Aston Martin Vantage (2006) Fast Fleet test – living with a £30k V8 Aston

Barely a month into Aston ownership and the first major expense hit: a not inconsiderable four grand. Ooof. Didn’t see that coming. Not really the Aston’s fault, to be fair. Thing is, Mrs T had long been hankering after a Fiat 500 Convertible, and after she’d agreed to me getting my own actual Aston Martin there was really no way I could refuse her a Fiat. So we now have the two most impractical cars in the road. The dog isn’t impressed, I can tell you.

The Aston itself hasn’t cost a penny so far – beyond the purchase price, road tax, insurance and fuel. So, how much do these things cost for an early Gaydon-era V8 Vantage?

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I bought the Aston in one of those It’s Now or Never moments. In short, I was about to hit the big 6-0 and needed cheering up, and as I’d recently inherited a bit of money, I decided an Aston was the answer. At the time you could find very presentable V8 Vantages for between £25k and £30k (they’ve moved up a bit since then) but these were usually private sales and I wanted the reassurance of buying from a specialist. Which led me to McGurk Performance Cars in Warwickshire and this January 2006 Vantage in Toro red, which I picked up for £32,500.

One bonus with a really early Vantage is that the road tax is £340 a year (had it been registered after 23 March 2006 it would have been £600). Another pleasant surprise was that insurance was just £236 a year for myself and Mrs T on an Admiral multi-car policy, though the excess is a fairly chunky £600 and do keep in mind that we’re both damn near pensionable.

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You don’t buy a Vantage for its fuel economy. Most owners reckon on getting anything between mid-teens when they’re enjoying themselves and early 20s sitting on the motorway, so the average of 19.5mpg over the first 1000 miles or so feels about right. Were you to cover 3000 miles a year (which isn’t untypical) that would work out at around £1000 a year for fuel. Most specialists suggest budgeting the same again for routine servicing and the usual expendables.

Speaking of which, the tyres could really do with replacing. They’re original-equipment (OE) Bridgestone Potenzas, which don’t have the best reputation for ride or handling, and though there’s a decent amount of tread left, a check of the manufacturing date on the sidewalls reveals that the fronts are five years old and the rears a positively geriatric eight years old. Though there’s no sign of perishing, that’s really pushing the upper limit of healthy tyre life and may well be contributing to a rather brittle secondary ride. The favourite replacement among other owners seems to be Michelin’s Pilot Sport 4 S, but Bridgestone’s recently launched Potenza Sport has been getting some good notices. I’m hoping evo’s tyre test will help me decide which way to go.

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Also on the to-do list is to investigate an upgrade for the infamously woeful factory-fit satnav. It was some way off the pace when the car was new, so 15 years later the pop-up screen remains firmly stowed and the iPhone does nav duties instead. I’ve heard good things about a company called Aston Installations, who cleverly adapt the electrics so that you can run Apple CarPlay via the existing screen, so that’s one avenue to explore.

In the meantime I’m thoroughly enjoying the early months of Aston ownership. The V8V is spared daily duties. I’ve no doubt it would take them in its stride, but I’m still at the point where I’m nervous of leaving it anywhere it might possibly pick up dings in those exposed flanks. So it’s special days out, including joining around 700 other Astons at the AM Heritage Festival, visits to family and friends, and the occasional early-morning or late-evening blat around the local lanes. They’ve never sounded better.

This story was first featured in evo issue 289.