There's an old saying that applies here - money can't buy taste. While that may be true in certain instances, the seller of this questionably modified Aston Martin V8 Vantage at least got the car model right. And now it can be yours, for way less than any other running Aston Martin on the market. Should it be un-pimped?
This 2007 Aston Martin Vantage has one of the best automotive shapes ever made. Designed by Ian Callum and Henrik Fisker, its sleek body, powered by a 4.3-liter V8 engine, gets from 0 to 60 miles per hour in an adequate 4.something seconds. It's not the fastest car in its class - but it doesn't need to be because just look at it. Well, maybe not this one in particular because of the absolutely massive aftermarket wheels that the seller has taken the liberty of installing. Astute observers will look past the baby blue donks and see the car for what it really is - a beautiful British grand tourer with a manual transmission, at a starting bid of around $40k with no reserve. It can't get any better than that.
This 3-owner, ~50,000 mile car seems to be in great shape with a clean Autocheck vehicle history report and no reported accidents. Obviously in a car of this performance caliber, it pays to be meticulous, but barring any electrical gremlins, there isn't much that commonly goes wrong on these late model Astons. Here's an excerpt from the description:
Great Car, guaranteed to turn heads in any city. Tire system light is on due to large wheels. Small scratch on the passenger side seen in pic and cracked black piece under front of car also shown in pic. No other known mechanical defects. You will love this car. I have had the car for over 4 years with no problems. 50k service was done at the Aston Dealership in Dallas. I ran over a nail about 3 mos. ago and had to replace rear driver side tire. The car is garage kept and has never been driven in snow or rain since I've had it.
Since the only visibly egregious thing on this car are the dubtastic wheels and nothing else, I'd say there isn't much cause for concern with any of the mechanical components. Although parts prices can be expensive for such a bespoke car manufacturer, they're quite reasonable when you compare them to that of a new BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz. It's a car that you will likely never see on the street, and for this price, that sort of exclusivity is simply unheard of. Get it and put it back to stock, then let the tasteful modding begin.
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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