Very happy to report that I'm now an Aston Martin owner My 2007 V8 Vantage 6-speed arrived at the weekend, and once the irritations get ironed out I expect to enjoy it for many years.
Pre-detail
I located it at a dealer in Texas, and had it shipped to California. Still wondering why I waited to long to pick one up (I'm formerly a Porsche guy), but very very impressed so far. I hadn't told my wife what I was buying, and her initial comment when she saw it was simply 'Holy Cr*p'! (which was a positive comment by the way Fortunately there are no major issues to address, and the things I've listed below are likely common -
Needs new door and hatch struts
Fuel filler door won't open - even though the motor is working. I adjusted it and got it working - once - but it quickly fell out of adjustment and is currently not working
I believe the blower motor has a problem - it works but makes a buzzing noise. Unfortunately this distracts from the wonderful engine noise ;(
Missing side repeater lens cover (as can be seen in the photo above)
Refuses to connect via Bluetooth to my Pixel 2 - just sits at 'connecting' and goes no further from there
I have a suspicion that the washer fluid reservoir is leaking
Front wheels are so heavily caked in brake dust that they appear a different shade than the rears. An initial treatment with Griots Garage regular wheel cleaner made no difference, so I picked up the heavy duty version today.
But on the positive side, things like the clutch etc. appear to be working fine. Longer term I may look at upgrading the dampers, but no upgrades planned beyond what's needed to keep it going for many more years.
If anyone has input on points 2, 3 and 5 above I'm all ears. BTW - fuse 22 is still in place. I want to spend some more time with it stock to have a comparison point, but I do already have a pretty good idea how it opens up beyond 4K
Thanks in advance for any guidance on the issues I can't find an obvious resolution for, and I'll update the thread as I figure out how to address the other stuff. I'll also work on some better photos.
On #2, the filler door is plastic and mounted with a thin aluminum bracket. My bracket had to be bent by hand to re-align, but not works just fine. Not sure if you're having the same problem or a different one, but that worked for me.
Congratulations. For whatever reason, there are people who stick to Porsche/BMW/Mercedes without ever stepping out to see what else is out there. And what else is out there is a great deal more diverse with a lot more personality and entertainment value than the Germans. So good on you for stepping into something new.
(1) Easy enough job, make sure you figure out how to get to the inner ball joints on the door struts before starting. There are instructions available with a google search.
(6) I found that I had washer fluid spraying from the fender vent on the right side of the car when I'd hit the washer fluid. The hose was damaged. New hose can be bought at the auto parts store, but fishing it trough the fender and out of the hood does take a little patience. I posted a short description here
(7) I discovered a product called Iron Remover X. Spray it and agitate with a stiff plastic bristle brush and the wheels will come out sparkling. But most who are fed up with the dust move to a less dusty brake pad. Several folks have switched to Porterfield with good results. I have them, and they're better than stock, but I still get dust on my wheels.
On #2, the filler door is plastic and mounted with a thin aluminum bracket. My bracket had to be bent by hand to re-align, but not works just fine. Not sure if you're having the same problem or a different one, but that worked for me.
Thanks - I'll take a look at this today. The irony is that by loosening and moving it around I got it working once, but after that it reverted to the same issue.
Congratulations. For whatever reason, there are people who stick to Porsche/BMW/Mercedes without ever stepping out to see what else is out there. And what else is out there is a great deal more diverse with a lot more personality and entertainment value than the Germans. So good on you for stepping into something new.
(1) Easy enough job, make sure you figure out how to get to the inner ball joints on the door struts before starting. There are instructions available with a google search.
(6) I found that I had washer fluid spraying from the fender vent on the right side of the car when I'd hit the washer fluid. The hose was damaged. New hose can be bought at the auto parts store, but fishing it trough the fender and out of the hood does take a little patience. I posted a short description here
(7) I discovered a product called Iron Remover X. Spray it and agitate with a stiff plastic bristle brush and the wheels will come out sparkling. But most who are fed up with the dust move to a less dusty brake pad. Several folks have switched to Porterfield with good results. I have them, and they're better than stock, but I still get dust on my wheels.
On 1), the idea is that I'll try the trunk/hatchback ones first to get a feel for how they're connected. On 7), I plan to try the 'heavy duty' Griots Garage formula today. If that still doesn't work I'll try your suggestion. I had Hawk pads on my Cayman, which were significantly lower dust than the Porsche OEM ones - may end up doing the same thing here when I need to replace the pads.
For the washer fluid reservoir, any idea what the capacity is? I put about a quart in it and it still wasn't full. There was some fluid on the ground behind the front right wheel well afterward, but nowhere near that I'd put in.
On 1), the idea is that I'll try the trunk/hatchback ones first to get a feel for how they're connected. On 7), I plan to try the 'heavy duty' Griots Garage formula today. If that still doesn't work I'll try your suggestion. I had Hawk pads on my Cayman, which were significantly lower dust than the Porsche OEM ones - may end up doing the same thing here when I need to replace the pads.
For the washer fluid reservoir, any idea what the capacity is? I put about a quart in it and it still wasn't full. There was some fluid on the ground behind the front right wheel well afterward, but nowhere near that I'd put in.
I don't know the volume, exactly, but the tank looks big enough to take a gallon or so. You could have a leaky pump seal or the hose down at the pump is broken. The only way to know for sure is to take off the front passenger wheel and wheel well liner.
On 1), the idea is that I'll try the trunk/hatchback ones first to get a feel for how they're connected.
The trunk takes maybe 5 minutes to do, total. You need a small flat blade screwdriver. The doors took me about 45 minutes per side, with a lot of swearing and two beers (which may have affected the time). One needs to remove the front wheels and at least partially remove the fender liners. I would do it in a well lighted place if possible, as one needs to locate both the front and rear ends of the strut from inside the fender. It's a cheap DIY, and better than taking to the dealer, but it's not not trivial like the hood or hatch struts.
EDIT: for the doors you also need someone or something to hold and move the doors while you work. I did it solo and so bungeed the doors to various things, but just having a helper would have saved a lot of time.
Have the wheels epoxy Coated in satin black ....it will change the car’s personality, have the chrome around windows wrapped in satin black 3m with the chrome on the front fenders.
Fit a 23mm wheel spacer to the rear and 11mm to the front, take it from soft c@@@ck to bad aaaaaaas
and pull the fuse ....
Have the wheels epoxy Coated in satin black ....it will change the car’s personality, have the chrome around windows wrapped in satin black 3m with the chrome on the front fenders.
Fit a 23mm wheel spacer to the rear and 11mm to the front, take it from soft c@@@ck to bad aaaaaaas
and pull the fuse ....
O welcome to the forum
Funny enough, I was thinking about blacking out the wheels and chrome, and thanks for the spacer advice - any before/after photos you can share? That will be on the 'nice to have' list after a suspension upgrade The stock setup doesn't deal with the roads around here as well as my Cayman did, but turn in is much sharper so I can live with it.
The trunk takes maybe 5 minutes to do, total. You need a small flat blade screwdriver. The doors took me about 45 minutes per side, with a lot of swearing and two beers (which may have affected the time). One needs to remove the front wheels and at least partially remove the fender liners. I would do it in a well lighted place if possible, as one needs to locate both the front and rear ends of the strut from inside the fender. It's a cheap DIY, and better than taking to the dealer, but it's not not trivial like the hood or hatch struts.
EDIT: for the doors you also need someone or something to hold and move the doors while you work. I did it solo and so bungeed the doors to various things, but just having a helper would have saved a lot of time.
I'd also note to use a towel or rag on the screwdriver where it touches the car to avoid paint damage.
Funny enough, I was thinking about blacking out the wheels and chrome, and thanks for the spacer advice - any before/after photos you can share? That will be on the 'nice to have' list after a suspension upgrade The stock setup doesn't deal with the roads around here as well as my Cayman did, but turn in is much sharper so I can live with it.
The stock suspension does have a reputation for being a bit on the GT side. I've not driven a car with that setup. Aston offered a sport package upgrade with stiffer springs and sway bars, higher rate dampers, and bigger forged wheels. It makes the car very responsive and neutral.
There are less expensive means to getting a sportier feel from the car than this. My suggestion would be to look at Nitron NTR shocks, they're extremely high quality and will offer both better handling and ride at the same time. Sway bars can be had from lots of vendors.
The stock suspension does have a reputation for being a bit on the GT side. I've not driven a car with that setup. Aston offered a sport package upgrade with stiffer springs and sway bars, higher rate dampers, and bigger forged wheels. It makes the car very responsive and neutral.
There are less expensive means to getting a sportier feel from the car than this. My suggestion would be to look at Nitron NTR shocks, they're extremely high quality and will offer both better handling and ride at the same time. Sway bars can be had from lots of vendors.
It's more of an issue of it not responding as well as the Cayman to bumps - which seems to be a characteristic of the double wishbone setup. I'd like to have something with a better ride - there's a Bamford Rose video talking about Bilsteins, and I'll look into the Nitron option also - thanks!
It's more of an issue of it not responding as well as the Cayman to bumps - which seems to be a characteristic of the double wishbone setup. I'd like to have something with a better ride - there's a Bamford Rose video talking about Bilsteins, and I'll look into the Nitron option also - thanks!
The double wishbone suspension is going to be superior to struts, generally, in theory. Better control of camber/caster/toe throughout suspension travel. In practice though, there are a lot of geometry and damping subtleties that can make one superior to the other. I owned a Boxster for several years, Porsche's done a great job with struts.
2) I had the same problem with the fuel door staying closed. I found that the door catch was too tight in the receiver, so I sanded off some material from the area in the photo below. Opens every time now.
4) The side repeaters are the same as the ones on the Ford Transit van. Part number 9T1Z-13K376-A. They're about $14 on Rockauto, if I remember correctly. When mine fell off I ordered three, just to have extras around. If you can't find one, PM me your address and I'll send you one of my spares.
Edit: you'll need to add a clutch to the list. I recently had mine replaced with a Velocity AP twin-disc clutch and I highly recommend it.
My 2007 V8 Vantage 6-speed arrived at the weekend, and once the irritations get ironed out I expect to enjoy it for many years.
