Potential New Owner has questions
 

Hello Gents,

Considering joining the V8V family.

Looking to maybe sell my '13 Jag XK and move in to the AM Vantage. I've owned a 911 and Cayman S previously. Let me just say how much I truly enjoy my XK; the driving experience. It's not all about raw power in the XK and that's one of the things I love about it.

Budget for the replacement toy car (not my DD) is probably <60K. I've been reading reviews, forums, you name it. V8V gets great reviews and I love the car buying process.
I'm looking for the 4.7L motor which puts me 2009-2011 based upon budget.

Questions are:
Other than "buy the newest model year you can afford", any major differences or interesting differences between the '09 and '11 car or just get the example that meets my spec requirements?
Importantly, any known gotchas to look for?

Here's my thought process thus far:

• Prob looking to purchase from a dealer for accountability purposes; have the clutch wear check done assuming a manual.
• Prob looking to purchase from a dealer to trade my XK (vs. dealing with the BS of a private sale) and pick up the Ext Warranty if available.
• Would consider buying from a Private seller if the car has full service history and honestly, I like the seller.
• Not looking for a garage queen, but not high mileage either; somewhere around 20K preferred and 30K high water mark will work. Being around the 911s, there are many issues with barely driven cars that have very low miles.
• Prob looking for Black interior since ALL my experiences with light leather has shown that the lighter the leather the more it stains (shirt dye, etc...).
• I do have a full service lift etc at home, so home maintenance is not a problem... I can wrench and find it therapeutic honestly.
• I tend to like the Silver, Grey, Black and BRG (more traditional colors). I'm not a fan of the Red, Blue etc... They look nice, just not what I want in my Aston.

What are the typical/expected reductions on a dealer sell price? For a $55K car, what's typical to pay for it...$50k? I get that it comes down to a negotiation, but I'm curious in the Aston world if the prices are static or if they move much?

My purchase time frame is end of 2018; got a few weeks to find a good car.

Any additional advice and or thing I should consider would be welcomed.

Cheers,

Matt.

search forum
Get "book"
dealer cannot check clutch wear on a true manual
Where are you? US or UK or ROW?
Color combos are pretty standard. Should be good examples out there
Get PPI from dealer our good Indy
don't avoid private party... many are meticulous with their cars
good luck

Matt,

The early 4.7 are fairly rare as not too many were produced but they are still out there to be found, take your time and do your research and you won't regret it. Good luck

Here is a good example right in your backyard... https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos...antage/1905396

Thanks for your reply. I actually went to see this car; unfortunately it's not as good as the ad shows. The car's engine blew on a test drive and is now waiting for a new one from AM. There are chips and marks all over the car and the leather seats are stretched quite badly for such low mileage. Lastly, they have a deposit on the car so it's sold. This is a car I'd take a pass on.

Yes, I'm taking my time, have no issues traveling to look at the right car and purchasing from anywhere in the country. I have a garage full of motorcycles from all over the country (I love a good road trip).

Cheers for the reply.

I bought a 2009 Vantage (many years ago) with 30K miles on it - drove it 14K miles trouble free, the next owner had to do the clutch - not sure at how many miles. I had a 2007 - trouble free and a 2015 (not so trouble free). As with any 'sports car' scheduled and required maintenance is important, and any of the previous owners could have been overly aggressive driving. Most of the Vantage owners I know don't beat them up, but a few I've seen be overly aggressive. I also think buying from an Aston dealer and asking for at least 1 year warranty as part of the sale would help protect you - keeping in mind that wear items like the clutch are not under warranty.

there's a thread on here about that particular car... apparently sold to someone in Florida... had six owners and pretty beat up

Get the "Definitive Guide" book. It has a detailed list of the differences between the various years. If you are serious about getting a car then the book is a valuable resource and will pay for itself. Take your time like others said and don't get so tied to a car that you can't walk away. I would look at all cars for sale, dealer and private, and evaluate each one separately. I saw some dealer cars that looked sketchy and many by owner cars were immaculate. If you want to trade in the Jag then obviously a dealer is your only option. Color combo and the manual will be your limiting factor as manuals are harder to come by. Many of us, myself included, looked and waited for months before the right car came up for sale. You may be hard pressed to find the car you want in a few weeks time.

avid

As a former XK owner, I can appreciate your affinity towards that car. I'd look for leaking from the front of the engine. Expensive job. Assume you'll need a clutch at some point and keep that budget handy. You'll be much better off unloading your Jag first and then looking. I had an '11 with sports suspension which I believe came standard on newer models. I would not disqualify and appealing color. Look for leather shrinkage at the top of the center console and the two flat pieces on top of the dash. Look to see if the wheels have been repainted and the status of the brakes. If you are worried, go for an older model from an AM dealer with the Timeless warranty for a couple of years. Just like a new car warranty. You can also get a car certified by Aston and then be qualified for their warranty. Was thinking of doing that on my Rapide, but local dealer service manager seemed to think my car was solid as is... It's insurance....

Have you considered the DB9 or Rapide? I would drive them all before deciding.

I'm on the fence contemplating on selling mine.
It's a 2014 Vantage manual (6 speed) Tungsten Silver and red calipers with Obsidian leather and red stitching.
Car currently has 19,2XX miles. It's my daily driver. I use it but I don't abuse it. It's always serviced at AM Newport Beach (have all papers/records). Car runs perfect. Needs nothing as is.
It's a California car. I'm second owner (bought from AM Newport Beach with 1,600 miles. Previous owner was an older MD from Santa Barbara)
Car has Full (bumper to bumper including mirrors and roof) clear Suntec PPF (paint protection film) placed around time of 4,000 miles.
Has full owner transferable factory extended warranty (original expired July 2017) until July 2019.
I don't know how much you're planning to spend...?
If this car fits your requirement then shoot me a PM.
After all, it's an used AM Vantage so I have realistic expectation for a selling price but I'm going to give the car away for dirt cheap either.
What would you guys/gals here think it's a fair market price for a car like mine??

Mid 70's

You buy an 09-11' because you want that lower paint edge on the front instead of the later splitter cars with extended duck tail. That was the reason I specifically wanted a 09-11', and the fact that after 11' it takes over 10 seconds to turn the nannies off in a 2 part operation, twice as much time as on the previous one step, and I always turn them off. The pre splitter cars have that pure original design but with the added power, updated interior, and you the N400 sills post 09', though I do prefer the mirrors on the 09'.

Getting the book is the best advice you'll get in this thread, besides have patience, narrow down exactly what you want, and then spend all the time necessary to buy the right car. And I stress if it's 3000 miles away, fly 3000 miles and inspect it in person.

i got my 09 for most of the reasons above, plus of course the 4.7, updated center console and the updated ASM software...

I bought my '11 as that was the coolest looking one of any year I could afford at the time. N400 sills & manual were the only two mandates. The color combo I was open to as long as I thought it was cool looking.

i live right down the road from you in ksaw and selling mine, but it's not a 4.7. i personally debated btw the 2 during my search process but settled on the 4.3 not only due to cost, but the fact that w/some fairly simple bolt on's, performance was comparable to a 4.7. goodluck in your search.

+1000

That book is addictive and it inspired me to get my first AM years ago.

To help the guy out (and myself)... this is the book you guys are talking about, yes?

Yes that is the correct book

Thank you for the link... *purchase*

it's a great read... you can skip to page 120... bottom of the page...

"... the 2009MY is our ultimate pick..."
I'd have to agree!

Same here

That's page 116 in my book so it's going to vary by edition.

I didn't need to read that to know the 09'-11' was my pick, but it was nice to see it verified!

Depends on your tastes. I like the styling of the 2012.5+ cars more. Now, the standard plastic front splitter and rear valence were kind of lame, but that's why I have carbon fiber. The N400 type sides skirts on the 2011 would be worth it for me over the earlier side skirts on the 2009, but it comes down to what you like. That's what the book will help you decide. :)

On darker colors the splitter blends in better and on black looks perfectly natural, but I was looking for Lightning or Stratus and IMO those colors really needed that lower paint line. I starred at the new Lightning on the floor of my local for many hours and decided I could live with it, but then discovered the process for turning off the traction control and that was the ultimate deciding factor to stay 09'-11'. I loved the look of the 09' without side skits and longer mirrors, but the N400 sills grew on my so much during my search I focused on 10 and 11, although if a great 09' had come up for sale [Zettinger got the first one that got my attention at the right price] I would have bought it.

But different strokes for different folks. Some love the lipstick which I find very distracting [although I still love Mathman's car].

I had an 07, and an 09 Vantage and did not like the new front splitter - however, now that I had a 2015 V8 and V12S I've grown to like the new front ends better - funny how that works.,

I absolutely like it on a black car, but I would never own a black car ;)

Thank you all for the interaction in this thread. For some reason, I stopped getting notifications of all the replies.

I have just purchased the book and will review it. All your comments and thoughts are exactly what I was looking for (splitters, sills, longer mirrors...etc...). Most car sites and reviews do not detail all the little nuisances between model years.

I do plan to fly just about anywhere to go look at a car, and I do not plan to purchase the first one I see...UNLESS I really like the first one I see.

Still not sure what to do about the Jag XK regarding trading it or selling privately, as well as the timing of it. I don't need to sell it to buy the AM, but I certainly don't need the XK just sitting around either.

All good problems to have, and we are all pretty fortunate to kick these ideas around. I'm enjoying the search and research... exciting.

One of the benefits of buying private party, besides price, is no dealer "fees" and if you and the seller are so inclined, you can pay tax on value of the car, rather than the transaction price...

yeah, here in GA you pay taxes on either the transaction price or the DMV evaluation...which ever is greater. So, if I purchase from a dealer and the GA DMV valuation is less...I'll negotiate to the lesser price (hopefully).

There are quite a few out there for the same price (some higher, some lower), similar spec, etc...

Happy hunting.