All,

Long time forum lurker, well you know the rest...lol

Originally owned a DB9, regrettably sold it as my wife wanted a roadster or volante. Decided to surprise her with a P90D and while fun, really miss the Aston. With that said, we are in the market for a Vantage Roadster.

I've been searching around the country and narrowed our search to a 09 Roadster at an Aston dealer in the northwest. The only reservation at this point is the dealer stated there is a " small " timing cover oil seep. I asked about adding an Aston ESC and was told the ESC could not be added as there is an oil seep.

Well, if Aston won't add the ESC to the car, that really concerns me.

Is the timing cover gasket replacement an engine out repair?

Thoughts on if I should pursue this Vantage or keep looking?

Thanks for the guidance!

 

Engine stays in, but everything in front of it comes out. You're basically looking at a $3500 bill to replace the timing cover gasket. Whether or not that ties into your budget is completely up to you.

 

Thanks for the quick response Telum. Seeps quickly turn into leaks and it's not going to improve on it's own. Trying to keep the emotion out of the decision Thanks for the info.

 

I probably don't need to suggest it, but the cost of the repair should be an excellent bargaining tool.

How many miles are on this car? I thought the timing chain cover leak problem was confined to the pre-09 cars.

Good Luck

 

17K miles on the vehicle with full service history. Tires just replaced, new rear brakes with just about every option ( Excluding the glass dash buttons ). It just doesn't feel good knowing there's an issue ( albeit currently minor ). I would think an Aston dealer would have repaired the issue, sold the ESC with the vehicle which would have added more margin and generated a repeat customer. Anyways, just my .02. Thanks again for the help!

 

Sir, This leak is nothing but a bargaining chip and a $3500 cost to repair. It is likely to happen to every one of the Vantages out there around the magic 15k to 17k mile mark. Some live with the seep till it gets bad, some repair asap, others find it, then find the cost to repair, then sell the car or trade it in. I bet that is exactly what happened. The Previous owner saw $1500 in tires, 500 or so for brakes and $3500 for the seeping. So 5k to 6k repairs and said nope, trade it in. However, this is a common issue that most every model between 06-and 08 has. Didn't think it happened to the 4.7 motors but it might be an issue that pops up.

AM for the extended warranty will do that AFTER this is repaired. The car must pass X amount of items then its good for the warranty. The dealer didnt do it due to hoping a customer would buy it and then discover later and then have repaired. Remember, thats $3500 they would have to put into their budget on the car, then the profit would be minimal likely. So business wise, why not wait. I have seen numerous ones just like that, that were in dealers hands trying to sell. Most people don't do their homework on this. ie.... normal problem that is just a silly gasket leak that turns into a huge issue labor wise and cost wise. Nothing to run from the car on at all. I would bet if you bought another that doesn't have this issue and you drive it, it will have the issue at some point. Better to find out now, get repaired, then just enjoy the car.

Bottom line---- IF this is the color, style, condition you like, you might not find another like it for quite some time. IF the only issue is this leak, MAKE the dealer come WAY down on his price so it is covered. IF you want the warranty extended, then use THAT plus the repair to bargain a fair deal on it. This could be a WIN WIN for you if you and the dealer can work this out.

Search threads on here for the Timing Cover Gasket Leak and you will find many many threads covering this problem. Its only one of just a small few things that happen. Other than that, you are likely to see a wonderful ownership of a Vantage. Remember, this issue if not on another, may well happen again down the road. Better now so you can bargin

 

What he just said, +1. I would not purchase this car unless they fix it for you. They will pay much less internally than you would as a customer.
Ron

 

Thanks SheriffDep and Ron Avery. Asking price is $65K. Dealer states they turned down an offer of $61K. Looking at Manheim data and local sales, anything south of $60K seems fair for both parties.

The dealer has offered to split the repair cost. I work in the auto industry developing reconditioning protocol and processes for a large national dealer and completely get the internal repair price angle. Even splitting the repair cost, the dealer will still profit.

Dealer is stating the timing cover repair would not be a bargaining chip due to their business model splitting service and sales margins separately...I offered that I was interested in the Aston ESC if the repair was completed, but no dice. ESC's are super margin intensive for dealers. Sounds like they plunked down a chunk of change reconditioning the vehicle and have a margin target to hit.

Here's a link if anyone is interested:

http://www.parkplaceltd.com/used-car...BF04C49GD12892

On another note, a 09 DB9 Volante popped up locally with under 5K miles with the asking price under the Vantages.

 

A buddy of mine offered $160,000 on a new rapide that had green inside and out. The dealer said they could not take less than 180. 4 months later they sold same car for $145,000. I'd wait and let it sit - price will go down or they will find a uneducated customer

 

Sounds like you are a ready, willing and able educated buyer. Tell them the deal acceptable to you, give them your phone number and keep on looking.

 

This is a big purchase,keep looking and find a dealer that is willing to work with you. There are other Aston Martins available. I would not purchase a used Aston Martin without the preowned warranty.
Ron

 

09' for south of 65k? That seems a bit low even for one with 20k miles or more. This one with 5k? I just paid close to that for a absolutely PERFECT 05" DB9 with fairly normal mods and 29k miles. Although there were one or two 3k miles and 9k mile 05' and 06' for sale south of 60k, I chose the one I did due to condition being perfect and known history and well plus its a rare one too. IF that wasn't available I would have gotten one with 12k miles or less spending 60-65k or less also. I wasn't worried about history or too much about condition with one that low in mileage. I know I would find something to fix, but personally didn't think it could be too much with the low mileage. 60k for a 09" with low mileage Vantage doesn't seem too bad of a price.


60k with them splitting the shop COST price of the repair, then buying the extended warranty for a year seems fair. Even if they hold to 61k. That might put you around 65k total, for a good sorted out Vantage, with a 1 year warranty. Just some random thoughts on the topic. Hope this lines up with other members thoughts, and helps you out sir

 

Three years ago I paid $65k for a certified 09 vantage at Newport Beach Aston - added a 2 year warranty for an extra 5k. That included delivery to Minnesota - had 30,000 miles and a very small dent that cost $50 to fix... Otherwise perfect and had provided two trouble free years and 12,000 miles use till I traded on a 15 GT

 

According to Car Gurus it has been on the market for 99 days. I'm skeptical they turned down 61K. There is one Listed in San Diego asking price $59,998 with roughly 16K miles.

 

I was looking at the San Diego Vantage and Stuart was nice enough to send me the build info and referred me to a local Aston independent shop for a PPI. The dealer contact vanished and stopped returning emails which turned me off a bit to the dealer. It was an export car to China and returned in 2012 with the service history since.

I don't want to bid against myself when being told an offer of $61K was declined. Used vehicles depreciate at an accelerated rate of $10-$15 per day with high line vehicles being a little more aggressive. I would have thought the Park Place Aston dealer would have wanted to negotiate a bit, but telling me $61K was flatly declined may mean that they're too deep into the car OR they simply value margin over generating a life long customer.

At any rate, I told the dealer that Manheim and market data puts that car slightly under $60K. I would have agreed to split the timing repair and worked out a 2 year ESC, but we never got a chance to make it that far. Telling me that a $61K offer was declined tells me that they would be somewhere in the $63-$64K range add $1850 for the timing cover repairs and ESC puts the car well over $70K ( excluding tax ).

Taking some of the advice on the forum, I asked the sales consultant to give me a call if their situation changes. There's plenty of beautiful Aston's looking for a great home and I'll continue my search. Thank you all for your support and guidance!