[skycap]

Hi L4P Family,

I came across a beautiful used Aston Martin Rapide the other day but, I haven't yet had the pleasure of owning an Aston. So I'm reaching out to you guys because I wanted to know if some of the Aston owners here could chime in and give me an idea of what to expect in terms of service, up keep, performance, and quality with a used Aston?

Would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks & Happy New Year!

 

[skycap]

nobody?

 

[The Godfather]

Nobody likes you bro. Only me. lol

 

[skycap]

I guess so

Oh well, qu'est-ce que je peux faire?

 

[Mr. Carter]

They age like a fine wine, lol

 

[Marlon Bishop]

um.. im guessing not like a ford.

 

[AcerOne]

I used to work for Aston and it depends on the car you get. The Rapide is a good car and had alot of the kinks worked out from previous aston models that were more problematic. Stay away from older DB9's and the Vanquish (they were the worst).Your basic services are cheap but every second service will require more in depth examination of the car and new fluids/wipers/gear oils etc. Its nothing outrageous and if youve owned a higher end car like an AMG or an M series, youll be used to the parts being a bit more pricey but if youre expecting it to me in the average range then you will be in for a bit of a surprise. I personally loved driving the Rapide, ALOT of fun for a sedan style car.

 

[Lightfoot]

My '08 DB9 has been rock solid. Have about 27K miles on it, and it has been serviced at 10K and 20K.
It's a 6sp, and had a clutch at 20K.

 

[Grandpa Scott]

I used to work for Aston and it depends on the car you get. The Rapide is a good car and had alot of the kinks worked out from previous aston models that were more problematic. Stay away from older DB9's and the Vanquish (they were the worst).Your basic services are cheap but every second service will require more in depth examination of the car and new fluids/wipers/gear oils etc. Its nothing outrageous and if youve owned a higher end car like an AMG or an M series, youll be used to the parts being a bit more pricey but if youre expecting it to me in the average range then you will be in for a bit of a surprise. I personally loved driving the Rapide, ALOT of fun for a sedan style car.

When you say older, how old do you mean? Im looking at an 07 Vantage V8

 

[AcerOne]

When you say older, how old do you mean? Im looking at an 07 Vantage V8

The Vantages are okay depending on the previous history of them. As lightfoot mentioned, the clutches will need to be replaced and are a particularly weak point on the Vantages. I know companies like RSC are making aftermarket clutches that are adding significant life to the clutch. If all maintenance and service history are up to date, then i wouldnt be too concerned. Make SURE you get a battery tender as older Astons tend to have alot of draws on the batteries when they are parked. Just make sure the major services were done.

 

[skycap]

^Acer thanks for the reply. The car I'm looking at has about 10,000 miles on it and counting. I am very meticulous when it comes to service and have always been. Anything I should look for, other than service records on this specific car? Any recalls come to mind?

Also from perusing through some forums, I understand that generally I should expect service costs of $2500 for any service involving, oil, fluids, spark plugs, and cabin filters. Plus around $3-4k for brakes and about $2,000 for tires? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

 

[AcerOne]

For "wearable" items like tires, avoid the dealer. The markup is really high. The Rapide should still have warrany left on it so youre covered there. I found any of the major issues on those cars would happen within the first 2-5000 miles so if its a good car at 10mi, it looks like a good one. I see you are in LA so you dont really have to worry about winter issues with these cars. The majority of the problems we saw with this car were during our really cold months. When the car gets really cold the windows sometime dont drop down when you open the door and you end up breaking the top of the side glass when it hit the roof trim. Also, on the centre console by the flip up screen, youll notice it gets a bit narrow between the trim and the dash. We saw some of the dash trims crack when it got really cold. ( we see -15F here) The car is also BRUTAL in the snow. Make sure if you do take the car to area where snow/ice is present that you get a GOOD winter tire set. Overall the car is great and the sounds amazing on cold startup. I was really impressed with the Bang & Olufsen stereo as well. If the price is good and the car is clean you should be pretty good to go. The $2500 services will be every other year.

 

[M3ANMACHINE]

Any more insight on this topic? My father is considering an '08 V8 Vantage Automatic, and I'm trying to help him out figuring what to expect! Thanks guys!

 

[AcerOne]

Any more insight on this topic? My father is considering an '08 V8 Vantage Automatic, and I'm trying to help him out figuring what to expect! Thanks guys!

Make sure hes does the performance transmission software upgrade. The older auto's shift REALLY slow. RSC Tuning is one of the companies that does it. Makes the car feel entirely different!!

 

[M3ANMACHINE]

Make sure hes does the performance transmission software upgrade. The older auto's shift REALLY slow. RSC Tuning is one of the companies that does it. Makes the car feel entirely different!!

I'll be sure to look into that. He isn't really much of a "car guy" but he definitely can appreciate the fine craftsmanship of an Aston Martin.
His choices are currently between AMG Cars and a V8 Vantage. I think he'll be happier in an AM, but we shall see!