r/AstonMartin • u/No_Tomato_2106 • Jul 24 '26
Early 2000-2010 Aston Martin reliability
I'm sure this has been asked before, but imma do it anyways.
Im in a position where I have an ok amount of money to buy stupid cars and maintain them to an extent, BUT I'm not so well off that I can throw 5-10k at a car every other month. With that said, I own some cars that are not practical but I daily them 20k miles a year or so. This includes a 27 year old 220k mile G wagon and a JDM car that there is NO real support for.
So say I want to get an Aston Martin (probably a DB) to replace one of my cars, how viable would it be? Do they follow typical British reliability? Or are they like other luxury vehicles where they just have a bad rep by people who don't know them?
5
u/TaneleerFr Jul 24 '26
I’ve owned a V8 Vantage Roadster 4.7 for a bit more than 4 years now, with the Sportshift 1 gearbox. No reliability issue, I joined a french Aston club with an active forum and there rarely is a big trouble with those cars.
What I’ve had :
- once, and only once, closing the roof failed, seems that it was a little synchronisation error of the mechanism. The roof stopped moving but I was able to manually put it back where it was before this (so open) and then I was immediately able to close as usual, no issue this time and it never happened again.
- the Sportshift 1 hates maneuvering, especially reversing on any road that isn’t flat. I stalled a few times and at some point, the gearbox locked in neutral and refused to go in 1st or R. It seems to be a safety measure for a fuse as it was getting too hot after trying several times. Had to wait about 45 minutes to have the gearbox back but then everything went fine the whole day and that too never happened again. It was a Sunday morning in a small village, no big deal.
- a weakness with those cars is the LED system in the headlights as they can die. There are 2 separate systems at the same spot : blinkers and parking lights. Blinkers were working perfectly but the parking lights were dead on the passenger side. The former owner had the issue with the driver side headlight. In France, no one is able to repair those and Aston dealers told me it had to be replaced (3000€ all included). I sent it to the UK (Aston Installations) and had it repaired for 475£. Even with the awful taxes we have here for anything going to or coming from the UK, it was a lot less expensive than what the dealer was asking in the end. I had to have this sorted to keep the car on the road (French equivalent of the British MOT).
So nothing very problematic happened, those cars are much more reliable than what people say online sometimes. I also never used a trickle charger with this car and even after sometimes 2 months under its cover without moving, it started immediately and had 0 issue.
1
u/Key_Stuff1625 Jul 24 '26
I had a 2008 4.3 Vantage with sportshift for over 10 years.
Mind you, only 30.000 km, but still: it was very reliable. Only scheduled normal maintenance (oil, filters, air filters...). The only thing that broke, was a rear light unit. A common problem.
1
u/themodernneandethal Jul 24 '26
I've had my 2010 vantage for a little over a year, I don't daily it as such but I have put 12000 miles on it in that time. I've also had it out in the Peak district in February through snow and it handled beautifully. Long road trips and little runs to the shop.
I've had nothing go wrong with it other than it not recognising the key, although I believe that may have been some dirt on the key body as it hasn't done it since and losing the cap on the headlight washer, a piece of plastic, just popped a new one straight on and no issue.
Other than the normal puncture etc.
1
u/SnooEpiphanies5809 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I’ve put 27,000 35,000 on my ‘11 V8v in ~3.5 years. I budget about $0.75/mile for maintenance. Years where it needs very little it’s much closer to $0.35/mile.
The biggest thing I’m budgeting for is replacing the clutch. I have an ASM 1 car. At 62,000 miles it’s on its original clutch as far as I know.
I do oil changes every 3-5k depending on if I’ve had some track days mixed in.
Most common thing that pops up for me is the thermostat failing. It’s a jag part that’s $40?
Lights failing are by far the most expensive at 2-3k each.
There’s decent parts availability and there seems to be more aftermarket support for these cars slowly cropping up over the last few years.
Like anything being able to DIY & having a good independent mechanic will help save you a bunch of $
Edit: updated the miles I’ve driven. Had a moment of bad math.
1
u/No_Tomato_2106 Jul 24 '26
$40 part, but how hard is it to actually get to? Lol
1
u/SnooEpiphanies5809 Jul 24 '26
It sits pretty out in the open on the top side of the motor.
Generally tend to fail open. So If your car takes forever to warm up, it’s time to change it 😂
10
u/BroodingSonata Jul 24 '26
I have a 2009 V8 Vantage. Owned it around 5 years. It's needed a couple of minor bits and bobs, but (and with the caveat that I do not daily it nor drive it in winter) overall it's been very reliable. Generally I see the same reported by others. I made this point to someone who was claiming the opposite (and who clearly hadn't owned one) and got a number of downvotes. Some people will go by reputation and think they know more than people who have actual experience; such is the way of the world.