Hi all,

I’ve just purchased a 2015 V12 Vantage S and am impatiently waiting for it to be shipped. The the meantime I’m researching the various specialists I will need to repair some of the defects:

1. Chipped crystal on the key - can I just replace the crystal, instead of the whole key?
2. The carbon chin splitter is scratched underneath and has some chips on the top/side - any recommendations for a carbon repair shop in Houston?
3. The leather is lifting on one corner of the passenger side of the dashboard - assume any competent auto upholstery shop should be able to soften, stretch and reglue?
4. There is condensation in one rear light assembly - is there a DIY procedure to open, dry and reseal the light or is it a specialist job?

These are the initial fixes that I’d like to get done, but also can anyone recommend an independent Aston specialist in Houston for my future service and repair needs?

Thanks in advance for assistance with any of these questions.

 

1. Chipped crystal on the key - can I just replace the crystal, instead of the whole key? I had my V8 Vantage crystal fixed at Phoenix Bespoke Keys
2. The carbon chin splitter is scratched underneath and has some chips on the top/side - any recommendations for a carbon repair shop in Houston? If it's minor, I'd live with it. I had a 2017 V12S brand new - it scraped on the driveway and a bolt broke through the top of the carbon fiber - first day I owned it. I had two previous V12S, no issues same scrape. The 2016 V12S I just purchased the previous owner installed a scrape guard, so if you do fix it, get a scrape guard.
3. The leather is lifting on one corner of the passenger side of the dashboard - assume any competent auto upholstery shop should be able to soften, stretch and reglue? Of my 8 Vantages since 2007, none have had the shrinkage issue, but this new one has very slight pulling back... I'd be curious as to what you find out.
4. There is condensation in one rear light assembly - is there a DIY procedure to open, dry and reseal the light or is it a specialist job? The pretty much all leak. There are many DYI videos on methods to cure. The LED's are made near me in Lakeville, Minnesota but they are assembled in Canada, was a known issue and never properly addressed. I too had my recent delivered V12S with condensation at deliver even though it was through Timeless inspection for the two years warranty. So I switched my V8 Vantage Divinatech (www.divinatech.com) tail lights that cure the condensation issue and adds more features (like sequential tail lights). Of the 8 Vantages I've owned all 8 condensate.
5. I've added a 5th issue I can guarantee your car has, and something my wife hates. On the visor (by the way the 2" visor is pretty much like having no visor) use the mirror... they all distort, like a clown mirror at a carnival. I've had most replaced under warranty. Pretty funny quirk.

 

Wow, thanks for the quick and detailed reply!

Yes I’m in two minds about refinishing the carbon splitter, you can almost guarantee that I’ll scrap it the day after it’s refinished 😆😬

 

Congrats. I am a new owner as well. Just got mine on Thursday last week. You're going to love it.

 

Congratulations! Your car looks great. Is it Lightening Silver? I got my 2015 V12VS last year. Epic car.

As Prefurbia mentioned, Phoenix Bespoke Keys (add .com to the name) in the UK would be my recommendation for the key.

The CF front splitter on mine came scraped underneath but looks very good otherwise, so I intend to be very careful...

About the dash leather, there are various opinions. Many people say that if the shrinkage/pulling is minor, then it can be successfully stretched and re-glued. Others say the only way to properly fix it is to replace that piece of leather. I have no personal experience with this -- fortunately my V12VS has no shrinkage, nor does my '09 V8V (which I've had from new).

Taillight condensation: My V8V doesn't have this issue. The V12VS does, but it's pretty minor. I haven't decided what, if anything, to do about it.

LuL, since you're thinking about wheel finishes, Spyglass's car shows the gloss silver finish for the Lightweight wheels.

 

Thanks for the callout. I'm currently leaning towards BMW Shadow Chrome for my lightweight wheels. This gloss silver does look nice though.

 

Funny that you mentioned this. I brought up this issue to AMNA a while back when I acquired my 2017 V12VS and thought it might be a design flaw. No resolution from them. But I resolved this by removing that bolt underneath. One on each side. Splitter of course will still hold up and no more worries about the bolt pushing up from scraping.

 

"Scrape Armor" makes a protector for the V12VS front splitter. I got one for my Vanquish -- quality product, easy to install. Not cheap though.

 

Thanks, I’m not sure what color it is as I don’t have the window sticker, I understand the paint code is on a sticker somewhere in the trunk, I’ll have a look when I get the car. It has a slight blue hue to it in the sunlight, it looks beautiful in person.

The leather lifting is minor. It’s the top left corner of the big piece of leather that covers most of the passenger side of the dash. It’s hard to see but I know it’s there and would like to get it fixed.

I’ve seen a few different DIY fixes for the rear light condensation online, I was just wondering if the brain trust here had a recommendation.

 

Correction. I just check a photo of the inside and it’s the leather panel closer to the windshield, I also missed that the leather on the gauge cluster cover is also lifting. I believe these are pretty normal areas for the dash leather to lift/wrinkle. Hopefully these are easy fixes for a competent auto upholstery shop?

 

Prefurbia - yes it would appear that the splitter mounting screw has pushed up through the carbon as a result of the hard scrape at some point in it’s life ☹️

yvr - good call on the scrape armor, I’ll look into that if I decide to get the splitter repaired

LuL - the wheels have some metallic in the silver, I’ll post a close up pic when I get the car.

Thanks for all the comments guys, as I’m sure you can imagine, I’m excited to get the car!

 

My 2016 is very similar to yours (see below). I also noticed that to the right of the circled yellow circle there seems to be a slight mismatch on the seam near the right vent, I checked mine aligns perfectly. These are minor issues. Mine was perfect except the bolster wear, I had that refinished. On mine Park Place 'fixed scratches' on the wheels but they came delivered dark grey ruining the look of the car. I switched wheels on my V8 Vantage (see below), but wanted to keep it with the Aston wheels with spacers that I have on all my previous Astons with stock wheels. While the V/S wheels look spectacular (similar to the 2025 Vantage) the rear's are 21" and diameter is over 1" greater than stock. When I posted this problem previously, I got a note from Forza Wheels that they can build me any design and any spec, delivered at a cost seeming too good to be true. I sent them a picture of my 2015 Vantage (see below) that had gloss black and diamond turned finish, but I wanted 20" instead with 1" rear and 1/2" front offset. A few days ago they sent pictures of the finished wheels (see below). When I get them in and make sure they fit and no issues, I'll create a more detailed post. Delivery will be end of January'ish. As far as the lights condensation, I never drive in the rain, and when washing I never spray directly on the tail or head lights. One owner, and Aston maintained at the price you paid was a steal!

 

Your 2016 is remarkably similar, even down to the black painted roof. What color is that? Does it have the slight blue hue in sunlight?

Great job on the 20” replica wheels, look forward to seeing them on your car. Do you have a weight for them?

There was minor curb rash on two of my wheels, so Porsche Ft Collins are refinishing them. I considered changing them to gunmetal, but decided to stay with the classic silver.

Overall the car is very clean, owned by an 80 year old Aston enthusiast who finally had to trade it for an SUV as he couldn’t easily get in it anymore. Fingers crossed it’s as good as it appears 🤞🏻

 

Your car (I think) and mine are lightning silver... refinish in a bright silver - it brings out the color... I'll weigh the wheels when I get them, but they are forged, so again, it's a wait and see. On my Midnight Blue, the V/S wheels brought out the brightness of the paint, but with the darker grey wheels, it's more of a drab blue.

 

Code 114 is in Houston. They repair headlights for exotic cars. They are replacing a circuit board on my headlight after the holiday. You send them the light and they return it repaired. Not sure if they do rear lights but never hurts to ask.