Another defector

Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
Having been told that I need to be careful about what I drive long distances, I decided I would sell both my current Maseratis and buy one special car to use for short trips and weekend blasts, and that I would love to spend time cleaning and waxing etc. I spent quite a while thinking about the options. I still preferred the idea of a GT car to an outright sports cars - I just prefer the drive and the general look. So I narrowed it down to another Maserati Granturismo Sport, a Bentley Continental, a Lotus Evora, an Aston Martin Vantage or DB9, a Porsche 991, or a Mercedes AMG GT.

I ruled out the Mercedes pretty quickly as not feeling special enough - the interior is too generic Mercedes for me and I really don’t think it’s a pretty car. The Porsche, also dropped away pretty quickly - I had a 997 briefly and, despite its abilities, I just didn’t gel with it and they are also too many of the standard 991s to feel special. The Bentley was next to go - although, possibly, the most comfortable, I don’t really like the image and it’s such a big heavy car even in V8 form. The Lotus Evora 400 appealed a lot - I’ve been a long term Lotus fan and have had many cars, including an Evora S, but the seats are lacking in the adjustability I really need, particularly height. So, I was left with the GT Sport and the two Astons as my short list.

I’ve effectively had 6 Granturismo in various forms over the years and also two V8 Vantages, and I suppose I really wanted to try something different. Obviously, if the Alfieri was around, that would have been the potential winner, but sadly that is still some way off it seems. So I started to really focus in on the DB9 as an option.

I did quite a lot of research first - it is said to be quite a bit more comfortable than the Vantage due to the suspension set up and longer wheelbase. It also has the V12 - I’ve never owned a car with more than 8 cylinders. And the quality and reliability is reported to have improved significantly as the DB9 was developed. I’ve always loved the shape but feel the early cars look quite dated now. However, the post Virage rework is said to be a much better developed car and still looks very contemporary to my eyes. So I test drove one this week at Aston Martin Wilmslow, and was immediately hooked. The engine, as others have said, is incredible and the car felt fantastic to drive and amazingly special from the moment I saw it and climbed in. It was also more comfortable than I expected. Despite the roofline being 7 cm lower than the GT Sport, you can raise the seat base higher both front and back irrespective of how far back you have the seat. The seats also have 2 separate lumbar supports, high and low, which enable you to adjust the seat to really support your lower back shape. I drove the car for an hour and no discomfort during or after.

So we discussed a deal with my QP5 in part exchange. Time of year and their keenness to move stock pretty soon got an attractive deal on the table. Effectively the QP5 as a deposit and £12.06/month for two years with a realistic balloon payment. Yes that’s right, £12.06/month due to the anticipated high residual value. I wouldn’t normally take finance for a car purchase, but since this is almost interest free credit 8E978FD2-9E21-453B-9561-25D38D33A37B.pngEC7DCF2B-DB14-4D11-8C8F-993BF22E6EE1.png2CAB3B5E-9598-45D6-AA0B-E18305070F6E.png38CF1A9A-AB2F-4BFC-8EA1-29934C5D05A0.png8E978FD2-9E21-453B-9561-25D38D33A37B.pngEC7DCF2B-DB14-4D11-8C8F-993BF22E6EE1.png2CAB3B5E-9598-45D6-AA0B-E18305070F6E.png38CF1A9A-AB2F-4BFC-8EA1-29934C5D05A0.png8E978FD2-9E21-453B-9561-25D38D33A37B.pngEC7DCF2B-DB14-4D11-8C8F-993BF22E6EE1.png2CAB3B5E-9598-45D6-AA0B-E18305070F6E.png38CF1A9A-AB2F-4BFC-8EA1-29934C5D05A0.pngfor 2 years, I thought why not, particularly since the finance company is taking the risk on future residual value to some extent.

Of course, having financed it on these terms, I’m now thinking why not hang on to the GS Spyder for a while - they would be make rather nice garage-mates.

So, I collect the car this afternoon. Here’s a few of the Dealer’s photos.
 

philw696

Member
Messages
25,120
Wow that does look very special indeed and a V12 is a very nice occasion to have available.
 

safrane

Member
Messages
16,749
What a great deal and a stunning car.

Such a shame the brand is loosing die-hard fans due to their choice of direction.

given the price I may even look at how the same would work for me using my GS!
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
Wow - can I be cheeky and ask what roughly value they put on the QP as a deposit? That sounds a ridiculously good deal, and just shows how much pressure car dealers are under to move stock...
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
What an elegant car. Beautiful, spec. Well done.

And twelve quid a month is hilarious. I thought I got a good deal on mine; I’m just embaraased now! :)
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Nice one and a shame Maserati are now loosing their loyal customer fan base.

Enjoy!
 

Rwc13

Member
Messages
1,668
I am sad that I didn’t feel that another Maserati Granturismo is where I could put my money right now. And that’s nothing against the GT, it’s a fantastic car and amazing value for money, but it would just have felt too familiar in any spec. Perhaps I will be back when the Alfieri arrives if it is good and special enough, although I can’t help thinking that a hybrid of some description will have to go some to beat a V12 that will be used modestly.

Apart from the car, it was the price to change and finance offer that sealed it, they’ve shown my QP at £20k but I got a significant enough chunk of their car to make me feel that I was getting enough value for the QP. Doesn’t matter to me how they want to show it.

And the finance guy couldn’t quite believe the monthly payment that came back based on the computer generated residual and finance %. It’s interesting that Aston can offer a finance % for used cars not so distant from new cars, whereas I’ve not had that experience elsewhere. I guess that must show that Aston are keen to support the used market for their cars recognizing that this brings new customers to the brand who may buy new later.
 

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
[QUOTE="safrane, post: 666896, member: 63"
given the price I may even look at how the same would work for me using my GS![/QUOTE]

Let me know how that goes, didn’t even get off the table for mine against an F car, wasn’t a new one, but hey ho’
 

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
Oops, well done Robert, stunning car,
Absolutely loved your QP as most did,
Am I missing something, did you sell the Grey GS?
You said 2 Maserati, thought you had 3..
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
So although the 2 years monthly payments are effectively nothing, and the balloon payment that you have not stated could be sizeable, and possibly the value of the Aston in 2 years, the QP5 as deposit might be simply paying for the depreciation?
Hopefully the balloon is much less than the estimated future value?
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
Messages
7,309
As he said, the deposit is £20k, so it costs £20300 over 2 years. With say, £5k deposit, it would be £637.50 per month.

Cars such as this, and up a level to Cali T’s, Vanquish’s, McLaren 570’s, FF’s seem to represent far better value for money than some much cheaper £40-50k cars in the current market. If you are able to secure finance, a £110k car is basically cheaper than a £60k car... Madness, and very tempting indeed.
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
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21,013
Cars such as this, and up a level to Cali T’s, Vanquish’s, McLaren 570’s, FF’s seem to represent far better value for money than some much cheaper £40-50k cars in the current market. If you are able to secure finance, a £110k car is basically cheaper than a £60k car... Madness, and very tempting indeed.

A man-maths calculator after my own heart, Dicky!
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
As he said, the deposit is £20k, so it costs £20300 over 2 years. With say, £5k deposit, it would be £637.50 per month.

Cars such as this, and up a level to Cali T’s, Vanquish’s, McLaren 570’s, FF’s seem to represent far better value for money than some much cheaper £40-50k cars in the current market. If you are able to secure finance, a £110k car is basically cheaper than a £60k car... Madness, and very tempting indeed.

Yep - and presumably on top of that there’s the possibility that the value in two years, if well looked after, may be higher than the residual, so there’s a bit left over to form part of the deposit on the next car...
 

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,013
Yep - and presumably on top of that there’s the possibility that the value in two years, if well looked after, may be higher than the residual, so there’s a bit left over to form part of the deposit on the next car...

Sound reasoning like that will have me in a DBS-S by next Christmas.

Keep it up!
 

D Walker

Member
Messages
9,827
I still don’t get it, so what happens in 2 years, is the QP effectively lost.
Sometimes I think I’m a bit thick.....
 

dickygrace

www.richardgracecars.co.uk
Messages
7,309
Yep - and presumably on top of that there’s the possibility that the value in two years, if well looked after, may be higher than the residual, so there’s a bit left over to form part of the deposit on the next car...

That’s too much of a variable to bank on at the outset but could be a pleasant bonus at the end. Much as Yoghurt said on his 599.
On deals such as a 2017 570S or a 2017 Cali T, the difference between purchase price and OFP is around £25k over 2 years. A £60k DB9, 911, GTS, is likely to cost that in depreciation, servicing and repair costs, whereas the ‘17 cars only costs would be one service on a 570S and possibly tyres, the Cali T tyres alone.

It comes down to how you like to view your maths. Are you the chap who is happy to say, right, sign on the line, I’m losing £25k over 2 years but that’s the lot, and I’ll be driving an 18 month old bonafide supercar. Or, would you like to buy a £60k car and keep an eye on the market, buy the right year, best model, even colour combo, and use it sparingly in the hope that it may cost you just £10-15k; albeit may be £20-25k at the end of the day if you’ve a big bill, a sliding market, a new model introduced or one of a myriad of other factors that could devalue your asset.
 
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