Hello everybody,

My name is Neil and I am new to this amazing world of Aston Martin. I have few questions and concerns about my new purchase. I would love to thank in advance for all the feedback and response that I might be getting from you guys. Ok, Here we go.......

I am just a regular guy who has been driving nothing too big in his past life.....Lexus, Mercedes, Chrysler and stuff like that. Just about recently I got my hands on some new ventures in life and looking to make the money I wanted to so I could afford a beautiful prized obsession called Aston Martin. There are few questions I have before I go ahead with my purchase.

a) What are the costs related to buying this car. I have been reading this forum from past few months and have not seen anything big or serious that should concern me in buying this car but I would love to hear from the proud owners that is there anything major that I should be concerned about?????

b) What kind of mileage or year is the best for me as I am looking to get used. I have my eye on a 07 V8 Vantage with 10k miles on it. Is there something in specific that I should be concerned about or should look at while buying this vehicle as I will be getting it from a private dealership not a AM dealer.

c) The dealer is willing to offer Extended Warranty. Now, Is it better to get warranty through an Authorized AM dealership or this does not make a difference. and what exactly is covered in the extended warranty. I know the normal wear and tear is not included, but just curious as to what is covered by extended warranty.

d) How many miles is ok to put on that car as I would be driving it quite a bit and I did read on the forum that this car is supposed to be on the streets and not in the garage. How much of that is true. I mean I won't be putting 40k miles a year on it but i think that i might put atleast 10k or 15k a year as i am buying to enjoy this beast.

e) I met a car mechanic recently who told me that he would be able to take care of the car if anything goes wrong with it. Now, is it safe to get it fixed from somewhere else (considering if something goes wrong with it) or is it always good to the AM authorized dealership.

I really appreciate for anyone to take the time out and reading this and giving me some feedbacks. Thanks a lot guys. Will def post if i have any more questions.

 

I will take a stab at answering your questions. I am also fairly new to AM ownership; purchased an ’07 Vantage with just under 10k miles in November ’10.
a) From what I read, it seems like the most serious issue was the oil leak on some of the cars that were mainly garaged. An ’07 with less than 10k, was probably not a DD. Mine had the oil leak fixed by the previous owner at the local AM dealership. I remember reading that it was an expensive fix if down out of warranty. Other than that, it’s an annual/10k service that will run $1500-$2000.
b) See above … obviously you should get a car fax and check that the owner has had the recommended maintenance done on the car. From what I have read, a well maintained and driven car may give you less problems than a “garage queen” with few miles.
c) My dealer told me that unless I was going to be putting “a lot” of miles on it, he didn’t recommend the warranty. They said the cars were very reliable and just to make sure to get the annual/10k service done and to drive the car.
d) Don’t know if I can shed much light on this one but a few people on this forum use them as DD and don’t have any issues. Just remember, wear and tear items on this car will be much higher than say a Toyota … and it isn’t the most fuel efficient car either, if that is a concern. Mine isn’t my DD but I still drive it a lot.
e) I haven’t done any work on my car yet but a competent mechanic should be able to do a lot of the work on the car … but it is always good and will help re-sale value to get the stamp once a year from AM.
I hope this helps, these are truly beautiful machines. Good luck with your search!

 

Thanks a ton moots. I really do appreciate the respoonse and it surely helps a lot. I hope you are having fun in that beast. So do you suggest that I should get any kind of oil leakage if there is any checked before i buy the car. Once I get the beast I might just drive up to Texas so we can battle...........lol.

 

Hi Neil,

Others have answered pretty well for you, but a couple of thoughts. 10,000 miles a year is better than 1000 in my humble opinion. If you're using it sensibly and doing regular servicing and so on, it's worse for the car to sit than to be used.

Also, there is an Independent Factory Trained Aston Martin specialist in San Diego, not far from the old dealership. He is an absolutely top guy and will take great care of you. He has even been doing AM Warranty work for free (and upaid by AM.)

John Ryan
Factory Trained Aston Martin Technician
New Tickford St. Service
5795 Kearny Villa Rd
San Diego CA, 92123

(858) 736-4899
www.NewTickfordStService.com

 

Thanks a lot Stuart. This will help me a lot. I think I know exactly where that guy is as I know where the old AM dealership was. I will def keep him in my contacts coz i might be needing him. Thanks again Stuart.

 

If the work was done, it should show up in the service history of the car. From what I have read, it wasn't an issue in every car ... mostly the low mileage ones that weren't driven very much.

again, good luck with the search!