In Search of first V8 Vantage
 

Hello everyone,

Brand new to the forum and to the Aston world. I have been in search of my first Aston Martin and have been set to find a manual V8 Vantage. So far seems to be a story behind every car or a dealership with no idea of the history of the car (but they always ensure it is the cleanest and best example out there ;)). If anyone has any recommendations as to what I should specifically look out for once I find one worth traveling for as there are none available in my area that would be wonderful. I am continuing to learn about them and so far know I for sure want good service history, clutch replaced or cheap enough for me to be able to upgrade to twin disc and the other basics like door struts go bad, oil leaks, etc.

Thanks in advance to everyone!

Ok great I will dig around the forum thanks! And I wish my issue was too many options to choose from lol but sadly I have not run into that problem. Have had very slim pickings finding a hardtop manual with good mileage, service history and someone not trying to get 10-20k over market. But the search will not stop till one is found!

search forums... get the "book"

There are a few out there, and you're right - it does seem that most come with stories. I am pretty surprised the V8 manuals all seem to have three or four (and sometimes even more) owners all within 10,000 miles.

Check out recent threads on this forum started by V8Vdrew. Extremely useful information to guide you in doing your due diligence to find the right one at the right price.

Yeah it is very rare it seems to find long term ownership, most I see are 4-8 owners and the most recent owner selling had only owned the car for 4-12 months

Ken Porcell in Scottsdale has the car you are looking for and it is PRISTINE
HIs phone number is 914 494-4400
2009 Vantage - Tungsten Silver with Sport Pac
You will be glad you called!

Thanks for the lead! Is the car listed anywhere by chance?

If you have a Carfax you can get a general idea of what AM dealers the car was serviced at over its life. Once you have that you can call the dealer and ask about the cars service history. While they wont give you anything in writing, if you push hard enough they will tell you what was done verbally. This really helped me make my decision earlier this year.

A lot of owners could be the same owner who registered it multiple times. In the CarFax, look to see if the same dealerships or shops serviced it. Even if that is split between two locales.

The "book" is critically essential in understanding what years had what, what the difference between model years, etc... I would buy that ASAP.

Jamal - car not listed or actively for sale....but trust me....he has a gem.

Don't doubt it....lots of very nice cars in Scottsdale!

Yes, I am a Porsche guy, but when I park next to Ken's car, nobody looks at mine.
I am a Realtor here in Scottsdale if you want to google me John Cordes (in other words...this is not a fishing expedition) That is what these forums are for...perhaps a private individual can pick one off before a dealer does and raises the prices and adds junk fees.
Ken's car is not actively on the market, but he most likely would sell if the deal is fair.

Short tenure for exotic brands isn't super uncommon, but it does make me worry a little on manual cars. That's a lot of different drivers and a lot of learning on a $5K clutch that appears to be one of the few weak points, at least on the Vantages.

Yeah, multiple owners has a resale impact on similar lines that higher mileage does. I just experienced this on a sale I had. Buyer came straight out and said his offer was based that number. And, I react to the same thing, even right now. When a car has had 3/4 owners with 10K/15K miles, it makes me wonder why the car was traded off so quickly.

So far, on cars I've looked at 3 has been my cutoff point just like 40/50K mile cars at any year is somewhat of a cutoff.