Been lurking here and wanted to get opinion...

wanting to upgrade from porsche boxster. Found 2009 vantage roadster with about 24k miles. Service done at AM dealer. Has "accident" on carfax. Seems that local AM dealer had it in inventory/demo and had slight parking lot damage to it before it sold...damage back in 2009. Car also has about 6" separation in convertible Glass. AM dealer can fix and warrant for $1000 in lieu of full replacement.

car is fully loaded with sport pack, sportshift, nav,..body and interior very good shape. Will be getting full PPI

got them down to 30% of MSRP and been doing some research that seems to indicate that this trends to be close to bottom of depreciation curve...

thoughts on deal? I don't think car fax is a deal breaker...at this price. $46,000

 

You don't mention the price of the car.

 

$46k

 

For that price you could get something that doesn't have a CARFAX incident. I would ask for a detailed repair report.

 

Wow $46K for a 2009 Manual loaded, get a PPI and like Dale said ask for a repair report if possible. If you are mechanically incline you will have fun playing around with this.

 

It is a sport shift...while I want a manual, my wife doesn't want a third pedal...i drove the car for about an hour after some instruction on the sport shift and found the car really drove well...you can still have more control than a automatic, but not as much fun.

the AM dealer is getting me a copy of their incident report.

i am pretty excited about joining "the club"

 

46k for an 09 sport pack is a killer deal!!!

 

Some would say too good to be true. That's why you need that repair report and a pre-purchase inspection!

 

An accident history on an Aston Martin is the equivalent of automotive leprosy. But if you're going to own it forever it shouldn't matter.

 

46k though makes up for the carfax imo.

 

The key is to determine exactly what damage was done.

The DB9 I just purchased showed an accident on the carfax. The car was listed as "driveable" or some such after the accident (Florida apparently classifies accidents on the DMV reports).

Anyway, the selling dealer (not an Aston Martin dealer) claimed the owner said it was a parking lot accident that required minor repairs. I didn't just take their word for it though -- the car was a one-owner car that had always been serviced at a single Aston Martin dealer, so I called up that dealer. They knew the car well, said it was indeed a parking lot accident with a truck that had backed into the bumper, that none of the damage was structural, and that the repairs were in the 4-digit range, not 5-digit range. They also said they thought the car had been well-taken-care of.

Now, knowing that almost anything on an AM would go up to 5-digits if it were much more than a slight bump, I felt a lot better about purchasing the car.

I had the car shipped directly to my local Aston Martin dealer to have an initial annual service just to make myself feel comfortable that I knew the starting point for it under my ownership was at a good point. They thoroughly inspected the car and found no issues other than it was time for rear brake pads.

Anyway, I'm rambling so much just to say that accident reports should indeed be investigated, but some states list anything over $500 of damage on the DMV report that goes to Carfax, so it isn't necessarily bad news. Diligence in confirming exactly what was done, how it was repaired, etc. is key though. I'd stay away from anything that involved frame/suspension damage, as that is really tough if not impossible to ever get back to a "factory" condition.

 

When I first looked at AM cars. I found one in NC but had been in an accident. The dealer...If I remember ...Metro something... Sent the car out and had it certified as repaired correctly using a rating system 0-10 the car came in at 9.5... Perhaps the dealer could get certified repair in writing for you...Good luck

 

Hi All. I have a message display on dash saying r/h/rear turn signal globe out. Indicator flashes continuesly when display is on. I turn key on and back on all is good for a long time but then all goes back to original problem. When turn signals are operating normally there is a chirp sound coming from said tail light so I replaced tail light with second hand one.There is no chirping coming from new tailight when operating normally but the message and signal came back as before . Connection and wiring for tailight are good. Suggestions to cure this problem are most welcome. biggee

 

Sounds like you need to clear the code using an obd-11 reader...I had sensor come on and my son cleared for me after we repaired..Cheap to buy ...Great to have for all cars...Also contact some of the vendors direct on here they will answer ...

 

Haha, my friends own that dealership. Metrolina Auto Group I am on my 6th car from them, very stand up group of guys and will work with you for what you want. They started in college and it grew to what they are now.

The Vantage (07) you looked at was a 64k mile meteorite gray with obsidian interior with ASM transmission. Car was taken on a test drive, and the driver stopped to put gas in it and reversed into one of those yellow concrete posts. Since it was on a test drive, the driver called the police for a report before notifying the dealer. Then the dealer HAD to use their INS for the repair for business reasons. The bumper was slightly cracked and scuffed on the back corner. They ended up putting a new bumper on it I think but the whole repair was like $700. Small world.

I thought about that one, they didnt have hardly any money in it, but after the carfax showed a wreck, and the 64k miles, I dam sure didnt want anything to do with that. Plus it was a ASM transmission. The car was a FL wholesale auction car that needed a bunch of little things when it came in. Definitely needed a detail. Not a whole lot different than most auction cars, just a very well driven one.

Be happy you got what you have. They have a 08 blue one thats nice, I was in it over Christmas. Manual and all, I just dont like the two tone blue tan interior. Dont like blue interior at all, much less the paint.