As the owner of a Vantage 12S and concurrent owner of Ferrari automobiles, I confess the Aston Martin is pretty rubbish compared to the Ferraris. After all, who puts fiberglass fenders on a car costing more than $200,000? And what high school student set up the pogo style overly harsh suspension? Or could not figure out how to put in a proper dual clutch gearbox?

But all that aside, Aston Martin North America has been terrible and the local dealer equally terrible. In fact, it is supposedly the largest dealer in the USA. The Vantage had a mechanical failure that literally put me and my passenger's lives in serious jeopardy. One might think Aston Martin would then go out of its way to make amends but you'd be wrong.

So when my V12S with just 10k miles on it spent six months at the dealer to be fixed while under warranty--and was returned to me filthy, damaged, and not working still and with a concealed broken front fender that was "patched" and given a crappy paint job to make matters worse, and with the dealer unwilling to actually repair my car as needed, I contacted Aston Martin directly.

And do you know what happened when I telephoned Aston Martin North America? I got a voicemail recording? What? No person works at Aston Martin NA during business hours? I left a message. No one called me back.

I called again. Again a voicemail. Again a message is left. Again no one called me back!

I sent a certified letter and again, no one called me back nor wrote me back. And this while my car was under warranty!?!

It's one thing to buy a car that is two generations behind Ferrari. It's another thing to be treated terribly.

And the dealer's response? Sue us! No, seriously, I am not joking.

Perhaps not surprisingly, during the six months my car was in the shop they went through three different service advisors!

Does Aston Martin UK treat its customers like this? Any suggestions on how I should handle this short of suing Aston Martin?

 

How long ago did this happen? It looks like you are in Southern California. I am also. I own a new Vantage, under warranty and my service experience has been "ok". Not as good as Porsche but better than Bentley. One of the AM dealerships in the LA area offers superlative repair and maintenance service. From my perspective both offer excellent sales service.

I've never had a reason to contact AM's USA office but when I had a little issue during my purchase I went straight to AM corporate in the UK and I got an instant (I mean INSTANT) response to my issue and things got straightened out immediately.

 

Not necessarily the same situation but I emailed ClientServices@astonmartin.com requesting a build sheet on my car and honestly was not expecting them to respond at all. To my surprise I got a response back immediately (from a real person, not an automated response). You could try that route to reach out to them. Also, this way it is documented in case you need it in the future.

 

I purchased the car about 1.5 years ago and the issue arose six just a couple of months into my ownership with me driving the Aston Martin less than 100 miles. I have talked to others about this dealership (Ogara) and they were not happy. In fact, one owner of a V12 S Manual convertible (super rare car) had nothing positive to say about O'Gara and complained to Aston Martin NA.

Maybe I should have gone straight to AM UK as you indicate you had success that route.

 

Good suggestion. I suspect that customer service is based out of the UK and not Orange County, USA.

 

I bought my car from O'Gara and they were fine during the transaction. Not perfect but once I got UK corporate in the mix everything went super smoothly. When it came time for my one year service I had a bear of a time scheduling an appointment with O'Gara service. Once we connected they told me they would need my car for two days (this is for a regular one year service). I live 100 miles from Los Angeles so, in addition to the absurdity of two days for a service I wasn't keen on bringing my car to them and enduring the hassle. I reached out to Galpin Aston and was able to make an appointment and was told that if I brought the car in at 8am they would have it back to me by 11am. The service representative was super professional and they got the car done in exactly the time they promised. They also filled my gas tank. I really have to give the Galpin service group high marks.

Since I bought the car from O'Gara one year ago there has been some shuffling in the sales side and I must say the people in the showroom are super helpful and friendly. I can also say the same about the people who work at Galpin. So, for me, it comes down to service and in that regard Galpin is crushingly competent. The O'Gara service center also handles Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls. It feels a little like they are providing service for the idle rich while at Galpin they are providing service for busy professionals who have to work for a living to afford these nice cars. That would be me. There just seems to be an innate respect for the customer's time. In any event, I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thank you. Yes, when it came to sales O'Gara was super nice at taking my money. But when it came to service it was a nightmare! Really. Galpin does seem miles better but they are quite a bit farther away and now my car has open issues and in fact, damage caused by Ogara (cracked front fender and an unauthorized and poorly performed paint and "patch" of the front fender. In fact, DMV Investigators told me they concluded Ogara violated the law when it did what they did to my car and without my consent. Even still OGara refused to repair my car.

 

I also use Galpin for my Aston service, they do a good job.

 

The dealer in WA (Park Place) is great. I had a paint issue with my car and it was resolved without issue. It's a shame you're having this awful experience. I would write a letter to Aston Martin HQ. I wonder if Tobias Moers responds to these issues on Twitter like Andy Palmer used to?

 

OP - open a complaint with the BAR (Bureau of Automotive Repair). At stake is the dealer principal and sales license. If you want to get quick resolution, enlist the BAR. What you went through is *highly* illegal in CA. If a repair is made in CA, you are legally entitled to the part back and you need to initial the AFS document. Further, you also have to verbally or in person agree to all repairs made to you vehicle. If they performed paint work without your permission, you have a helluva case and the BAR will advocate for you.

 

Agree. The story sounds hair raising. I had a problem back in 1987 with a Porsche 944S and a bad timing chain. The chain failed 4 times and each time the dealership screwed my car up more and more. It was a long time ago but I remember putting huge pressure on Porsche North America, then based in Reno, Nevada. I ended up getting a 1989 Porsche 944S2 as a replacement, so I ended up happy. In a short time the dealership in Santa Monica that has mucked me about lost their franchise. I'm sure it wasn't just about my experience, there must have been some pattern, but it helps to be vocal and clear. In my case the failings of the car and the dealership were very easy to see.

 

Hey, I understand you are upset (and rightly so), but it seems that like a lot of people who are in the acute stages of upset, you are lashing out in a far broader fashion than is perhaps warranted.

What's wrong with fiberglass as a body material? I submit that when it's done correctly it is more than fit for purpose, and looks fine, too. Or is it the perception of cheapness that bothers you? Do you feel the same way about carbon fibre, too, seeing how it has got a lot of plastic?

Perhaps you have a problem with your suspension. The suspension on my V12VS is not "pogo style" or "overly harsh" - in fact over the years I have increasingly come to appreciate its skillfully engineered blend of comfort and handling. Then again, it's a well known fact that Aston employs only high school students in its engineering department because it can't afford anything better, while Ferrari hires only PhDs because it generates so much income from branded merchandise sales, so it's likely I have no idea what I'm talking about.

SS3 is not meant to be a dual clutch gearbox, either "proper" or improper. Crappy compromise for a company with no development budget, or interactive in the way no dual clutch can ever be? Well, it has all been debated endlessly, here and on other forums, but if you are in the dislike camp, why didn't you just get the manual? And if being "two generations" behind Ferrari is really so important, why did you get an Aston in the first place? I don't suppose there is any chance that the naturally aspirated engine and analogue feel of the car, terribly outclassed and primitive features as they are, had anything to do with it?

Anyway, I hope you get the issues with your "rubbish" Aston Martin sorted out, I really do.

 

All the Aston Martin big wigs are on LinkedIn or in the AMOC Facebook group. I would contact one of them via those channels. You'll get some traction on this in no time.

 

I had trouble getting the extended warranty documents from the dealership that made the sale.
A call to AM US, 949.316.8352 quickly resolved the situation - including follow up to confirm all was resolved.
Not sure if this is the number you called but it was active June 2019.

 

I bet it is a case by case situation with dealerships here in the US. I do find that Google and even Yelp reviews paint a pretty accurate picture of the level of service one might expect. It is a truth that a business is only as good as it's lousiest (legitimate) review.