Reliability and long trips!

[anonymous-user]

Right.... my choice of car for August has been whittled away to an AMV8 (Coupe I think!) and an Audi R8.

Audi is tempting as it seems pretty bulletproof and build quality seems high.
Aston is tempting because..... oh we all know the answer to that one

So.. the Q for AMV8 owners is do you find the car reliable for every day use and have you/would you take it down to the S of France with no worries?

Obviously we all know that when I do my test drives I'll probably just cream my pants, fall in love and buy the Aston but until August I am trying to keep this objective

Thanks
Gary

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 26th May 14:16

[Luckyluciano]

I use mine for my daily driver and it's never let me down

[XXXAngelXXX]

i used 2 V8s as daily drivers and now a DBS - NO PROBLEMS AT ALL so far

[bogie]

daily driver for 20K miles a year ish

did 3000 miles in 10 days back in 2007 touring the Nordic region

take it on track then do 150 miles the next day for work

no problems ....its a car, I wouldnt have bought it if I couldnt use it every day

[JohnG1]

Ah come on.

No matter how good a car, an R8 is an Audi. It's a german mass produced box. A very good one, but still a mass produced box.

An Aston Martin has a special positive aura around it. Pretty much everyone on the roads in the UK loves you in an Aston. People pull over.

A couple of weeks back a group of young lads in a Nova pulled over for me and the driver wound down the window to urge me to overtake him. So, on a clear, dry, safe stretch of road I knocked it down to second and pedal-to-the-metal. Red lined it and upshifted. Nova driver and mates were all thumbs up and big grins.

Buy an Aston Martin and spread the love!!

Would four rings in a line have the same effect??

[Soul Reaver]

I have driven mine to Munich twice now (800 miles) and have zero issues about driving it anywhere. In August we are taking the cars to Ibiza via Top gears best driving roads

Peterborough to Calais
Calais to Zurich
Zurich to Lake Como via San Bernardino Pass
Lake Como to Nice via col De Turini
Nice to Barcelona via Coast Road
Barcelona to Denia via Coast Road
Denia to Ibiza via fast ferry
Ibiza
Drive Home Direct

and that will be a return trip of about 2200 miles

[anonymous-user]

I'm getting juiced up already

So Coupe or Volante? I think it has to be coupe as it looks so good!

Well...I'll know for sure in August and will update as necessary.

Cheers chaps

[Akers]

I did 1600 miles from Bilbao back to Calais (via the scenic/non-motorway route) last Spetmeber in my 06 Vantage and it didn't miss a beat.

[TurboMiller]

Mine is a daily driver and has been an absolute joy since I've had it. Will be taking it into France later this year. No concerns over reliability so far.
I also considered the R8 before buying, and test drove one. It was a great drive no doubt, but very clinically German. For looks, noise, sheer grin factor etc it had to be the Aston.

[Mr Beaumont]

You have to go for the AMV8, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be more reliable than the Audi. My dad has an Audi ableit not an R8, and it has been into the garage many more times than any other car he has owned, and I know he is not the only one who has had problems with their Audi.

[Murph7355]

24k miles in 2yrs. Never left me stranded.

Did 2.5 weeks/3k miles driving Northern Spain and Portugal (South as far as Lisbon down the West coast). Never missed a beat.

Do it.

[Ian67]

Mine has been used in lots of ways: periods of daily use, periods of little use, and a trip to Italy and back. No problems at all.

Touch wood...

[providence1]

My car has just over 28K on the clock. I drive it daily. Have done a number of trips up to Scotland and to Europe including to the Nurburgring with half a dozen fast laps on arrival the same day without a single complaint. As a rule they like to be driven regularly, then you really have no worries.

[sadlerj]

In the past 3 years I have done a large road trip every year in her and she has been wonderful...down one side of France, Round the bottom to Spain and back up other side, Highland Tour, and France Switzerland Italy etc. That is what she is best at...being used...No relaibility issues at all (unlike both my Porsches I had before, oh and the wifes new Beemer, and her previous Audi, all those cars have been much more unreliable).

[anonymous-user]

These are all the good news stories I love to hear!

Thank you all!

[jus]

Had two AMV8s, reliable as granite both of 'em. R8 unexciting imo.

[HowMuchLonger]

JohnG1 said:

Ah come on.

No matter how good a car, an R8 is an Audi. It's a german mass produced box. A very good one, but still a mass produced box.

I see an awful lot more Astons than R8's. Whilst the Aston is aesthetically stunning, please don't kid yourself that they are not a (relatively) common occurrence on the road.

I must add that the Aston has that extra je ne sais pas?

Edited by HowMuchLonger on Friday 29th May 11:56

All this from the person who drives the most common 4x4 on the road.

Edited by HowMuchLonger on Friday 29th May 12:06

[sadlerj]

HowMuchLonger said:

I see an awful lot more Astons than R8's. Whilst the Aston is aesthetically stunning, please don't kid yourself that they are not a (relatively) common occurrence on the road.

Ah but you see an awful lot more Audi's than Astons. R8's do rock tho!

Edited by sadlerj on Friday 29th May 13:02

[bogie]

as far as volumes go though, Audi do more R8s in a month than Aston registered new cars (all types) in a year

...the reason why they appear "more common" is because their owners actually use them and go places in them every day

/unlike most Italian stuff that has to live indoors and only come out for a few thousand miles a year before it breaks LOL

[HowMuchLonger]

I could not fing a humble pie smilie, so a humble drink will do!