That's hardly Hardly Green. Might take a build sheet to know for sure, but it's a beautiful car.

 

Ok -- thanks. The color looks really different from other pics of cars that are also Hardly Green. AM sent me the build sheet but the color wasn't listed for some reason. I emailed them back and asked if they could confirm.

For those with sharp eyes, here's one more stupid little thing about this car that makes me wonder about something. Check the lower corner of the door jamb sticker. Notice the corner is not rounded like it should be.

Does this look to you like the sticker is merely damaged or that maybe someone did a less than stellar job taping the sticker off assuming the door jamb was painted?

 

Hi Randy, I have enjoyed reading your post and the replies as I have many of the same questions about the sportshift and its various versions. I must admit I never expected that there would be this kind of driveability issue with an AM? I have driven a pre-09 and didn't like it mostly because of the lazy/slow up-changes in drive. I have driven 2 post-09's 4.7L and there are better but still a little lazy. One owner in particular said he always used the paddles and while I get that there are times I am just want to cruise along in traffic with my mind out of gear. I already have 2 manual sportscars and my plan in buying a V8V is for it to be a unique prestige car first and a sportscar as a bonus. The market is very limited here in Australia so there isn't a lot of cars to choose compared to the US or UK. I am currently looking at a 2012 V8V S with Sportshift II and I am hoping the driveability and quicker upshifts can justify the increased budget. For what it is worth I found the downshift programming in the post-09 really good and driving with the paddles for upshifts overcomes 90% of the issues. I love just about everything else about the car, body, interior and the glorious sound and just have to find the color I want. (and N400 sills). As a side note here in Aust the manuals sit and don't sell for a long time and any good auto moves by comparison much faster although they are not fast moving by any stretch.

Good luck with your quest - I hope you find the perfect car for you soon.

Regards Cobra66

 

@Cobra66 - thanks for reply and comments.

I really feel somewhat silly asking (what I think) are pretty basic questions about buying a car, but for me this is a very different buying and ownership experience so I am being extremely detailed.

Current owners are always the best source of information and so far everyone posting here and in the PMs I have received have been extraordinarily helpful and honest. I was originally looking at MY09s but my wife has actually pushed me to look at later models due to the improvements in those models.

Mechanically, ASMII in MY13s seems to be the biggest difference but overall the feedback seems to be that there isn't a big drivability difference between ASMI and ASMII.

Like you, I am looking to move up to a V8V for its uniqueness and styling. I won't track the car and I've had manual gearboxes my whole life, so the Sportshift seems like the right choice. Yet the more I read and researched about it the more questions I had regarding its overall drivability. It seems people either love it or hate it, but there are certainly enough of them out there that it can't be completely horrible.

In the end, I'm settled on the Sportshift and if it doesn't work out -- well, I can always sell the car and find a manual. Although I don't expect to have to do that.

I think I mentioned in a pervious post that I have an '06 Pontiac GTO, which is your Holden CV8 Monaro down under. I really enjoy that car and purchased it brand new. It's very similar to the Vantage on paper, but Aston Martin of course is in a completely different league all the way around. I am also looking to get a roaster which is something I have never had.

There are some good choices out there right now (especially since it's the winter months here in the US) and I am zeroing in on the car pictured a few posts back. The biggest problem for me is location. None of the cars I want are anywhere close to me -- so it's a plane ticket and a couple of day off work just to go check something out. It's an exercise in patience and luck that the car doesn't sell before I get my homework done. The hunt is part of the fun and I am really excited to find the right car.

Trust me -- you'll see me posting pictures of my V8V some time in the coming months!

 

If your looking for newer, get the car inspected from an Aston Dealer for extended warranty which will guarantee a great pre-purchase (if not buying from an Aston Dealer). Then get a 1 year or two year (about $5,000 for two years) extension to see if anything shows up in that time frame. Even little nagging things like a slow mirror motor might show up to help offset that costs. After the two years the warranty costs go up as the car gets older. This way you will have the car without too much worry (clutch is not covered unless a defect). Before your two year warranty is up you can take care of any minor or major issue (non-wear items) at no charge and have a really good solid car moving forward. If you decide to sell while it's still under warranty it goes to the top of desirability as the warranty goes with the car.

 

What he said, great point. I would not buy the car without the preowned warranty!
Ron

 

There should be a sticker, under the very large radiator/engine bay cover plate. You'll need to remove a ton of screws (I think they're star drivers) to get the plate off. But the sticker is on the cross rail directly behind the radiator. Spells the color out in plain English

 

Hi Randy, I hope you have had success in tracking down a V8V that has the right combination for you. I am not having too much luck myself but there are less options available in the Aussie market and there have been some odd color, trim and option combinations around. Today I had the opportunity to drive a 2013 MY14 V8VS with 8,000 Klms in Tungsten Silver which is definitely my first choice and the car is immaculate but with the price to match. I can confirm that in "D" just puttering around I would say the shifts are as painfully slow as the 2010 V8V I drove and the extra gear just adds one more lazy change. I had a chance to stretch its legs a little along a bit of expressway and using the paddles fixes that but then again it is similar in the 2010. The thing I find frustrating is the downshifts are actually pretty clever. I was hoping that the SSII was going to be the BIG improvement I needed to eliminate the doubts I have. I can see why so many people just give up and buy a manual. On the upside the S sounds magnificent but so do they all and the hill assist is a positive addition and the carbon front spoiler gives an edge. I am not sure its worth the premium price tag however especially when the SSII doesn't really make a huge difference in my view. From my limited experience the step up from 08 to 09 was a bigger improvement in the auto (plus the 4.7L).

Anyhow I hope you have better luck and find the right car for you soon.

Regards Cobra66

 

Are you lifting your foot off the accelerator when changing up, just like you would in a "normal" manual? It makes a significant difference in the feel of the Gera change. If you really want a better shifting car then you should consider the DB9.

 

Hi Dale, I have read a bit about that as a driving technique to help improve the changes but haven't had enough time in a car to try it. I am not sure how you predict when the auto was going to change to back off at the right moment and when I've used the paddles it doesn't seem to need to change effectively, especially in the S I drove. I appreciate the comment though as I really want to get over the Auto issue and just get on with finding the right car.

Regards Cobra66.

 

The vantage is not good in auto mode, I never use it that way.

 

Hi Randy, I hope you are having success finding the right V8V for you. I am still on the hunt myself with the ongoing issue of the slow witted shift of the auto being a headache. I have however had an interesting last test drive in a 2012 MY13 V8V with 7spd Sportshift II. It was absolutely miles ahead of every other Vantage I have drive including a later and more expensive S. The shifts in drive were near perfect. Smooth, sharp and as good as any V8 of any brand I have driven. Using the paddles was also excellent, sharp with no need to back off although I wasn't hammering. It has restored my thoughts about the V8V auto as I had almost decided to ditch the whole idea. The owner has had 3 V8v's and said all were different. The car is immaculate but for tiny mark on the hood. The main reason I haven't done a deal on this car is it is black and my first preference is Tungsten Silver. Black beautiful I must admit and I would be happy owning it but still have hopes a Silver might be available in short order. The owner was really great and said his car has had the latest factory PCU and in particular TCU updates and the clutch had been replaced about 6,000Ks ago. I must admit I am at a loss on why the later model S I drove had such poor slow changes in drive while this one was so sharp but the owner said he had seen that quite often and some cars are just duds. I am not sure if this helps you but at least there is a positive if you can find the right car. Regards Cobra66 Australia.

 

@Cobra66 -- thanks for sharing that information.

I have not found the right car yet but am still actively looking. The one in my post above from back in January got away from me. I contacted a dealer about another one a few weeks ago but it too was sold before I got to it.

Your experience with the different SportShift behaviors and the comments from the current owner about them all being different is really interesting. I wouldn't think there would be that much variation in a mechanical system like that - at least no on cars like this.

I'm happy to hear the one you drove was so smooth because everyone seems to really complain about the system. IMHO, for the money, hold out for what you want. Something will come up and my opinion is that with the 2018's just around the corner, I suspect some current owners will be upgrading and there will be some more inventory available.

Color combination is really what I'm holding out for at this point. There are a lot of perfectly good and silver and white cars over here, but I think I'd really prefer a blue or green. I don't know why. I know silver is kind of the classic color. I'd also prefer a tan interior over black which is also making it more interesting.

Good luck with your search and thank again for the information and encouragement!

 

I'm new to the forum but your questions are similar to mine among many more as I searched for my AM V8V Roadster. I looked at so many cars both in person and online from 2008 to a 2011 S. Eventually found a gorgeous '09 w/10K miles that turned out to be in pristine condition with many of the features I wanted.
In my search I spoke to many salespeople and techs and I will say that the sporshift transmission with the "creep" mode is just fine with me. I go back to the cars I drove and the 2011 S had a 7 speed sporshift w/o creep and I can't tell any difference in the two tranny's other than one creeps. To me not a big deal.
If you haven't found your car yet, I'll be glad to share more of what I went through in my process. Good luck

 

BTW I purchased mine from an Aston dealer. Funny thing it was the only one of all the cars I was pursuing that was at a dealership. It was offered with the certified warranty, but I declined it and negotiated a much, much better price. It's an expensive warranty on only for one year, and since the car was one owner who purchased it from that same dealer and all records were available I chose to decline it.