Hello, This is the table scrap guy here:-)
Is 31k too much?
​I am looking at an Aston Martin vantage because I lost my 06 DB9. (Flood)

I really don't want a V8 but I don't want to have this infamous V12 engine tick​ like that car had....Buyer Beware

This vantage I'm looking at ​is a 2009 and has 50,000 miles on it, ​They're are asking 31k. The car doesn't have the umbrella, it doesn't have a owner's manual, ​and I don't think the clutch has been changed, but it's an automatic I'm a little confused on what the difference is. And ​ a tiny segment in the ​right tail light is out. ​(had that trouble with the DB9) So that means I will have to replace that tail light. Is that an okay price for that car? Please help me. I'm desperate.​ I don't want to make a mistake...Like the engin tick!!! on the V12

 

Hi- If it were me I'd look at the quality of the car. The price might be secondary. If you get poorly maintained car your after purchase expenses might add up to more than purchasing a solid AM with some records that has been cared for. From what you noted you don't need more headaches..... I'd keep looking. Good luck!

 

Well, its technically not an automatic, is an automated manual. Make sure you drive it because there's a difference in the way it behaves compared to a standard automatic like in the DB9. With mine I always drove in manual mode because automatic mode was not very good. I had a 2009 new, and put 55k miles on it in 5 years. I had to have the clutch replaced twice, once due to a failure and once due to wear, so that clutch is the weak link of that car. I didn't have any other major problems with the car.

Once notorious thing about Vantages around that time, the AM radio module tends to fail. Mine did, but was replaced under warranty, although its not something many people care about. Other than that and the condition of everything, including the leather which can sometimes shrink, just inspecting it will give you a good idea of what you are looking at. Of course, no good way to tell about the clutch unless you feel it already wearing out.

I really liked the car, and, as you can tell, I drove it a lot, it was just that clutch which was the real headache and cost.

 

To answer your question, 31K is not too much. If you had to put 10K into it, 41K would still be good price for a decent '09

 

IMO the "automated" transmission is the weakest link in the vantage as with all F1 type transmission of that era. People make excuses for it but in the end, it's a 1st generation technology and will have issues, hence the premium for the manual. It's just not the vantage, ferrari and lambo has the same premium for manuals.

All depends on your budget, if you can afford 09+ for the 4.7 engine and other updates do it, if you can afford a premium for the manual, it will save alot of headach, especially with the VAP or AMR dual plate clutch.

For reference i paid a little over 50k Nov 2024 for my 09 manual transmission, it already has the dual plate VAP clutch, all fluid changed, 9-10 overall condition, a few other goodies and with 25k miles. There were cheaper options but I wanted the 4.7 and dual plate clutch, and most importantly a manual transmission.

 

I bought a 09 Vantage from Aston Martin San Diego in California three+ years ago - $40K with 50,000 miles, that's when prices were a lot higher than today. I'd bought the car which they held up delivery because they were waiting for anew pully assembly because of a noise, otherwise they went through the entire car and addressed any issues. Then I got the phone call... the sound was not the pulleys after installing new... it was internal to the engine - a bad crank or rod. They refunded my money and unwound the loan. Had I bought from a non-Aston dealer or individual I'd be totally screwed. I have a 2011 Highly upgraded V8 Vantage - I'd sell mine for $52K firm, annually serviced by Aston Martin the past three years with 28K miles, V12-RS bonnet ($10K), AMR Griil with inset lights, new bamboo dash with glass buttons, Smart Mirror with dash cam, apple car play, and reverse cam, Quicksilver exhaust, 2nd Cat deletes ( I have the CATS), new PS4's flawless Sara Tan Interior, almost no scratches on exterior (two small ones on the gas cap), 20" front. 21" rear, wide offsets - no rubbing, dustless new brake pads, fresh radiator fluid change, recent ceramic coating. Recent full X-pel full front clip. new wipers. Unofficially for sale. Looks showroom new. Last measured clutch life 50% at last years annual. If I sell, I'd get a V12S, it I don't sell I have no problem keeping it. Use this and what you get as a reference looking at others. Personally with todays market a 50K mile 09 Sportshift with out service records and bad taillight I'd offer maybe $28K at most factoring $3K for the tail light, $6K for the clutch, and I'd bet the brakes, tires, and much more are due soonish. All these add up. There was a V12S I was looking at - they were asking $85K, but I saw a bunch of deferred maintenance items which I would have spent about $10K. I offered $70K and they said no way. A few month later it sold - for $70K I was told!

 

How many owners has the car had? The more owners the more chance of the car being abused.

 

IMO you won’t get anything even resembling a decent 4.7 for $28k. Impossible to say with little info, especially about the car’s condition, but $31k for a 4.7 is very cheap IMO. So cheap that I’d be worried about its condition unless you can see it in person and have a PPI done. Yes, the market is down from a couple years ago, but not that far down.

 

These are good points for sure. Any car dealer knows how to take pictures at the right angles to make the car look as good as possible and pictures will never tell the whole story, so if this car isn't local to you and you're serious about the car it might be worth the cost of the flight to go check it out. I did this a couple of times the last time I was in the market.

If there isn't an Aston Martin dealer in the area to inspect the car that would also be a concern for me. The last time I tried to have an AM dealer do a PPI for me they said they don't offer PPI's (Aston of Dallas), but if I had thought things through better I could have set up the service as scoping a known issue on the car and could have had them do a vehicle inspection for "any other potential needs" along with it to function in the same way. If there is a dealer in the area you could set up an appointment to scope the taillight issue and then order a full inspection along with it.

I wouldn't put a ton of faith in an inspection from a non-Aston Martin shop unless you know them very well. The last three PPI's I've paid for were more or less useless and missed numerous issues. Two were done by independent shops/dealers and the last one done by the area's Lotus dealer.