|
|
|
|
#136
01-12-2023, 12:51 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#137
03-06-2023, 09:23 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Those astons v8's are the BEST value in the used sports car market today, and some of the most beautiful cars on the road, ever, period. Glad to see there are others with a love for them too!
Also, I'd never consider a 911 
|
|
#139
12-07-2023, 12:52 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Pinging this thread just because I've spent an idle moment on collecting cars dot com and my fantasy shopping led me back to Aston Martins: https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/...n-martin-db7-5
|
|
#140
12-07-2023, 02:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
importing it?
Quote:
But, otherwise was just a joy to look at and drive. sold it and got a used '03 jag xkr--not at all the same type of car.
|
|
#141
12-07-2023, 02:36 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
|
|
#143
12-10-2023, 04:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
#144
04-22-2024, 06:43 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Quote:
The gears in my head have been turning for a new fun car....
__________________
Peg Duende | Colnago C50X, 2x C59, C60, EC, EP | 2x Vagen
|
|
#145
Yesterday, 06:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
@JPritchett, sorry for the delay. I saw this last week and since fun cars are so silly I thought "I need to put some serious thought into my response". After a lot of soul-searching and hand-wringing I can confidently say this: I love this car. It is so good and will be that way forever.
Since I bought it I have put about 5,000 miles on it. I could have driven it more and if it was up to me, my full-time job would just be to drive the car around; but life etc. whatever. I am also happy to report that I have had more saddle time than seat time so #priorities! I live about 20 minutes from a very fun road to drive in Los Angeles, the Angeles Crest Highway and I also live right around the corner from the patch of the 110 between Downtown L.A. and Pasadena--a three lane road that used to be a cycling path (tight and twisty above 30mph). The Malibu canyons are also about 30-45 minutes away (but you need to go at the right time not to interfere with the cyclists!) All that to say, about 80% of the miles I put on the car have been pure fun driving miles. The car is kind of a bear in stop and go traffic though; and despite the lighter flywheel, inching the car in traffic makes you feel every one of its 3600 pounds. I live in an apartment so the car spends most of the time under a car cover. I am definitely missing out on about 40% of the ownership experience which is just being able to just "see" the car more often. Sometimes when I don't cover the car for a few days, the walk to the daily driver takes an extra 2-3 minutes just because I can't stop looking. I can't believe that something so good-looking got made. I fantasize about a garage. Also, because of where I live, the car got damaged in its first year with me. Either one of my neighbors hit it in the parking lot or, sadly and more realistically, the car was vandalized by some of the meth'd up unhoused people that make their home near our building. No hate to the unhoused people--that is a terrible life; but a couple of dented body panels and scratches on the Vantage ended up being a $20,000 repair. Fortunately being in L.A. I was able to find an amazing repair shop and the manager literally had an Aston Martin Vantage on his card. He made a pet project of repairing my car while Rolls Royce's ferrari's etc were also in his garage. Really remarkable experience. My car got beat up; but I now have a fresh clear coat over every panel of the car that wasn't already covered in ppf. Maybe a silver lining. Because of the ludicrous repair cost, I took it upon myself to make some "upgrades" as well. I removed the seats and used the Colourlock system to remove 10 years of sweat/grime from the leather and patched up the bolster that you have to squeeze to get in and out of the car. I got the leather almost a full shade lighter--closer to the Sandstorm color and closer to what it looked like new. I also added a Velocity AP tune to the car for $1200-ish bucks that made a pretty drastic improvement to the throttle response and really made the car feel about 200 pounds lighter. The car as it is right now seems to have all the critical upgrades. Most importantly the lightweight clutch that makes the pedal feel significantly lighter but is a $5000 job with parts and labor, the right tires--Michelin PS4's, an x-pipe that just makes the car sound that much better, and the tune which removes the delay between pressing the gas and the car responding. To be honest, I wouldn't think of buying a vantage without budgeting for this specific constellation of upgrades. Tires, Tune, exhaust are all easy enough to add but the clutch is is a big consideration. I don't mind a heavy clutch, but I do mind an engine that doesn't want to rev up quickly. Anyway, I was lucky. I bought an insane car for under $60,000 and haver spent less than $2,000 on maintenance so far. This is unheard of. OK, so that is the update. Beautiful car and I can't believe that I get to own one and also that they are so accessible. My mechanic that works on my rover also loves the Vantage and has nothing but nice things to say about its reliability and the AJV8. If I was thinking about getting another fun car, would I do it? YES! But also, I don't know. My first thought when I started driving the car was this: I wish it was lighter, slower, and smaller. I still think that's true. The Vantage is actually really small, but because of the design of the hood, it doesn't feel that way. You don't see the end of the hood so you do feel like you are moving a big car around. Also, the genius of its designer, the car looks SO long and elegant even if it isn't that despite that fact that it is about the size of a Cayman (16'x6'x4'). It FEELS a little big. The Vantage is NOT a light car and will never be one. Even if I put carbon parts on it, swap the seats, add a Ti exhaust and light battery, I will always sit between the big V8 engine and the transaxle. The car moves and it is glorious, but it's not a toy. I'll never get that VW bug, sitting on a seat in front of an engine feel of a 911. If I was coming from a boxster, I might like a toy. I might not appreciate what I already have. Oh, and it is FAST maybe too fast. I have been pulled over three times in the last year. That's about as many times as I was pulled over in my young and dumb years (16-18) and I DO NOT like feeling like a criminal. Did the Aston badge help me? Yes definitely--no tickets, phew. Did I feel like a moron? Yes definitely! I think that I would love a car that is a little easier to feel the limits of without getting close to risking the safety of others. Maybe a little conservative on my part but hey, we're all cyclists here. We know how dangerous cars can be! At one point my wife and I had matching Ducati Monsters. She had a 696 and I had a 796. I think her bike was a little more fun to ride because you could just throttle the thing and not be immediately scared for your life. The same logic applies to cars but man is it hard not to want to get the fastest thing when you're spending thousands of dollars. "man math" is a dangerous logic. If I was looking for a new fun car today, with this experience under my belt and also, if I didn't already own an achingly beautiful, exotic, fun-to-drive car, I might be on the search for something different. My go-to is still a 911, I'm an architect and I cannot get over the timelessness of the design. Sadly they are almost all too expensive. I would love a g50, 964, or 993. I would also consider a 997 even though a 997 vs Vantage is what started this thread and I feel like I ultimately made the right choice. The wife might also find a 911 more friendly. Mine makes me say "the vantage" instead of "the Aston" because she thinks the car is too chi-chi. (she does not complain about the car when she's driving it though!). I am also really interested in a Lotus Evora--any generation but the earlier two gens might be the right approach. Light, small, benchmark handling, not too powerful, notable design. An Evora would be very interesting. I'm 6'3" and I don't fit in those well and I don't like their quirky reliability issues, but beyond those points, I think an Evora would be a cool next step from a Boxster. I also really like the new GR86 and even the Supra (if you could stand an automatic). I also have a friend with a vintage Alfa Romeo GTV and it is devastatingly gorgeous, and nice-handling. There are a lot of good candidates for fun cars out there. If you're interested in an Aston, I think the Vantage is the best way to go and I have been having a great time. Go drive one and you will know immediately! Let us know what you think!
|
 |
|
|
Linear Mode
