Anyone on this board have experience with the 1970s-1980s Aston V8 (coupe, Vantage or Volante?) Specifically, are they exciting to drive? Visceral? As expensive to service as Rolls/Bentley? Reliable? I like them more than the DB7, and with the pre-Ford DBs fetching strong six-figure prices, I've always had these cars in the back of my mind. I've noticed decent cars for sale between $50K-$100K. (No offense to the Mondial and 400/412 guys, but for an exotic with a back seat the Aston seems more promising to me.)
jon, i nearly bought a vantage flip-tail a few years back. it was expensive and super cool...but i passed on it. i still think about it and looking back, wish i had bought it. i am interested in hearing responses on this thread. they are the last true astons imho.
They're fairly rare cars, especially the Vantage. In fact they're hard to learn much about, because I don't know anyone who owns one. In comparison the DB7 seems quite common. I considered a DB7 a few years back, but then I sat in it and thought there was too much Ford around me. And the Virage seems to be something of black sheep, having lost $150K+ off sticker over the last 15 years. My biggest reservation with the Aston V8 is that it can't be much in the handling department - seems as though it could be a British muscle car of sorts, and maybe not as fun to drive as sit in.
My biggest reservation with the Aston V8 is that it can't be much in the handling department - seems as though it could be a British muscle car of sorts, and maybe not as fun to drive as sit in.[/QUOTE] You hit the nail on the head. I've ridden in a few, they do not handle terribly, but it's no Lotus. British muscle car is the perfect description. Very robust cars though. You can sometimes find them on collectorcartrader, and dupontregistry. They are pretty rare in the States. Darrell.
You tried Aston owners club forum: www.amoc.org It's not as lively as f-chat, but plenty of owners and advice available. I love Astons of all ages. A particular favourite is the mid 90's Vantage - I'm not sure if your budget would stretch that far though... British muscle car is the perfect description of 80's and 90's Vantages - bold, brutish and bloody brilliant IMHO.
I've always wanted a 87 Vantage V8 in black! Super cool cars, but not exactly wallet friendly when it comes to maintenance.
I registered there - good link, thanks Mr. Dude. I'll surf a bit. Worse than a Ferrari? I know a Toyota Camry would be more economical, but in the scheme of things exotic how much of my 401k would go directly to my mechanic for, say, a major service?
These Astons are part way between a Ferrari and a Muscle car. The power delivery is definately muscle car, but the maintenance bills are definately Ferrari league. Handling is somewhere in the middle, probably closer to Ferrari than muscle car. Gearboxes are quite agricultural. The bodywork consists of a mixture of metals so is prone to corrosion and expensive to fix when it does go. Personally I really like them, but there is a much cheaper alternative if you are after the same driving experience, but without the image, in the form of the Rover SD1 Vitesse.
Meaning part aluminum, part steel, leading to corrosion at the joins? I suppose rustproofing was new technology back then.
The Aston V8's are pretty cool cars. One of my best friends has had 2 (1979 coupe and a 1989 ragtop w/ auto trans) I've been the fixer of choice for a lot of the work on them. Parts are difficult to get and expensive (not many sources so you pay what they ask). Documentation is sparse and there are very few shops that have much experience with them. Each car is handmade and as such it is not unusual to find variations from car to car. The sound and power (particularly the coupe w/ 4 Webers) is great. When you mash the "loud pedal" it makes that Muscle Car "Giant Suckin' Sound" that we all love. The Vantage convertible has Weber fuel injection in addition to the automatic. Suspension is de Dion tube with coil springs in the rear and coil springs/A arms in the front. Handling is what you'd expect from a pretty heavy front-engined car, but it it's not bad. Here's a photo of the Vantage in my shop after Robert had it towed in after dinner downtown one Friday when it wouldn't start (did I mention it's British?) a corroded fuse in the fuel injection harness and NO GO. The biggest single problem with the car is that almost everyone thinks it's a customized Mustang. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Is the '89 a better car? I know how the British introduced cars and didn't do much to them for decades...
that is a nice rag top! they are really, really nice. do you have a sense on how much that car would trade for? up until 89, they are the only true bespoke car!! i love them.
A lot more "teck-naw-logy". Fuel injection (this seems to be a US add-on, there is a pamphlet addendum to the owners manual), emission do dads, automatic transmission (I can't remember what kind; Chevy, Ford, Chrysler). The older coupe (some places on the car said 1975 some said 1979) was more of a traditional "old-skool" car with 5 speed, heavy clutch, Weber carbs. Both cars had power steering and A/C. coupe had chrome bumpers, Vantage has rubber "taxicab" bumpers. The cars are quite similar otherwise.
I suppose it does look like a customized Mustang. That's too bad, that viewpoint kind of riuned that car for me. It also reminds me of the bad Bond years in the 80's.
