Lookin to buy an Aston
Discussion
Hi guys, I'm looking to buy a V8V in the summer and i'm just wondering if there is anything to look out for in the early models i.e. 05 versus a later 56-08 model? I've wanted a convertible car for SOOOOOOO LONG! but I dunno if I can stretch the extra 5-7K for one. My budget is 45K but when i look at the convertibles for 52K+ I think that is R8/Lambo money. Help me! This will be my first high end marque car. I'm still a little bit undecided; 911 Turbo, F360, R8, V8V, C63AMG, I have test drove a V8V last week and I did really like it!
Just a word of caution - If you cant afford that extra £5k for a convertible then you really ought to be thinking twice about buying any of the high end marque cars you have listed as used cars like these can have some very high running costs.
Buy yourself a newer high performance car like a BMW E92 M3 that still has a warrenty and wont have any nasty financial surprises lurking around the corner.
Buy yourself a newer high performance car like a BMW E92 M3 that still has a warrenty and wont have any nasty financial surprises lurking around the corner.
all of those cars are very different, with very different running costs and useability levels
I would first decide what you want to use it for e.g. I wouldnt buy a F360 for £50K to use as a daily driver for 10K miles a year commuting ...but the Merc, Aston or Porsche could easily handle it
a Vantage could cost as little as a yearly service (£500) and consumables every other year
anyway, for your budget I wouldnt worry about the differences between models ...they are just tiny tweaks here and there, compared with the big jump to the 2009 4.7 litre Vantage. Personally at that end of the market, just buy the best condition you can afford, in the right colour and spec
I would first decide what you want to use it for e.g. I wouldnt buy a F360 for £50K to use as a daily driver for 10K miles a year commuting ...but the Merc, Aston or Porsche could easily handle it
a Vantage could cost as little as a yearly service (£500) and consumables every other year
anyway, for your budget I wouldnt worry about the differences between models ...they are just tiny tweaks here and there, compared with the big jump to the 2009 4.7 litre Vantage. Personally at that end of the market, just buy the best condition you can afford, in the right colour and spec
The extra 5K will make my monthly payment go into the spare cash I would keep every month for the running costs. I can afford the running costs if I keep the monthly payments within certain limits. I currently have a E92 335i. I think its much more fun than the M3. But now I want to step into...what I refer to as 'BIG BOY TOYS'. My round trip to work is only 11miles!
Hi there!
I can source one V8 Vantage coupe around the £40k mark with only 15k miles on the clock and full service history. Now the thing is, I would like to buy it and hold on to it for a month and then let it go. I have always wanted one but can't afford to hold on to it as another baby on way in November. It's Tungsten silver with black interior...body is in A1 condition. Interested?
I can source one V8 Vantage coupe around the £40k mark with only 15k miles on the clock and full service history. Now the thing is, I would like to buy it and hold on to it for a month and then let it go. I have always wanted one but can't afford to hold on to it as another baby on way in November. It's Tungsten silver with black interior...body is in A1 condition. Interested?
BavarianBiturbo said:
Hi guys, I'm looking to buy a V8V in the summer and i'm just wondering if there is anything to look out for in the early models i.e. 05 versus a later 56-08 model? I've wanted a convertible car for SOOOOOOO LONG! but I dunno if I can stretch the extra 5-7K for one. My budget is 45K but when i look at the convertibles for 52K+ I think that is R8/Lambo money. Help me! This will be my first high end marque car. I'm still a little bit undecided; 911 Turbo, F360, R8, V8V, C63AMG, I have test drove a V8V last week and I did really like it!
Had a quick look most of the Roadsters are £55k+ May be R8 money but there is always one phrase which clinches it:-Darling shall we take the Aston tonight
vs
Darling shall we take the Audi tonight!
You know only one of those sounds right
I really wouldn't use any decent, high end car for 11 mile round trips daily. Short trips like that do more harm than good.
As others have said, if 5k is st or bust time, I'd think carefully about buying (fiddling with finance numbers doesn't really count). Plus, you *really* need to be clear in your own mind what sort of car you want.
R8 would be a non-starter for me. Very capable, but neither one thing nor the other. Will definitely end up as a 10k chav'd up banger at some point.
Lambo/Ferrari are great cars. Much, MUCH less subtle. But not necessarily worse for it depending on what you want. They will cost more to run than a newer V8V. Never been a fan of the Gallardo personally, nor the 360. In that price range (35k-50k) my money would go on a very tidy 355 (one of the world's greatest ever sportscars IMO).
V8V remains one of the prettiest cars out there. Sound great. Go well.
Take your time considering this. Savour the choosing. It's all part of the excitement, and when you end up pulling the trigger you will know it will be for the right reasons.
As others have said, if 5k is st or bust time, I'd think carefully about buying (fiddling with finance numbers doesn't really count). Plus, you *really* need to be clear in your own mind what sort of car you want.
R8 would be a non-starter for me. Very capable, but neither one thing nor the other. Will definitely end up as a 10k chav'd up banger at some point.
Lambo/Ferrari are great cars. Much, MUCH less subtle. But not necessarily worse for it depending on what you want. They will cost more to run than a newer V8V. Never been a fan of the Gallardo personally, nor the 360. In that price range (35k-50k) my money would go on a very tidy 355 (one of the world's greatest ever sportscars IMO).
V8V remains one of the prettiest cars out there. Sound great. Go well.
Take your time considering this. Savour the choosing. It's all part of the excitement, and when you end up pulling the trigger you will know it will be for the right reasons.
Neil1300R said:
Had a quick look most of the Roadsters are £55k+ May be R8 money but there is always one phrase which clinches it:-
Darling shall we take the Aston tonight
vs
Darling shall we take the Audi tonight!
You know only one of those sounds right
If that is how you are judging things then you are seriously mistaken. The R8 is a very capable car and definitely an equal to the V8V - it is not a standard Audi, beware of badge snobbery. Darling shall we take the Aston tonight
vs
Darling shall we take the Audi tonight!
You know only one of those sounds right
OP: IMHO if you are working to a tight budget you need to consider running costs - the more exotic a car the more expensive it tends to be to run. I would avoid anything italian that has a high initial cost and is now is out of warranty, it has the potential to financially ruin you.
propaganda said:
If that is how you are judging things then you are seriously mistaken. The R8 is a very capable car and definitely an equal to the V8V - it is not a standard Audi, beware of badge snobbery.
No matter what we might all want to believe, can we truly ignore badge snobbery?If we were all blase about such things, and judged things purely on "capability", wouldn't there just be the Nissan GTR?
Objectively the R8 is a phenomenal car. But buying cars at this level is not about objectivity. It never can be no matter how much we try to rationalise.
Murph7355 said:
propaganda said:
If that is how you are judging things then you are seriously mistaken. The R8 is a very capable car and definitely an equal to the V8V - it is not a standard Audi, beware of badge snobbery.
No matter what we might all want to believe, can we truly ignore badge snobbery?If we were all blase about such things, and judged things purely on "capability", wouldn't there just be the Nissan GTR?
Objectively the R8 is a phenomenal car. But buying cars at this level is not about objectivity. It never can be no matter how much we try to rationalise.
Edited by propaganda on Wednesday 17th March 00:05
propaganda said:
Murph7355 said:
propaganda said:
If that is how you are judging things then you are seriously mistaken. The R8 is a very capable car and definitely an equal to the V8V - it is not a standard Audi, beware of badge snobbery.
No matter what we might all want to believe, can we truly ignore badge snobbery?If we were all blase about such things, and judged things purely on "capability", wouldn't there just be the Nissan GTR?
Objectively the R8 is a phenomenal car. But buying cars at this level is not about objectivity. It never can be no matter how much we try to rationalise.
Edited by propaganda on Wednesday 17th March 00:05
OK OK! I'll admit! Its about the badge snobbery as well! I know all this running cost business may be very true but I have yet to see it. I was warned of the same things when I bought my BMW E92 335i. Everyone said 'running costs' this and 'running costs' that, I know its very different to a Lambo/ferrari/Aston but I dont think the jump is THAT huge, surely?!? I mean my car chucks out 415lbs/ft of torque, everyone said it would CHEW through tyres, but I have not noticed this, if I was doing standing starts and pulling away at every traffic light and roundabout with pedal to the metal, yes then it probably would EAT tyres! Yes I do love a spirited drive now and again but that can be done without screeching tyres. Do Astons or Lambos need tyres changing every 2K miles?? doubt it. Yes the oil may need changing every 6K or so, I do that in the BMW anyways and all previous cars I owned. I even had a highly tuned jap turbo beast that I changed the oil in every 2-3K!! That cost me more in oil than the car itself!!
On another note, I know some1 mentioned the 11mile round trip is probably more harm, its not stop start traffic, its steady rolling traffic at 20-30mph due to speed cameras. will that still kill the clutch??
On another note, I know some1 mentioned the 11mile round trip is probably more harm, its not stop start traffic, its steady rolling traffic at 20-30mph due to speed cameras. will that still kill the clutch??
its the servicing requirements on a high end car e.g. you could be unlucky and need a new clutch after 10K miles ...only £2 to 4K depending where you go
its not like you are doing 20K miles a year so tyres and fuel arnt an issue
but if you get caught out one year and need a new clutch, tyres, pads, discs and a yearly service in one go, do you have £10K to spare?
thats what people are getting at ...
hence you see a lot of 6 owner 7 yr old exotic cars for sale - people buy them, do a few thousand miles in them one year, then sell them on to a dealer before the big bill arrives ...usually for tens of thousands of loss ...an expensive years motoring, just to say you "owned" a Ferrari etc ...for a whopping 5K miles LOL
I use my Vantage daily, its done 44K miles, realistically, this is as cheap as it gets:
tyres
rears - £220 each, every 10-15K miles
fronts - £170 each every 20-25K miles
pads/discs - £1000 fitted front - 30K miles (havnt had rears done yet)
servicing every 10k miles - £500 independant, £900 dealer
clutch - £3K dealer, £2K indy, you may get lucky 40-50K miles or 10K miles...depends how the car has been driven
so you could buy a Vantage, keep it for 18 months, and if you are lucky, get away with just a £500 service ....but I wouldnt want to buy one, then not use it, for fear of affording the costs of doing so, thats not a pleasant way to enjoy a vehicle IMO
its not like you are doing 20K miles a year so tyres and fuel arnt an issue
but if you get caught out one year and need a new clutch, tyres, pads, discs and a yearly service in one go, do you have £10K to spare?
thats what people are getting at ...
hence you see a lot of 6 owner 7 yr old exotic cars for sale - people buy them, do a few thousand miles in them one year, then sell them on to a dealer before the big bill arrives ...usually for tens of thousands of loss ...an expensive years motoring, just to say you "owned" a Ferrari etc ...for a whopping 5K miles LOL
I use my Vantage daily, its done 44K miles, realistically, this is as cheap as it gets:
tyres
rears - £220 each, every 10-15K miles
fronts - £170 each every 20-25K miles
pads/discs - £1000 fitted front - 30K miles (havnt had rears done yet)
servicing every 10k miles - £500 independant, £900 dealer
clutch - £3K dealer, £2K indy, you may get lucky 40-50K miles or 10K miles...depends how the car has been driven
so you could buy a Vantage, keep it for 18 months, and if you are lucky, get away with just a £500 service ....but I wouldnt want to buy one, then not use it, for fear of affording the costs of doing so, thats not a pleasant way to enjoy a vehicle IMO
Just to add a different perspective, I'm about to have a 24,000 mile service done to my Tuscan 2 S which includes tappet check/adjust. I'm having it done by Racing Green, not the cheapest by a long shot, but my choice. The cost? £850 after 20% discount - just for the basic service, any discovered extras will be announced as found!
Now TVRs are a good bit cheaper than Astons to buy, but are still 'supercars' as much as Astons are, so I would expect servicing/,maintenance to be on a par.
I can remember a quote from some years back about 'supercars' which went along the lines of "if you can't afford the car when new, you won't afford the maintenance when old".
When I was first looking at TVRs, all the forums I looked at said it would cost me £X,000 per year to just keep them on the road let alone use them. Not so, in the last 3 years I've done just under 40,000 miles in mine and apart from regular servicing, have had no extra costs due to failures or unexpected wear and tear (The upgrades cost me a fortune but that was my choice - an exhaust upgrade alone was over £1000 ) - regular use with the occasional good spanking does 'em a world of good, seriously
So, if you're looking to buy an Aston be aware they are going to be a good bit more expensive to maintain than your average tin top and be prepared for a 4 figure bill every so often, but I doubt that big a bill will be the norm. All par for the course for a 'supercar'.
Now TVRs are a good bit cheaper than Astons to buy, but are still 'supercars' as much as Astons are, so I would expect servicing/,maintenance to be on a par.
I can remember a quote from some years back about 'supercars' which went along the lines of "if you can't afford the car when new, you won't afford the maintenance when old".
When I was first looking at TVRs, all the forums I looked at said it would cost me £X,000 per year to just keep them on the road let alone use them. Not so, in the last 3 years I've done just under 40,000 miles in mine and apart from regular servicing, have had no extra costs due to failures or unexpected wear and tear (The upgrades cost me a fortune but that was my choice - an exhaust upgrade alone was over £1000 ) - regular use with the occasional good spanking does 'em a world of good, seriously
So, if you're looking to buy an Aston be aware they are going to be a good bit more expensive to maintain than your average tin top and be prepared for a 4 figure bill every so often, but I doubt that big a bill will be the norm. All par for the course for a 'supercar'.
Thanks for all the info guys! I'm glad I got 2 perspectives on the whole situation. I am still gonna take the plunge. I know it may be expensive, but I'm sure it comes down to thoroughly checking out the car beforing handing over your hard earned cash! I may not be able to make a great judgement on the clutch but I will definitely try and find one with decent amount of meat on the tyres and brakes! Hopefully one that has been recently serviced and one that possibly has remaining extended warranty.
Just to give you a little background of myself, I have 0 responsibility!! I dont pay rent, mortgage, bills, NOTHING, I live with parents and my only cost is my car! No missus, no kids nothing! I even have my insurance paid for So even if I have to take a loan out for servicing, it wouldnt bother me. Please dont think i'm trying to sound big headed or trying to rub my situation in! I'm very fortunate in this way and I value and appreciate it a lot. It doesnt come easy, I have helped my parents when I can as well.
Just to give you a little background of myself, I have 0 responsibility!! I dont pay rent, mortgage, bills, NOTHING, I live with parents and my only cost is my car! No missus, no kids nothing! I even have my insurance paid for So even if I have to take a loan out for servicing, it wouldnt bother me. Please dont think i'm trying to sound big headed or trying to rub my situation in! I'm very fortunate in this way and I value and appreciate it a lot. It doesnt come easy, I have helped my parents when I can as well.
Glad this thread has been started. I am considering a 2006 DB9 Volante. Top of my budget to be honest, but fancy one and feel that it is the ideal time for me.
My concerns are how much it will cost to run. My 996TT cost almost nothing except tyres (easy to see when they are going to be due!) and routine maintenance.
I have a daily driver, but would still expect the car to do 10k pa.
My concerns are how much it will cost to run. My 996TT cost almost nothing except tyres (easy to see when they are going to be due!) and routine maintenance.
I have a daily driver, but would still expect the car to do 10k pa.
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