Need to know Vanquish S reliability
Discussion
I used to own a 2003 Vanquish and sold it. The gear box was unreliable in that it would slip out of gear by itself and even broke down. Yes I knew how to drive it.
Can any OWNER tell me what the Vanquish S is like? I would be really interested to know your experience with it, what year your vehicle is, any warranty claims and how long you have owned it. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Can any OWNER tell me what the Vanquish S is like? I would be really interested to know your experience with it, what year your vehicle is, any warranty claims and how long you have owned it. Thanks and look forward to hearing from you.
Hi --
I bought a Vanquish S last week, so only seven days of ownership (into it from a V8 Vantage and before that an M6, so can compare the Aston manual and BMW SMG gearboxes) -- first impressions
- very solid, beautifully built, intoxicating exhaust note, very quick
- clutch is absolutely fine, as long as you treat it well (into neutral at lights etc). Can be a bit clunky on gearchanges when cold, have only seen a flicker of the yellow clutch light once in seven days of city driving. Very smooth changes when warmed up (feels faster and smoother than the SMG II in the M6) - not sure what all the bad press is about. No slipping out of gear
- Brakes are great - less immediate than the V8, but ultimately feel stronger
- car feels very heavy, and sometimes feels as if driving with the handbrake on when in low gears - its obviously a car for the open road
- needs 1st or 2nd around town (the clutch opens around 1,000 revs) - but is very manageable
- forget it if you have to tackle hill starts on crawling traffic on hills -- very difficult (the M6 had hillbrakes, this doesnt)
- No issues to date
- No record of issues with the car -- it had the full six monthly services (first I found with complete record, this is probably key)
I bought a Vanquish S last week, so only seven days of ownership (into it from a V8 Vantage and before that an M6, so can compare the Aston manual and BMW SMG gearboxes) -- first impressions
- very solid, beautifully built, intoxicating exhaust note, very quick
- clutch is absolutely fine, as long as you treat it well (into neutral at lights etc). Can be a bit clunky on gearchanges when cold, have only seen a flicker of the yellow clutch light once in seven days of city driving. Very smooth changes when warmed up (feels faster and smoother than the SMG II in the M6) - not sure what all the bad press is about. No slipping out of gear
- Brakes are great - less immediate than the V8, but ultimately feel stronger
- car feels very heavy, and sometimes feels as if driving with the handbrake on when in low gears - its obviously a car for the open road
- needs 1st or 2nd around town (the clutch opens around 1,000 revs) - but is very manageable
- forget it if you have to tackle hill starts on crawling traffic on hills -- very difficult (the M6 had hillbrakes, this doesnt)
- No issues to date
- No record of issues with the car -- it had the full six monthly services (first I found with complete record, this is probably key)
Thanks and congrats on the car. What year is yours? I would be so grateful if you keep me informed of how you fair with it in the oncoming months/weeks. I changed my 03 Vanq for a Conti GT and have not had a minute's trouble. Now I see the residuals are coming down on the Vanq S. I was hoping the problems have been sorted out and thinking of getting involved again but using it as a second car.
will do. keep an eye on www.amoc.org -- there's a dedicated Vanquish section and a good way to read what's going on with their cars
polar8 said:
clutch is absolutely fine, as long as you treat it well (into neutral at lights etc)
congratulations on knowing how to drive an Aston flappy paddle. The amount of people that leave them in gear when stopped and burn out the clutch in 5 minutes is incredible... This single piece of advice will save owners huge amounts of hassle. Well done that man 
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