tex_phil

Have these cars really dropped this low in price?
http://austin.craigslist.org/ctd/1489762039.html

Do they usually sell this cheap?!

acuteperformance

Yup these devalue A LOT, apparently they arent very reliable past a certain mileage. Everyone who I have asked said have a good mechanic ready and deep pockets.

CWS530

It's a shame. They are such gorgeous designs.

swajames

The Aston was upgraded a year or so back with new engines and other upgrades. 2007 and 2008 cars will have lost some additional value as the facelifted car did receive some significant upgrades. This particular car is also manual as opposed to the more marketable paddleshift transmission. It also may not be from an authorized dealer. Either way, ALL premium cars took a knock in late 2008 and 2009, mainly as dealers were forced to discount new inventory and this had an impact on the used market - and Aston's, like others, saw the same marketplace adjustments. As for reliability, those I know with one haven't had too many issues. Reliability on these is actually pretty decent.

pipper

theyre about $120K new, so the depreciation aint THAT bad. i think if they came with an automatic theyd be more desirable in this country.

you want depreciation, look at a 2-3 year old murcielago. nothing like taking a >$200K hit on your exotic car

swajames

The SportShift transmission is a paddle shifting automated manual (it's a single clutch design) - it's not at all bad, I drove a 2008 Roadster with SportShift and it works well with the car. You're right that depreciation here isn't totally out of line for the year, this does look like a nice example though (if the story all checks out OK). The dealer seems to be a pre-owned exotic specialist based on their website so you're not paying the main dealer premium, but there can be some peace of mind acquiring a car like this via the main dealer network. The two best things about the Vantage are the design (it gets a lot of attention) and the noise - above 3500 RPM it has a truly FANTASTIC, and staggeringly loud, exhaust note.

pipper

wow, they have a semi-auto? i believe when they first came out they were manual only? its a gorgeous car, but that steering wheel is horrendous looking. i think top gear panned it cause it uses so many parts from ford? still, gorgeous. hard choice between that and your p-car.

1esquire

I believe the top gear quote was something along the lines of "if you like this new Aston, just wait two years until you can buy it for 50% of the price as a Jaguar XK."

They actually hold their values much better than the Maseratis do. You can get 3 yr old coupes and quattroportes for 50% or more off the original MSRP.

swajames

I know... I very nearly got a 2008 Roadster when I got my 997 Convertible, but I just couldn't quite get the price to the point where I was comfortable (it was when prices were first in free fall after the economy went down the crapper last year...) whereas my Porsche dealer was more accommodating in that respect. It was just a little out of reach and I was worried that whatever it was I paid I wasn't getting the right price as I didn't know the Aston market well enough to be sure. The other factor was that the new facelift Aston was imminent at that point and again that would have factored in to the deal. Bottom line is that the Aston really is an awesome car, you wouldn't believe the attention it drew on my test drives (it's like driving a piece of street theater) and it's just such a beautiful design. As I mentioned above, the exhaust note is just spectacular, and if you take out one fuse on the active exhaust the flap that opens at 3500 RPM is open all the time - and the resulting noise is absolutely fabulous. In many respects the 997 is the better car (it's faster, it handles better, it's truly able to handle a beating) but I'll always have the suspicion that I'd probably have been a bit happier with the Aston... Anyway, there's always next time!

v_therussian

I always thought, exotics like Aston, Ferrari and Lamborghini are better leased than bought. Whereas Porsche is actually something I'd look into buying as a used car, when it has already taken the first and third year depreciation "plunges" and is accessible to someone in my tax bracket.