My Quest: Six cars in six years
Discussion
I have a plan. A six-year plan. Six cars in six years. Why? I’ll be 50 years young in 2027 and I’m only getting creakier as the years go by, so I set myself a target to have owned all of my most favourite sports cars that are remaining on the ‘to do’ list by the time I get to 50 - and start to vibe that 'old man in a sports car' look. Also, if I’m then so unbendy as to be happier with more traditional (rather than sports) cars, I will have at least crossed off all of the ones I’d like to own. And if I don’t get them all, it’ll have been a fun quest trying to achieve it anyway – so a win-win.
Here are the cars, in 1:18 scale to keep the motivation high:
2021-2022 was the turn of the 987 Boxster (which was great!), so that’s one down:
For 2022-2023 it was to be the Ferrari 360, but that didn’t happen because it turns out its really, really hard to actually find a good one.
One of the Ferrari inspections, not the greatest!
And so, somewhat frustrated and with enough time having now slid by without any progress I decided to aim by careless wallet towards one of the other cars instead. Enter the Aston!
A quick look on Auto Trader and this beauty was staring back at me, my perfect spec: Black with silver wheels, black interior and the standard dashboard. That’s the entirety of my spec requirements and this one matched them all! Oh, it also needed to be fairly cheap to mean I have options in the future; a (hopefully!) easier resale if and when the time comes or the possibility as maybe one to keep long term if the budget allows it whilst continuing my “before I’m an old man” mission. This one fit the bill, its done mega miles (100,000!) hence the price, but has got a full-service history. Mileage has never bothered me as long as the condition looks fairly decent (my Boxster had 110,000 miles with an amazing service record and ran perfectly).
Lets go and have a look, two hours drive away from me…
“Youuuuurrrrr not gonna fit in a Vantage!” was the comical greeting that I was met with by Adam, my sale man as he shook my hand. “Quite possibly,” I laughed, “This could be the shortest test in history”. “Well, go for it, have a look around and see what you think”, he said. I took my 6’4” frame over to the car at the front of the showroom, the lights gleaming off that lovely black paintwork. Surrounded by other Astons for company, I squeezed myself into the driver’s seat. My first impression was “Oh no, this isn’t going to work. My head was wedged against the roof lining – mimicking that of my Chevrolet Camaro – and reminiscent of the time I (almost) drove a Ferrari F40. Neither are particularly suited to my build. I started the ignition and all the electrics came to life. The words Power, Beauty and Soul light up on the dashboard. “I HAVE to make this work somehow”, I tell myself and started fiddling with the electronic seat controls. After some reconfiguration I managed to find a comfy position –it’s definitely a squeeze but I successfully managed to find space for all of my limbs – including my head.
Time for a quick test drive… Initial thoughts are that the seats are really comfortable and the clutch is not. A chat with the dealer and they think it’ll be ready for a new one, depending how I drive it in 6-8,000 miles, which in my mind means pre-sales talk for “it probably needs one now”. But we’ll see how we get on with it!
The comprehensive inspection involved me staring at the car for about 20 minutes, driving it and then deciding to buy it. Therefore, the potential for this car to steal all of my money over the next year or so is absolutely immense, but always finding an upside at least it’ll give me something to write about. Sometimes, you've just got to take a chance.
And just look at it! Look at it! To me, this is the most beautifully designed car that has ever been created. And now its mine. I’ll be picking it up in a couple of weeks’ time all being well. I’ll be sure to keep you updated
Wish me luck!
Here are the cars, in 1:18 scale to keep the motivation high:
2021-2022 was the turn of the 987 Boxster (which was great!), so that’s one down:
For 2022-2023 it was to be the Ferrari 360, but that didn’t happen because it turns out its really, really hard to actually find a good one.
One of the Ferrari inspections, not the greatest!
And so, somewhat frustrated and with enough time having now slid by without any progress I decided to aim by careless wallet towards one of the other cars instead. Enter the Aston!
A quick look on Auto Trader and this beauty was staring back at me, my perfect spec: Black with silver wheels, black interior and the standard dashboard. That’s the entirety of my spec requirements and this one matched them all! Oh, it also needed to be fairly cheap to mean I have options in the future; a (hopefully!) easier resale if and when the time comes or the possibility as maybe one to keep long term if the budget allows it whilst continuing my “before I’m an old man” mission. This one fit the bill, its done mega miles (100,000!) hence the price, but has got a full-service history. Mileage has never bothered me as long as the condition looks fairly decent (my Boxster had 110,000 miles with an amazing service record and ran perfectly).
Lets go and have a look, two hours drive away from me…
“Youuuuurrrrr not gonna fit in a Vantage!” was the comical greeting that I was met with by Adam, my sale man as he shook my hand. “Quite possibly,” I laughed, “This could be the shortest test in history”. “Well, go for it, have a look around and see what you think”, he said. I took my 6’4” frame over to the car at the front of the showroom, the lights gleaming off that lovely black paintwork. Surrounded by other Astons for company, I squeezed myself into the driver’s seat. My first impression was “Oh no, this isn’t going to work. My head was wedged against the roof lining – mimicking that of my Chevrolet Camaro – and reminiscent of the time I (almost) drove a Ferrari F40. Neither are particularly suited to my build. I started the ignition and all the electrics came to life. The words Power, Beauty and Soul light up on the dashboard. “I HAVE to make this work somehow”, I tell myself and started fiddling with the electronic seat controls. After some reconfiguration I managed to find a comfy position –it’s definitely a squeeze but I successfully managed to find space for all of my limbs – including my head.
Time for a quick test drive… Initial thoughts are that the seats are really comfortable and the clutch is not. A chat with the dealer and they think it’ll be ready for a new one, depending how I drive it in 6-8,000 miles, which in my mind means pre-sales talk for “it probably needs one now”. But we’ll see how we get on with it!
The comprehensive inspection involved me staring at the car for about 20 minutes, driving it and then deciding to buy it. Therefore, the potential for this car to steal all of my money over the next year or so is absolutely immense, but always finding an upside at least it’ll give me something to write about. Sometimes, you've just got to take a chance.
And just look at it! Look at it! To me, this is the most beautifully designed car that has ever been created. And now its mine. I’ll be picking it up in a couple of weeks’ time all being well. I’ll be sure to keep you updated
Wish me luck!
Edited by Cloudy147 on Monday 10th April 14:39
Interesting thread, all the best with the project!
Can I suggest swapping the scirocco with something more “sports car”. Perhaps an F Type (if you’ll fit!), Z4M, TTRS.
Most of the cars apart from the 360 should be easy ish to acquire and I’d imagine the 360 becomes more and more tricky to source over time. I’d go on the hunt for that in parallel if you aren’t already.
Good luck!
Can I suggest swapping the scirocco with something more “sports car”. Perhaps an F Type (if you’ll fit!), Z4M, TTRS.
Most of the cars apart from the 360 should be easy ish to acquire and I’d imagine the 360 becomes more and more tricky to source over time. I’d go on the hunt for that in parallel if you aren’t already.
Good luck!
Mine was pretty much faultless (leaking AC, paint oxidisation on the handles), over the 5 years I widened it, failed at some point aswell.
Clutch is an expensive job, £2.5 - 3k iirc, everyone and every dealer when I sold mine asked about it.
Enjoy, some great memories in mine around N Wales / ale Mans!
Clutch is an expensive job, £2.5 - 3k iirc, everyone and every dealer when I sold mine asked about it.
Enjoy, some great memories in mine around N Wales / ale Mans!
You’ll struggle to get a clutch done for £2.5k - £3k - it will be closer to £3.5k, but only if they don’t find anything else that needs fixing while they’re in there (they will find other stuff too)
If it’s a sportshift, it may be even more.
I bought my V8V at the bottom end of the market and got pretty lucky with it. I’m not sure I’d have bought it knowing it needed a clutch within 6-8k miles, unless it was at least £5k cheaper than anything else on the market.
If it’s a sportshift, it may be even more.
I bought my V8V at the bottom end of the market and got pretty lucky with it. I’m not sure I’d have bought it knowing it needed a clutch within 6-8k miles, unless it was at least £5k cheaper than anything else on the market.
They are great, solid cars but have slightly weak electrics (control modules, sensors, leaky lights) and early ones were not properly developed, though they respond really well to some minor upgrading of exhaust manifolds, suspension and especially clutch. Fitting Michelin PS4S is also a huge improvement over the standard Bridgestone tyres.
If even the salesman is telling you it might need a clutch soon, it really does mean it will likely need one within months or even weeks. If you can't do it yourself, it will be expensive. Brace yourself. Think of it as an opportunity to upgrade to a twin plate, light flywheel V12 clutch. You would not beleive the difference.
Many owners, if they want to keep and really enjoy their car, after putting decent tyres on, as follows:
1. V12 twin plate clutch and lightened flywheel (equally improves the automated manual (sportshift) and the manual)
2. Less restrictive stainless exhaust manifolds, 200 cell catalysts, light remap
3. Upgraded coilovers, Bilstein are one option. Many specialists offer the switchable option.
Good luck with your car. Though they can get under your skin, these V8's can be a bit marmite as they initially werent quite as good as they should have been (or as good as a 997) from the factory, however, with the above tweaks they can be dramatically improved....
Who knows, maybe you will fall in love and decide to keep it, then invest in making it what it should have been, as so many do
If even the salesman is telling you it might need a clutch soon, it really does mean it will likely need one within months or even weeks. If you can't do it yourself, it will be expensive. Brace yourself. Think of it as an opportunity to upgrade to a twin plate, light flywheel V12 clutch. You would not beleive the difference.
Many owners, if they want to keep and really enjoy their car, after putting decent tyres on, as follows:
1. V12 twin plate clutch and lightened flywheel (equally improves the automated manual (sportshift) and the manual)
2. Less restrictive stainless exhaust manifolds, 200 cell catalysts, light remap
3. Upgraded coilovers, Bilstein are one option. Many specialists offer the switchable option.
Good luck with your car. Though they can get under your skin, these V8's can be a bit marmite as they initially werent quite as good as they should have been (or as good as a 997) from the factory, however, with the above tweaks they can be dramatically improved....
Who knows, maybe you will fall in love and decide to keep it, then invest in making it what it should have been, as so many do
Thanks everyone for the replies!
If it does, it might stick around for a while. We'll see!
Its a two hour drive back home though so I'll have a good idea of comfort when I return and will update! But I don't think there is nearly as much room as there is in a comparable 997. If comparing to Porsche's two seater, I'd say the Cayman has more room. Its the roofline that does it, to keep those sleek looks you get less space up top.
Picking it up next week!
B'stard Child said:
Good luck
100K mile Aston - wonderful on the grounds that is things needed doing as the mileage got up there they probably were done
That's what I'm hoping! 100K mile Aston - wonderful on the grounds that is things needed doing as the mileage got up there they probably were done
MTK1919 said:
Interesting thread, all the best with the project!
Can I suggest swapping the scirocco with something more “sports car”. Perhaps an F Type (if you’ll fit!), Z4M, TTRS.
Most of the cars apart from the 360 should be easy ish to acquire and I’d imagine the 360 becomes more and more tricky to source over time. I’d go on the hunt for that in parallel if you aren’t already.
Good luck!
Thanks MTK! I love the design of the scirocco, think it has a lovely shape so it is a firm contender on my to-own list, albeit perhaps more as a runabout/daily car.Can I suggest swapping the scirocco with something more “sports car”. Perhaps an F Type (if you’ll fit!), Z4M, TTRS.
Most of the cars apart from the 360 should be easy ish to acquire and I’d imagine the 360 becomes more and more tricky to source over time. I’d go on the hunt for that in parallel if you aren’t already.
Good luck!
covmutley said:
A good days shopping!. Bet you can't wait to pick it up, good luck with it.
Thanks Cov, yep excited to begin my Aston Martin experience!Andy665 said:
Good to see how well they wear the miles, at least you will not be overly concerned about sticking some miles on to it
Yep, my plan is to drive it whenever I feel like it - although that said my daily miles aren't that high. This will be car number four, and taking our family car out of the equation, I probably only do 1,500 miles collectively on the others each year at the most - so even with determination it won't get used all that heavily.nismo48 said:
Great plan...and good luck with 'New' Aston
Thanks Nismo!Doofus said:
Seems like a fun idea. Five cars over five years, all the while looking forward to the day you finally get behind the wheel of a VW Scirocco.
Han Solo said:
Mine was pretty much faultless (leaking AC, paint oxidisation on the handles), over the 5 years I widened it, failed at some point aswell.
Clutch is an expensive job, £2.5 - 3k iirc, everyone and every dealer when I sold mine asked about it.
Enjoy, some great memories in mine around N Wales / ale Mans!
Thanks Han Solo, yes I've been told its around the £3k mark, so I'm ready for that if it needs it. How do you know if the clutch has had its day though? Its not slipping and it goes into gear without any issue that I can remember. Its pretty heavy though - is that a sign or are they all like that due to the design?Clutch is an expensive job, £2.5 - 3k iirc, everyone and every dealer when I sold mine asked about it.
Enjoy, some great memories in mine around N Wales / ale Mans!
Nigel_O said:
I bought my V8V at the bottom end of the market and got pretty lucky with it. I’m not sure I’d have bought it knowing it needed a clutch within 6-8k miles, unless it was at least £5k cheaper than anything else on the market.
Hi Nigel, it was £6k lower than the next available one at the time, so I think they've accounted for miles and clutch in the price.Calinours said:
Lots of great advice!
Thanks Calinours, great tips - will bare these in mind! They are such a lovely car to look at, it just needs to drive as good as it looks, and be comfortable enough for me to want to drive it. Oh, and it needs to behave! If it does, it might stick around for a while. We'll see!trickywoo said:
All the best with your plan.
I’m doing something similar but with motorbikes. I’ve been feeling the age limitations creeping up on those but hadn’t even thought about cars, not that I have the money to do the same with four wheels anyway.
Thankyou Trickywoo, and all the best to you with the bikes!I’m doing something similar but with motorbikes. I’ve been feeling the age limitations creeping up on those but hadn’t even thought about cars, not that I have the money to do the same with four wheels anyway.
seabod91 said:
It’s a clutch. Do it yourself on stands. I don’t get why people get scared of certain jobs when they’re the same principle as any other rwd car.. such a beautiful machine
Sadly I'm just not mechanically minded, so it's something I'd prefer to leave to the experts. I just like driving them CarlosSainz100 said:
I'm a bit miffed that at 6ft 4 you can't really fit great in a Vantage, especially as I'm the same height and long in leg....I had always assumed they were relatively roomy.
I know! Sorry to burst the bubble - but they aren't. Its a two hour drive back home though so I'll have a good idea of comfort when I return and will update! But I don't think there is nearly as much room as there is in a comparable 997. If comparing to Porsche's two seater, I'd say the Cayman has more room. Its the roofline that does it, to keep those sleek looks you get less space up top.Picking it up next week!
seabod91 said:
It’s a clutch. Do it yourself on stands. I don’t get why people get scared of certain jobs when they’re the same principle as any other rwd car.. such a beautiful machine
The AM transaxle clutch replacement is not so straightforward. Not just undertrays and all the exhausts and their heatshields, the entire rear transaxle has to come out, then torque tubes and carbon fibre propshaft...To to the job once, and properly, the massively better V12 twin plate clutch and lighter flywheel assembly should go in, this itself will require some mechanical tweaks, and a reflash of the ASM control software if a sportshift. Not for the fainthearted!
In a recent AMOC Q&A on the Vantage, Peter Martin, a Scottish independent Specialist covers this topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSkWG0UMDro - Clutches from 11:00 onwards. He specifically comments on the twin-plate at 15:30.
Bamford Rose are one of the top UK AM independents - here the proprietor Mike talks about the twin-plate clutch, its origins, why the V8V has a single plate (as opposed to the V12's rwin plate) and fitting a twin plate to a SportShift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqHrr4A2Qk - clutches bit starts at 5:30 until 15:30.
CarlosSainz100 said:
I'm a bit miffed that at 6ft 4 you can't really fit great in a Vantage, especially as I'm the same height and long in leg....I had always assumed they were relatively roomy.
Fantastic cars, and imo look loads better than the new Astons
I think it depends on your ‘shape’. 6’4” with short legs and a tall body may give headroom issues, but long legs and a ‘normal’ body should be fine - the seat goes a long way back. My 6’2” son has no problems at all and the seat isn’t anywhere near fully backFantastic cars, and imo look loads better than the new Astons
Its here! Whoop! Today was collection day, so I took an early train to the midlands to collect my 'new' car. 
All mine now
The train journey was relaxing and on-time and the handover was nice and smooth and the salesman gave me a quick overview of some of the Astons more unusual quirks (handbrake location and fuel cap operation amongst others). Beyond that it was payment, tax and then off!
This car just pre-dates the revised tax system meaning its on the Band K at £360 per year, rather than the higher bracket at £600+
Having had a look around the car now, there are a few bits and pieces that are looking a bit tatty and past their best - principally the drivers wing mirror stalk and the stone chip film that all sports cars have on the rear quarters. If I keep long term I'll be looking to improve both of these, dunno how I didn't notice these the first time around as they immediately stuck out when I collected it. However, neither would stop me from buying the car as it was a great deal. The salesman told me that he'd never had as many calls for a car as this one - likely due to the price and the relative condition.
A few cosmetic bits that could do with refreshing as part of the ownership journey
Positives then.... the clutch is nowhere near as heavy as I remembered it and the two hour drive home was absolutely fine. Its still heavier than my previous Porsche but it isn't bad. This is a sports car after all. Ditto for the driving position which is not too far off the comfort levels as my previous Boxster once I'd messed around with the seat adjustments and got it how I like it. The Boxster edges it for legroom (and headroom, obviously), but the Aston certainly isn't bad. And those with smaller buttocks than I will surely enjoy the enveloped bucket seats hugely.
Visually, the interior cabin is really nice, it looks lovely to me, particularly the instrument cluster which I think it really classy - and quite comical that the 70mph dial is soooooo far down the dial (which goes up to 220mph!).
Internet picture
Ergonomics are not Aston's strong suit with things not placed as intuitively as you'd expect, but that's all part of the learning process - and its that process which I think makes buying new cars interesting.
The Aston is a similar size to the Boxster too, which gives some good wiggle room all around the car when parked in the garage in the smaller side
So far, so good! All tucked up now in its box, both cars absolutely filthy and in desperate need of a wash... just need some warmer days before I tackle that job!!
All mine now
The train journey was relaxing and on-time and the handover was nice and smooth and the salesman gave me a quick overview of some of the Astons more unusual quirks (handbrake location and fuel cap operation amongst others). Beyond that it was payment, tax and then off!
This car just pre-dates the revised tax system meaning its on the Band K at £360 per year, rather than the higher bracket at £600+
Having had a look around the car now, there are a few bits and pieces that are looking a bit tatty and past their best - principally the drivers wing mirror stalk and the stone chip film that all sports cars have on the rear quarters. If I keep long term I'll be looking to improve both of these, dunno how I didn't notice these the first time around as they immediately stuck out when I collected it. However, neither would stop me from buying the car as it was a great deal. The salesman told me that he'd never had as many calls for a car as this one - likely due to the price and the relative condition.
A few cosmetic bits that could do with refreshing as part of the ownership journey
Positives then.... the clutch is nowhere near as heavy as I remembered it and the two hour drive home was absolutely fine. Its still heavier than my previous Porsche but it isn't bad. This is a sports car after all. Ditto for the driving position which is not too far off the comfort levels as my previous Boxster once I'd messed around with the seat adjustments and got it how I like it. The Boxster edges it for legroom (and headroom, obviously), but the Aston certainly isn't bad. And those with smaller buttocks than I will surely enjoy the enveloped bucket seats hugely.
Visually, the interior cabin is really nice, it looks lovely to me, particularly the instrument cluster which I think it really classy - and quite comical that the 70mph dial is soooooo far down the dial (which goes up to 220mph!).
Internet picture
Ergonomics are not Aston's strong suit with things not placed as intuitively as you'd expect, but that's all part of the learning process - and its that process which I think makes buying new cars interesting.
The Aston is a similar size to the Boxster too, which gives some good wiggle room all around the car when parked in the garage in the smaller side
So far, so good! All tucked up now in its box, both cars absolutely filthy and in desperate need of a wash... just need some warmer days before I tackle that job!!
Calinours said:
The AM transaxle clutch replacement is not so straightforward. Not just undertrays and all the exhausts and their heatshields, the entire rear transaxle has to come out, then torque tubes and carbon fibre propshaft...
To to the job once, and properly, the massively better V12 twin plate clutch and lighter flywheel assembly should go in, this itself will require some mechanical tweaks, and a reflash of the ASM control software if a sportshift. Not for the fainthearted!
In a recent AMOC Q&A on the Vantage, Peter Martin, a Scottish independent Specialist covers this topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSkWG0UMDro - Clutches from 11:00 onwards. He specifically comments on the twin-plate at 15:30.
Bamford Rose are one of the top UK AM independents - here the proprietor Mike talks about the twin-plate clutch, its origins, why the V8V has a single plate (as opposed to the V12's rwin plate) and fitting a twin plate to a SportShift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqHrr4A2Qk - clutches bit starts at 5:30 until 15:30.
Its not a difficult job provided you can manage the weight of the transaxle as they are heavy and the removal of the manifold goes reasonable smoothly. You get decent access to the manifold by removing the arch liner but its still a bit of a faff. other than those two things there is nothing inherently complex about the job.To to the job once, and properly, the massively better V12 twin plate clutch and lighter flywheel assembly should go in, this itself will require some mechanical tweaks, and a reflash of the ASM control software if a sportshift. Not for the fainthearted!
In a recent AMOC Q&A on the Vantage, Peter Martin, a Scottish independent Specialist covers this topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSkWG0UMDro - Clutches from 11:00 onwards. He specifically comments on the twin-plate at 15:30.
Bamford Rose are one of the top UK AM independents - here the proprietor Mike talks about the twin-plate clutch, its origins, why the V8V has a single plate (as opposed to the V12's rwin plate) and fitting a twin plate to a SportShift
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfqHrr4A2Qk - clutches bit starts at 5:30 until 15:30.
BR make a meal out of everything because its good for their business model
Had a great weekend of driving this weekend. Yesterday I met up with a few others from a local car club and we went to the Motorist - as this was a Saturday it was much less busy than the recent Sundays and so was a really, really pleasant morning out.
Then today was a longer drive up to the NY500 cafe, before heading out on a tour of the North Yorks Moors - some amazing roads and incredible scenery. Truly outstanding stuff.
Some shots from NY500 this morning:
The Aston behaved flawlessly and was pretty comfortable to drive.
Its foibles are largely in its ergonomics which are quite comical, rather than problematic. Most recently I've been thinking for several days that the windscreen washers had developed a fault as nothing sprayed when I pulled the windscreen stalk. Turns out the jets are actually on the button that you press at the end of the stalk, whereas when you pull the stalk, you just get some wiper action. Once you know, you know.
Picked up a fair amount of filth this weekend, and wearing it proudly.
Still in the honeymoon period, but so far so good. I do rather like this car, its fun to drive and I love the way it looks!
Next stop is to get my private number plate sorted out and transferred onto the car. I meant to go to Aston yesterday to get some new plates made up, but didn't get time so will do that in the coming week at some point.
Then today was a longer drive up to the NY500 cafe, before heading out on a tour of the North Yorks Moors - some amazing roads and incredible scenery. Truly outstanding stuff.
Some shots from NY500 this morning:
The Aston behaved flawlessly and was pretty comfortable to drive.
Its foibles are largely in its ergonomics which are quite comical, rather than problematic. Most recently I've been thinking for several days that the windscreen washers had developed a fault as nothing sprayed when I pulled the windscreen stalk. Turns out the jets are actually on the button that you press at the end of the stalk, whereas when you pull the stalk, you just get some wiper action.
Once you know, you know.Picked up a fair amount of filth this weekend, and wearing it proudly.
Still in the honeymoon period, but so far so good. I do rather like this car, its fun to drive and I love the way it looks!
Next stop is to get my private number plate sorted out and transferred onto the car. I meant to go to Aston yesterday to get some new plates made up, but didn't get time so will do that in the coming week at some point.
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