Hello all,

No questions asked I think the new Vantage v8s are best looking cars on the road. I am seriously considering a used (06 or 07) and have a few quick questions for the current owners:

1. Reliability - I've heard a couple bad stories but how's your experience to date?

2. Extended warranty - recommend? If so how expensive are they?

3. Service maintenance - how expensive is routine maint - including oil changes, brakes, etc?

4. Pricing - I'm reading that new 07s are going for about $10k below MSRP - is this true? If the used are high 90s', I'd consider a new.




Thank you

 

I dont have a lot of miles on my car yet but will offer what I can to help you decide.
The v8 is an awesome car and is responding well to mods also. There are/were some common issues regarding belt squeaking that many owners had but other than that I know of no other issues. I live almost 200 miles from the nearest dealer and on both occasions that warranty work was needed they sent a personal flatbed, pu'ed the car, fixed issues, washed and returned all in like 3 days. One time they even loaded my quicksilver exhaust and I had that installed while the car was having other things done. Great service.
I think AM is really on the ball, listening to what enthusiasts want and designing and refining very cool cars.
I did not get extended warranty, at least not so far as there is more time on the factory warranty than I usually keep a car, by far!
Prices seem to be all over the place but deals are out there, so look around.
Highly recommend premium sound upgrade. I also like the sport shift and think it will improve resale, although thats not why I got it.
TAke a test drive, thats what i did and it fully sold me.
Hope that helps.

 

Riverflyer - great info! Thank you.

 

Great thread. Hope more people will chime in.

 

I have an '06 purchased less than a year ago with 2400 miles. Car has been very reliable and I'm driving it more than I did with my previous car, an 05 Maserati CC Coupe. In 10 months time I have logged 8000+ miles. The only issues I have had were: 1) Defective gas cap causing an emissions warning light and 2) Squeeky brakes...a common complaint and 3) Had the transmission "upgrade" done known as Service Bulletin #236. Other than that the car has been a dream. All in all I have found the V8V to be an "affordable" and driveable exotic.

 

my dad bought and sold 2 of them for profit after his db9, but they were fairly reliable cars when he had them for about 300 miles. i suggest the sportshift though because it does make the car more enjoyable and relaxing to drive. we had a 6 speed and when you start it up somes in the mornings, when your driving the car while the transmision is still cold it becomes very clunky and the clutch is kinda hard. but i really cant speak for matenance fees because our cars was only in the dealership twice, then we bought the cars, and when we sold them.

 

Interesting you mention resell and profit, I did notice a noticeable increase in resell value. I was hoping to get an '06 for under $80k but not seeing any right now. Is it advisable to avoid 06 given that it was first year?

 

I dont think you'll find an 06 for under 80k. Cheapest one I seen was on eBay with 20k miles and was $85kish.....

06s should be fine, mine is an 06, and I currently have around 8k miles on it. No problems as of yet.

 

Some minor annoyances... like a bad gas cap, Leather shrinking on the dash and the Belt problem John allluded to, The Dealer has been amazing, car was fixed very quickly every time and I felt as if the dealer genuinly appreciated my business... I have seen good low mileage 07's a touch below 100K and with the way this car responds to mods.. it may be one of the finest GT's available at this price point today.. I would recommend the Vantage to anyone

 

I have an '07 and have been driving it for a year now. There was a slightly bent bracket (supplier issue) which caused the squeeky belt and pad vibration (Brembo pads) that caused brakes to squeel a little - all known issues and completely taken care of by dealer w/ very enjoyable service experience. I have never had this type of service from P-car dealers (I am still a P-car fan though). Overall I rate the experience and ownership as just outstanding. Yes I have driven the V8V on the track too - very nice.
BTW my fiances '07 Cayman S had more serious new car issues ... dealer was good but just not the same level of experience.

I believe the market is depressed on the high end for all brands, just be careful, a price to low probably means there is a good reason it is getting dumped - based on this and other forums I doubt it had to do w/ reliability. I have also read unofficially the '09s are higher priced, so used might stablize. I believe they made a total of around 4000 '06-'07 V8V's so there are not too many out there ...

 

I would recommend an 2007 for the slight changes that they made during that model year. I suspect that when the 2009s roll out with more HP, the 07s will take an additional hit.

If you search the threads, you can find the one I had. I loved the car. Absolutely loved it. I didn't have any problems with the car. I had a few mods on it, and had I kept it, I probably would have explored some performance mods.

If you can find a low mileage 07 in the very low 90s, go for it. You'll want one with some of its warranty left, if at all possible.

 

I would choose an 07 model but after the 09 models hit the market.

 

thank you all - I presume no one bought an extended warranty with AMV?

 

Bobby G - what drove you to sell it? I am mostly concerned that it just won't have enough power for my liking. I am cross shopping with GTR, Viper, and even a used 997TT. But there is no denying that AMV looks the BEST of them all.

 

I just hit 10K miles on my ’06, and have had no issues requiring an unscheduled trip to the dealer. I’m not saying there haven’t any issues, but they were so minor, that I had no problem waiting until a trip to the dealer for routine servicing was due. FYI: My nearest dealer is 150 miles away, and I use mine daily as a commuter (my commutes are short)... all around, it’s the nicest car I’ve ever owned; period.

So far as I know, there were only insignificant changes between 06’ and ’07 models. The stitching down the center of the seats being the most obvious.
I’d guess any value differences between the two years would be based on
in service dates... ‘ seriously doubt there are any out of warranty Vantage V8s in the US yet. Mine was one of the first delivered, and I’ve still a year remaining.

Buy one, you’ll love it!