If I'm the first owner I don't mind the depreciation because I would have been able to configure it exactly the way I wanted, and I would probably keep it forever anyway

 

There is a value to speccing out the car. For me, that value is less than the $20k+ in depreciation. While I like to think I will keep a new car forever, the reality is I'll get the itch for something else in 2-3 years.

 

Actually I think this price is just OK for this car, because its platform and technologies used are very old. What the Vantage GT uses currently is basically what Ford left to them when Ford still owned the brand many years ago. Here is an interesting article discussing more details of the Aston Martin.

 

Hmm. It looks like a loaded GT is around $130k. Makes a used V12 V at $150 look very good. The only real downside I see is for those who bought a new Vantage in the last year. Aston has thrown them under the proverbial bus to try and sell a few more cars to keep the wolves at bay. This is nothing more than a stopgap measure to keep sales and interest in the brand until the AMG Astons's debut. As far as Aston is concerned it's just business. We can't take it personal. Or can we?

 

So as someone who has been looking at buying a vantage - this is just what i wanted - was looking at used ones at around 90K mark but this is perfect - i have a GT3RS but want something as a daily driver and the aston being both rare and special - ticks those boxes. I also did look at the used V12, but at this price for me it works with no graphics and minimal options.
Will be putting in my order soon and if astons goal was to get people on the brand like me (always been a porsche guy ) this is just the ticket,
Now i need to decide color !!!!

 

I stand corrected

 

Good to hear! It's a sign Aston's new realignment of the Vantage is working!

If you haven't seen the N400 episode, it's a pretty good one!

 

Nope it was an N24 which was a race car BUT a few did get road registered, it wasn't an N400 which is actually a Ltd version 4.3 Vantage

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/aston-m...on-martin-n400

 

Ah ha! N24! Thanks

 

Are you guys kidding me??? this is insane marketing, from any stand point. its cheapening the brand, and It makes NO sense.


Look who has been successful, and do what they do, right??? PORSCHE!!!!
did they come up with a GT3, GT3RS and make it cheaper than the street version? NO, they made the racer version MORE expensive with less features..... appealing to the more sporting customers....... Aston has great brand awareness. it competes with Mercedes , the new jag and has a stature that stands up near Ferrari and Lambo, BUT , now they take the same car (the AMv8) and make a racier version of it and make it cheaper??????? unbelievable.
Look what Porsche did:
911 GT3 $115,700 435 PS (320 kW; 429 hp) @ 7600 rpm, 3.8 L dry-sump4.0 s194 mph (312 km/h)[13]
911 GT3 RS $135,500 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp) @ 7600 rpm, 3.8 L dry-sump3.8 s193 mph (311 km/h)[14]
911 GT3 RS 4.0 $180,000 500 PS (368 kW; 493 hp) @ 8500 rpm, 4.0 L dry-sump3.8 s193 mph (311 km/h)
911 Carrera 4S$93,200385 PS (283 kW; 380 hp) @ 6500 rpm, 3.8 L wet-sump4.5 s185 mph (298 km/h)
911 GT3 cup car (real race car, not street) $240k


Porsche took their flagship 911 and then made higher performance , racer versions of them, for the street. they are all stripped down version with racing bits on them. it heightens the brand, not diminishes. Aston has the GT4 race car, which is like the Porsche GT3 cup, now, what they need to do is make a street version of that to fill in the performance gap. BUT, its price should be at a premium of the standard V8 vantage or Vantage S......Obviously!
These marketing genius's need a lesson In value marketing and product positioning. insanely stupid. what did they do, really?................ they just gave a car with the Vantage S options, for 30k less, and stripped off what?.........the cruise control??? that you can add in anyway for a fee?? OMG, really??? if they kept the goofy paint scheme, that would be one way to justify it, (for cheap advertising), but since you can get it without the painted stripes, whats the point? you just gave the car a 20k price reduction AND, you kepted all your more expensive standard versions......... this is really unbelievable.


to reduce the price range or make a lower entry point version is understandable (to compete against Porsche or jag), but you don't do it by keeping the standard model at a higher cost and add a lower cost versions with the same performance. it makes no sense.


If I was on the marketing team of AM, I would have done this:


AMv8 GT4 for street use..... $140k.... lighter, same power as GT4 race car, no nav, special seats, maybe integrated roll bar or harness bar, less sound insulation, etc


AMv8 GT same power as standard vantage, a lot lighter, no nav standard, harness bar, racing/street seats, plastic dash/Carbon fiber, different, ligher wheels , rear mini wing and front splitter, and make it $10k less than standard vantage. (something unique that doesn't hurt value of standard models, but positions the car against the GT3/GT3RS Porsche on an even playing field) AND, making a car that is much more comfortable, unique and near as fast as the Porsche GT3 series cars.


OR the other way to go would be to make the standard AmV8 the new GT and for 2014, make the new standard version much more powerful and feature rich. better /bigger wheels, more power some body changes, bigger brakes... but the bottomline, you don't introduce a car that has the same power as the premier version, and have it cost $30k less. Just plain stupid

 

The GT is not really a "racer version" of the Vantage. It is just a Vantage S that's available in limited color combinations with fewer standard options. Regardless, I still don't think it makes sense and agree that it seems to cheapen the brand, as well as make it appear that Aston has been overcharging for the Vantage in the past.

 

The difference is that Porsche continually improves their products and that Aston Martin has stagnated their product instead of putting the big bucks into it like Porsche does. I think that Aston Martin is very smart on this move. To move as many of the vantages as possible before the new model comes out in a few years to get just a little bit more of the productline.

If I did not just pay 65,000 for my 09 Vantage which means I'll take perhaps just a little loss, but instead had an 06 or 07 Vantage I have my order in right now.

 

This. Again. This.

 

I haven't had the chance to read through this thread any further than IbisRider's post above, but...

EXACTLY!

 

I would love to see Aston Martin make a GT3RS equivalent, but that isn't being offered at the moment and that has nothing to do with the V8 Vantage GT. The V8VGT is NOT a racier version of the V8V. It's simply a V8VS with fewer options. That's it.

I don't think it's necessarily saying past Vantages have been overpriced. I think it's more a reflection of the age of the car. The DBS was $280-300k. How much is the current DB9? The DB9 is now what the DBS was before - this is exactly what AM is doing with the V8VS becoming the V8VGT. Nobody's raising a stink about that...

As for the upper-end engines/gear/tech/etc being trickled down, that happens to EVERY car. This shouldn't be a surprise.