Vanquish, 550 or Gallardo?
Discussion
I've had a number of nice cars - 996 - Maserati 4200 - DB7 etc but am looking to take the plunge and get a dream car in the New Year if the prices are right. Budget is £40 - £50k and I know it'll be pushing it for the Gallardo but am in no rush.
I figure £5k a year servicing for all three with a warranty maybe to cover worst case scenarios like gearboxes. Any experiences of the three cars?
Would be looking for a manual gearbox as a preference.
I figure £5k a year servicing for all three with a warranty maybe to cover worst case scenarios like gearboxes. Any experiences of the three cars?
Would be looking for a manual gearbox as a preference.
Vanquish is automated manual. So not quite what you want. Bruiser of a car.
I wouldn't touch an early Gallardo - not overly keen on the looks of them and thin the interior's low rent. One at that price level will likely have been used a lot. May or may not be a problem.
550s are great cars. I'm 6'4" and found them a little claustrophobic inside.
I think it partly depends what you want from the car. Weekend toy for long trips, the Vanq. Showing off down the Kings Road, the Gallardo. A more rounded proposition, the 550.
Personally I'd go for the 550 from those.
As for servicing, I doubt the 550 will cost more than a couple of k per year to service.
I wouldn't touch an early Gallardo - not overly keen on the looks of them and thin the interior's low rent. One at that price level will likely have been used a lot. May or may not be a problem.
550s are great cars. I'm 6'4" and found them a little claustrophobic inside.
I think it partly depends what you want from the car. Weekend toy for long trips, the Vanq. Showing off down the Kings Road, the Gallardo. A more rounded proposition, the 550.
Personally I'd go for the 550 from those.
As for servicing, I doubt the 550 will cost more than a couple of k per year to service.
I had an 04 gallardo.
It was the most unreliable vehicle of all ive owned, the biggest problem with pre 06 cars is the high gearing, and clutch problems, which are still unresolved, poor suspension that clonks all the time and very poor build quality.
The car eats fuel- even compared to the machinery that you consdier alternatives.
But the worst comes when you want to sell the car- its a very heavy depreciator- so few dealers and no one wants it! the spread on the cars seems to be 10-15 K - parts costs make Ferrari look cheap and no aftermarket warranty.
These kind of cars will be 40K very soon- take the 550!
It was the most unreliable vehicle of all ive owned, the biggest problem with pre 06 cars is the high gearing, and clutch problems, which are still unresolved, poor suspension that clonks all the time and very poor build quality.
The car eats fuel- even compared to the machinery that you consdier alternatives.
But the worst comes when you want to sell the car- its a very heavy depreciator- so few dealers and no one wants it! the spread on the cars seems to be 10-15 K - parts costs make Ferrari look cheap and no aftermarket warranty.
These kind of cars will be 40K very soon- take the 550!
Vanquish is the best looking, I think it has aged as well as the 550 considering its a 12 year old design that didn't get to customers until 8 years ago...
550 is probablly the best all round. Looks great still, sounds great I love them.
Gallardo isn't my cup of tea, a Diablo however.......
550 is probablly the best all round. Looks great still, sounds great I love them.
Gallardo isn't my cup of tea, a Diablo however.......
For your use pattern i would say there is no better suited car than the Vanquish, i use mine for weekend blasts and ocasionally potter around London in it from time to time and every time it just gets better and better.
The combination of the sound and the looks just give it an amazing road presence something i never truly realised until i was out one time walking and had one drive past me.
Yes there are a few niggles with the car like the sat nav which is absoloutely awful and the infamous gearbox admittedly does take some getting used to but once properly set up and you know what the gearbox can and cant do it actually isnt that bad at all and is very fun to use.
One very satisfied Vanquish owner
The combination of the sound and the looks just give it an amazing road presence something i never truly realised until i was out one time walking and had one drive past me.
Yes there are a few niggles with the car like the sat nav which is absoloutely awful and the infamous gearbox admittedly does take some getting used to but once properly set up and you know what the gearbox can and cant do it actually isnt that bad at all and is very fun to use.
One very satisfied Vanquish owner
I had a 550 and had the use of both a Gallardo and a Vanquish.
Vanquish is beautiful, the best sounding car I've ever heard, but has that gearbox that makes reversing as embarrasing as getting out of the back of a sheep. Eats clutches and I found the handling a bit scary too (I currently have two Astons so I'm absolutely not biased against them). To me a bit like Bridgit Bardo; self abusing, fascist, animal rights lunatic, but strangely I forgive her.
Gallardo: Like getting a subscription to Playboy magazine, not something you'd look back on with great pride but a bit of a laugh in private. I'd get a manual!
550: I never fell in love with mine but I did have an epic journey to Le Mans in it. Doors are so big you can never park anywhere so only good for round trips to petrol stations or foreign countries. Eats tyres at the rear.
Vanquish is beautiful, the best sounding car I've ever heard, but has that gearbox that makes reversing as embarrasing as getting out of the back of a sheep. Eats clutches and I found the handling a bit scary too (I currently have two Astons so I'm absolutely not biased against them). To me a bit like Bridgit Bardo; self abusing, fascist, animal rights lunatic, but strangely I forgive her.
Gallardo: Like getting a subscription to Playboy magazine, not something you'd look back on with great pride but a bit of a laugh in private. I'd get a manual!
550: I never fell in love with mine but I did have an epic journey to Le Mans in it. Doors are so big you can never park anywhere so only good for round trips to petrol stations or foreign countries. Eats tyres at the rear.
I suppose it depends on how you want to be perceived. For me the Gallardo is a great but embarrassing car in terms of looks. Very medallion man or successful hairdressers car. No real class. The Vanquish S is a fabulous car (much improved on the Vanquish), and a true classic. You won't get anything decent for 50k. Just well used and trouble. The 550 is also a great car, but completely obsolete now in terms of the Ferrari range.
If you are not in a hurry save some more and get a Vanquish S. It may not be technically as good as a DBS, but it probably looks better, sounds the same and is about 40k cheaper for a used one. Finding a good one is the challenge. Most on the market are either wrong colour, very high mileage, suspect history. Good luck!
If you are not in a hurry save some more and get a Vanquish S. It may not be technically as good as a DBS, but it probably looks better, sounds the same and is about 40k cheaper for a used one. Finding a good one is the challenge. Most on the market are either wrong colour, very high mileage, suspect history. Good luck!
vanquishvroom said:
Agree with your sentiments entirely, its definetly worth saving up for an S as its a superior car in many ways
..go on then, expand a bit of a numpty like me. Other than power, what are the best things about the S over the standard Vanquish? Improved reliability (of clutch/gearbox or otherwise)?kryten22uk said:
vanquishvroom said:
Agree with your sentiments entirely, its definetly worth saving up for an S as its a superior car in many ways
..go on then, expand a bit of a numpty like me. Other than power, what are the best things about the S over the standard Vanquish? Improved reliability (of clutch/gearbox or otherwise)?As you already mentioned the improved gearbox and clutch set up of the S is another plus point although i was told when buying mine that the standard vanquish box can be upgraded to the S spec.
The centre console on the S from the 06 models onwards is also so much better than the standard vanquish which looks like it and probably has come straight from a ford mondeo. I guess im just being picky to be honest but all those little things definetly make a big difference i feel.
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