Vantage vs MGT

[naefeart]

In a fit of YOLO I (with a slightly heavy heart) said goodbye to my M5 at the weekend. It was a lovely car but didn’t really get my blood flowing at anything under 7/10ths, which was too fast for my license to be comfortable. A gorgeous colour (San Marino Blue), it will be missed.

So I decided as I am in a good place atm (and not getting any younger) I want a bit more drama and should move into my more dream car/bucket list territory. I’ve decided to move past my 911 hankering (too sensible) and go with a more emotional choice. I currently have a deposit on a late, very low mileage manual AM Vantage V8.

Always wanted an AM, particularly a Vantage, but always felt it was out of reach in a ‘sensible people don’t drive Astons’ way. The Vantage seems more GT car than sports car which suits me and obviously looks and sounds amazing. Subject to a test drive, the deal is done… or so I thought.

Ive always had a nonsensical, passionate desire to own a Maserati. I don’t really understand where this comes from, my dad (a big car nut influence in my formative years) never had one, nor held desire to. I loved the look of the early 90s Ghilbis and of course the 3200’s boomerang lights. However in later years, faced with opportunities to buy a 4200 and then a Grandsport, I (both times) talked myself into buying more sensible cars (E36 M3 & E39 M5). It was mostly down to quality fears, poor reliability and dashboard removals to replace dead AC units (a matter of when not if).

These days I feel the concerns of quality and reliability have much improved at Maser over the years and I really feel a late GrandTurismo with the ZF gearbox would be a lovely car to own/drive. I’ve always been drawn to the GT since they came out years ago; its sculptured look and incredible Ferrari-sounding V8. Being a 4 seater its more practical than the Vantage (if it was needed), but I guess that’s more of a nice to have. The practicality aspect is probably what makes it appeal to my more sensible nature and why I’ve hit this unexpected fork in the road.

I know there’s a few AM owners here, but I don’t know if there are any Maser owners. Thoughts and experiences welcome. So come on motors, which car do we think is better put together (quality-wise) and which is more likely to either breakdown leaving me stranded and/or require more trips to the garage?

Note - either purchase would be a late, low mileage, approved used example and come with an extended manufacture’s warranty. Let’s also assume both cars cost the same (or near enough) to purchase. There’s also no need to get bogged down on my finances etc. This car will be do around 2-3k miles a year, covering a mixture of town and country driving and will continue to be serviced at the respected main dealers with warranty extensions in place. Thanks

 

[naefeart]

What is your budget? Late, low mileage Maserati Granturismo examples at main dealers seem to be about £70-80k or so. That's either loads of money for an older gen Vantage that doesn't have a V12 - or not really going to get you an equivalent new Vantage in a good spec.

FWIW, the new Vantage is an excellent thing let down by the infotainment setup which dates the car massively IMO. I loved the way the car felt so totally dominated by the engine. I can't personally see the appeal of the Maserati over the AM (although I've not driven one). They always seem a bit uninspiring/old man/meh to me whenever I see one on the road.

Sorry, in my ramblings I should have been more specific - I’m looking at the prev gen Vantage. I’ve no emotional connection to the new one, so not looking at that.

Indeed, I can’t think of any tangible reasons for Maser ownership in general, other than the link to Ferrari. But if you want one of those, better to buy one I guess. All my adult life I’ve bought cars with a mostly semi-sensible head on, that might explain my near constant changing. Going to try it a different way this time.

You should approve of this particular Aston actually, time will reveal all

 

[naefeart]

Haha, saying nothing

 

[naefeart]

The Maser is much bigger granted, but the Vantage (this Vantage) isn’t a hardcore sport cars either. Either will fit into my lifestyle but the Aston will be more involving.

I could go to the V12, but I do like the balance of the V8. The 12 is more hardcore and as such is a different proposition for me. Also that price range would open up other options and then I start worrying about residuals and the value I will get out of it. At this stage the V8 seems the right fit, I can always move up if living with an Aston works for me longterm.

 

[naefeart]

It’s a really good point and one I’ve been agonising over. I think if I lived closer to Bamford Rose, I’d be more inclined to take a gamble on a non main dealer car. Sadly I’m the other end of the country and will need to rely on a main dealer for the routine stuff at least.

All in all I think the one I’m looking at has all my boxes ticked (condition, SH, spec, uniqueness, the deal etc). I guess there’s also a lot of peace of mind in there too, being somewhat risk adverse and completely new to this marque from an ownership perspective. I’ll keep looking at other cars and weighing up my options, but I’m not exactly pushing the boat out on this one and so atm the deal feels quite comfortable.

I’m guessing you will have gone through a similar process with your Mc, there’s always cheaper cars right?

Edit - was hoping some of the existing owners might chip in with their experiences, might help illuminate areas I haven’t thought of yet.

 

[naefeart]

From the outset my McLaren intentions were only ever main dealer just because you absolutely need a dealer relationship to enjoy owning one. I'm not sure AM ownership is quite the same in that respect - sure, large bills are possible but there's enough cars out there and there's plenty of them so support is plentiful beyond the main dealer network. There are a few AMV8 owners on here though, @Gibbo has one as does @NickXX and I'm sure there are more I can't name

You’re right, it’s definitely a different prospect at the level I’m looking at.

It's hard to say much without knowing the budget you're aiming for. I tend to agree with DRZ in that I'd trend to an older Vantage within reason, there may be some other specialists near you.

Maybe watch some of these https://www.youtube.com/user/BamfordRose/search?query=warranty

I didn’t really set a budget, I just looked at the latter cars for both marques from franchised dealers with warranty. The youngest cars generally seem to top out in the low 70s for both.

Thanks yes I’ve been going through the Bamford Rose videos of an evening. Including the one where he names the reputable dealers/specialists. Food for thought certainly.

 

[naefeart]

Good to hear from a current owner. On the size front I’m easy either way; no requirements to carry more than 1 other person and as we have another car, 95% of the time it’s just me.

The rear seats in the GT would largely go unused, family outings are done in the wife’s car and I even have access to another couple of cars if for some reason her car was out of action. It’s this level of flexibility that opens me up to the opportunity of going back to two seats.

 

[naefeart]

As much as I love the Granturismo it needs to be remembered the original car was released in 2007 and while it has received updates and a new 4.7L V8, and still sounds absolutely epic, it is also woefully short when it comes to technology, especially compared to something like a new Mercedes or even an Aston. Beautiful cars though, I'd absolutely test drive one but I'd find it very difficult to justify a nearly new one at even £60k+ when fundamentally it's a 15 year old design with refreshes every few years.

Have you looked at when the Vantage was released?

Both cars are rather woeful in the technology stakes and are very old designs, despite the updates. Neither really matters here, not for this purchase. My M5 had all the tech and lasted me… 6 months? I’ll be fine with the level of old tech on offer, it’s almost a case of less is more.

This really depends on your budget I think. If you’re looking at the youngest V8V as you said you’re into £70-80k. Both AM and Maserati have the potential for terrifying running costs. If routine servicing on a DB9 is anything to go by the costs can mount pretty rapidly. If this doesn’t worry you at all then I would go all in…

The V8 vantage is one of the most beautiful cars ever made, but when you have the option of a V12, I’d take that every time personally. A DBS would be a lovely thing and isn’t wildly more expensive than a top end V8V of the same generation. Otherwise a V12 vantage would be amazing. £75k even gets you a manual.

If you’re buying a Maserati GT solely for the Ferrari engine, why not actually buy a Ferrari? You could have 8 or 12 cylinders for below £80k. This is a heart over head purchase right?

My budget is rather arbitrary, but I’m seeing the ‘right’ sort of cars around 60-70k. I’m trying not to go totally silly and so I’m looking at cars that represent a reasonable deal, good spec, SH and extended warranty etc. If I stick to this price range it’ll give me enough slack that I’m prepared for any big bills. I’m no stranger to high running costs (BMW Ms, Audi RS, Porsche etc) but I concede this will be a level above.

The V12 while tempting, I think is a later upgrade for me if anything. I’ve always been a big V8 fan and I think the engine will dominate the experience too much in the V12. Plus if AM ownership doesn’t work out for me longterm, I’m ok with losing money on a V8.

The Ferrari comment was rather tongue in cheek. I’m not looking for Ferrari or sudo Ferrari ownership at this stage. The Maser is probably as close as you get to an actual Ferrari without the badge, but it’s really the car that I’m attracted to. Same goes for a old DB9/DBS really, I could look to spend more to get one of those, but neither are really what I set out to get.

I’m trying not to lose myself down the rabbit hole of spending more money for the sake of it, especially if I’m not sure how much more tangible enjoyment I’d be getting in the case of a DB9 over the vantage. I remember a serial car changer stating their DB9 ownership was boring and that they missed their previous Vantage. If I really wanted to go all out, I’d look at a brand new DBS. However, we’ve just welcomed our 2nd baby into the family a day ago and already I feel a little guilty treating myself in this way. I reckon I start small and see where we go from there.

 

[naefeart]

The Aston was my original goal. It was only when I started second guessing myself and the creep of sensibilities that I widened the scope to the Maser. The Cayman I had previously, worked perfectly fine and I only really changed that for a bigger car (RS6) with the arrival of our first daughter. I felt I needed to demonstrate some grown up thinking but the reality was there was only ever two of us in the car at any one time.

My main concern was that the reality of a hand built Aston was going to be that of poor paint finishes, aluminium oxidisation and panel gaps you could put your hand through. I thought (hoped?)the Maser quality might be better and more akin to that of the German marques, but without the staid, sombre approach to design. Jury is still out on that unless anyone can enlighten me?

I’ve got some test drives lined up in the coming weeks, so will see how that goes. The car I’ve got a deposit on should be ready by then too. Exciting times.

 

[naefeart]

Thanks for the feedback, it’s really good to hear from owners that have had the cars for a good amount of time. I had heard the paint could be quite soft - the car I’m looking at has quite a rare paint finish, so that does worry me if (when?) it needs work.

Good to know the general quality of the fit and finish should be spot on too. I was worried it would be a bit hit and miss and just labelled as ‘hand built’. There’s a lot of issues mentioned on PH but that’s to be expected.

I have driven a couple of Vantages previously, however one was a manual 4.3 and the other a 4.7 SS which I really couldn’t get on with during the test drive. The 4.3 was good, but perhaps made more noise than it did progress? Was a couple of years ago now, but I figured the 4.7 manual would be the right combination.

I’ve got a big decision to make now. The car was supposed to be transported north so that I could see it. This has been delayed for various reasons, most recently due to the Jubilee celebrations, if you can believe that. I’ve generally felt there’s been a lack of urgency with the dealer negotiations from the beginning. Out of the blue I’ve now landed a build slot for a 718 Cayman GTS in Nov. I didn’t think this was even possible, so now I need to figure out which direction to go.

 

[naefeart]

Funnily enough it seeing a 996 Turbo on sale that started all this. It was a low mileage, one owner car with all main dealer service history. It was a fair price but even a late car is coming up to 17yrs old. Looking at newer 997 Turbos and the price goes silly for well kept cars, but ultimately they are getting on too.

As well as these cars can carry the passage of time, especially with good maintenance, I didn’t really want a 10+ yr old car to maintain.