I'm considering the purchase of a 2007 Vantage that was recently traded in at the Bentley dealership in my town. The dealership has provided me with all available paperwork and service records. It appears the original owner had a few minor issues taken care of with the Aston dealership shortly after buying it.

The car has 10,566 miles, is one owner, and a clean carfax report.

I had an independant inspection done, and it revealed that the service indicater light was staying on, there was brake noise when stopping, the navigation screen deployment gears were not working, and the brake pads and tires need replaced. They're also recommending that the main serpentine drive belt and tensioner pulley be replaced, oil change etc.

Cosmetically the car appears to be in excellent condition. The dealer has been forthcoming about the information they have, and seem quite willing to negoiate on price. Are the items I've described normal maintenence on an Aston? Any suggestions and feedback on these issues would be appreciated by the very informed people on this site. Thanks Chris

 

I guess that all depends on price ...
________
EbonyExotic

 

Needing tires and brake pads at 10.5k would be a sign to me that the car has been driven hard and put away wet. IMHO

 

$55K?? Maybe

 

I bought my 07 V8 in 2008 with 2,600 mi on it. It has always had minor brake pad noise here and there and even after replacing still makes noise once in a while, not a problem IMO or my dealers. I maintain my V8 with utmost care and proper scheduled maintenance from dealer. The check engine light always goes on once in a while as mainly a gas cap issue my dealer tells me. Its usually shortly after filling up sometimes. Belts I'm not sure about that I never replaced and I have 16K miles now.

It sounds like normal stuff to me. (Oh and dealer had me change tires at 12k miles, and I don't beat on my V8 at all.

 

It appears to me the car has driven pretty hard for new brakes at 10K miles. I would keep looking unless you get a really good deal. Besides, you have no idea why the service engine light is on...it's like chasing a wild goose even if the dealer hooks it up to the code reader. Keep in mind, every repair on the Aston cost a lot. You should budget at least $3-8K for repair. I think brakes alone is probably $1-2K. Also, annual service is $1500-2000. So keep all that cost in mind when negotiating a deal and keep us posted.

 

You might wanna consider having it check out by a local AM dealer in connection with the purchase of an extended premium warrany through AM. The dealer will inspect it thoroughly before certifying it for the AM warranty. Before being able to purchase the warranty, whatever is wrong with the car would have to get fixed, including the brakes and tires. Once you have the grand total for all the repairs required to even purchase the AM extended warranty, I don't see why you should not be able to negotiate the price down by an equal amount. Just my two cents.

Also, the brake squeak is totally normal. It is easily fixed as well. It is more common with folks that drive in city traffic. All you need to do is take it on the highway (after the brakes have been warmed up) and drive at abut 50 or 60 mph and then slam the brakes on close to a full stop. I do a lot of downtown driving and started getting brake squeak after about 2 weeks. I did what I suggested (and what was told to me by the dealer), and I haven't heard a peep from my brakes since.

 

I don't think you can get AM extended warranty once the original one has expired. You can call AM and double check but I am almost certain.

 

I am almost positive you can; the car just needs to pass the certification inspection which costs about $500. Before purchasing my car, I too looked at several 2007 cars out of warranty and all the local dealerships were willing to do the certification for the extended warranty.

Keep in mind there are two types of extended warranties offered through AM.
The first is referred to as the "Extended Premium Warranty" that is almost an extension of the original factory warranty. This premium warranty can be purchased on cars up to ~7 years old. After that period, you can still purchase an extended warranty through AM but it has so many exclusions and is more expensive than the premium warranty it's not really worth it.

 

Like 007 said previously, it all depends on the price. Post it and we'll be able to make a more informed opinion for you. Moreover, we need to clarify something. Are you referring to a "Check engine light" or a "Time for regular service" light?

 

It's the service indicator light......not the check engine light.

 

The current asking price is $72K. I'm going to make an appointment with the local Aston dealership for an inspection before making any decisions, and then discuss price.

 

Yes, yu are correct. 2 different extended warranty plans available thru AM.

 

I believe I know this car and I will speak in very generic terms. I would strongly recommend an AM dealership inspection over an independant one with comments on the cost of bringing the car up to the spec for it's mileage and age.
The GPS repair for the screen deployment will run about 3-4k ish. The car needs it's 10K maintenance and also it's 3 year maintenance. Combined that will be around 1.7k ish, it may have been done but I would want to see documentation of the service.

 

We just performed a GPS repair on a DB9 and the repair with parts was $350.