I totally agree. I will be looking and hopefully test driving this weekend.

 

To be perfectly honest my cousin had a Maser and hated it...broke down quite often so became very un-reliable, where-as my business partner owns a 2009 AM DBS. I know it's not the DB9 but he loves it, no problems at all. He says the only thing it breaks is people's necks. Good luck...and happy searching...

 

Which model and year was/is his Maser? I know about the issues with the coupe and spyder models, Skyhook suspension, and electrical issues. I have a friend and former business associate who have/had Maser Q's. They had no major issues. Time will tell with the GT, I think it's too early to make a true assessment. The price difference is much of the decision process. I guess the test drive of the Maser will be the answer. I hope se anyway. I have driven old DB9's.

 

Lee, I totally agree on handling, which I will take one step further and call "vehicle dynamics". This incorporates every thing you do and feel: press the gas, brake, turn the wheel, feel the response around a turn, etc. For any enthusiast driver, this is what is different about every kind of car. Many people will drive cars and consider them "the same or similar", but they all really have different personalities. For me it is this vehicle dynamics when combined with looks, that tells me how much I like a car or not.

 

Red Devil, did you drive the '09 Vantage? Steve at Catena told me it the power feels very similar to the '08 DB9. I was set on a DB9 but now I'm not so sure.

 

I believe I drove a 2008 Vantage, but am unsure as my Aston test-driving started around late August of 2008. Even if the Vantage had more power, I still think I would have ended up with the DB9. While I certainly think the Vantage is more of the "sports car" of the 2, after coming out of my very extreme sports car in the Turbo I had, I was looking for something different. I drove the Vantage first thinking it was going to be for me, but it was not "nice/good enough" to get me out of the Turbo. Sad to say, but around my neck of the woods a Vantage is "relatively" common. I wanted something different/exclusive and months can go by without seeing another DB9 coupe. If I were driving the car 3-4 days/week, I think then the Vantage would have been the better choice for me. As a toy/pure pleasure vehicle for tooling around, the DB9 got my vote and $.

 

Considering a DB9 sitting on the showroom floor would probably be in the same price range as an ordered vantage (they won't discount any ordered cars, only inventory) it makes the case for the DB9, as long as they have something I like on the lot. For some reason, in my warped mind, I can't justify driving the DB9 to work everyday but would drive the vantage - even if the above scenario held true. Strange.

BTW, I drove the 997tt and then the Vantage. I actually liked the Vantage better, even though the TT was far more powerful. I sold my 993TT to pay for my wedding a few years ago. I wish I had never let that car go (the buyer got it for a steal).

 

I'm sure you know and may not even care, but the depreciation hit you'll take on an "ordered" Vantage is going to be huge. Obviously much less on the "discounted" car depending upon how much $ you get off.

 

I definitely know that. What I need to find out is if Steve would discount a car that we might find at another dealer. He said they trade cars all the time. I'm still torn between the Vantage and the DB9, truth be told. I just see the DBS as the next step up from the Vantage in terms of the sporting nature of the car. The DB9 is an upgrade, but it's not a linear upgrade - sports vs. touring. Unless I can find a lightly used DBS there's no way I could justify spending the cash on a new one. A pre-owned DBS that comes in at the price of a new DB9 would be something to consider.

 

I agree with most of what your are saying. I never would have bought my DB9 at "full" price and did want the DBS, but could not justify the 100K more it would have taken at the time. My DB9 with the sports pack is plenty of "sports car", so your interpretation of Vantage as sports car and DB9 as GT I have issue with. IMO, the lines are not so clear as that and I consider the Vantage closer to GT and the DB9 closer to sports car than you do. Having driven in a DBS, I can tell you the size is a factor and it is not a sports car in the purest sense either. Good luck with your decisions.

 

Yes, it's a tough decision. I drove the Sports Pack DB9 - it was an '07 - and I really liked it. I haven't yet driven the '09 vantage. The unfortunate truth is that Catena has a DB9 that I would consider buying, but I'm a year out from my purchase. I could finance it, but I'd rather buy in cash.

 

I have an 08 DB9 and I love it. I have yet to experience a Grand Turismo. I chose the Aston on the body lines. IMO its one of the nicest designed cars ever. I also love the way the engine sounds, it has a unique sound to it.

 

I would tell you if the price was really right, then make it happen now. While there would always be other cars, low volume dealers/manufacturers always make adjustments to inventory/production. That means you might have to pay significantly more for the same and miss out on a years worth of driving/owning. IMO, "really right" in mid-July would be minimum 10% off sticker but more like 15%. By September it moves up about 2% per month. I bought in October ... ... and was at greater than 20%

 

I passed up an '07 at 33% off sticker. Beautiful car - Ferrari Nero Daytona over one of the Ferrari Tan leathers. I wasn't in the position to buy at that time. I'm getting closer now.

 

At what point was that? If it was up to midway in 08 and the car was new, then that was fantastic. If you were at all close to 09 then it's good you didn't buy.