THe ASTON V8 Vantage
Bought in December 2021 for $31,000 with 85k miles on the clock, this manual 4.3L 2006 Vantage has been my daily driver ever since. I never spent so much money on a car before, and it was a big risk considering how quickly it could bankrupt me if it became a money pit. I introduced the car on YouTube with the wager that it would cost no more to own than a new Toyota Camry when all costs are considered, and since then I’ve used the car as if it were your average grocery-getter to see if it can truly be practical as an only car. Surprisingly, it is; I’ve driven the car in all weather, taken it on trips, and done all the maintenance and repairs myself throughout that time. Some people love their cars, but for me and this Aston, it’s an appreciation more than anything else; it’s just a great car, and I’m forever grateful for it.
Over the years I’ve tracked every single penny I spent on the car in a spreadsheet, and you can download it below. The trick to owning an Aston Martin is not only working on it yourself, but also knowing where to source parts. I usually buy from Scuderia Parts, but 9 times out of 10 you can cross-reference the exact same part from a different manufacturer like Ford or Jaguar for a fraction of the price. So take a look through the sheets in the Excel document (tabs at the bottom of the doc that are labeled) because you’ll find many new OEM parts that I’ve saved hundreds of dollars on. For example, a new fuel pump and filter costs $1300 from Aston Martin, but the exact same part supplied from Jaguar is $250! I’ll be updating this as I add to it, but if you know any cross-referenced parts that I could add to this database, let me know! My email and socials are at the bottom of the page. Sometime in the future I’ll turn this into an actual database on this website instead of just a downloadable Excel file, but for now, enjoy! And if you haven’t already, check out the link to the YouTube playlist featuring every video I’ve made with this car!