I checked out a V8 Vantage a couple of days ago and I have to tell you...I like that car! I know that it probably won't beat a 997 Carrera 4S in terms of handling and performance but I already have a Porsche (and I plan on keeping it) and was thinking of getting the Vantage as a weekend/cruising car. I bought the 996 new back in 2000 and I have close to 92,000 miles on it so I am feeling the itch to get a new car.

The price of the Vantage is not too bad but I wanted to find out more about maintenance cost, cost to replace wear items like brakes and tires, etc. Is there a Rennlist equivalent forum for Aston Martin?

Thanks,

-G

 

No, they don't have a Forum 'cuz all they would talk about is how they plan to drive the AM when, and if, it gets out of the shop! J/K!

I did a search on Yahoo for "Aston Martin Forum" and here are a few of the "hits." I have no idea which one is the equivelant to Rennlist. These should get you started.

http://www.astonmartinlife.com/forums/
http://astonmartinforums.net/index.php
http://www.carforums.net/forumdisplay.php?f=47

 

I was going to suggest you do a Google search, but it looks like gota911 took care of that for you. I have had similar thoughts as I too like the car. What she gives up in performance she more than makes up for in style. Please keep me posted on what you find in terms of maintenance/repair costs.

 

Any chance it's the '91 Burgandy at Cannilo ? I was going to look at it this weekend and just noticed it's sold !

 

Thanks Tim. I saw those too. Unfortunately, they all have very few postings (1 page of posts in each forum's sections). And, frankly, those few postings scare me -- one poster talks about how the V8 Vantage he bought is a lemon, another talks about how the performance is lacking, and yet another talks about how his V8 Vantage has been in the shop for 24 days out of the 3 months he's owned it. Yikes!

I have heard that Astons are notorious for being in the shop a lot. I was hoping to find a good Aston Martin forum with enthusiastic members who will calm my fears. No luck.

 

What picqued my interest was a really beautiful/clean DB7 that we saw while we were out to lunch earlier this week. That same day I went to the local Aston Martin dealership (http://www.astonmartintysons.com/) to check one out. Alas, the DB7 is out of production and has been since 2005. The good news is that the new Aston Martin V8 Vantage is even sexier than the DB7!

I did some research and learned that the DB7s were built on the same chassis as the Jaguar XK (both by Ford). I also learned that the DB7s had crappy build quality and were in the shop a lot. It is really a shame because there are some (aesthetically) beautiful DB7s for sale around $70K. The V8 Vantage I was looking at is brand new and costs around $118K.

The dealership offered that I take the car on an extended test drive. I am hesitant to take them up on their offer because I know that once I drive the car for a day that I might fall in love with it and I have to keep the $118K decision rational.

 

Hell, for that kind of money you can get a heavily optioned 997S, or even a 997 GT3, that won't spend half of each month in the shop. Add a few more coins, and that puts you the 997 Turbo range.

 

I agree. And that is why I don't want to take the car for the extended test drive and fall in love with the car. That rational choice would be to get a 997 Carrera 4S -- but the V8 Vantage is so sexy.

 

92,000 miles is great to hear! Good luck in your search.