and school loans and trips around the world to study while doing my masters thesis. This is related to auto so im puttin it here. Can anyone tell me much about Aston Martin and the DB7 Volante that was once made in the 90s and early 2000s. Are they good cars, why are they on ebay for like 40K and not the 200K they cost brand new. Would it be a good investment for when I get out of college, would it be a better thing to do then spending it on tourist trips to work on my thesis trip. I want a really reliable car when I get my bach. degree done with. ANyone got any info? I heard they are hand made. 😀
Aston Martin
- Thread starter 1986montecarlols
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Well, some of them were built on the same basic chassis as the Jaguar XJ12 of the mid 1970's, and that car was not known for reliability (British Leyland...shudders in horror...). Then again, it's an exotic car so it has an exotic price tag when it comes to even the most minor of services. Some of the parts are Ford items (Ford owned Aston, Jag, and Land Rover at the time), which means you will have an exclusive car with the light switch from an Escort. That is not bad, but the engine is an Aston exclusive unless it was shared with Jag or LR. None of those cars are cheap to fix, and neither is an Aston. Don't get me wrong, I like some European cars (and God help me, some British ones too!), but as daily transportation? No. My favorite German car was last built in 1985 (Mercedes Benz 300TD or 300CD W123 chassis), and the Brits I like are all heartache (Triumph TR6, Dolomite Sprint). The Aston is a nice car to have in the collection, but not as your sole transportation. For that, you want Japanese. Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus or Acura are the best bets with Infiniti being sketchy depending on the model.
Maybe an investment. Maybe. Only thing is please don't let it break! 😢 😢 
As far as dependability, maybe check consumer reports pr something? Or google it and look for owners reviews or something.
As far as dependability, maybe check consumer reports pr something? Or google it and look for owners reviews or something.Yeah
I should have went into more detail. Im going to eastern michigan in 2 years tops it cost roughly 8000 a year there which is like welware college compared to most for graduate degrees. I get up to 20K a year which would mean there is like 12K extra for traveling expenses, trips for grad study, etc. Or I could just send the extra 12k back to the loan firm so my loans dont go way up. I only owe 10k right now after 4.5 years find someone else who has done that well lol. i really shop around lol. As far as new cars go, i dont want anything really new because of all the new bullshit they throw in, ****ing GPS, onstar, garbage like that. I even saw in some new cars there is a ****ing cooler in there for drinks now give me a break please. I like the Monte but ive since decided im only going to fix the brakes, exhaust converting it to a dual, and doing the very minor body work on the bottom of the car. I also dont like the new chevy camaro, or the newer Mopar coming out really. Dont hate on me guys. I do however like the performances of the 90s and early 2000 euro cars. Could you guys give me some names of cars with decent power, rear wheel drive for god sakes hahha, and I might be able to get for around 10K. I still might wanna get a hold of one of those 94-96 Impalas too. I mean realistically I want something i dont have to worry about driving much. the monte is a good daily driver but its old ya know lol. The Aston would be a car id get further into my career as a historion making hte 45k to 50k a year 😀
I should have went into more detail. Im going to eastern michigan in 2 years tops it cost roughly 8000 a year there which is like welware college compared to most for graduate degrees. I get up to 20K a year which would mean there is like 12K extra for traveling expenses, trips for grad study, etc. Or I could just send the extra 12k back to the loan firm so my loans dont go way up. I only owe 10k right now after 4.5 years find someone else who has done that well lol. i really shop around lol. As far as new cars go, i dont want anything really new because of all the new bullshit they throw in, ****ing GPS, onstar, garbage like that. I even saw in some new cars there is a ****ing cooler in there for drinks now give me a break please. I like the Monte but ive since decided im only going to fix the brakes, exhaust converting it to a dual, and doing the very minor body work on the bottom of the car. I also dont like the new chevy camaro, or the newer Mopar coming out really. Dont hate on me guys. I do however like the performances of the 90s and early 2000 euro cars. Could you guys give me some names of cars with decent power, rear wheel drive for god sakes hahha, and I might be able to get for around 10K. I still might wanna get a hold of one of those 94-96 Impalas too. I mean realistically I want something i dont have to worry about driving much. the monte is a good daily driver but its old ya know lol. The Aston would be a car id get further into my career as a historion making hte 45k to 50k a year 😀
I personally have always liked the older BMWs. I have always thought that they were reliable for the most part, except for electrical. I have seen plenty run tons of miles on the stock drive train, but I am sure it is expensive when stuff breaks and it is probably harder to find the parts you need. I personally have always loved the 80's and 90's M3. I have no idea what the prices of those cars are today, I dont think too expensive.
The problem with your reasoning is that an Aston Martin IS NOT a simpler car. It has a lot of the same crap as newer cars, but it got it first. Most of these things are now 10-15 year old British luxury cars, which is usually not a good thing. The British have never been known for their good electrical systems (Ever hear of The Prince of Darkness, Joe Lucas?), ability to retain fluids, reliability or resistance to rust. Make that an old, fussy luxury car and now you have real issues. Heck, even an old BMW 3 series or BMW MINI can be a nightmare, imagine a far more complex machine! If all you really want is simple transportation, get a new Nissan Versa 1.6 S. It doesn't even have a radio as an option. Only A/C, and even with the A/C it's less than $11,000 brand new. Then you get a factory warranty and you don't have to deal with it. Is it cool? No. But it is practical. I almost want one myself...but I can't bring myself to do it.
An Aston Martin is one of the last cars I would think of for a daily driver unless I lived in Hollywood and had some sort of "image" to maintain. And as an investment? No way. They sold new for $200K, you'll pay $40K, and if you sell it, it will probably be about $15K if you're lucky. That doesn't sound like a good investment to me. With numbers like that, you'd be better off buying stock in GM. :lol: 😢 Now I just made myself sad.
Not to mention the obscene cost to maintain, repair, and insure a car like that.
If you want an affordable, reliable, rwd daily driver, get yourself a '94-'96 Caprice or Impala SS, or any LT1 powered b-body for that matter (Buick Roadmaster, Cadillac Fleetwood). Even the L99 (baby LT1) isn't that bad (that's what mine has). I love my Caprice.
B-bodies can be had for relatively cheap, and replacement parts are readily available at any parts store. Aftermarket parts are abundant as well. It's hard to argue with a car that is great to drive, cheap to maintain, gets 18-25 mpg, and will easily hit 250K with nothing more than regular maintainence, and maybe a front suspension at about 150K+(They're heavy and a lot of people abuse them). Sure the interiors are called cheap by some, but they're not that bad.
Not to mention the obscene cost to maintain, repair, and insure a car like that.
If you want an affordable, reliable, rwd daily driver, get yourself a '94-'96 Caprice or Impala SS, or any LT1 powered b-body for that matter (Buick Roadmaster, Cadillac Fleetwood). Even the L99 (baby LT1) isn't that bad (that's what mine has). I love my Caprice.
B-bodies can be had for relatively cheap, and replacement parts are readily available at any parts store. Aftermarket parts are abundant as well. It's hard to argue with a car that is great to drive, cheap to maintain, gets 18-25 mpg, and will easily hit 250K with nothing more than regular maintainence, and maybe a front suspension at about 150K+(They're heavy and a lot of people abuse them). Sure the interiors are called cheap by some, but they're not that bad.
Yeah im
heavily thinking of gettin a b body 94-96 impala, they are also 4 door which makes them nice. Plus they have some balls too ahha. The other option would be a 77-81 Camaro like the one off fast times at ridgemont high a classic movie. They are kinda neat too. IM not an air bag guy and I know some guys are gonna flame me on that. Are there ways to disengage air bags. My 97 gtp got totaled when I went into a ditch going 15 miles an hour one year, destroyed dash, winshield, part of the seat, steering wheel, I know on some you just push a button in the glove box its usually orange. Thats the one thing I hate on new cars and I dont care if they save lives I dont like them. Its like having a loaded shotgun shell ready to go off in your face. One last car I like is the Mits. 3000 GT VR 4. BIt more pricy then the impala and not as roomy. More of a turn heads car I think though ill stick to get that Impala. They range from around 7 to 20K if they have 0 mileage on them. 😀
heavily thinking of gettin a b body 94-96 impala, they are also 4 door which makes them nice. Plus they have some balls too ahha. The other option would be a 77-81 Camaro like the one off fast times at ridgemont high a classic movie. They are kinda neat too. IM not an air bag guy and I know some guys are gonna flame me on that. Are there ways to disengage air bags. My 97 gtp got totaled when I went into a ditch going 15 miles an hour one year, destroyed dash, winshield, part of the seat, steering wheel, I know on some you just push a button in the glove box its usually orange. Thats the one thing I hate on new cars and I dont care if they save lives I dont like them. Its like having a loaded shotgun shell ready to go off in your face. One last car I like is the Mits. 3000 GT VR 4. BIt more pricy then the impala and not as roomy. More of a turn heads car I think though ill stick to get that Impala. They range from around 7 to 20K if they have 0 mileage on them. 😀
Well, I certainly don't recommend it, but...
You can remove the airbag and either get a custom steering wheel, or you can get a plug that will look stock, but have no bag in it. Body shops used to get in trouble for putting those in to save the cost of buying a $500 airbag.
I personally would rather wreck my dash, windsheild, and even the whole car then have myself or somebody I care about get hurt. Passenger side airbags are designed to deflect off the windsheild. The tops of dashes like that pop off for easy replacement, since they're junk once the bag pops through them. I had the dash cap off of my Caprice in about 15 minutes when I was putting my Z28 instrument cluster in.
You can remove the airbag and either get a custom steering wheel, or you can get a plug that will look stock, but have no bag in it. Body shops used to get in trouble for putting those in to save the cost of buying a $500 airbag.
I personally would rather wreck my dash, windsheild, and even the whole car then have myself or somebody I care about get hurt. Passenger side airbags are designed to deflect off the windsheild. The tops of dashes like that pop off for easy replacement, since they're junk once the bag pops through them. I had the dash cap off of my Caprice in about 15 minutes when I was putting my Z28 instrument cluster in.
Well
Ill prolly have full coverage this time around anyway so in case that happens again I wont be stuck in the dirt ya know. looks like on the forums ive been looking at i can get a 96 with around 75K for about 6-9K which really isnt that bad. Thats the route ill prolly go. I dont like any cars newer then that though. I think all new cars have went to hell. I still got about 2 years yet though. In the mean time im gonnah have some minor issues with my monte fixed. Ill never get rid of the car I think, to tell ya the truth I dont know what ill do with it. Keep it as a secondary car probably. sh*t the insurance is a measly 40 bucks a month. :shock: and its still only at 83,345 orig. miles ahah on the 4.3 engine. It still runs strong and the best part is after almost 20K miles on it and only paying 1700 bucks it runs great.
Ill prolly have full coverage this time around anyway so in case that happens again I wont be stuck in the dirt ya know. looks like on the forums ive been looking at i can get a 96 with around 75K for about 6-9K which really isnt that bad. Thats the route ill prolly go. I dont like any cars newer then that though. I think all new cars have went to hell. I still got about 2 years yet though. In the mean time im gonnah have some minor issues with my monte fixed. Ill never get rid of the car I think, to tell ya the truth I dont know what ill do with it. Keep it as a secondary car probably. sh*t the insurance is a measly 40 bucks a month. :shock: and its still only at 83,345 orig. miles ahah on the 4.3 engine. It still runs strong and the best part is after almost 20K miles on it and only paying 1700 bucks it runs great.
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