35is to V8 Vantage?

[sunnydays]

Hi guys,

Has anyone here made the above move / got experience of both cars that they could provide input on?

Saw a early V8 4.3 Vantage today, safe to say I was pleasantly surpised. Both are GT cars and a similar weight, loved the way it looked, that wide low slung stance. Looked great. How does a car like this compare to the Z4 35is?

Thanks

 

[Zed Five]

It's simply mega bucks to run and fix.

 

[Busterboo]

When I had a 4.2 Jaguar, I used to use an independent, Farriers of Leicester, who also worked on Aston Martins. Farriers told me that their problem with Astons was the price of some spare parts, which were high beyond reason.

 

[Angelus666]

I had one for a while, it's about double the cost of running an M car. Great cars, the only advice would be to fully enjoy the car, buy one with a warranty and keep the warranty going.

 

[huytonman]

A mate had an early one, pretty reliable but when a failure occured in a rear light it was a new assembly circa £400, probably not unique to Aston though heard similar stories for everyday cars. Hes now got a v12 carbon loves it but hardly drives it. They look fantastic and sound great, if I had the notion like you have I would try one but go to a reputable dealer and a boiler plate warranty
Keith

 

[cj10jeeper]

Always wanted one, but when the time came to swap out the Z4 the realisation of the servicing and running costs and it now looking dated pointed me to the F Type. The rest is history and happy with the decision

 

[tomscott]

This time period Aston were owned by ford, a lot of the parts are recycled from other ford products like the F150 believe it or not.

Servicing is expensive as it needs a major every year which is £1000 from a dealer. Find a good indy and I dont think it will break the bank most of the horror stories come from main dealers, most of the well known issues can be sorted at least half the cost. Main consumables are expensive discs, pads and clutches are pretty well known for not lasting long although there are huge variances from owner to owner. Ive done a lot of research as I was seriously considering one and with them sitting at £30-35k they are great bang for buck.

These are 10+ years old and all of the issues have pretty much been ironed out with third party options and lots of really good indys, you can run these without paying the super car tax if you are smart and know what to look for.

Just have to find a good one in a good service cycle with the main things done like discs, pads and new clutch and you will be good to go! The tech in them is ancient but the luxury, sound and looks are worth it imo.

Its in a completely different league to the 35IS and cant really be compared. Its a bespoke car not a mass produced cheap to run roadster like the 35. Could be a shock if not prepared.

 

[brillomaster]

as with all car buying, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. just cos it might seem reasonably priced to buy, it could be ruinous to maintain - lots of research needed.

That said, if I was happy I could afford to run it, I would be happy to own one!

On a similar ilk, have you considered a BMW M6, with a V10? they're pretty bargainous right now, with epic firepower. or an early R8, more punch and more drama than an v8 vantage?

 

[sunnydays]

Thanks for the input everyone very much appreciated! I shouldnt really change car so soon and need to resist the itch lol. The running costs of 16mpg avg (probably 5-8 when booting it), £1000 service, tyres pads etc dont seem to bad. Seems to be fairly standard for sports cars. Just curious how much higher repairs could really be on something like this on other parts, I do really like the Audi R8 manuals with the open gater shift do look beautiful but have not been to view one.

The 35is is hands down the best car I have ever owned, it regularly turns heads and always puts a smile on my face. Feel like I should enjoy it for a while then maybe re-consider.

 

[cj10jeeper]

I also discounted the R8.
I could only stretch to an early model and they all looked tired in my range with very bland interiors, high mileage and/or tricked up with V10 panels. Also looked and felt like a big Audi TT
Reliability seemed to be a key strength and they seems well built, but try one

 

[hopz121]

Thanks for the input everyone very much appreciated! I shouldnt really change car so soon and need to resist the itch lol. The running costs of 16mpg avg (probably 5-8 when booting it), £1000 service, tyres pads etc dont seem to bad. Seems to be fairly standard for sports cars. Just curious how much higher repairs could really be on something like this on other parts, I do really like the Audi R8 manuals with the open gater shift do look beautiful but have not been to view one.

The 35is is hands down the best car I have ever owned, it regularly turns heads and always puts a smile on my face. Feel like I should enjoy it for a while then maybe re-consider.

The 35IS is far from bullet proof or cheap motoring, a major issue on a 35IS would cost similar if not more to some jobs on an Aston V8 Vantage so I wouldn't let that put you off.

If you can get over the dated tech and interior I think go for it, they are real head turners and with a fuse removed for the exhaust flap they sound epic.

Also I don't think they will depreciate much more for a good example where as I think the 35IS will.

Let us know how you get on and what you decide, the R8 is another option worth looking at

 

[chasBMW]

I went for a test drive in a used v8 vantage
Pros
It looked amazing and the sense of occasion was immense and the noise
Cons
considering its 420 bhp didnt seem any quicker and the tech was pretty rubbish

Talking to dealer (offical Aston) he advised that I should budget for £1500 a year for running/service

In the end though it would have been my daily drive and although my annual milage is only about is about 6K a year the fact that a 5 year old Aston only had 5.4k miles on it made me think it probaly wasnt up to that job so I didnt go through with it

 

[Kingfisher]

If you drive the Aston very carefully you might be lucky enough to get it to do 16 mpg! The later bigger hp ones can manage something just over 20 mpg. If you drive one hard then the mpg is eye-watering! ... :crazydude:

 

[cj10jeeper]

If you drive the Aston very carefully you might be lucky enough to get it to do 16 mpg! The later bigger hp ones can manage something just over 20 mpg. If you drive one hard then the mpg is eye-watering! ... :crazydude:

Ha - ha - I know having owned a DB9 for a very short period. I aspired to reaching 12mpg. I think it took 1/2 litre just on start up with the blip and rev function