Granturismo S to Aston Martin V12 Vantage S - Madness?

[midlifecrisis]

Your life will be a whirlwind of mystical shenanigans and you've only yourself to blame. Any day now, Ira will come home one evening and explain that Quetzacoatl told her to dig up all her ancestors and parade around the Surrey hills with them until the sun heralds a brave new dawn and then, for no sane reason, you'll need to move again. Just mark my word.

Hmm, the in-laws are coming for Christmas...

Again, should I be worried?

 

[Felonious Crud]

Hmm, the in-laws are coming for Christmas...

Again, should I be worried?

God, no! As long as you've stocked up on worms, crickets and tequila you'll be dandy.* Just don't forget to have a few ancestors on display.

*Geneally I'd assume this to be crass stereotyping, but it's exactly what our Mexico treated me to when I visited this year. And it was all pretty good, too.

 

[Andy Marshall]

So I brought the new girl home yesterday. Before we left the dealership it needed to have a new rear parking sensor, and on the way home it gave me a suspension warning message on a very bumpy part of the road (it has reset itself and the message has now gone - hopefully never to reappear!)
First impressions? Soooooooo fast. But also very comfy. I can do miles in this!
Will post pictures when I work out how to!

 

[midlifecrisis]

God, no! As long as you've stocked up on worms, crickets and tequila you'll be dandy.* Just don't forget to have a few ancestors on display.

*Geneally I'd assume this to be crass stereotyping, but it's exactly what our Mexico treated me to when I visited this year. And it was all pretty good, too.

Ancestors on display... My mum is joining me for Christmas dinner so that's that box ticked...

 

[Tipmethewink]

So I brought the new girl home yesterday. Before we left the dealership it needed to have a new rear parking sensor, and on the way home it gave me a suspension warning message on a very bumpy part of the road (it has reset itself and the message has now gone - hopefully never to reappear!)
First impressions? Soooooooo fast. But also very comfy. I can do miles in this!
Will post pictures when I work out how to!

"Comfy"? I miss the GT in that respect. It reminds me of motorbike touring, I'm thankful the petrol doesn't last ever so long and look forward to being able to stretch my legs.

 

[Andy Marshall]

"Comfy"? I miss the GT in that respect. It reminds me of motorbike touring, I'm thankful the petrol doesn't last ever so long and look forward to being able to stretch my legs.

It took me a while to work out the ideal seat position, but yes, the V12V is comfortable. My GT was also comfortable, TBH, I think there would be little to choose between them on a long run

 

[Tipmethewink]

It took me a while to work out the ideal seat position, but yes, the V12V is comfortable. My GT was also comfortable, TBH, I think there would be little to choose between them on a long run

Yes, the seat position took me a while but my suspension on it's softest setting is tough as old boots. I'm clearly getting old.

 

[Felonious Crud]

So I brought the new girl home yesterday. Before we left the dealership it needed to have a new rear parking sensor, and on the way home it gave me a suspension warning message on a very bumpy part of the road (it has reset itself and the message has now gone - hopefully never to reappear!)
First impressions? Soooooooo fast. But also very comfy. I can do miles in this!
Will post pictures when I work out how to!

Excellent, very well done, Andy! Agree regarding the comfort. Mrs Crud concedes that it's more comfortable than the GTS. She also quite likes the swan doors, although she hasn't really managed to admit that yet.

And yes, they are blisteringly fast. In sport especially that engies fires itself at the red line so fast it's hard to think about flipping the paddle in time. It's around 2-2.5 seconds in the lower gears with your right foot on the loud pedal, so you need to pay attention.

Now, have you had the secondary cats removed yet, and if not then why not? Also, have you invested in the cccharger switchable remote exhaust valve thingy.

 

[Andy Marshall]

Secondary cats are still in...... Give me a chance to get used to it first!
It turns out that someone has already fitted an exhaust valve remote switch - in mine it's tucked up neatly under the main light switch.
She's currently back with the dealer having that suspension light looked at (it's come on a couple more times) but hopefully coming back today.
The AM loan car is a new model V8 Vantage....... It's OK, but genuinely I think the V12S is the better car! The dash on the new Vantage is messy, and the simplest of functions (air con, media, phone etc, requires too many menus to be searched, knobs to be twirled etc.

I think these V12VS cars are going to be highly sought after in years to come

 

[Andyk]

Secondary cats are still in...... Give me a chance to get used to it first!
It turns out that someone has already fitted an exhaust valve remote switch - in mine it's tucked up neatly under the main light switch.
She's currently back with the dealer having that suspension light looked at (it's come on a couple more times) but hopefully coming back today.
The AM loan car is a new model V8 Vantage....... It's OK, but genuinely I think the V12S is the better car! The dash on the new Vantage is messy, and the simplest of functions (air con, media, phone etc, requires too many menus to be searched, knobs to be twirled etc.

I think these V12VS cars are going to be highly sought after in years to come

I really like the new Vantage but agree on the interior. It's not as classy as yours and has got over fussy. The old Vantage is still my favourite shape car on the road and agree the V12 is the pinacle of the range. Jealous but very happy for you.

 

[Felonious Crud]

Where are those pictures, Andy? At least some clues on colour, interior etc.

Which dealer are you using? Cambridge is my preferred and they bloody rock. Mine's in next week for some warranty stuff, including a P186D error code which is something to do with the clutch. Also a service.

 

[sofasurfer]

Where are those pictures, Andy? At least some clues on colour, interior etc.

Which dealer are you using? Cambridge is my preferred and they bloody rock. Mine's in next week for some warranty stuff, including a P186D error code which is something to do with the clutch. Also a service.

I'm intrigued how much a service on a V12 is at Aston. When I was at Emblem, Martin said it was eye-wateringly expensive and coming from a Ferrari/Maserati specialist was worrying.

 

[Lavazza]

Slightly off topic...

When I was driving around in a V8 Vantage on a lovely summer day (few years ago now), windows down in traffic, a Maserati GranTurismo came past and sounded superb. That memory lasted. The Vantage has now gone (sad to see it go), but when I recently sold my E46 M3 daily driver (nice bit of profit), I just though 'sod it', I'll get a Maser GTS as a daily, so that's what I did.

I've spent a few £k getting some issues resolved, and in some respects it falls short of the Aston in terms of solidity (Aston had metal items as opposed to plastic), but the noise is epic, and the style is great - I'm all about different driving experience.

A Maser GTS is a pretty rare car (check it out on 'How many left'), I think they're under rated. At current values, they're a bargain, especially in 4.7 form.

I've been surprised to read negativity towards V8's on this forum. Come on, these are some of the last N/A V8's, and sound incredible as stock. Other V8 cars are holding firm and even going up (V8 Vantage), so why not the Maserati's?

Maybe I'm not on the same page as some forum members, but if I can't be upbeat about a GTS on a Maserati forum...

 

[Felonious Crud]

I'm intrigued how much a service on a V12 is at Aston. When I was at Emblem, Martyn said it was eye-wateringly expensive and coming from a Ferrari/Maserati specialist was worrying.

Aston dealers match independent service prices, so about £650 from memory. It's an annual, which makes it more on a par with GTS bi-annual servicing.

But I should probably check.

 

[Andyk]

I'm intrigued how much a service on a V12 is at Aston. When I was at Emblem, Martyn said it was eye-wateringly expensive and coming from a Ferrari/Maserati specialist was worrying.

I always thought that the service prices for a v12 and V8 Vantage weren't that bad compared to other super cars especially Ferrari and Lambo's. Was doing some research a few years bad and they were definatily cheaper.

 

[safrane]

I checked some years back via a MD webpage and their fixed price were c 10% less than I was paying Emblem for my 4200...I also understand Emblem's prices are even higher than before (even adjusted for inflation) after they took kn Lambos'

 

[Andy Marshall]

I am struggling with the photos bit... It keeps telling me that the files are too large whenever I try to upload them. It's morning frost white, obsidian interior with white details. Carbon packs inside and out, black roof, black lightweight wheels.
Aston Martin Nottingham have been superb so far. Car is now fixed (suspension problem was a chaffed wire to one of the dampers)
I'm expecting servicing to be about £700 (according to the dealer)

 

[Felonious Crud]

I am struggling with the photos bit... It keeps telling me that the files are too large whenever I try to upload them. It's morning frost white, obsidian interior with white details. Carbon packs inside and out, black roof, black lightweight wheels.
Aston Martin Nottingham have been superb so far. Car is now fixed (suspension problem was a chaffed wire to one of the dampers)
I'm expecting servicing to be about £700 (according to the dealer)

White plus black = bloody good combo. Mine's the other white and I love it. Black interior with red stitching (and red calipers). Looks good filthy, too. The outside, that is. I checked the service records from before I bought it. £700, give or take. I think sub-£700+VAT.

The V12VS loves it's CELs and has many strange things that they mean. Worth investing in a cheap OBD reader.

For photos, you'll need to shrink the bugger. One easy way is to take a screenshot of the photo on your phone, crop it and use that. Or export the file into a smaller size.

 

[Tipmethewink]

Fixed price servicing for mine was £750 inc vat @ Chichester. It now goes to Dorset Sports Cars who I couldn't be happier with and are incidentally £100 cheaper, wasn't my reason for changing.

 

[Needamaser]

I am struggling with the photos bit... It keeps telling me that the files are too large whenever I try to upload them. It's morning frost white, obsidian interior with white details. Carbon packs inside and out, black roof, black lightweight wheels.
Aston Martin Nottingham have been superb so far. Car is now fixed (suspension problem was a chaffed wire to one of the dampers)
I'm expecting servicing to be about £700 (according to the dealer)

http://www.astonmartin.com/en/ownership/servicing#pricing
Yep around £750.
Personally I have used and will use main dealer rather than save £100 on an indie. Come time to sell her a MD history will be more attractive to private punter and more attractive to AM dealer if you are trading in.
I cannot fault the service I have had with mine. Generally the tales I have heard from various parts of the UK is service from MD is first class.