Hi everyone!

I'm new here, and although I'm not an Aston owner yet, I hope soon I will be. I have never bought an exotic before, so I wanted to get your advice on something. I know the spec I am looking for: Tungsten Silver, coupe, manual transmission, with Kestrel Tan interior. Budget constraints mean I can only consider the early models, '06 or '07. It just so happens there is a car with this exact spec here:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...ckType=listing

But one problem: rebuilt title! Its priced the same as some clean title examples of the same year, so I haven't really considered it seriously. My options are:

1. Wait for a clean title preferred spec to be listed for sale
2. Buy a car with a different interior (and with more options on the table I can find a cheaper example) and have a local leather shop redo the interior in Kestrel Tan (seats, dash, center console, doors, panels, the whole thing);
3. Make an offer on the rebuilt title example above.

I'd like some advice here. My thoughts: I want to move sooner rather than later. I've been wanting this for a while, I've been watching auto trader, CarGurus, etc. for a few months, and it doesn't seem like this spec comes around too often, and if it does, it may not be a good deal. So I could be waiting for a while. That's why I've been lately looking at other options with different interiors that I could change. Initially I didn't want to go that route, but there are so many more options if I take the interior out of the equation, I could find some really good deals, so that even with the cost of redoing the interior, it might still be within the range I was considering -- and I would also have a new interior! The leather on a lot of the early v8 vantages doesn't seem to hold up well anyway, so this would be a plus.

As for the rebuilt title example -- I know, I know! I'm not seriously considering it, but just to play devils advocate, you can see the before and after pictures, it didn't look like a serious accident, and it looks great now. It was in an accident in April 2019 and was bought in October 2019, so it sat somewhere for 6 months. I know even if it is in fact in good condition, it would be a headache to insure, and the resale value would be affected (although I wouldn't sell it any time soon, if ever, really). So, theoretically, if it was independently inspected and it was in very good condition, at what point would it be worth making an offer? $25K? Or just forget about it and completely take this option off the table?

Thanks everyone, any advice or thoughts appreciated!

 

Keep in mind that if you are hesitating about buying a Vantage with a rebuilt title, so will anyone you end up trying to sell it to at some point in the future. That for me is the key reason to avoid a car in this situation.

 

Everything we buy, we will sell some day. The best examples of any item will always give the best return.
It took me over a year to find my cara few years ago. I wanted a roadster with the 4.7 L that wasn't black or
fifty shades of gray. To each his own. I would also suggest that someone looking for a car drive the manual and the sport shift before deciding. Same trans. Clutch pedal/no clutch pedal.

 

Right you are. But would anyone hesitate about a Vantage with a redone interior? I don't think that would affect the resale value -- if it's good quality and replacing worn out leather, I would think it would increase the value, if anything. That's the option that's tempting me the most right now.

A year! You're a very patient man. Glad you got the spec you wanted -- always loved white as a car color, and it looks great on the Vantage. I'm thinking it might be that long before a spec like the one I want pops up, too. Perhaps patience is the answer -- but I don't know if I want to wait that long. As long as the car is mechanically sound, I don't mind higher mileage or worn out interior, if I'm going the route of replacing the interior anyway. Although return is a consideration, it's not my first concern, and I think these cars have done most of their depreciating already.

Point taken about trying the sport shift.

 

Take your time. The hunt is half the fun. I had a 2009 with a sportshift. When I sold it I missed it and was on a quest to find another Vantage, but with a manual. I found a 2008 that was perfectly maintained and in perfect condition. It was a one owner and had all the service records. It had never even been in the rain. Keep an open mind when looking. You might find exactly what you are looking for but you might find a really good car that wasn’t what you searched for.
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I would be a little more open to colors combo's especially looking on a tight budget. Any refurbished car is a negative compared to one that is just well owned and maintained.

 

the only reason I would buy a car without a clean title is if I was going to heavily mod it and run it hard and keep it awhile... that's different than a clean carfax... although with high end cars, even a carfax issue can be leprosy...

as with all depreciating assets... its how well you buy it that makes the difference...

 

FWIW I shopped over a year for my vantage... eventually, found my locally, private sale, made offer, was rejected and a month later, got a call back asking for offer... made it even lower and after PPI haggled even more... got 1/2 the cost of new clutch as final concession... if on tight budget, be willing to give up on a few items to get the right car in the best condition... take your time to fully understand ownership costs, especially if you are unwilling or unable to do alot of maintenance yourself... these are quirky cars but quite easy to work on, with lots of resources, videos, workshop manuals, e.t.c on line.

good luck!

 

Replacing the leather is going to be a fairly expensive exercise, and I don't think it's going to increase the resale value. In my opinion you would be better off applying that cash to the overall budget of the car. Good luck with the search - finding the right spec/price is always challenging.

 

Thank you everyone! I'm hearing both wait for the right option and be patient, and also being more open to other color combos because of my budget constraints. Both very good advice, so I'll take both. Going to wait another couple months to see if one with my spec pops up, and also see if I become more open to other color combos while I wait. Then I'll go from there. In the meantime, you all know where to find me if you see this spec

Still, I'm getting quotes from local leather shops about prices for replacing leather -- just in case a mechanically sound example comes along for cheap with a terrible interior haha.

 

you'd be surprised at the taste of some people... ha ha ha

 

I've already seen, but for risk of offending some who maybe made similar choices, I will say nothing!

 

It took me 2 years to find my car with color ( volcano red with black interior) & most importantly I want it 6 speed manual. At that time I had 08 roadster with sportshift. Driving sportshift in local LA traffic it was not good experience for me, but I was not in rush, I was looking for that right car. And one sunny day, guess what, found THE car on ebay, contacted dealer, made the deal, traded my roadster to that dealer & got my 2013 V8 manual. Only lost 3k, that included cross country enclosed shipping. I couldn't believe it. It was one owner car , with only 3k miles on it, had all the option that I wanted. When I got the built sheet from Aston UK, it showed that original owner paid extra to get volcano red. It 's more common on V12 cars. Anyway, if you can be patient, I'm sure you'll find the car that you want. Tungsten silver is more common on those year Vantages, you just have to be open on interior color options...... And yes, hunt is half of the fun.

Good Luck.

 

90% of the Vantages you look at will have black interiors. They were the cheapest model so most buyers optioned other things and went with the basic black, although many did do some sort of contrast stitching. If you're willing to live with a black interior for a while, you'll find you have a lot more options to choose from.

I'd been looking around for over a year before I bought mine, and I literally think I saw 3 or maybe 4 that had something other than black and I bought one of them. The others were colors that I liked even less than black, if I'm honest.

Had I not found the one I bought, I would have eventually bought one with a black interior, lived with it for a while, then probably eventually had it redone the way I wanted, because I live in the Midwest US and black interiors are just ovens in the summer.

I always prefer to keep special cars original if possible. However, if I can't find a car with original options that I like, I also wouldn't hesitate to "fix" what I don't like. In the end it's your car and life's too short to worry about some nebulous payoff that you may or may not ever see. Meanwhile you're driving around for years with a two-tone pink and orange interior that makes your eyes bleed just because "it's original" and "someday it'll be worth more". I've never understood the logic in stuff like that, but then maybe I'm crazy. Who knows.

The advice to be patient is very true, however. I looked for for over a year before I bought my Aston and something like 3 years before I bought my Porsche. Do your research. Keep an eye on every comparable car on the market, what they're asking, and what they sell for at the auctions. Decide which options are really important to you, compromise on the others if you need to, and wait for "your car" to come along. It's undoubtedly out there.

 

The longer you search, the more money you'll have and better examples would have depreciated further. Be quick to decide on the right car, as the cool ones do sell quick when realistically priced. My old Vantage was sold to the next buyer on a trade in before the dealer had possession of my car!