Not sure how this happened......but..... coupla weeks ago I was in my '08 Porsche Boxster S on the way to Tysons Porsche VA to consider buying a new 991 base Carrerra. A block before the Porsche store is Aston Martin of Tysons on RT 7, and its a beautiful day out - and I'm not in a rush - let's look at the pretty Astons on the lot. I know they are gorgeous, but outside my paygrade.

It wasn't long before Pieter, the Sales Manager, is working me over. I tell him "I know they are wonderful, and beautiful, but I am not a wealthy man and a Porsche is about as much car as I can afford - not even an "S" model at that." Pieter asks "Have you ever driven an Aston?" No, I had not. So he says "C'mon, lets go for a ride", and he pulls out a very clean 2007 black coupe Vantage with the power kit and Quicksilver pipes on it and off we go.

I was SHOCKED.

The car handles, stops and road feel MUCH better than I anticipated it would and was quite powerful. Fun to drive, the manual box was excellent. And of course, I love the looks and style of the car, along with the materials used in construction. I've had my Porsche apart enough to know its built like every other modern production car with lots of plastic clips and one-way fasteners, it was refreshing to see a car with allen head caps in the door sills and a rear view mirror that was not glued on the windshield. And this car was $ 83,000 with 11K miles on it. Within my budget.

I thanked them for the test drive and went to the Porsche store and took out a brand new 991 over the same roads we did in the Vantage. And it was very nice. But I wanted THRILLING...not nice. I went back to the Aston Dealer, because that's where thrilling lives. I gathered information.

Over the next month I started studying the brand, finding out pricing, issues, reliability, etc., reading everything I could on them. Many people said "you're crazy to buy an Aston - they all blow up or break", but I really wasn't finding much evidence of that on-line. They seemed relatively reliable and not particularly difficult to work on.

This past Sunday I stopped in again to the dealership and there was a 2007 Orient Blue Coupe with only 4,670 miles on it (manual trans) that just arrived in on trade towards a new 2012 Vantage S. I fell for it immediately. My wife said "If you have to have it - go ahead - but I think you should just get another Porsche". So by Sunday evening at 6 p.m., I'm on the way home in my new-to-me Vantage Coupe, just ahead of hurricane Sandy (yes, I drove it home in the rain). And of course, its KILLING ME that it has been in the garage ever since while this storm goes through the area and it appears it will be Wednesday before I can really have some fun with it.

I have to say, I never thought I'd own an Aston - I've had (4) Porsches and this will be a very different experience. I also will say that buying a car from the gentleman at Tyson's Corner Aston Martin was the best car buying experience I ever had. Pieter and Hans and the sales staff there made me feel like family, and I've even agreed to instruct at Summit Point for them on the upcoming Aston Martin Driving School on Nov 8th.

Tonight I'm going after fuse # 22 in the back to open up the exhaust bellows...lol. I cannot believe someone owned this car for 5 years and drove it less than 1,000 miles per year. That's going to change.



Duane C.

 

Awesome story, I had fun reading it; thanks for sharing! My '07 Vantage was just dropped off last Thursday so I'm quite new to the fold as well. While we're surely not getting anything compared to what you're getting in rain, it's also been raining fairly well in Portland since Thursday so I've only really gone on one drive... it's killing me seeing it sit in the garage!

My path here came through BMW M cars and lots of track days as well (also an instructor). I drove the demo Vantage while on the dealer tour in 2006 and was a bit underwhelmed... though it's never left my mind. I still think it's one of the most beautiful cars on the road. My RSC packed Vantage fills that visceral experience that lacked in the stock Vantage. Sure it's mostly noise, but it's wonderful noise now! When I drove it in 2006 I was expecting more performance (even though I knew the stats)... probably slower than my BMW M Coupe around the track, but this is so much more car in many other ways, and I'm in a different place in life now than 2006. The fit and finish is absolutely superior to all the mass produced cars I've driven, including equally priced BMWs and Mercedes. The ****pit feels much more "special" to me than the likes of an Audi R8 or Lamborghini Gallardo.

I've only driven it a few miles thus far, but I'm quite excited for it as well...

Congrats on your Vantage!

David

 

cockpit... wow, lame

 

Welcome on the aston's world

 

Duane, great story, great looking car Hope you get to put some miles on it soon.

 

Welcome and enjoy the symphony of exhaust sounds

On a side note, Pieter is a good guy and I am hoping to go to the driving day coming up! Should be fun!

 

I've had my 2007 for over 2 years now and still grin everytime I drive it. Enjoy it!

 

Being a new owner myself, I have probably not earned the right yet. Congratulations on your purchase.

Beautiful car and wonderful story.

Thanks for sharing.

 

Great purchase. I'm starting to get the bug myself!

 

welcome to the northern VA, aston club.

 

Share the info about the driving school on the 5th, are there any spots left and cost?

 

Welcome to the (Aston) forum and congrats on the car. There are many Aston owners who are prior Porsche owners. I agree that driving an Aston is special. I'm happy to report that that specialness does not wear off. After 3 years of owning Astons, I always feel a bit giddy when I first get in, smell the leather, and push that key into its slot to hear that engine come to life.

 

I've had my eye on an Aston for a while now. I have spoken to Pieter a couple times and would definitely work with him if I decide to buy there. I have had my eye on that black 2007 for a while, but it is out of my range.

I love that Orient Blue color. Does it have black or Caspian Blue interior?

 

Great story!
I'm surprised to hear the driving enjoyment in the Aston is better than the 911. Is this really true? Wouldn't have expected it.

 

I drove the black 07 with the red interior - its a LOT of fun. I decided on this Orient Blue one as it had the GPS, Premium Sound, Bluetooth and I can always add the Quicksilver pipe on later - along with the power kit. This one is Caspian Blue...





No idea on how many slots are left in the Driver's School - not sure whom is doing the registration and the like though I was told the person setting it up is Matthew Lallo, he is the organizing person for the track day. His cell number is 443 739 8425