If you’ve seen the latest 007 movie then you’ll know that today’s Nice Price or No Dice Vantage V8 is about the only Aston Martin Bond doesn’t drive in the film. Let’s see if it’s priced well enough that you could one-up the famous MI6 spy.
For many of you, yesterday’s 1990 Saab 900 Turbo SPG proved to be a bit of a conundrum. Several of you noted the model’s desirability and uniqueness in the comments. The car’s condition and rolling project status, however, pushed many to suggest seeking Saab satisfaction elsewhere, either with a cheaper project or a more expensive, but better-sorted option. In the end, our Saab’s $6,500 asking proved too dear for the car in its current state and that resulted in a 70 percent No Dice loss.
Okay, I’m going to be straight up with you at the outset and tell you that when I first saw the ad for today’s 2013 Aston Martin V8 Vantage S, I thought it was an obvious scam. I mean, the car’s asking price is pretty low compared to other market contenders and the ad is low on specific details like the VIN and license plate number. Add to that the fact that a reverse image search shows the ad’s pics to have been used in a long-gone cars.com ad a year and a half ago and things begin to look even sketchier.
Still, we can give the seller the benefit of the doubt. After all, there’s a 2006 V8 Vantage for sale in Hawaii for just a bit more than this, so maybe it’s not too crazy. And, as we’re not actually spending any of our money here so there’s no actual fiduciary danger involved. If it is a scam and we can bring attention to the fact, then we’re heroes, right? Perhaps even the greatest heroes the world has ever known.
Regardless of the ad’s veracity, the car itself is very desirable. The Vantage model is Aston Martin’s most ubiquitous, but that’s not saying much. Built with Porsche’s iconic 911 squarely in its creator’s sights, the Vantage’s total production number of around 20,000 cars barely compares with even a single year’s production of 911s. This being the higher-performance S model makes it even dearer, and more of a hoot to drive.
That hooting is made by way of a 430 horsepower 4.7 liter quad-cam V8, an engine sort of based on the Jaguar AJ-V8, but is actually mostly an Aston design. A torque tube carries all those ponies back to a six-speed transaxle sourced from Italy’s Graziano Transmissioni. If you’re familiar with You-Tuber Sam Crac’s antics, then you’ll know that a clutch job on one of these cars can be a major headache and, if using factory parts, will cost a small fortune.
According to the ad, this V8 Vantage has only 39,132 miles so unless prior drivers have been particularly abusive, the clutch should be ok. The rest of the car appears to be in great shape (at least in the provided pics that are dating back to 2020.) The white over black color combo is classic if not the most lust-inducing and the Niche Essen wheels do give it a bit of panache. We also get a couple of good shots of the interior which shows no obvious wear on any of the surfaces. And yes, that is a Volvo navigation screen in the dash. Let’s move on.
The title is said to be clean and the seller is using the Craigslist reply channel as the only means of communication for interested parties. That means email only. With an asking price of $35,000, I wonder just how full the seller’s in-box is likely to get? As I noted, the older, non-S Hawaii car is a tad more expensive, asking $36,900. This is a heck of a lot newer, has just around half the miles, and is an S. And it asks $35,000.
With all that in mind, what’s your take on this car and that ad? Do you think that the V8 Vantage is a deal at that $35,000 asking? Or, does that price and the presentation get your spidey senses saying to stay away?
You decide!
Washington DC Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to S.R.Gooch for the hookup!
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