Good luck! Let me know if you find any additional resources to add to this list. Nick at AM Tampa, who Matt referred me to, also recommended Switch Cars in Ohio. I've not reached out to them but Nick in Tampa thought they could be a better resource than an AM dealer for buying a used car. There are a few things about Switch Cars that doesn't inspire confidence, which is why I haven't reached out, but may still do so if I can't find a better resource.

Has anyone worked with a dealer of any kind who tracked down their car specifically for them rather than just having it on the lot?

 

This topic comes up from time to time on the Porsche forums that I also frequent. Some of the sources others have mentioned include:
https://exoticcarsearch.com/find-exotic-cars/
https://www.meritpartners.com/find-a-car
https://mbrandonmotorcars.com

I have no experience with any of these businesses; merely passing along the links. For all the classics and exotics that I’ve bought, the sourcing has always been a DIY activity. The DB9 I referenced earlier in this thread took ~5 months to find, during the course of which I contacted 14 dealers (6 of them Aston Martin stores) and 2 private individuals.

 

Maybe try https://www.catsexotics.com/ (Seattle). They deal in the higher end. Lots of Lambos but I have seen Astons come through.

 

I think what you'll find with dealers and after speaking with Nick at AM Tampa is that the dealers can help you track down a current model but not past models. Example, if you are looking for a 2019+ Vantage they can help with the search but if you're looking for the previous Vantage model most can't.

 

Thanks for this! I'll also be hunting on my own but wouldn't hurt to have a few extra eyes helping out. Would be great to have something in hand by the time the next driving season starts.

Will check these guys out as well, thanks!

That certainly makes sense for their business. Nick is a good guy, said he'd let me know if he comes across one. Sounds like they'll occasionally get a trade in or find out about one in a big collection that someone is willing to part with. My preference is for a pre-facelift VH platform Vantage, I just like the styling better personally, but sounds like that is a near zero chance of materializing at an AM dealer. Reached out to Nick the other day to see if expanding to later year VH platform Vantages would be more in his wheelhouse but guessing it won't make a major difference.

 

Ok this seems pretty obvious, but I find it hasn’t been mentioned in this thread so far. If you don’t already, you should definitely have preowned.astonmartin.com in your favorites list and you should check that frequently. If you enter “USA” in the zip code field it’ll do a nationwide search.

I just looked and there do seem to be a few manual Vantages of the previous generation, although only one 4.3, at Bellevue. This one is a 4.7 but seems quite attractive on the face of it.
https://preowned.astonmartin.com/en_us/vdp/25231853-2010-V8-Vantage-4.7-Coupe-4.7---Obsidian-Black-Quantum-Silver

 

4.3's are going to be hard to find at any Aston dealer. I'd highly recommend Bring A Trailer, and patience for the right car. Anything you're seriously interested in you can have an independent PPI done in plenty of time before close.

 

Wanted to update this thread in case anyone comes across it and tends to just read posts for info more than post like I do.

I ultimately decided to replace my 07 V8 Vantage with a later model, my 2016 V8 Vantage GTS arrived this morning! I did end up using a broker and am very glad that I did. I'm certain I wouldn't have this car in my garage today if I didn't have help thanks to the horrible behavior of the selling dealership (Bishop Maserati in Texas, avoid at all costs).

Even with setting my sights on a later model 4.7 V8 Vantage it was oddly difficult to find a broker/sourcing help. I spoke to two Aston Martin dealers, one third party Aston Martin specialist, and numerous performance car/high end specialty dealers. Some I had a good initial conversation with and then never heard from again, others never responded to my outreach at all. ISSIMI in Redwood City, CA was in a sense one of the highlights. Their method would have been to source out of their network of private collectors and seemed to be a good resource. The V8V is a car they've sold before but does seem to be on the lower end of what they specialize in, so they wanted a $5k up front fee to work for me. Little too much for me and for this particular car but could be a good option for someone else in the future.

Edit - Deleting the bottom part of this post and unfortunately have to rescind my endorsement of the broker/organization I used to buy my car. Removing their names entirely so they don't even pop up here via a search.

At the end of the process for buying my car the broker I used introduced me to someone to handle some light rock chip touch ups before the car went in for PPF. Despite the repeated assurances from the broker that the touch up painter was "legit", that painter caused $20k+ in damage to my car. My car has been with an Aston certified paint shop for over three months now having significant refinishing work done.

I heard again from the broker recently. He is no longer with the company that he was with when I bought my car and told me I should avoid that organization and that they are "dishonest". Given the situation with the painter and the minimal support the broker provided when the issue came up I do think it was the broker himself that was the issue. No clue on the organization he was working with as he's the only person I spoke to there, but taking down the name of that org too just in case.

Best of luck to anyone who is in the market for one of these cars (or seemingly any car) these days. Seems like it's pretty hard to find anyone in the automotive industry who is would be a good resource.

 

Thanks for the update - put up some pictures!

Had not previously heard of that company - seems to be yet another online auction place? I used to follow them all - BaT, C&B, Pcarmarket, Sotheby’s, etc. but it got to be too much so now I’ve reverted to only following BaT.

 

Yeah I'm not sure what their intention is with the auction side of things, never spoke about it with my contact and I didn't buy from their auction listings. I'd agree that the auction format seems to be a little oversaturated and personally not the way I like to purchase either. They do offer traditional broker resources though which is what I used. Hoping I can use their storage facility once that's up and running as well.

Unfortunately the car got delivered right at the start of a big late season snow storm so only got one quick drive around the block and garage pics once it was tucked in -



Same color as my last one so really feels like it's my old car in the garage when looking at it from the front. The change to the front bumper is more subtle than I was expecting.