Inspired or idiotic? "Cheap" V8 Vantage
Discussion
Since Covid hit, I've been WFH and this is now permanent. I therefore decided that I didn't need a shed for the daily commute and this would be my last chance of a fling with a raucous V8 before they are legislated or priced off the road.
I'm far from loaded, and I really wanted to avoid borrowing, so my budget was limited to the sale proceeds of my turbo-nutter modified Fiat Coupe and my unbelievably versatile and reliable Alfa Romeo GT diesel plus some very determined saving-up. All of this meant that my target market for a V8 Vantage was very much entry-level. However, for me, thirty grand is still an awful lot of money and not something I could easily recover from if I bought a lemon.
I'm aware through bitter experience that buying at the cheap end of the range for any car is asking for trouble, so I was petrified (and still am) that an entry-level Aston from the cheap end of the classifieds could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. I did a LOT of research and got a lot of help from the very knowledgeable folk in the PH Aston sub-forum. I saw several cars and learned a lot about the specs and options. After several disappointing viewings, I found a car that looked and felt right. It's a manual 2007 4.3 Coupe with 60,000 miles in Onyx Black with slightly rare 20-spoke wheels and a Sandstone leather interior. I nearly didn't go to see it as I wasn't struck with the colour combination and wheels, but when I saw it in the flesh, I was hooked. I would have preferred a non-black/grey/silver colour, but they are few and far between and often command a premium. Sadly, "interesting" body colours are often accompanied by "challenging" interiors.
It wasn't perfect - problems I spotted on the viewing and test drive:-
Dealer photos
The first thing I did was have four new Michelin PS4S fitted - at least I wasn't worried that the car would spit me into the scenery now.
Early impressions are:
It's booked in for an appraisal and a full service at Aston Engineering in Derby - the clutch needs bleeding as the pedal feel is poor. I'll also get them to look at the headlamp aim (way too low) and the geometry, as it has a bit of rear-end bump-steer when cornering hard.
The paintwork is very swirly, but my youngest son and I are both enthusiastic amateur detailers, so it will get a full paint correction and ceramic coating when the weather warms up a bit.
I have a feeling it is going to break my heart (and my wallet) at some point, with a hefty unexpected bill. I'm budgeting £1k a year for maintenance and I have a decent reserve for the inevitable big bill. I desperately need to avoid modding it, as the return on investment is poor (one of the downsides of a non-turbo lump). If (when) the clutch finally gives up, I'll have a lightened flywheel and twin-plate clutch fitted, which I'm told is transformative. I also suspect it will need dampers at some point, which will probably be Nitrons or Bilstein, as they get rave reviews from owners.
I'm very aware that compared with some other Reader's Cars, this is pretty tame. However, for now, I'm just chuffed to bits to own one of the best looking cars of all time (subjective, I know, but there aren't many detractors)
Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
Vyrnwy Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
A bridge too far? by Nigel Ogram, on Flickr
I'm far from loaded, and I really wanted to avoid borrowing, so my budget was limited to the sale proceeds of my turbo-nutter modified Fiat Coupe and my unbelievably versatile and reliable Alfa Romeo GT diesel plus some very determined saving-up. All of this meant that my target market for a V8 Vantage was very much entry-level. However, for me, thirty grand is still an awful lot of money and not something I could easily recover from if I bought a lemon.
I'm aware through bitter experience that buying at the cheap end of the range for any car is asking for trouble, so I was petrified (and still am) that an entry-level Aston from the cheap end of the classifieds could be a financial disaster waiting to happen. I did a LOT of research and got a lot of help from the very knowledgeable folk in the PH Aston sub-forum. I saw several cars and learned a lot about the specs and options. After several disappointing viewings, I found a car that looked and felt right. It's a manual 2007 4.3 Coupe with 60,000 miles in Onyx Black with slightly rare 20-spoke wheels and a Sandstone leather interior. I nearly didn't go to see it as I wasn't struck with the colour combination and wheels, but when I saw it in the flesh, I was hooked. I would have preferred a non-black/grey/silver colour, but they are few and far between and often command a premium. Sadly, "interesting" body colours are often accompanied by "challenging" interiors.
It wasn't perfect - problems I spotted on the viewing and test drive:-
- Stone chips to the side skirts / sills
- Paintwork flaking on the bottom of the passenger door
- Condensation in one rear lamp
- Slight crazing of the plastics to one headlamp
- Rear tyres 75% worn and eight years old and front tyres 11(!) years old
- Front discs very slightly warped
- Grille looking a bit shabby
- Gas struts wouldn't hold the bonnet
- Satnav screen wouldn't lift
- Boot carpet was wet
Dealer photos
The first thing I did was have four new Michelin PS4S fitted - at least I wasn't worried that the car would spit me into the scenery now.
Early impressions are:
- Every drive is an event
- Despite being 15 years old, it's a very nice place to be
- All the controls are heavy, but very feelsome. Clutch, gearchange, steering all have significant weight.
- Whilst it's not slow, it isn't hugely fast either - it wouldn't see which way an A45AMG or RS3 went
- The noise is absolutely epic, especially at the top end of the rev range
- The fuel consumption is absolutely tragic - I've had two tanks over 20mg (just) - the rest have been high teens. On full throttle in 4th gear, the instantaneous fuel consumption shows as 4.3mpg.
- Some factory parts are off-the-scale expensive, but there are many alternatives (eg Mazda RX8 pollen filters for £20 instead of the identical Aston items at about £120)
- The throttle response (due to the very heavy flywheel) is poor - can't easily blip the throttle on downchanges
- Reverse gear ratio is stupidly high - about midway between first and second - very easy to stall it
- I wish it had the optional bluetooth integration to save spoiling the lines of the dash with a phone holder
- The Satnav is truly awful - poor routing and terrible graphics. I shouldn't have bothered mending the motor for the motorised satnav screen....
It's booked in for an appraisal and a full service at Aston Engineering in Derby - the clutch needs bleeding as the pedal feel is poor. I'll also get them to look at the headlamp aim (way too low) and the geometry, as it has a bit of rear-end bump-steer when cornering hard.
The paintwork is very swirly, but my youngest son and I are both enthusiastic amateur detailers, so it will get a full paint correction and ceramic coating when the weather warms up a bit.
I have a feeling it is going to break my heart (and my wallet) at some point, with a hefty unexpected bill. I'm budgeting £1k a year for maintenance and I have a decent reserve for the inevitable big bill. I desperately need to avoid modding it, as the return on investment is poor (one of the downsides of a non-turbo lump). If (when) the clutch finally gives up, I'll have a lightened flywheel and twin-plate clutch fitted, which I'm told is transformative. I also suspect it will need dampers at some point, which will probably be Nitrons or Bilstein, as they get rave reviews from owners.
I'm very aware that compared with some other Reader's Cars, this is pretty tame. However, for now, I'm just chuffed to bits to own one of the best looking cars of all time (subjective, I know, but there aren't many detractors)
Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrVyrnwy Vantage by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrA bridge too far? by Nigel Ogram, on FlickrEdited by Nigel_O on Friday 17th May 15:12
Looks great Nigel.
I know you briefly considered my old Vantage but pleased you got one in the end. Sounds like you know what you are doing to run it at a reasonable cost in DIY and sourcing non-Aston parts where you can. I still think £1k PA is optimistic I must say but best of luck!
When you say easy to stall in reverse, I wondered what you meant? The "anti-stall" thingy meant I would rarely use any throttle at all reversing unless it was on a slope. Just feathering off the clutch would reverse the car without issue?
I know you briefly considered my old Vantage but pleased you got one in the end. Sounds like you know what you are doing to run it at a reasonable cost in DIY and sourcing non-Aston parts where you can. I still think £1k PA is optimistic I must say but best of luck!
When you say easy to stall in reverse, I wondered what you meant? The "anti-stall" thingy meant I would rarely use any throttle at all reversing unless it was on a slope. Just feathering off the clutch would reverse the car without issue?
And other than that, I agree with all of your other conclusions on the car - sat nodding my head and that was after a 5 year ownership! Never understood why people commented the interior was poor. Have heard it many times now but I always thought the interior was fantastic and a very special place to sit.
coldel said:
what a car to break your V8 duck with.
Not quite my V8 duck - I had a Rover SD1 when they were current, plus a Rover P6 when they were cheap classics and I also did a very stupid thing 20 years ago and bought a Ferrari F355 that I couldn't really affordAston is the most satisfying though and definitely the best-sounding
Edited by Nigel_O on Saturday 15th October 10:02
Can't wait to see how this goes, there seems to be a good amount of these in the us which is good for shaking out issues and leads to some very useful forum posts. I assume you'll be doing a fair amount of work yourself?
Much better if you can fix the niggles yourself and just get the book stamped for the annual oil and filter change!
Much better if you can fix the niggles yourself and just get the book stamped for the annual oil and filter change!
Beautiful cars and I love the wheels on yours. Certainly not tame! I had one for a year but was sadly somewhat underwhelmed by the experience. I had come from a BMW 1M and the Aston in comparison felt disappointing to drive. I also had it as a daily and think it would work better as a weekend car. As for looks and sound though they are hard to beat!
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