Finally bought a V8 Vantage!
Discussion
Well its taken me almost 3 years but Ive finally gone and bought a new 4.7 Vantage V8 Coupe. I decided not to proceed 3 years ago when my long held deposit came to the top of the list and I then jumped into a much "cheaper" new C2S 997 (man, aero, sport exhaust). 4 months ago I traded that car in for a gen2 C2S PDK and Ive hated from a few days after I picked it up (PDK isn't what I thought, and the gen2 had no aero and no sport exhaust). The new car was just too much like an auto, too quiet and too bland to look at compared to the first car. So Ive chased a deposit on a GT3 for a few months but its now confirmed my slot will be Jun-2010!
I couldn't drive a car for 12mths that I didn't like so I looked around again and my thoughts flicked back to the vantage I so narrowly avoided 3 years ago. I managed to get a deal on the V8 that I am very happy with, albeit not so happy with the retained value of the 4mth old 997 C2S PDK - but hey ho!
The car was already built and I collected it on Friday afternoon. Suffice to say the Porsche dealership behaved shockingly over the whole thing since the moment they took my deposit on the GT3 to a disgraceful amount of messing around with the trade in value on my car last week. Bizzarely (and I had never done this before), I had not actually seen the exact car as it was at the other end of the country and so I effectively bought it over the phone. However it was brand new and I had seen all the colour options in various other cars so I was pretty sure there was no real risk (pretty much like ordering a new one from the factory really) and everything turned out fantastically well in the end.
Anyway onto the car, Im delighted with it as its my ideal colour & spec and considering I didnt have to wait and got a nice deal thats pretty good in my book. I test drove sportshift and I have to say it is really good, seemed very similar to the BMW SMG system I had loved before on my M3's, and certainly a whole lot better than Porsche's PDK "automatic" box. However as I have just had my fingers burnt with PDK I felt it was safest to sick with a manual this time despite my gut feeling that I would be very much at home with sportshift.
Spec is :
Model : 4.7 Coupe Manual
Ext : Onyx Black + Silver Calipers + Sport Pack with 5 spoke wheels + N400 style clear lights + Bright Grill
Int : Obsidian Leather + Silver Stitching + Piano Black Trim
Toys : Premium Audio, Sat Nav, bluetooth, HID, Heated Seats, autodim mirror, powerfold mirrors, cruise
I decided to go with an "all black and silver only" look so added the clear/silver lights as part of the order as red just wouldnt work for what I had in my mind. 3 years ago I had wanted black with red stitching/calipers but the last 2 porsche's have both been black with red belts/calipers highlights and also you do see quite a few around in this combo so I decided to go for the more subtle and stealthy looking two-tone black-silver combo and I am over the moon with the look - really hightlights the silver fleck in the onyx paint. The car was pretty much my prefect spec anyway but lacked 3 final items all of which could be added by the dealer and that is what I did - added clear rear lights, piano black trim and bright grille - result is my 100% perfect spec. Better to do it up front as all part of the deal - I tend to find I never get round to doing those things I plan to do later. I was tempted to paint the inner surfaces of the wheels darker (N400 style) but now Ive seen it in the flesh I wont be bothering - I really love the all over bright silver look they have - just perfect for this car.
As for the car, I really love it! It's totally different to the 997 but every bit as good as an overall package in its own special way. It just oozes style, it is stunningly beautiful to look at (these pics dont do it justice really as it was overcast and begininng to rain a little) and the engine not only sounds fantastic (I asked for fuse 22 to be removed) but is a real brute too - so much torque! It certainly gets a lot of looks and in the 2 days Ive had it so far I think Ive had more praise from complete strangers than I had in 2 years of 997 ownership - everybody seems to love an Aston.
Top complements to Bryan and all at HWM Aston Martin for making the whole day extremely enjoyable and for giving a 1st class service from the very first call! I can’t recommend them enough!
Anyway here are the first pics of my first Aston Martin (you can see my poor old 997S unloved and just dumped in the background - without regrets) :
I couldn't drive a car for 12mths that I didn't like so I looked around again and my thoughts flicked back to the vantage I so narrowly avoided 3 years ago. I managed to get a deal on the V8 that I am very happy with, albeit not so happy with the retained value of the 4mth old 997 C2S PDK - but hey ho!
The car was already built and I collected it on Friday afternoon. Suffice to say the Porsche dealership behaved shockingly over the whole thing since the moment they took my deposit on the GT3 to a disgraceful amount of messing around with the trade in value on my car last week. Bizzarely (and I had never done this before), I had not actually seen the exact car as it was at the other end of the country and so I effectively bought it over the phone. However it was brand new and I had seen all the colour options in various other cars so I was pretty sure there was no real risk (pretty much like ordering a new one from the factory really) and everything turned out fantastically well in the end.
Anyway onto the car, Im delighted with it as its my ideal colour & spec and considering I didnt have to wait and got a nice deal thats pretty good in my book. I test drove sportshift and I have to say it is really good, seemed very similar to the BMW SMG system I had loved before on my M3's, and certainly a whole lot better than Porsche's PDK "automatic" box. However as I have just had my fingers burnt with PDK I felt it was safest to sick with a manual this time despite my gut feeling that I would be very much at home with sportshift.
Spec is :
Model : 4.7 Coupe Manual
Ext : Onyx Black + Silver Calipers + Sport Pack with 5 spoke wheels + N400 style clear lights + Bright Grill
Int : Obsidian Leather + Silver Stitching + Piano Black Trim
Toys : Premium Audio, Sat Nav, bluetooth, HID, Heated Seats, autodim mirror, powerfold mirrors, cruise
I decided to go with an "all black and silver only" look so added the clear/silver lights as part of the order as red just wouldnt work for what I had in my mind. 3 years ago I had wanted black with red stitching/calipers but the last 2 porsche's have both been black with red belts/calipers highlights and also you do see quite a few around in this combo so I decided to go for the more subtle and stealthy looking two-tone black-silver combo and I am over the moon with the look - really hightlights the silver fleck in the onyx paint. The car was pretty much my prefect spec anyway but lacked 3 final items all of which could be added by the dealer and that is what I did - added clear rear lights, piano black trim and bright grille - result is my 100% perfect spec. Better to do it up front as all part of the deal - I tend to find I never get round to doing those things I plan to do later. I was tempted to paint the inner surfaces of the wheels darker (N400 style) but now Ive seen it in the flesh I wont be bothering - I really love the all over bright silver look they have - just perfect for this car.
As for the car, I really love it! It's totally different to the 997 but every bit as good as an overall package in its own special way. It just oozes style, it is stunningly beautiful to look at (these pics dont do it justice really as it was overcast and begininng to rain a little) and the engine not only sounds fantastic (I asked for fuse 22 to be removed) but is a real brute too - so much torque! It certainly gets a lot of looks and in the 2 days Ive had it so far I think Ive had more praise from complete strangers than I had in 2 years of 997 ownership - everybody seems to love an Aston.
Top complements to Bryan and all at HWM Aston Martin for making the whole day extremely enjoyable and for giving a 1st class service from the very first call! I can’t recommend them enough!
Anyway here are the first pics of my first Aston Martin (you can see my poor old 997S unloved and just dumped in the background - without regrets) :
Edited by Adam2S on Sunday 26th July 21:15
Congrats a lovely looking car, I pick mine up this Friday coming and it would be an understatement if I said I can't wait 
Traded in my 996 C4s so this really does fill me with pleasure that you're giving such good vibes about the new purchase.
Edit - I've only had my C4s for four months too - must be something in the water
Traded in my 996 C4s so this really does fill me with pleasure that you're giving such good vibes about the new purchase.Edit - I've only had my C4s for four months too - must be something in the water
Edited by ghecko on Sunday 26th July 22:00
Edited by ghecko on Sunday 26th July 22:01
Edited by ghecko on Sunday 26th July 22:02
but I hope you enjoy your first Aston. 
Great looking car, have an almost identical one (with exception of the clear rear lights, bought new in March. Only thing I am not happy with is the fact that I didnt get clear lights! Been getting earache from my dad who has a Gen2 PDK cab and is constantly going on about how much better it is than the V8V. That said, he has no taste and I will enjoy sending him this thread! Enjoy the car!
Great looking car, have an almost identical one (with exception of the clear rear lights, bought new in March. Only thing I am not happy with is the fact that I didnt get clear lights! Been getting earache from my dad who has a Gen2 PDK cab and is constantly going on about how much better it is than the V8V. That said, he has no taste and I will enjoy sending him this thread! Enjoy the car!
Fantastic looking car - especially with the rear lights
Bought mine from HWM - great service , even parting with so much money
Was your boot full of flowers for the other half as well?
Typical 'HWM' spec'ed interior - Obsidian black, coarse silver stitching with Taylor Grey haidliing - understated, classy, but light and airy.
Bought mine from HWM - great service , even parting with so much money
Was your boot full of flowers for the other half as well?
Typical 'HWM' spec'ed interior - Obsidian black, coarse silver stitching with Taylor Grey haidliing - understated, classy, but light and airy.
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