997 C2S manual v. AMV8 as daily driver
Discussion
Any advice appreciated - especially from those of you that have owned both.
Current thoughts:
Aston positives - looks, sound, image, one of my dream cars
Aston negatives - higher cost, my mileage of 15k pa likely to hit residuals, 10k service intervals, poor economy, £400pa road tax
997 positives - generally reliable, 20k service intervals, residuals very resistent to mileage
997 negatives - IMS, RMS, image, never a dream car for me
Car will be used as one of my daily drivers on all sorts of roads for about 15k pa. Important for me to be able to use a phone in the car (one reason my SLK55 AMG didn't last long) Reliability important, running costs less so (although hopefully either will be less than the £14k I spent in 18 months on my XKR!)
Budget early £30k
Current thoughts:
Aston positives - looks, sound, image, one of my dream cars
Aston negatives - higher cost, my mileage of 15k pa likely to hit residuals, 10k service intervals, poor economy, £400pa road tax
997 positives - generally reliable, 20k service intervals, residuals very resistent to mileage
997 negatives - IMS, RMS, image, never a dream car for me
Car will be used as one of my daily drivers on all sorts of roads for about 15k pa. Important for me to be able to use a phone in the car (one reason my SLK55 AMG didn't last long) Reliability important, running costs less so (although hopefully either will be less than the £14k I spent in 18 months on my XKR!)
Budget early £30k
I've just gone from a C2S to an AMV8. I use it as a daily drive and do about 15k miles a year so pretty much the same as you.
The Porsche's service interval is definately a huge bonus and hence is cheaper to run. Also the mileage on the Aston will kill the residual sale price. For some reason Aston's seem to be treated like Lepers once they approach 50K+ miles, which is ridiculous when there are cars out there that have done 100k miles.
The phone system on an early car (which is what you will be looking at for your budget) is pants, however (apparently) AM do a conversion kit that makes it a lot more user friendly, although I don't know that as fact. You can get a discrete Parrott installtion (which is what I have) which works at ok up until about 60 mph:-
http://www.paralight.co.uk/IpodBluetoothforAstonMa...
If you can accept that then it's the Aston everytime.
The 911 is a very capable car and is definately ok as a daily drive, but that's it, just 'ok'. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the 911 but not like I enjoy the Aston. The Aston brings emotion into the equation. Just starting that V8 in the morning is a pleasure. It's gorgeous and sounds amazing. The cockpit is a much nicer place to be and I will never go back to Porsche after this. In fact right now, I always want an Aston as part of the stable.
You probably want to increase your budget ever so slightly to get a broader range of cars. Go for mid / late £30k's and get a well looked after car with 30k miles on it. Drive it for a year and still sell it with 45k miles or have it as a keeper.
You won't regret it - life is too short
Good luck and let us know how you go on.
The Porsche's service interval is definately a huge bonus and hence is cheaper to run. Also the mileage on the Aston will kill the residual sale price. For some reason Aston's seem to be treated like Lepers once they approach 50K+ miles, which is ridiculous when there are cars out there that have done 100k miles.
The phone system on an early car (which is what you will be looking at for your budget) is pants, however (apparently) AM do a conversion kit that makes it a lot more user friendly, although I don't know that as fact. You can get a discrete Parrott installtion (which is what I have) which works at ok up until about 60 mph:-
http://www.paralight.co.uk/IpodBluetoothforAstonMa...
If you can accept that then it's the Aston everytime.
The 911 is a very capable car and is definately ok as a daily drive, but that's it, just 'ok'. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the 911 but not like I enjoy the Aston. The Aston brings emotion into the equation. Just starting that V8 in the morning is a pleasure. It's gorgeous and sounds amazing. The cockpit is a much nicer place to be and I will never go back to Porsche after this. In fact right now, I always want an Aston as part of the stable.
You probably want to increase your budget ever so slightly to get a broader range of cars. Go for mid / late £30k's and get a well looked after car with 30k miles on it. Drive it for a year and still sell it with 45k miles or have it as a keeper.
You won't regret it - life is too short
Good luck and let us know how you go on.
flyingjase said:
I've just gone from a C2S to an AMV8. I use it as a daily drive and do about 15k miles a year so pretty much the same as you.
The Porsche's service interval is definately a huge bonus and hence is cheaper to run. Also the mileage on the Aston will kill the residual sale price. For some reason Aston's seem to be treated like Lepers once they approach 50K+ miles, which is ridiculous when there are cars out there that have done 100k miles.
The phone system on an early car (which is what you will be looking at for your budget) is pants, however (apparently) AM do a conversion kit that makes it a lot more user friendly, although I don't know that as fact. You can get a discrete Parrott installtion (which is what I have) which works at ok up until about 60 mph:-
http://www.paralight.co.uk/IpodBluetoothforAstonMa...
If you can accept that then it's the Aston everytime.
The 911 is a very capable car and is definately ok as a daily drive, but that's it, just 'ok'. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the 911 but not like I enjoy the Aston. The Aston brings emotion into the equation. Just starting that V8 in the morning is a pleasure. It's gorgeous and sounds amazing. The cockpit is a much nicer place to be and I will never go back to Porsche after this. In fact right now, I always want an Aston as part of the stable.
You probably want to increase your budget ever so slightly to get a broader range of cars. Go for mid / late £30k's and get a well looked after car with 30k miles on it. Drive it for a year and still sell it with 45k miles or have it as a keeper.
You won't regret it - life is too short
Good luck and let us know how you go on.
Thanks, will do! I have a Parrot in another of my cars (a Volvo estate) and I struggle with it at motorway speeds. With the Aston I guess I'd have to leave fuse 22 alone...although I guess I could make it switchable easily enough?The Porsche's service interval is definately a huge bonus and hence is cheaper to run. Also the mileage on the Aston will kill the residual sale price. For some reason Aston's seem to be treated like Lepers once they approach 50K+ miles, which is ridiculous when there are cars out there that have done 100k miles.
The phone system on an early car (which is what you will be looking at for your budget) is pants, however (apparently) AM do a conversion kit that makes it a lot more user friendly, although I don't know that as fact. You can get a discrete Parrott installtion (which is what I have) which works at ok up until about 60 mph:-
http://www.paralight.co.uk/IpodBluetoothforAstonMa...
If you can accept that then it's the Aston everytime.
The 911 is a very capable car and is definately ok as a daily drive, but that's it, just 'ok'. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy the 911 but not like I enjoy the Aston. The Aston brings emotion into the equation. Just starting that V8 in the morning is a pleasure. It's gorgeous and sounds amazing. The cockpit is a much nicer place to be and I will never go back to Porsche after this. In fact right now, I always want an Aston as part of the stable.
You probably want to increase your budget ever so slightly to get a broader range of cars. Go for mid / late £30k's and get a well looked after car with 30k miles on it. Drive it for a year and still sell it with 45k miles or have it as a keeper.
You won't regret it - life is too short
Good luck and let us know how you go on.
LC23 said:
You won't get into a V8V for early £30k's at the moment. Even if you stretched another £5k or so you are only just starting to look at higher mileage cars. You will probably need to add around £8k to £10k to your budget to get what you are looking for.
There are a number of cars advertised around mid £30k which appear good and I have heard of a number changing hands at around £30k. I'm in no hurry and hope we have a harsh winter and that prices soften over the next month or two!you will be buying pre March 2006 so your road is £245 like mine 
used mine daily, its done 55K now ...its the cheapest car ive had to run in the last 10 years !
I dont pay for fuel though ...it averages 19-20Mpg
servicing around £250 or £550 at an indy, tyres about £180 a corner etc
Personally, theres no competition with a German car ...im not a beetle fan TBH
/the time saved getting let out of junctions is worth .3 of a second on the 0-60...how the Germans measure cars LOL
used mine daily, its done 55K now ...its the cheapest car ive had to run in the last 10 years !
I dont pay for fuel though ...it averages 19-20Mpg
servicing around £250 or £550 at an indy, tyres about £180 a corner etc
Personally, theres no competition with a German car ...im not a beetle fan TBH
/the time saved getting let out of junctions is worth .3 of a second on the 0-60...how the Germans measure cars LOL
notax said:
Any advice appreciated - especially from those of you that have owned both.
I sold my 997 C2S and bought a 4.3 V8V and have never looked back. Despite always having been a Porsche fan, the move to the V8V was a huge step up in my mind. There is no comparison between the two for me, the Aston has so much more presence and feels bespoke whilst the 997 felt mass produced. The only aspect of the 997 that was better than the V8V was the tiptronic 'box against the sportshift 'box and if you're buying a PDK then the gap is even greater. Just buy a manual V8V and problem solved.
Buying the Vantage was the best move I've made in car ownership since I sold my MK1 RS turbo to go back to an older RS2000 Custom
Interesting stuff, as I'm looking at getting into a V8V after a series of Porsches, the last being a 997 C2S which I never really "connected" with for some reason, although I'm currently in an RS4.
Main problem for me is that I really want a 4.7, but the wife doesn't want me to spend that much money!
Main problem for me is that I really want a 4.7, but the wife doesn't want me to spend that much money!
drcarrera said:
Interesting stuff, as I'm looking at getting into a V8V after a series of Porsches, the last being a 997 C2S which I never really "connected" with for some reason, although I'm currently in an RS4.
Main problem for me is that I really want a 4.7, but the wife doesn't want me to spend that much money!
Its well worth opting for the 4.7 IMHO and your wife will soon forgive you. It took my wife all of 10 minutes!Main problem for me is that I really want a 4.7, but the wife doesn't want me to spend that much money!
J
Thanks for all the replies, you have put my mind at rest on most issues! My one remaining concern is how my clients will feel when I turn up at their homes in an Aston. My clients are wealthy and tend to be in their 50s and a quick straw poll of a few of the petrolheads amongst them thought a 997 would ruffle fewer feathers than an AMV8... My old shape XKR seemed to have the ideal image, but I didn't like the £14k repair bills over 18 months and now want to move upmarket
I'll still have several other cars at my disposal so I can appear poor if necessary, but the intention would be to use the AMV8 / 997 as my main work car...
I'll still have several other cars at my disposal so I can appear poor if necessary, but the intention would be to use the AMV8 / 997 as my main work car...
shunt said:
Yeah, agreed, I have an old Volvo S40.
Makes me smile when I do turn up in the Vantage all the more!
The other daily driver I would use in conjunction with an Aston is an old Volvo too Makes me smile when I do turn up in the Vantage all the more!
But intending to spend more time in the AMV8 and save the Volvo for special occasions - mountain bike trips and visits to the tip... 
I wouldn't mind the comments from customers, I am sure they will be more than positive, much more so than on a Porsche...
Everyone comes open to me and has only positive words about the car. Even people which have been reserved to me before!
And when I tell them I was deciding between Aston and Porsche, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE says: perfect choice, no discussion!
And I live in... GERMANY! :-)
Everyone comes open to me and has only positive words about the car. Even people which have been reserved to me before!
And when I tell them I was deciding between Aston and Porsche, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE says: perfect choice, no discussion!
And I live in... GERMANY! :-)
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