New member with a few questions
 

Hello,
I've been interested in the Aston Martin Vantage and have been looking at your posts for the past few months. I'm having trouble deciding (financial reasons, and because it would be my daily driver), but I've seen you guys guide several people through their decision making and I'm hoping for the same.
As ominously foretold, here are my questions:
1- Does the Vantage S provide a significant performance boost over the standard?
2- I would like to lease since I can't afford to buy outright and I refuse to finance. What are the costs of maintaining a Vantage S besides the lease payments? My estimates for 3 years are: 4k for service, 4k brakes and tires, 6k for SSII clutch if it goes during my 22.5k miles of leasing. Do you agree?
3- Can I really have it as my primary vehicle? Can I park it in my driveway and take it to the grocery store?
Thanks in advance!!

Welcome hardwired, to answer your questions, yes the VantageS is a more powerful car with 430bhp vs 420bhp on the standard Vantage. It also comes with an upgraded interior, bigger 2 piece brake rotors up front and lighter/wider wheels. Question 2- maintenance won't be as expensive as your figures but you're not far off depending on which dealership you go to. Question 3- I've daily driven my Vantage with no problems, as far as drive ways go, keep in mind that these cars do sit lowers than most so maneuver wisely to avoid scraping the underside. I used mine on plenty of occasions to get groceries, I just park as far away as possible to avoid shopping carts and or other cars that seem to always park about an inch away from my doors haha:)
Let us know if you end up pulling the trigger, they're truly amazing cars and an absolute pleasure to drive, trust me you will not regret owning one.

Hope this helps, cheers!

Not after MY12.25 it doesn't :mad:
AM carried over most the S updates (other than air box and interior mods) to MY12.25 cars
OP talk to you dealer about a lease package with service built in, they are keen to move cars ;)

You're in northern California so using the car as a daily driver will be just fine. I take my car to the supermarket often (its an excuse to drive the car!) I agree with mariov8v that your maintanence estimates are on the high side. Since leasing is your preferred financing plan you will find that the monthly payments are relatively high due to the low residual value the leasing companies are placing on the vehicle. Dollar for dollar, leasing a Porsche 911 is much cheaper and offers you the best bang for the sports car buck. I believe a base Vantage will offer you plenty of performance. You can always upgrade the exhaust system (headers & cats) for an additional 40 horsepower (just ask Stuart). Good luck!

After getting the base model in my Porsche, I promised myself to get the S version of my next vehicle. I test drove a standard Vantage because I saw one with great interior/exterior colors, but I felt that it was a little slow to respond to throttle; perhaps a little lacking in torque. I wasn't sure if that was because of the car, or my inexperience.

What year Vantage was it? The earlier ones came with a 380-hp 4.3L, the newer ones come with a 420-hp 4.7L. The S has a 430-hp 4.7L. The difference in torque between the 4.3L and 4.7L is substantial.

It was a 2012, so it came with a 4.7L and SSI.

For the small performance gain, I don't think the S is worth the extra cost. I have driven both and there isn't a lot in it on the current new cars. A V8S with a bit of spec isn't that far off the cost of a basic V12S, if you need performance go for that.

Stuart at Galpin?
The performance of the 911 is undeniable, but the Vantage is just too, if I may be rude, pretty.

Stuart at VelocityAP (he's a forum sponsor and frequently posts on here).

Being too pretty sure is a tough problem to have hilarious

V8 Vantages are never going to win performance contests. But what they do well in spades is be amazing to look at, drive, live with, listen to, and look at.

I'm afraid the V12 is out of my price range for a couple years. My follow up questions would be:
- Is there a significant difference in low end torque(if that means what I think it means, one of the would have a more of an 'oomph' off the line) between the V8 and v8s?
- does removing fuse 15 in the standard make the exhaust as obnoxious as the Vantage S in the low rpm range?
most of my driving will be in the city, so I care about how it'll behave stoplight to. stoplight.

The biggest difference in performance between a recent/current ('12 or '13 or '14) V8V-S and a standard spec is the steering and suspension. It sounds like you are looking at new-ish cars so the transmission will likely be the same SSII, 7 speed thing. I actually prefer the 6-speed SS because I like shifting less, but the 7 speed is arguably better.

No, there is little to no perceptible difference in torque between standard and S.

No, removing the fuse only makes it louder, but the muffler in the S is different and always louder, raspier.

Stoplight to stoplight, the standard is pretty much the same as the S.

All of that said, the S is a different car. The interior looks different and in my opinion better. The top end of the driving experience is different/better. The steering is quicker and some like that better. It is more of a sports car and less of a GT than the standard Vantage.

But for a daily driver, I'd opt for a standard Vantage and enjoy the extra cash in my pocket.

Thanks guys. I'm looking at both the standard and the S models available at dealers. I'll probably seek your advice again before pulling the trigger on a particular vehicle. :-P

I remembered an important question about the automated manual transmission. How long should I expect it to last? I've heard of the clutch wearing out within a few thousand miles. Is that normal? Is it likely that I will need to replace it in my first 20k or 30k miles?
Another thing I was wondering is how long it takes the engine and transmission to warm up on a child start. When I test drove the 2012 Vantage the salesman had is wait for a few minutes wot the engine running before we started driving, and then a few more minutes before he would let me rev it

I let mine warm up for 20-30 seconds for clutch learn, then drive it. I do not hammer the throttle until I see the temp gauge start to get to at least a quarter and I have been through a few gears. For me this is about the time I am out of my neighborhood which is fine by me. We have 25mph speed limits and stop signs out wazoo anyway. The dealer was being overly cautious it sounds like to me.