Hey there!

I bought Doug's Aston, and I absolutely love it.

Just to clear a few things up, I never said pulling fuse 22 was new. I just made a video and article about it, because people that have never owned Aston Martins didn't know it was a thing.

I had Doug's PA plates for my drive to Florida, where I live. As soon as I made the trip, I registered the car here, with my own plates. My parents live in New Jersey.

I write for Jalopnik, where Doug used to write. He now writes for Autotrader. I'll be doing lots more videos and articles with the Aston in the future, and I'm much more hands on than Doug ever was.

I'm looking forward to many years owning and wrenching on this awesome car!

 

Thanks! I pestered him for a while to give it to me a bit earlier, but I wore him down.

 

The car is actually in great shape. The front bumper does have a scrape, but the car isn't in need of any paintwork other than perhaps some slight rock chip touch-ups.

On the run hard part, I'd be surprised if the car wasn't taken to its redline at least some of the time, it's sort of what it's made for, but Doug is perhaps the slowest driver on the road and he takes remarkable care of his cars.

I had zero issues putting 1500 miles on the car in the first 3 days of ownership, and I don't doubt I can put another 20k on it in my first year of owning it.

The price is a sticking point because I'm not sure people know that these cars can be had so inexpensively. Even at the $45,000 that Doug paid for it a year ago, it's a tremendous value.

 

I love your website and videos! I'm a subscriber!

I don't think I've ever said no one works on their Aston Martin, though. I know that every car make has its die-hard, hands-on enthusiasts.

 

Thanks for posting. I look forward to reading articles from another person on the forum doing their own work on these cars. Keep up the good work!

 

Tavarish---
You know what, I have only read this one article from you so it was wrong of me to call you a "tool". I was wrong.


However, words have meaning and are difficult. So in your article you said "Last week, I bought one of my dream cars, a silver 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage, from a person who drove the **** out of it and hoped it didn’t explode when I started it up for the first time."


In a posting above you put ----
"but Doug is perhaps the slowest driver on the road and he takes remarkable care of his cars".


So which is it, does he drive the **** out of the car you bought from him, or is he the slowest driver on the road? Or is it, in the article you were being non truthful and dramatic for readers? Honest questions are being asked. Be honest and truthful and genuine with people and they respond better. That's how Chris Harris has done so well in his career. Of course the uninformed will not know the difference.

Also, why would you buy a car, no matter how cheap, that when you went to start it for the first time "you hoped it wouldn't explode". Who does that? That only diminishes the brand, or attempts too.


Also, in the comments sections below your article a guy says something along the lines of how you must have drove your neighbors crazy revving the motor that early in the morning, and you respond with---


"It’s my parent’s house, and two houses down we have a Challenger Hellcat, Turbo Trans Am, and SRT-10 Ram. I think my neighbors are just fine."


To me that says you live with your parents. Semantics at this point, but like I said, words have meaning. You don't live there so why did you say "we have" and "my neighbors". Its "they have" and "their neighbors", unless you live there. Hence what I wrote.




In the end, I truly hope your Aston ownership is wonderful and rewarding. They are brilliant cars with few quirks. Each drive is supposed to be an event where you the driver is rewarded. Keep up the maintenance, likely by yourself, and drive it consistently and you probably wont have any issues. Almost every possible fix or issue is on this forum, so just search.


Sheriff

 

It's not being dishonest, it's being hyperbolic. Doug's entire schtick with the car was that he couldn't believe how reliable it was, despite the stigma of the traditional expensive British sports car. Things can be expensive to repair on this car.

It was hyperbole. A comical embellishment. I'm not one for brand loyalty, as all brands have pros and cons. I love the car and the brand is cool, but it's not exactly like Aston Martins were known for their reliability throughout most of the company's history.

I'm glad that their cars are indeed quite easy to handle nowadays, though, and that's exactly the scope of the articles I'll be putting forward.

Alright, I'll clear that up. My parents live in New Jersey. I flew from Florida, where I live, to Philadelphia, where Doug lives, to pick up the car. I then stayed with my parents for a week before I drove the car down to Florida, where I live. I made the video and article when I stayed with them.

I used to live there before I bought my house in Florida, and still know everyone in the neighborhood, that's why I consider them my neighbors. I also don't think there was any real confusion with that statement, since the context was addressing what cars they drove.

Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum! Glad you like the videos. Gotta say, making videos is a lot harder than I thought it'd be lol.

My comment was about the statement itself, not about who said it (or didn't say it). What I've found interesting about the DIY guys I've talked to is that most of them aren't die-hards like every other brand has. A lot of them are just normal guys that want to give maintenance a try and, once they do, they're amazed at how the car is built. It's not overly complicated (usually), like you'd see on a lot of other cars. There are things to know before you approach any given task, but that just adds to the sense of accomplishment.

As for reliability, these cars are rock solid in most regards. They can take abuse. I was at TRG a couple weeks ago and chatted with one of their techs for a couple hours. Even he was amazed at how reliable they are. The road cars and race cars (GT4s, anyway) are practically the same car. Only a few tweaks to turn them into race cars.

 

Tavarish-------Geezzzz I wasn't polite at all----- Welcome to the AM forum. Hopefully you will be a regular and help others with your experience on your car. There are several members with 60+k miles and one or two with about 100k miles. They post every so often letting people know what to expect in repairs and maintenance. That is good for the brand!!!!!

I deal with words daily, and I am not a professional by any means, just things I pick out that most people would gloss over and not give it a second thought. So was being super picky. I also don't usually post negative threads and typically I actually fall into more of a mediator with things. So no harm no foul I hope.

Although AM ownership through members here will show that they are very reliable and solid cars new owners should take caution when purchasing. They may not ever have a major issue, but if they do, and it requires a AM shop, then the wallet could be hurt. But those are few and far between. Not many experiences here. Timing Cover leak, and clutches are by far the most common expensive items to fix, and then the coils and plugs for the V12's. Other than that, most things are very simple fixes I think.


But, honestly, welcome to the club and I hope you enjoy the car!!!!!! At least you can watch videos of your EXACT Car anytime you want on youtube, while I have to see pictures of mine while I am in Afghanistan.

 

Thanks!