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Recently picked up my new 2015 V8 Vantage GT in Skyfall Silver. The car was discussed on this forum a few months back, so thanks to those who helped with comments about the car. This is the Vantage configuration I've been wanting for some time; always challenging to find the right combination of exterior, interior, manual, options, etc. so was awesome that it appeared at my local dealership and at the right price.
With cra**y New England weather the only respectable photo I have is one from the dealer below; will post more as the weather improves!
My plan is to enjoy driving the car, with trips to Maine and Western MA already completed. Great drives! Other than adding a Valentine, I don't have a lot of upgrades planned but that will probably change. For now, the focus will be on solving the niggles that are already annoying me but I'll save those for other posts.
Great to be here, and looking forward to getting to know you all.
Recently picked up my new 2015 V8 Vantage GT in Skyfall Silver. The car was discussed on this forum a few months back, so thanks to those who helped with comments about the car. This is the Vantage configuration I've been wanting for some time; always challenging to find the right combination of exterior, interior, manual, options, etc. so was awesome that it appeared at my local dealership and at the right price.
With cra**y New England weather the only respectable photo I have is one from the dealer below; will post more as the weather improves!
My plan is to enjoy driving the car, with trips to Maine and Western MA already completed. Great drives! Other than adding a Valentine, I don't have a lot of upgrades planned but that will probably change. For now, the focus will be on solving the niggles that are already annoying me but I'll save those for other posts.
Great to be here, and looking forward to getting to know you all.
It is pretty much stock GT spec, manual, 6500 miles with the only options being the black calipers (option? really?) and the auto-dimming/garage-door-opening mirror (though cannot get it to learn either of my normal garage door openers!). Although not on the window sticker, the car also has the technology pack (iPod/Bluetooth) added to the standard stereo. As you can see it also has non-standard wheels, apparently swapped from a GTS at the dealership. One of the wheels has been re-finished to fix curb rash but otherwise in perfect shape.
As I mentioned, the color is Skyfall Silver; interior is Obsidian Black Leather. Generally in mint condition with the only negatives being a couple of tiny paint chips on the bonnet (I'm a relocated Brit talking about a British car so I'm going to use British terms!), the center aluminium bubble on the front undertray is pretty much ground flat (splitter just has cosmetic scratches), and the chrome on both side strakes is 'pitting'.
Does anyone have an opinion on ceramic coating for Astons? My Merc-driving friends are trying to convince me.
Get a ceramic coating, your paint will look amazing and cleaning the car will be that much easier, I had PPF full front end then ceramic coating on top of it, ceramic coat calipers and wheels if can as well. Enjoy the car, my favorite gray by far!
I have PPF from the mirrors forward, and on the rear quarter panels (the hips stick out just enough to occasionally take debris hits), and absolutely advocate doing the same. I just ceramic coated my new DD and I'm loving the results so far (makes the paint look almost pearlescent, and the rain it's experienced this week just beads and rolls right off), so I may do that to my Vantage, as well. I'm sure SheriffDep--our local paint protection expert--will chime in, but on his guidance I've used 22PLE products.
Fantastic color, by the way... love the sheen in that lighting.
I'd go for the decats & remote valve control on your Vantage. The sound and throttle response is worth it. Driving with the valves open makes it a new car. You don't have to race the engine to hear something and can quiet it on demand.
At least the wheel pattern on your car is a breeze to clean and I never found the Vantage brake pads to be overly dusty. Not sure if it's the pads or engineering of how the dust flows at speed.
I have never coated a car so I have nothing other than armchair advice on to do it or not...
Thanks for all your welcomes guys. @brightoncorgi 's report on visiting the car on @Matt Lane 's behalf helped me down the path and I've known a couple of the AMNE guys for a couple of years so this was a relatively pain free purchase.
@Redpants your hard work has helped my thought processes as well. No doubt we'll be talking at some point, maybe at Lime Rock?
I forgot to mention that the car also has pretty dark window tints, and with the black trim around the windows it makes for a great look. The light in that showroom photo definitely shows the color off really well, and it really does reflect the sky beautifully.
WTF is the deal with the mats in these things? They are like a stiff piece of board inside with no anchors. Seriously? Sliding all over the place. I guess that's one of the lo-spec features of the GT! Eagle Claws in the mail for an easy fix! Will likely replace the mats with Lloyds; any thoughts on that?
Impressions after a couple of weeks in NE winter (and remember I'm a new AM driver, coming from a 997) and still getting used to the car. Definitely more a touring GT type driver; 997 is more nimble. But oh boy is this thing stuck to the road. I haven't really pushed it but it truly does go where you tell it to go. (It's running on its original RE050's, so 6600 miles old.) Heavier steering (shorter ratio) with great feedback, although I feel that bumps in the road at lower speeds definitely 'bump' the steering direction a bit. Slow speed reversing at maximum steering lock exhibits tire jerk as well. Must admit to being a little surprised at that; any likelihood of alignment issues? Gear shifts are positive, but you need to BE positive with it. Lazy gear shifts will easily result in missed shifts (and I'm no lightweight!). Exhaust sounds awesome; honestly pulling F15 doesn't seem to make THAT much difference to the sound at driving speeds but will play with it some more.
Already have an event that makes me really happy I have a warranty. The ECU docking station "failed". Literally the mechanism stuck at the bottom of the docking station with everything running (Tuesday, 9pm at night, thankfully just arrived at home), so required me to stall the engine and disconnect the battery. AM Roadside Assistance flatbed to the dealer on Wednesday; replacement docking station ordered Thursday; installed and ready to go Friday morning. Annoying failure, but impressive turnaround by AMNE.
Great early report - thank you. I especially appreciate your comments coming from a 997. Relative to my 993 (small) and GT3 (hard), I look forward to a similar experience. Especially compared to the early GT3, the grand touring nature of the AM is of prime appeal to me - just to have something truly different.
In terms of the exhaust sound - well that's definitely a step up from the Porsche I'm sure! Based on my research, the secondary cat bypass makes a lot of sense - but I'm getting ahead of myself since I don't have one yet
Finally, very good point on having some dealer warranty/support. I plan to drive my car, and even if I start with a lower miles example, I would expect any niggles to show up in the first year or two of real use. Definitely a case for some type of CPO and the peace of mind it affords. There is an Alloro Green one more local to me (Canada) that I am not even going to bother with for that exact reason - it's from a used car dealer with no pedigree and I just don't want the hassle of trying to fight over some initial major defects and have no support.
Enjoy the new ride, and as I look out on more snow/rain this morning up here in Montreal - keep the faith spring is coming!
PS - I used to discount the impact of good tires. I do a fair bit of driving on track, so tires on the Porsches were never a long term commitment LOL - "wear like iron and least expensive" were always my main criteria
Now that the 993 has been de-commissioned to only street duty, I am shocked at the difference that great tires can make to the whole experience. I'll have a set of Michelins installed pretty quick, regardless of the wear on the OE tires.
03-22-2019, 06:09 AM
