vanquish owners?

Thank you all for the advice. I have not been able to replicate the issue and am enjoying the car daily!

 

Now that you have logged some miles tell us about your driving impression of your new toy!

 

Happy Sunday. Glad to... it is a really livable car for bouncing around, running errands, nice dinner with the wife, etc.. And if you want to flog it - it has that wonderful throaty, growl and backs it up with amazing (to me) mid-range acceleration. My prior "fun ride" was a 1998 355 Ferrari Spyder which was more basic but fun it its own way with the 6 speed manual shifter (in a large gate with very defined gearing). The Vanquish S is many times over more "polished" and the paddle shifting is effective and is growing on me.

The paint job is the best paint job I have ever seen on a car - the Solway Gray is really beautiful. The interior is luxurious with the alcantara, the quilting, etc.. My wife really, really prefers the fit, finish, looks and luxury aspects of the car. It kind of compels me to dress up just a little more so I am trying to embrace a little inner-Bond.

This is my first V12 so I am getting to experience a very different driving experience - a real gentlemen GT ride which is fun.

 

unfair to the 355 to compare. The F is older and not in that league. I think the best comp would be the 2006 612. Does not look as good IMO but a very efficient car that is arguably better on the road and traffic, but you wont have that sound either.

 

Cars for Sale: 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish in COSTA MESA, CA 92627: Coupe Details - 383698685 - Autotrader

I am going to give this a look today. I am getting interested in a vanquish again. I am going to ratchet up my effort to see more cars and have a better decisioning basis.

I hope the transmission is not offensive to me as the balance of the car is legend worthy.

 

It looks great, Peter.
At this mileage, I think the clutch has been replaced
Such a bargain... incredible. It really worths it.

 

I wouldn't be so sure, my Vanquish S is at 17k right now and still on the original clutch. No signs of slipping or any clutch problems yet.

 

the vanquish was quite nice but was sale pending.

a few comments...

1) the red interior looked far better in the flesh and was actually stunning.

2) the exterior was in very nice shape but did have a small but acute ding by the rear passenger door...it was not a paintless dent removal candidate. it did not show up in the photos.

3) the rear window rubber trim was all out of sorts. it was lifting in areas along the top of the window where it met the roof...why??

4) original clutch but all of the coil packs had just been changed out.

the car had been originally purchased at miller motorcars in Greenwich (which I still consider my home dealership. I would bet werner had sold the car to the first owner.

the small ding may have driven me crazy but I do think the car was quite nice overall. I did not get to drive the car as it was sold.

 

Aston specifies Texaco OAT (organic acid technology) anti-freeze for that era of car. AKA - Dex-Cool. It's orange in color....

 

what the diff with HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) like for Zerex Z05 used in many Chrysler?

 

Not sure...but my service provider wants to switch my DB7 and DB9 to it. He claims it is less corrosive. He further and points to long and successful use in Mercedes cars. Apparently OAT is fine...unless it reacts with oxygen???

 

Because you have the S clutch

The original Vanquish clutch could last 20 000 miles maximum, while the S clutch can do at least 50 000 miles... but much more from my experience :

One of my friends bought new in 2002 a Vanquish.
The original clutch was replaced at 15 000 miles by a S clutch.
Currently, the car has 62 000 miles and has the same S clutch

Aston Martin dealer even told him that the worn was at 50% only, that means you can drive A LOT with a Vanquish S clutch as long as you know how to use it properly.

 

Wow, didn't know that. Thanks for the clarification.

 

Finally got my 2003 Vanquish about a week ago. Haven't driven it much yet mostly due to weather, but it drives as expected and the sound is unbelievable, especially for a modern car.

I do have a question, only thing I have noticed is that on the highway the car seems to follow grooves in the road pretty badly. Is this normal for a Vanquish? The car does have its original front tires which I will replace in the near future.

Picture below.

Thanks.
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congrat! these car are a steal right now if you buy a good example.

For the grove thing, I have the michelin pilots and dont feel any groves and road around here are not all good. Car is always on rail but I had everything checked and anything not to par replaced. My front end is good and aligned. Bushings were simply dry and springs had to be replaced all around from sitting around Front end is pretty much new.

During the ppi did you check the aligment? did you have the tie rods and bushing checked by a guy who knows these cars? alignment can be tricky and screwed up by people who dont know the special procedure on the vanq

 

Congrats - I am sure you will love the car. Where in MD are you located?

You can get the OE Yoko's from Tire Rack.

 

Thanks. Good advice.

I did have a ppi by an Aston dealer and the tech that looked at the car seemed very knowledgeable about Vanquishes. Car only has 7500 miles and has been maintained by Aston dealers. Only two issues related to the suspension found during the ppi are these (which seem relatively minor and probably wouldn't cause this since they are on the rear of the car, not the front):

- Rear tow ball joint boots torn and leaking

- Rear stabilizer bar end link boots torn and leaking

I am required to take the car to a state safety inspection so I am waiting to get that done to see if anything else is required before having anything repaired so I can have everything done at once.

Love the car so far.

 

same as mine with 6800 miles! one can only lament on the quality of the rubber they use...

in any case get a printout of the alignment numbers. also the OEM yoko could be more "directional" than the Michelins but I am not a tire specialist and since my Yokos were the delivery tires, I simply changed them at purchase along with a very precise alignment. the guy spent a LOT of time doing it to the best settings. I have to say, this is the best handling car ever i have driven at any speed, including well into triple digits (on the track of course).

 

Congratulations for that Beauty ! Enjoy her.

As my friends already advised you, replace the OEM Yokohama tires by Michelin Super Sport.
It really transforms the car... incredible, especially on the wet. And no more noise, plus much more comfortable.

As Patrick mentioned, the Vanquish is so planted and is very stable at high speeds, thanks to the flat underfloor, the car really sticks to the road. The faster you go, the better the car feels. Absolutely rock-solid !

 

Thanks. I live near Annapolis. Is there a good independent shop in the area that can work on these or do you take yours to the dealer?

 

Thanks for the info on the tires. The car has Michelins on the back already so I am planning to replace the fronts with Michelins too.

 

umm. i dont know what that does to the car at high speed. I know on daily cars it is not big deals. but on this car and the big diff in the thread pattern could this be a factor?
Regardless, you should not be railroaded by grooves unless they are more like trenches.

 

I did my last major at ECS in Sterling VA, which is no longer around. No real indie places that specialize in AM that I have found and most of the Ferrari places do not want to touch them.

 

I bought my 2003 Vanq 2 years ago and it had the original Yokohams on it and it tracked like the Hooterville Trolley. After reading some feedback on the Aston Club website I put Michelin Super Sports on the car and have been absolutely amazed with the change in handling, tracking, noise and comfort. It's a different car!

 

If the Red interior was anything like Porsche's Oxblood; I think thats a stunning color. Perhaps my fave in a Porsche.

IMO the "sweet spot" for Vanquish value is a 04 with the SDP package.
Does anyone know if the SDP cars had the S clutch ?
There were a couple of inexpensive S's not too long ago including one with the glass roof.
I'm out of the Vanquish market having just bought a 996 GT2 so I'll keep an eye out if one come up locally (DFW).