Aston Martin V8 Vantage S Manual
Discussion
Having relocated from Canada back the UK and finally having access to garage to store a car again - I set my heart & mind on an VH era Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
My initial list of requirements when searching were pretty simple: not black or light silver, 4.7 litre engine rather, manual transmission.
One came up for sale at Autolounge: A manual Vantage S in Metorite Grey over black, 48,000 miles, AM service history. The S has a few nice extras over the Vantage: 10 extra BHP, aero bits such as a carbon front splitter carbon ear valance & larger flick on the boot lid, quicker steering rack, S specific wheels.
A few messages back and forth including a very detailed video and the deal was done.
It had a couple of bits done by the dealer before it was ready to collect, including a spot of corrosion by the windscreen, a small spot of wear on the bolster and the chrome of the side strakes were starting to flake. On the latter point, rather than replacing them, they were painted silver and I may look to replace them in the future with new parts at a later date (available at £281.12 / side from scuderia parts).
Collection day meant an early train from Lancaster to Stonehaven where Paul collected us and took us to their facility; a quick tour around the place before handing over the car.
Rather than taking the direct route home, I decided to spend a couple of days going across to Avimore, Glencoe, Loch Lomond, before heading south and aiming for the Lake District. ~450 miles.
First overnight stop was Thainstone House 25 miles up the road and the initial drive was a chance to get familiar with the car, and uncovered the first issue at a fuel stop…. the fuel filler cap doesn’t always fully release when the button is pressed. Seems to be a very common issue with the V8V and the first item added to the todo list: adjust fuel filler cap.
That evening, at the hotel I took the time to pair my phone with the cars primitive infotainment system - and while doing so (on ignition only) the ‘Battery Low’ warning popped up. Hmmm.
The next morning, the Battery Low warning flashed up again before starting the engine, but the engine fired up keenly enough and everything seemed fine except the cabin fan wasn’t blowing. A power cycle after the first stop of the day and all was well again.
The drive through the Cairngorms and across to Avimore was amazing. Great scenery and smooth flowing roads.
Shortly after resuming the drive Avimore after lunch, the check engine light came on and the “Emission System Service Required” warning popped up. My research pre purchase had indicated this is not an uncommon thing with Astons of this era. I’d forgotten to pack my OBDII reader so ignored it until we got home (fault self cleared after a while, and then came back). Pulling the codes when I got home showed PO136, PO137 and PO150…. codes reset, I expect replacing the lambda sensors will be on the todo list if it reoccurs.
The drive from Fort William to Glencoe was even more spectacular. While I refuse to embrace the Bond connection with Astons, I’d always wanted to visit the road to Glen Etvie from Skyfall regardless of what car I was driving. Sadly the road was closed for repair work, so that provides an excuse to head back to western Scotland in the near future.
The overnight stop was the Lodge at Loch Lomond, just outside Luss. A great property with a private beach and jetty into the Loch - perfect for a cold dip the next morning.
The final day was a quick stop at Glengoyne and Auchentoshan to pick up a coupe of bottles of whisky, before pointing south and taking the motorway home.
One final issue that came up was the drivers windscreen wiper arm wasn’t sitting flush with the screen after a ‘down stroke’. A quick look indicated the combination of the spring tension and a slightly seized pin in the wiper arm was the issue - £0.02 worth of WD40 into the pin and all was well.
Current to do list:
My initial list of requirements when searching were pretty simple: not black or light silver, 4.7 litre engine rather, manual transmission.
One came up for sale at Autolounge: A manual Vantage S in Metorite Grey over black, 48,000 miles, AM service history. The S has a few nice extras over the Vantage: 10 extra BHP, aero bits such as a carbon front splitter carbon ear valance & larger flick on the boot lid, quicker steering rack, S specific wheels.
A few messages back and forth including a very detailed video and the deal was done.
It had a couple of bits done by the dealer before it was ready to collect, including a spot of corrosion by the windscreen, a small spot of wear on the bolster and the chrome of the side strakes were starting to flake. On the latter point, rather than replacing them, they were painted silver and I may look to replace them in the future with new parts at a later date (available at £281.12 / side from scuderia parts).
Collection day meant an early train from Lancaster to Stonehaven where Paul collected us and took us to their facility; a quick tour around the place before handing over the car.
Rather than taking the direct route home, I decided to spend a couple of days going across to Avimore, Glencoe, Loch Lomond, before heading south and aiming for the Lake District. ~450 miles.
First overnight stop was Thainstone House 25 miles up the road and the initial drive was a chance to get familiar with the car, and uncovered the first issue at a fuel stop…. the fuel filler cap doesn’t always fully release when the button is pressed. Seems to be a very common issue with the V8V and the first item added to the todo list: adjust fuel filler cap.
That evening, at the hotel I took the time to pair my phone with the cars primitive infotainment system - and while doing so (on ignition only) the ‘Battery Low’ warning popped up. Hmmm.
The next morning, the Battery Low warning flashed up again before starting the engine, but the engine fired up keenly enough and everything seemed fine except the cabin fan wasn’t blowing. A power cycle after the first stop of the day and all was well again.
The drive through the Cairngorms and across to Avimore was amazing. Great scenery and smooth flowing roads.
Shortly after resuming the drive Avimore after lunch, the check engine light came on and the “Emission System Service Required” warning popped up. My research pre purchase had indicated this is not an uncommon thing with Astons of this era. I’d forgotten to pack my OBDII reader so ignored it until we got home (fault self cleared after a while, and then came back). Pulling the codes when I got home showed PO136, PO137 and PO150…. codes reset, I expect replacing the lambda sensors will be on the todo list if it reoccurs.
The drive from Fort William to Glencoe was even more spectacular. While I refuse to embrace the Bond connection with Astons, I’d always wanted to visit the road to Glen Etvie from Skyfall regardless of what car I was driving. Sadly the road was closed for repair work, so that provides an excuse to head back to western Scotland in the near future.
The overnight stop was the Lodge at Loch Lomond, just outside Luss. A great property with a private beach and jetty into the Loch - perfect for a cold dip the next morning.
The final day was a quick stop at Glengoyne and Auchentoshan to pick up a coupe of bottles of whisky, before pointing south and taking the motorway home.
One final issue that came up was the drivers windscreen wiper arm wasn’t sitting flush with the screen after a ‘down stroke’. A quick look indicated the combination of the spring tension and a slightly seized pin in the wiper arm was the issue - £0.02 worth of WD40 into the pin and all was well.
Current to do list:
- Get the battery onto a conditioner and see how things progress from there.
- Monitor for more emissions/lambda sensor fault codes
- Adjust fuel filler cap
- Consider addressing some minor cosmetic items: replace chrome side strakes, glass on the key is also chipped where the previous owner dropped the key (£700 for the repair kit!?)
- Find a solution for wireless audio and ideally CarPlay integration.
- Give the alcantara on the steering wheel a good clean and bring back some of the ‘pile’.
Edited by TheHoof on Sunday 25th May 22:38
Edited by TheHoof on Sunday 25th May 22:39
Superb! Bet the V8 AM soundtrack is excellent too...
Does the dash have missing pixels (have I missed that bit)?
What bottles did you get from Glengoyne and Auchy?
This is one of my special bottles that rarely gets an outing:
Auchentoshan was my Granddads favourite distillery being a Glaswegian; so it's always had a special place in our hearts
Does the dash have missing pixels (have I missed that bit)?
What bottles did you get from Glengoyne and Auchy?
This is one of my special bottles that rarely gets an outing:Auchentoshan was my Granddads favourite distillery being a Glaswegian; so it's always had a special place in our hearts
The sound is amazing, especially when the valves open at 3,000 RPM.
No broken pixels on the dash - the gaps in the photo in the post are a function of LCD refresh rate and iPhone camera shutter speed.
I picked up the Glengoyne Cask Strength Limited Batch & the Auchentoshan "Bartenders Malt" edition #2 & I plan to open them tomorrow evening
No broken pixels on the dash - the gaps in the photo in the post are a function of LCD refresh rate and iPhone camera shutter speed.
I picked up the Glengoyne Cask Strength Limited Batch & the Auchentoshan "Bartenders Malt" edition #2 & I plan to open them tomorrow evening
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