I will be ordering an 09 vantage in morning frost white very soon...
 

The local dealership said if I get the order in by March, the car will be here by June-July. They said I need a 5,000 deposit to get the order in but they do not know the msrp for the 09 yet but they gave me a ball park figure of 125k fully loaded 6 speed... I have never dealt with aston martin before..is this going to be a hassle to get this car through them?

Also, current vantage owners..any problems/recalls with your cars? I am most likely going to keep my 997 and get the vantage as a weekend car...

no confirmed difference between 08 and 09, why not just get a 08?

are you getting manual or sport shift . service bulletin takes care of a little bit of notchy 1 to 2nd shift.
what dealer are you going to . that make a big difference in my opinion. i love mine as a weekend car . i have put 5000 mile on it in 20 months . my dealer is 300 miles away so 2100 miles was pick up, 1000 mile check ,1 year service and one trip for service bulletin .
i love the look of morning frost . i have black with iron ore red interior. you can see it in the bmw section that my son has posted for his car [my modded 335 and family mates]
enjoy the car .
regards

If I'm going to be ordering it new, I would rather just get the newer model..regardless of the changes. It will be a 6speed and I'm going to Bauer aston martin in Santa Ana, ca..it is about 30 miles away.

Your in for a good treat as its a very elegant colour, just make sure you order the interior in Caspian blue for the main hide and moon shadow for the lower hide. Seats look best in all blue with contrasting bright beige or white stitching.

I think that interior combination compliments the slight blue sparkles in the metallic white paint job.

the Seattle dealership requires a 15K deposit, which I paid today. The salesperson said there will be changes for 09, but these are not known yet. He has said several times that an increase in hp to 420-430 is probable; hopefully he is right. Even if there are not significant changes, I would still have a longer warranty as the amv8 will be replacing my 03 996tt as a daily driver

sounds about right. all CA deposit are refundable anyway so the 5k is not a big deal even if u decide u don't take the car when it gets here. i was gonna order an 08 but heard the 08 will be a short year run following by some changes in 09 model year car. maybe keyless-go type of key & a horsepower gain. also a sport package will be available as well after the launch of the N400. after 08 the stupid AM roof antenna is gone & that's a big PLUS!

yeah 08 became a short year due to the release of the n400..as soon as those are done being produced they will start the 09s

Never buy a car over $100k in washington, get better pricing and lower deposit out of state, well thats from experience myself. $5k down on a Aston Martin is a STEAL! good luck.

No big issues w/ my 2007 Vantage - their quality has been just fine in the modern cars. I went from a modded '03 996tt to my '07 Vantage - other than HP I do not miss a thing from the P car. Good luck - you are probably correct on the HP increase in 09. Biggest problem I see is you having to wait !!!

its good to here there are others that have switched from the twin turbo porsche to the vantage and not regretted the change/decrease in torque. The way I figure it, is that I am getting 80-90% of the turbo performance and a greater than 100% incease in the looks of my car.

i feel the same way about the looks. we live in a small town . 6000 people . there are 4 turbo porsche 07's and only my aston . there are about 15 porsche total not including a half a dozen cayannes.

Confirmed HP is up. don't know how much? (09)

Any pricing on the 12 cyl Vantage ? Now that would be the ticket for looks and HP !!!

Local dealer quoted a friend of mine around 265,000 same price as the DBS.

Let's see - current price about 135,000 w/ a V8. So let's say there is a 35,000 engine in there. So AM wants another 130,000 for four more cyls. - wow !!! Yeah 600HP but that is a bit expensive. You can buy a used 996 tt all day for 75,000 (or less) and spend 25,000 modding the engine for an easy 600 HP (or more). I know not a Vantage but a lot less bucks for the HP .... and yes I want a 12 cyl Vantage .... just don't want to pay that much ... oh to be James Bond ...

rather go with a BULL for that price...

I'd get a Gallardo Se and have change to spare for a new SUV as a DD.

Although not exactly on-topic (and I'm asking because I have an 04'C4S and have been checking out the AM/V8 sportshift)........and granted the C4S has nowhere near the power your TT did, the question is.

If I climb into a AM/V8....... how is the handling experience going to be? (meaning I've been in a few other cars, and the road-feel just goes away...etc). Thats one of the best things I like about the C4S is the "communication" you have with the road......and in my case I've got PSE, so sound is a biggie for me also..........

Any comparison/comments would be greatly welcome..

KaamaCat - My '03 996tt went from stock suspension to PSS9 w/ H&R adjustable sway bars (and TechArt wheels which were a bit wider and had built-in spacers). After mods the car handled much better on the track (Sebring) and back roads than stock. So that is my point of reference - very tight, not overly rough but good feel at high speeds and tight twisties (Sebring hairpin). You say you have a C4S which I believe is the same as stock tt - and you like it's handling and feel. Soooo - I bought the AM V8 because I was invited by AM for a test day at Sebring - and at stock it did just as well as my modded tt suspension - not the power but the handling - just great, and stock! As for the AM V8 power - yes it could have more - and needs it - does not feel like 380, not bad, but stock car could easily handle 500 HP. You need to drive one - AM dealer north of Atlanta I believe. As for the exhaust sound - and I had the TechArt exhaust on my tt and another very custom one on my GT3 - AM is in a class unto itself - and I quickly had my valves perm opened at dealer - just fantastic. Stock opens up at 4500 RPM - and she sings !!!!

Great reply, and thanks. (Actually the wife and I were at AM in Alpharetta yesterday, they are part of FerrariOfAtlanta..etc). The AM/V8 is dead sexy looking, and with the sportshift I could let the wife drive at times. (she's not much on the manual clutch deal, but would love to drive).

And yes......the C4S is the same body as the TT. (In fact they have a VantageV8 with the sportshift in exactly the color your pic has.....interior has the white baseball stitching and looks great!)

I REALLY appreciate the candid feedback......! (small world, I used to live in Oldsmar during the 80's, and wifes parents are still over in Tampa)

Vantage is a looker .... I just was not that impressed w/ difference from 996 to 997 ... I actually like the interior layout of 996 better than 997 .... and everyone has a P-car, I just wanted something different this time ... and I want to be James Bond when I grow up !!!

AND ... can Porsche possibly put any more plastic in thier interior ? Aluminium must translate in German to "silver painted plastic bits".

Michael whenever you are in the interior of an Aston you just don't want to leave, I drove a Ultimate edition Vanquish S and it was brilliant the interior is very welcoming and the fit and finish is terrific; If that was my car I would of taken a very long long route, a highway with a great cd full of smooth jazz tracks.

Mohammed - you are so right, an AM, a few tracks and the open road ... nothing like it !!! Is that Jag still treating you well ?

Yes its a great car, in fact that I don't use it every day my parents are taking advantage of it.

By the way have you seen the new Sahara tan leather interior, its a very rich colour in person and its very elegant on a Meteorite Silver V8 Vantage.