Graziano sold slightly different versions of the robotic manual box to several other manufacturers, including Maserati and Ferrari
Those have a lot less issues than the AM spec box, AM descoped it to save money (removing the oil cooler on ASM2!) A more costly version has proved reliable in Astons race cars
Graziano will not sell Aston box parts as they are prevented by their agreement with AM. It's made worse by the fact AM themselves will not sell gearbox parts only complete boxes
I know this because I had an ASM2 box go on me after 18 months and 12k miles
Once I got hold of the parts Bamford Rose shot peened and polished all the internals
That has made an acceptable gearbox bloody fantastic
The bean counters specing the box with Graziano cut too many corners IME

 

Yep you're are getting them confused
You drove the old (pre Gaydon) Vanquish and yes that box is not great. Aston launched the Vanquish 2 a couple of years ago and is based on the current DB9. The one I drove last month had the outgoing 6 speed auto and it worked very well.

Old pre Gaydon Vanquish with dodgy robotic box



New Vanquish 2 with decent torque convertor true auto

 

Yes, the new Vanquish with the auto is pretty fantastic imho... had the pleasure of driving it on the track a couple of weeks ago and loved it. The auto is a very good auto, still not as good as a DCT, but close. Definitely a huge improvement over the SS.

 

Sorry guys should have put the year of the car I drove to distinguish what Vanquish I drove. I still love the looks of those things when ever I see one, its a shame the gear box is garbage though otherwise...

 

Probably the one you drove had not been upgraded by the sound of it. Mine shifts beautifully, so they are certainly not 'garbage'.

 

So anyone want a 2014 V8V Roadster with Vantage S wheels and <500 miles? Make me an offer! I will even pay for shipping. Or where is the best place to list?

 

Wow, it's sad if it has to come to this!

 

If you are open to buying another Vantage, I'd suggest calling Pieter Bastiaans at AM of Washington. Pieter has always treated me well and hopefully you could work something out. PM me if you want his direct info.

 

How's $110k sound?

As folks know I'm not a fan of AMoDC but a lot of members have had good experiences. While I believe New England's offer was low the V8V is in a weird place right now with the GT pricing in the low 100s and the time of year dealers are taking 15-20k off MSRP of cars on showroom floors. There's also the fact that no more Vantages can be imported until MY2017 but the market has yet to absorb the excess inventory to drive prices up.

There is a for-sale section on the forum. You should post pics & the window sticker there as a start.

 

If I bought a car new and in under 1 week, hated it but wanted to purchase another new car with different options, I would expect the dealership to do the right thing and do a swap or at least give a very favorable trade. They are still making money on the trade's resale (unless it's awfully optioned or he drove it a ton of miles) and on the next new car. 110k is what any person on the street would get as a trade for a brand new car. That feels like a smack in the face from the dealership if you ask me.

For reference, I bought a car from Pieter at AM of DC back when they were owned by Penske. I didn't like the gearbox and he offered to give me what I paid him for the car as a trade if I bought one of the new cars I was looking at on his lot. Sure it's a numbers game as he's going to most likely give less of a discount on the new car but the fact that he made the offer made me an Aston brand fan and a fan of the dealership. It was a win/win for everyone and the way a dealer should treat someone spending 100k+ on a car.

 

I didn't even tell the whole story which is this:

1) I originally told them I didn't want the manual automatic transmission because all of the reviews said it was terrible.
2) I test drove a 6 speed manual Vantage in their showroom and liked it.
3) I asked if we could get a car from another dealer in NJ and they said "Yes, but let us do it, don't do it yourself so we are not competing". I knew I would pay a bit to have them be my middle man, but hey, they provided me with a service so I was up for it. They said the NJ car had an interested buyer so it probably wasn't going to happen.
4) I picked a car with the manual automatic at another dealership in TX and reminded them of my apprehension given the reviews, to which they said something like "You can learn how to drive it and will like it"
5) I asked one last time if the car in NJ was still available and they told me it wasn't going to happen (leading me to believe the car had been sold)
6) So, they ordered me the manual automatic car from TX and the day I got it, I wrote and said I wanted to give it back
7) I then contacted NJ and the original car I requested was still available!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was too much to hear.
8) My original dealership offered me 110k if I traded in on another car - about a 40k loss including taxes. Of course, that loss is excessive AND of course they had no car I wanted or we wouldn't have been contacting other dealerships all along looking for cars I did want.

I eventually met with the owner to try to negotiate a better buyback price, and right off the bat he was very aggressive... started with something like "First off, if you are the type of person that trolls us on the internet, you can leave now because I have no interest in discussing anything with you". Apparently in response to this thread! I tried to explain that I only told the truth and started out complaining about the car, NOT the dealership. But he wasn't having it, and apparently doesn't know what trolling means. He said it was a classic case of buyer's remorse. I agreed that my approval of getting the TX car was a case of buyer's remorse but I felt wronged by the situation in NJ. I just didn't feel right. He explained that he cannot control what the NJ dealership does or says and then insisted that they owed me no favors. I agreed I was owed "no favors" but since I felt slighted, and he could make money by buying it back at a more reasonable loss and selling it again, we could potentially both be less miserable. It was getting pretty heated on both sides and eventually I said something like "I feel like you had a bad relationship with the NJ dealer and that is why the car I actually wanted never happened, in which case I could have called and bought it myself!" He said "You just put words in my mouth and you get to do that ONE TIME. The next time I leave the room." I stood up, said "You know what... F you" and held a special finger up in the air and walked out. My wife was in the room the whole time and said nothing until after we left. She said she was on the verge of tears the whole time. Can you even believe this story? I can't. Well... the good news is that I no longer have the Aston, having traded it in at a loss, but at least getting the tax savings from trading it in. Do I send a letter to Aston corporate?

 

Wow that is a terrible story! I am so sorry to hear that you and your wife had to go through that.

Which dealer is this? I will have to make sure that I will never go there, and neither does any of my friends.

 

That's awful. Buying an Aston is suppose to be a happy experience, sorry it's ruined. I think you showed incredible restraint comparing to these guys.

 

Ha! That's . I didn't show a LOT of restraint. My wife wasn't happy with my swearing, but yes, compared to the guys in that video!

 

Contacting Aston NA won't get you anywhere at this point. It's all hearsay and they will side with the dealership, unless you have something in writing. Your story reminds me of my Ferrari experience with a dealership. Thankfully I didn't purchase from them but they did everything from change the price on me after driving 4 hours to lying about the warranty price. Worst experience I ever had and I almost wrote off Ferrari entirely. Fortunately my local Ferrari dealer was a good guy and treated me fairly.