15 years to get V8 Vantage
Discussion
Having a goal / dream is a wonderful thing.
For my 40th, 15 years ago my wife hired a 4.3 Vantage for me for a long weekend - I enjoyed it, she absolutely adored it and vowed that one day, no matter how long it took she would buy herself one.
The years passed, other cars crept on to her consideration list but always the same result - "Buts it's not an Aston". If I'm honest I always thought her dream was just that - a dream.
Before I bought my Tuscan I did consider a Vantage, my budget would have got me into a 4.3 at the lower end of the price scale but when I told the other half that I was considering one, instead of being pleased she was disappointed, it was her dream, not mine - the wonderful world of a womans logic
Unbeknown to me, every month for 15 years she had been putting a little money aside. In recent months she had started to ask more questions about the market for V8 Vantages, should she go 4.3 or 4.7, manual or Sportshift, what were maintenance costs like etc. She has always been a petrolhead but these seemed very specific questions.
A small inheritance a couple of months ago had bumped her fund up to the point where her dream was in sight, with a contngency pot included and she announced what she had been doing and asked if I could help her source a car.
Long discussions followed, budget allowed us to be able to go for a 4.7, coupe was always the route she was going and after a recent operation to replace several toe joints in her left foot it was decided that Sportshift would be the better option, I feared that even with a twin plate clutch a manual would prove hard work for her and take the shine off the driving experience.
Equally quickly we decided that purchase route would be either AM specialist or private - she was prepared to pay a premium for a trade bought car but it would need to be from a business that knew / understood the car.
The search started - Pistonheads, the AM specialists, Autotrader and even the good old Bay of E, unusually in my experience it was Autotrader that seemed to throw up the best selection of cars.
By searching through many adverts my better half began to form a better idea of what she was looking for in terms of spec:
Preferred
4.7 coupe Speedshift
Grey with iron ore interior
Must have
Premium audio
Good, ideally full AM / AM specialist history
At least 6 months MOT
Sensible mileage (no more than 5k per year)
Nice to have
Recent clutch change
Brakes and tyres not in need of imminent replacement
None of the usual corrosion issues
Not to haves
Green paint
Roadster
20 spoke wheels
Blue interior
Would consider
A really really good 4.3
A manual with twin plate clutch
Sandstorm or black interior
The list was hers, I did not like the Iron Ore interior but was her preference (the one she hired 15 years ago had this and perhaps it was a throwback) but she accepted that this was a marmite choice and would not rule out a Sandstorm or black interior.
On speaking to sellers the big surprise was how difficult it was to find cars with full history, many cars were advertised with such but then declared as having 2-3 years between services, focusing on the distance between services and ignoring the time - maybe not an issue for some people but it was for us
It very quickly became clear that whilst her list of wants and the way in which she categorised them was not what I would consider unrealistic it would still pay to have some degree of flexibility and thats when things fell into place.
A nicely written advert (I have, possibly to my own detriment, dismissed many cars in the past because of poor adverts), decent spec, claim of full AM history, fairly priced but not in a colour that I thought was particularly nice and not a great fan of the 10 spoke black / diamond cut alloys.
Messages exchanged and agreement to go and view was made, time was tight as there were other people interested (!!) so my other half entrusted me with sole responsibility. I have bought and sold a good number of cars but for some reason this one had me very uneasy, was it that I felt it was not the right car, was it that I had been tasked with helping to fulfil a 15 year old dream and I was feeling the pressure, not sure.
A sleepless pre-viewing night ensued with me getting up at 3am to do more research, look at more adverts before setting off.
Arriving massively earlier than expected (M6 / M1 behaving itself for once) saw me pull up in front of a car whose colour immediately blew me away. The Lightning Silver looked flat and boring in the ad images, in the metal it was stunning, to my eyes very similar to (but even nicer) than one of my all time favourite colours, BMW Siverstone Blue.
Seller was incredibly pleasant, cups of tea made, long conversation about his history with Astons (clearly an enthusiast), going through paperwork and then out to the car, Unfortunately it had started to rain, not ideal when checking bodywork but a decent drive took place followed by an impromptu visit to a local garage he used where car could be dried off and stuck on the 4 post lift for a check of the underside. Being able to inspect so closely, under unforgiving artificial light showed up absolutely nothing of any concern - the 3 stone chips highlighted was the total sum of imperfections -n astonishing on a 13 year old car.
Returning to sellers house I knew I was going to break the cardinal rule of not buying the first car you look at but I have history of this and either I have been luck or my judgement is sound as its never bit me.
A deal was quickly struck (a very small reduction in price and promise of 1/2 tank of fuel) with a deposit placed that was refundable if my wife, upon viewing decided it was not the car for her.
On leaving there was no sign of buyers remorse, detailing the car to my wife she has concluded that there is no need for her to view, she is trusting my judgement (always a worry) so now awaiting private plate to be done by seller and a collection date agreed.
The car itself (from advert)
url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/PDvYvm56[/url]
36k, full AM history (10 services) with last one 3 months ago at AM works
AM warranty until Aug 2023
Lighning silver, Obsidian black interior with silver stitching
Sport pack
Memory seats
Heated seats
Premium audio
N400 sills
Clear rear lights
Forged alloys (unmarked) with recent Bridgestone Potenzas
Brakes within last 3k miles
Clutch replaced by David Appleby less than 5k ago
Heated screen
Folding mirrors
I just hope the car lives up to my wifes expectations and memories of that 4.3 hire car in 2007
For my 40th, 15 years ago my wife hired a 4.3 Vantage for me for a long weekend - I enjoyed it, she absolutely adored it and vowed that one day, no matter how long it took she would buy herself one.
The years passed, other cars crept on to her consideration list but always the same result - "Buts it's not an Aston". If I'm honest I always thought her dream was just that - a dream.
Before I bought my Tuscan I did consider a Vantage, my budget would have got me into a 4.3 at the lower end of the price scale but when I told the other half that I was considering one, instead of being pleased she was disappointed, it was her dream, not mine - the wonderful world of a womans logic
Unbeknown to me, every month for 15 years she had been putting a little money aside. In recent months she had started to ask more questions about the market for V8 Vantages, should she go 4.3 or 4.7, manual or Sportshift, what were maintenance costs like etc. She has always been a petrolhead but these seemed very specific questions.
A small inheritance a couple of months ago had bumped her fund up to the point where her dream was in sight, with a contngency pot included and she announced what she had been doing and asked if I could help her source a car.
Long discussions followed, budget allowed us to be able to go for a 4.7, coupe was always the route she was going and after a recent operation to replace several toe joints in her left foot it was decided that Sportshift would be the better option, I feared that even with a twin plate clutch a manual would prove hard work for her and take the shine off the driving experience.
Equally quickly we decided that purchase route would be either AM specialist or private - she was prepared to pay a premium for a trade bought car but it would need to be from a business that knew / understood the car.
The search started - Pistonheads, the AM specialists, Autotrader and even the good old Bay of E, unusually in my experience it was Autotrader that seemed to throw up the best selection of cars.
By searching through many adverts my better half began to form a better idea of what she was looking for in terms of spec:
Preferred
4.7 coupe Speedshift
Grey with iron ore interior
Must have
Premium audio
Good, ideally full AM / AM specialist history
At least 6 months MOT
Sensible mileage (no more than 5k per year)
Nice to have
Recent clutch change
Brakes and tyres not in need of imminent replacement
None of the usual corrosion issues
Not to haves
Green paint
Roadster
20 spoke wheels
Blue interior
Would consider
A really really good 4.3
A manual with twin plate clutch
Sandstorm or black interior
The list was hers, I did not like the Iron Ore interior but was her preference (the one she hired 15 years ago had this and perhaps it was a throwback) but she accepted that this was a marmite choice and would not rule out a Sandstorm or black interior.
On speaking to sellers the big surprise was how difficult it was to find cars with full history, many cars were advertised with such but then declared as having 2-3 years between services, focusing on the distance between services and ignoring the time - maybe not an issue for some people but it was for us
It very quickly became clear that whilst her list of wants and the way in which she categorised them was not what I would consider unrealistic it would still pay to have some degree of flexibility and thats when things fell into place.
A nicely written advert (I have, possibly to my own detriment, dismissed many cars in the past because of poor adverts), decent spec, claim of full AM history, fairly priced but not in a colour that I thought was particularly nice and not a great fan of the 10 spoke black / diamond cut alloys.
Messages exchanged and agreement to go and view was made, time was tight as there were other people interested (!!) so my other half entrusted me with sole responsibility. I have bought and sold a good number of cars but for some reason this one had me very uneasy, was it that I felt it was not the right car, was it that I had been tasked with helping to fulfil a 15 year old dream and I was feeling the pressure, not sure.
A sleepless pre-viewing night ensued with me getting up at 3am to do more research, look at more adverts before setting off.
Arriving massively earlier than expected (M6 / M1 behaving itself for once) saw me pull up in front of a car whose colour immediately blew me away. The Lightning Silver looked flat and boring in the ad images, in the metal it was stunning, to my eyes very similar to (but even nicer) than one of my all time favourite colours, BMW Siverstone Blue.
Seller was incredibly pleasant, cups of tea made, long conversation about his history with Astons (clearly an enthusiast), going through paperwork and then out to the car, Unfortunately it had started to rain, not ideal when checking bodywork but a decent drive took place followed by an impromptu visit to a local garage he used where car could be dried off and stuck on the 4 post lift for a check of the underside. Being able to inspect so closely, under unforgiving artificial light showed up absolutely nothing of any concern - the 3 stone chips highlighted was the total sum of imperfections -n astonishing on a 13 year old car.
Returning to sellers house I knew I was going to break the cardinal rule of not buying the first car you look at but I have history of this and either I have been luck or my judgement is sound as its never bit me.
A deal was quickly struck (a very small reduction in price and promise of 1/2 tank of fuel) with a deposit placed that was refundable if my wife, upon viewing decided it was not the car for her.
On leaving there was no sign of buyers remorse, detailing the car to my wife she has concluded that there is no need for her to view, she is trusting my judgement (always a worry) so now awaiting private plate to be done by seller and a collection date agreed.
The car itself (from advert)
url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/PDvYvm56[/url]36k, full AM history (10 services) with last one 3 months ago at AM works
AM warranty until Aug 2023
Lighning silver, Obsidian black interior with silver stitching
Sport pack
Memory seats
Heated seats
Premium audio
N400 sills
Clear rear lights
Forged alloys (unmarked) with recent Bridgestone Potenzas
Brakes within last 3k miles
Clutch replaced by David Appleby less than 5k ago
Heated screen
Folding mirrors
I just hope the car lives up to my wifes expectations and memories of that 4.3 hire car in 2007
Crudeoink said:
Great story and looks a lovely car. Please do keep us updated as & when you pick it up and the good lady has her first drive!
This - great story OP and pleased for you/SWMBO for finally attaining the car you wanted 
Hope it brings you many happy miles and look forward to updates!MrC986 said:
Well done Andy, I feared for a moment the Tuscan had gone! MarkV8V is quite local to you & he had a Sportshift V8 Vantage previously & might be a useful source of knowledge if you need it. Having the warranty is good for peace of mind. I hope SWMBO enjoys the new car....
No, Tuscan is staying, OH is not even insured on that as clutch is too heavy for herI will look MarkV8V up - thanks for the heads up
Excellent story. My dream car too, I will have one one day too. Such a timeless design. I could have just about stretched to one this year but I have a couple of cars already and have ordered a GR86 so I seem to have pissed away a significant lump of my Vantage fund, oops. Keep the updates coming, I would like to know if it meets exoectations.
Ha, story similar to myself, but not executed yet.
Liked the 1 series BMW, and the Mazda RX8 when they first came out. Saved hard for 3 years and amassed £10k to get a used one. Then thought if I kept going, I could do the same again in the next 3 years and then borrow another 10k to get an early Vantage.
Being self employed with no pension, it seemed unwise, so used the £30k as a deposit on a buy to let! Managed to pay that off in 10 years, so mortgage free for the last 6.
Just got to sell it now, keep some capital back, and finally get my dream Vantage. Or will it be an LC500......
Liked the 1 series BMW, and the Mazda RX8 when they first came out. Saved hard for 3 years and amassed £10k to get a used one. Then thought if I kept going, I could do the same again in the next 3 years and then borrow another 10k to get an early Vantage.
Being self employed with no pension, it seemed unwise, so used the £30k as a deposit on a buy to let! Managed to pay that off in 10 years, so mortgage free for the last 6.
Just got to sell it now, keep some capital back, and finally get my dream Vantage. Or will it be an LC500......
Paracetamol said:
Got to love UK bartering. Half a tank of petrol.Here in UAE people have no qualms in offering 70pc of the asking price.
I did get a small (% wise) cash discount, enough to pay for the 1st years insurance - to be honest the car was totally straight and if he'd have stuck to the full asking price I would have still bought
What a fantastic story, I am so pleased for you both. Genuinely had me smiling away. I have recently (well 2 years ago) completed the same journey, I saved for 15 years and bought my dream car, the achievement and satisfaction is just beyond limits so I very much know where you and your lady are at.
Bookmarked with pleasure.
Bookmarked with pleasure.
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