In June of 2023 I traded my 2015 Vantage GT to Chicago AM dealer for a 2019 vantage with 6500 miles. Full disclosure I know I bought a branded title vantage that was a buy back from the first owner. The car was fine for many months and a cpo so I was not concerned. I had the upgraded vane nose installed and just loved the car. Then about 10 months in a cavalcade of electrical issues began. In another post about the loss of my nav screen, I documented my reoccuring issues. Since June 8, 2024 the car has done five round trips to my servicing dealer. The dealer, Summit NJ has been superb. I know they are sick of the car but they could not be kinder and moreaccommodating. They pick up the car and return it to me 110 miles away. I have pleaded with AM corporate to step up and take the car back. I know and they know the car has never been fixed from the first owner to me. They now want to replace the entire cabin harness. I have had so many modules replaced and done twice, it is comical. Last month they replaced my steering column as it became no longer functional and was stuck in the full up truck driving position.

I have explained I just want an aston I can drive, but not this car. The car has now been in the shop for over 100 days off and on since June. I have given up begging and have now employeed an attorney which is my last resort. I am using this post not for pity and for goodness sakes, please don’t give me the “what was I thinking buying a returned car. My hope is others be cautious that even as a CPO, AM may service the car but they may not stand behind an issue and admit that they truly have not fixed a car.

I am grateful for this venue to post and also grateful to realize this is just a car issue and no one will die no matter how this ends. Of course I do have a wife and you can imagine how that goes when every couple of weeks she see the empty space in the garage and asks me what happened this time!!

 

How frustrating that must be. You're being very generous toward AM. I hope you get this sorted out.

 

My thought is AM would buy the car back because it must be costing them a fortune for all the repairs. Sooner than later they will have more in repairs than it’s worth and then have to buy the thing back will cost them even more money. Good luck.

 

Sorry to hear this. I think you're in the best situation if you're retaining an attorney. He/she should know the best avenue to take. I believe that lemon laws can help in these situations if you're the first owner, but I also thought there is a state or two out there that their LLs might extend to second buyers.

Hope you continue to update here, as would be good info if AM does decide to repurchase. And, all the best to you with this situation.

 

Please keep us posted on journey and I hope Aston Martin does right by you. You mentioned you have contacted corporate. How high did you get?

Would you consider an extra generous trade in value on a new Vantage on the lot?

 

Yes I suggested a trade in. I very much want to continue my ownership. I can not get beyond the person at corporate that administers to escalated service issues. I personally know the former head of AM North American pre-owned. His position was eliminated this past year and now all issues go through service group. His advice to me is to keep the pressure in but he also told me the UK has stepped up their push back on buy backs. He went in to say the UK fails to understand the the USA has very robust consumer laws.

the happiest I could be would be a trade for another Aston so that I can get back to driving a brand I truly cherish. For now I have to fight through the mud!

 

Perhaps a similar thread to this on LinkedIn within the automotive industry groups with AM corp employees you are dealing with tagged in the thread?

 

The trick with a branded car is the reason for it. The more information you have the better you understand the real risks.

I have no idea about the history of this car, but these kind of random electrical issues is what I would expect from a car that's been under water, someone messing with the electrical system in ways that they should not have, or some significant electrical failure at some point in the past that has affected all the electrical systems in the car. Of course, it could simply be that the wiring was messed up somehow at the factory.

What is clear is that Aston does not have very good diagnostics when it comes to electrical systems.

 

Agree with you. In addition, AM insists on creating their own, exclusive nightmare of an electrical management system that forces owners back to them for any diagnostics. I have scan tools to do deep diagnostics on just about any car on the planet except Aston Martin. This hurts (not helps) them in the longrun as I know many who are very sharp with cars avoid AM as you are forced to purchase or rent their equipment at ridiculous prices.

 

your original post makes no sense with dates. You bought a branded title Aston Martin, when? June 2022? Then drive it fine for a year? Then 10 months of issues?

As someone who went thru lemon law with new mercedes, the "buyback"process can be frought with challenges even when the law is on your side.

Having an attorney could help but getting goodwill replacement or buyback is certainly a long long shot. Publicizing this, IMO, is the worst strategy... Aston Martin would have every disgruntled owner clamoring for a settlement.

Good luck and keep us all informed...

 

Bought in June 2022 and 10 months in iit started to act up. In retrospect I lost the info system 6 weeks in for a couple of days. It never reported. When I did contact the dealer , it Took time for the dealer to get me in.
Publicizing may but if I get stiff armed, I am not sure what more damage I can do. Maybe someone with similar experience might surface to help. At the end of the day I am they on the hook with the issues.

 

I'm kinda surprised you were able to get a CPO on a buyback. I thought branded titles would not be eligible for CPO, but I guess it's manufacturer dependent. Normally they'd just dump the car at auction or scrap it altogether so they don't continue to lose money on it in the future.

Nonetheless, electrical issues, even when not a flood car, can be a nightmare. Yes, you very well might have a wire harness issue (a short somewhere that just can't be found). I know someone who used to work at a dealership where he'd be given this type of work. Stripping down the entire interior and partial engine bay to replace the main harness(es). Scary, and a lot of work. Even more so when there was a rev change in the harness (4 of them to be specific), and for some reason the manufacturer couldn't exactly line up the VIN with the harness rev that was used. Sigh.

Nonetheless, hopefully the harness fixes your issue. If not, you may need to bite the bullet and accept whatever they give you on trade in so they can dump it back at auction. You probably saved a lot of money on buying a branded title car, so it's not like you're losing much (hopefully), especially if you're "upgrading" to another car. The new prettier Vantages are also now going to come out soon...

 

You save about 10k on a branded title. All manufactures that put repurchased cars through their dealers extend warranties typically as a cpo. This is different than a salvage or rebuilt title which is not able to be warranted. This not my first such purchase and not at all uncommon. However, in this case the car still suffers from the issues that forced its first repurchase which AML declared was repaired. Anyway, just a minor bump in the road of life.

 

@Stwsam How far apart are you from what you'd want as trade in value vs. what is being offered?

 

There is no offer. The dealer servicing the car does not want it at any price. Nor does the selling dealer. At this point, I have a complex broken car that seems to not have been repaired completely due to
improper diagnosis from the get go. This is even an admission by the corporate individual overseeing my case. I am not interested in trading as a devalued car when it is yet to be repaired.

Awaiting the new harness and its install.