with AM V8 Vantage?

[Robmaster]

Hey guy

i know, it's a M3 forum, but i know there are some Aston Martin lovers here. also all AM forums are crap.. ;-)


i'm thinking about to change my M3 for a AM V8 Vantage (4.3L, 385HP). anyone have some experience with this car?


thanks for help guys!


PS: please no "M3 is way better" discusions here. i know the M3 is a bit faster and had the newer interior, but the image of the M3 here is the same as Ford Mustag had in the US... or even more worse...

[Soorena]

If you want one just because it's cheaper now, i say search a bit more. AM's aren't known for their reliability, and they tend to be very expensive to maintain. The car look like sex though, rolling art. The sound is insane and it's not that lazy as it may seem. Overall if you want to keep that car, my vote is no, but for sake of a change, Vantage is a great car to have for a short period.

[LarThaL]

Originally Posted by Robmaster

Hey guy

i know, it's a M3 forum, but i know there are some Aston Martin lovers here. also all AM forums are crap.. ;-)


i'm thinking about to change my M3 for a AM V8 Vantage (4.3L, 385HP). anyone have some experience with this car?


thanks for help guys!


PS: please no "M3 is way better" discusions here. i know the M3 is a bit faster and had the newer interior, but the image of the M3 here is the same as Ford Mustag had in the US... or even more worse...

Love the Vantage. May well be my next car after the M3. IMO, the single best looking car on the planet, inside and out. Plus, there is such a mystique about Aston Martin. From what I know, they are very reliable from a mechanical standpoint. The engine is mounted fully behind the front axle. As such, it is a stellar handler.

However......make an effort to get the 4.7 V8. Big enough of a performance difference to make it worth the extra cash. Started with MY '09.

[bga23]

AMs are some the best looking cars around, period. From what I've heard if you're going to own one it is best to do so under warranty, as doing any work on one is rather expensive.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by Soorena

AM's aren't known for their reliability, and they tend to be very expensive to maintain.

I fully disagree with that statement atleast in the case for a Vantage. I was one of the few instructors at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. They had a fleet of 7 AM Vantage N24 GT4 race cars. These were used commercially for arrive and drive customers and took a serious beating day in and day out. Sure it went through consumables (brake pads: Pagid yellow) but not at an alarming rate either. Apart from that, the paddle shifter was SPOT on along with the diff and motor and we never had any mechanical issues. The GT4 is based on the street car (engine and tranny wise).

It was after beating on those cars transmission I opted for the DCT on mine.

Hope this helps.

Lutfy

[Soorena]

Originally Posted by lutfy

I fully disagree with that statement atleast in the case for a Vantage. I was one of the few instructors at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. They had a fleet of 7 AM Vantage N24 GT4 race cars. These were used commercially for arrive and drive customers and took a serious beating day in and day out. Sure it went through consumables (brake pads: Pagid yellow) but not at an alarming rate either. Apart from that, the paddle shifter was SPOT on along with the diff and motor and we never had any mechanical issues. The GT4 is based on the street car (engine and tranny wise).

It was after beating on those cars transmission I opted for the DCT on mine.

Hope this helps.

Lutfy

You are talking about a racecar with different electronics. My cousin had a 4.3 Vantage, and i witnessed the electronic glitches with my own eyes over the months he had the car. Driver with dead motor, faulty navigation and problems with audio system is what i'm aware of.

[Seattle M3]

They are great cars. Only mechanical issues they have is clutches on he SS transmissions only last 10-15k. Front timing chain leaks on the 4.3l most were fixed under warranty though. 4.7l didn't suffer from this.

[AJ_MO]

My father is a british car fan, so in his motorlife he had 2 Astons, a 2006 V8 Vantage 385 Manual and a 2007 DB9 Tochtronic. So I can speak for direct experience. Astons are one of the most beautiful cars out there (IMHO), class and pussy magnet like no other. The quality of the interior material is over the top.

BUT:
- The 4.3 is slow (same performance as a 996 3.4). The 4.7 instead is quite fast.
- The AM navi has his own life and works when he wants to.
- The assembly of the car really is hand built, which means air spoof, water leaks into the interior ecc. The 4.7 has been improved, they say!

After only 1 year my father was convinced on getting a DB9 to solve all this issues that he was complaining about...worst choice ever! In 3 years and 20 000 km the cars passed 7 months on the shop, and I couldn't get a 997 S (355hp) of a friend out of my tail in performance.

If you are tire of the M or wants better "car reputation"...997 is the way to go. But I don't feel like telling you not to experience the AM...maybe try it for a year, the price won't get much lower than now so you won't loose much money if you decide to trade it after a year or few months...maybe you fall in love and just to keep it in the garage as an instant classic for many years...the V8 will always be hot!

Ps: Go for the manual, it has some slipping cluth problems when pushed hard and the life is not too long (around 40-50k km) but is way better than the flappy paddles semi manual they have.

[RingMeister01]

Since you are only concerned on how people look at you, then you definitely should be apart of the Vantage group. They have great looking cars, I agree.

[Robmaster]

thanks for all your answers.

all my cars are cash paid, so it's not just a trade in. i will keep this car for longer.
mechanical issue are no problem, my dad and my brothner had a full loaded garage with two lifts for their hobby (FIA races) so we can do all work by ourself.


i will go test drive one at saturday, will post here a small review after.

[John Tanglewood]

Originally Posted by Robmaster

thanks for all your answers.

all my cars are cash paid, so it's not just a trade in. i will keep this car for longer.
mechanical issue are no problem, my dad and my brothner had a full loaded garage with two lifts for their hobby (FIA races) so we can do all work by ourself.


i will go test drive one at saturday, will post here a small review after.

Hey man! My father had a Vantage V8 that I used to take out every other weekend for some cruising and errands. The car works amazingly as a grocery getter, as it's very user-friendly and easy to drive.

The V8 gurgle is intoxicating, I prefer it even to the V12 Astons and my father's new DB-S....you just cannot beat the low end mismash of throaty sounds.

Trunk size is decent, though I'm not sure you can get a set of clubs in. Same goes for the backseat, which is non-existant.

All in all it's a fantastic car with average reliability that won't be great for everyday use unless you have a second car. Good luck!

[Raja Ventureshield]

i drove one when it came out. It's a very very nice car. I also hear they are much more reliable than the older ones. have fun in 1. I can imagine driving around Montenegro in an Aston. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

[Robmaster]

thanks guys for your review!

@John Tanglewood: did your father had any problems with the Vantage?

and it would be my weekend car, like the M3. (have a E39 523i for everyday use)

[Kwando]

YOLO

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by Soorena

You are talking about a racecar with different electronics.

Same electronics as street cars (didnt have the optional GT4 diagnostic) seven cars one full year zero issues including transmission, diff and engine. GT4 is basically a stripped down street version and these cars also had cat cons.

Lutfy

[Uiop]

GL

[Johndong888]

YAY for this thread! There's a 2013 Vantage nearby here that I want to go try out. It's manual and of course the 4.7 version. I'm thinking about adding it as a weekender with the M3 as daily duty.

Do question about the reliability though. Heard they got better and since this is a 2013 model, I hope it's okay.

[RudyP]

I added a 2010 Vantage to my garage about 2-3 months ago and am thoroughly enjoying it. Amazing car that is very different for the Porsches and BMWs that I usually drive. I haven't had it long enough to gauge reliability but forum reports suggest it really isn't that bad on newer models. Dealer pricing for parts and service is definitely way more than a BMW or Porsche though. It seems to be closer to Italian exotic pricing than to German sports car pricing. But as long as you are comfortable with that they are IMO worth it.

[Ezio]

IMO I understand the want to keep a better image. Trust me I am in my early 20s been driving nice cars since day one. It's the only way I wanna live. I feel the car will do the trick looks wise, but the car would get boring in terms of performance. Then when you show your car to someone it's really not that fast as people would think. That's my only point

[Johndong888]

Originally Posted by Ezio

IMO I understand the want to keep a better image. Trust me I am in my early 20s been driving nice cars since day one. It's the only way I wanna live. I feel the car will do the trick looks wise, but the car would get boring in terms of performance. Then when you show your car to someone it's really not that fast as people would think. That's my only point

Yeah it's definitely not a performer if that's what you're into. It should be very comparable with our E92 M3s. I'm looking at the car more for the looks as I barely drive the m3 to the max potential.

[paddy335]

I've never driven one, but if you follow the motoring press over the years it seems to be a common theme that the 'lesser' AM's are the better ones, at least from a performance perspective. And by 'performance' I don't mean drag strip, I mean as a sports car for handling, agility, as well as having decent power. So from that perspective the V8 is a highly regarded option. Andrew Frankel loves it - that's good enough for me. They sound great and look beautifully proportioned IMO also. Lots of character in that package.

As for reliability, a good friend owns a Euro specialist indy. They mainly do Porkers but do quite a few AM's. Generally speaking they are not regarded as a reliable car, requiring frequent love and attention. Build quality is quite random. OEM parts are extremely expensive (relative to Porsche say) and sometimes in short supply.