S​hould you buy an Aston Martin V8 Vantage?

A​ston Martin's iconic sports car is now affordable. But is it a good buy?

Introduced in 2005, the V8 Vantage was Aston Martin's new entry-level sports car. I said iconic because this form of the V8 Vantage was produced up until 2018. The V600 represented the very last declination of this Vantage line right before it was replaced by a completely new car. Through the years, Aston Martin went a little bit crazy with the V8 Vantage. At some point, even the DB9's V12 found its way into the compact coupé. Limited edition cars like the GT12 happen to cost a fortune, even today, but if you're going for an early V8 Vantage model, you might be surprised to find one for as low as $30'000!

T​his particular car came out of the production line in 2005 and had about 50'000 km on the odo. Not much, yet the car was worth $37K only. For that, you get Aston Martin's very own 4.3-litres V8 that produces 385 PS. Enough to go from 0-100 in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 282 km/h. And that engine note, even though a Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG from today is superior to the Vantage on many aspects, it cannot beat the noise of that mighty V8.

F​or many of us, $30'000 is still a lot of money for a weekend car. So, is the Aston a good buy? Will it break? Is it expensive to run? Here are some questions that we will try to answer, but we also encourage V8 Vantage owners or experts to share their stories or insights in the comment section.

I​f you're on the market for an Aston Martin, you know things could get quite expensive. Elements such as spare parts, services, or fuel economy will come at a high price. But you also get one hell of a car that, even after 15 years on the road, still turns heads. But to be able to drive this car, you need fuel. A lot of it. An early V8 Vantage like this one burns around 17 l/100 km. This is something you absolutely need to take into consideration, especially if laws about CO2 emissions in your country are getting increasingly restrictive. The 4.3-litres V8 is a fabulous engine that happens to be very reliable, but the costs associated with it in terms of fuel can be massively high. But if you're ready for it, you're in for a treat. Fortunately enough, the early V8 Vantage was never hit by a significant recall, which proves that this car doesn't have important reliability issues. You might notice, here and there, a couple of imperfections such as loose rear light clusters that can lead to water penetration in or a few knobs, inside, that don't hold well. By the way, the inside is a good surprise. Apart from the outdated infotainment system, the V8 Vantage's cabin is a great place to sit in. The quality of the leather is amazing, and it hasn't aged a bit. The inside feels well-built, and high-quality are definitely in the mix.

​We took this Aston Martin to an official dealership to ask some questions. After speaking with the head mechanic, he told me that apart from small electronic issues, the V8 Vantage is a well-built car. Expensive elements like the clutch, if you own a manual like this one, can cost as much as £3'800. Back in the days, the car had issues to start, but it was quickly fixed by Aston. The timing belt can cost as much as £3'000, and a new thermostat will set you back over £500. Also, the brakes can go as high as £1'500. While all these elements do not need to be changed every once in a while, they are still expensive. Then comes the services. While these aren't as expensive as Ferrari's, a normal service that needs to be done every year, or 10'000 miles, will cost about £1'000.

A​ll in all, it's not that bad for the baby Aston. The car happens to be very reliable, well-built and a joy to own. Our advice, get yourself a good warranty in case all these small issues break at the same time. Otherwise, you are good to go, the V8 Vantage is a fantastic sports car, especially with the manual gearbox and it represents a great opportunity to own a reliable Aston Martin that is equipped with an in-house produced engine (looking at you Mercedes-Benz) and that has an intempral design that will keep going on strong.

Follow us on Instagram:

www.instagram.com/carsrecreation/

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Perego Cars, situated in Switzerland, for giving me the opportunity to review and shoot this car. Website: www.peregocars.com/en Facebook: www.facebook.com/peregocars/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/peregocars/