- Ben you are absolutely right! 
- what’s needed a re-bonding session
YES Simon
Oh and V12 
i’m easily persuaded - will book in the morning
Honestly this place truly rocks - remember way back in 2002 when a certain MrP (cheers Rob) gave me the best advice ever to just go out and buy an Exige
WOOOHOOO! That’s really great news Simon 
V12 vantage is a car I keep looking at, not sure if it should be the v12s with the extra power and sport shift or the earlier manual.
V12 Vantage is an absolutely awesome piece of kit - drove one of our customers V12 but it didn’t feel the most planted car I’ve ever driven through the bends - but totally loved it
I’ve asked my local Aston Martin dealer for a test drive 3 times now with no success and that has stopped me buying one up to now. My DB9 felt a bit soft and the gearbox a bit slow, they keep telling the vantage is more hard core but I want to try it before I buy as it’s £100k so want to make sure it isn’t like my DB9 was. I don’t no what I’ll get next, the gtr will go after Anglesey I think. None of the v12’s are selling at the minute, I’ve been watching them for months and nothing’s moving.
I saw one at the lights when I was cycling home tonight and as the lights changed and he pulled away…oooof that sound, you’d never get bored of that.
This thread is dangerous as it’s probably catalysed much browsing of the classifieds, has for me 
I am really struggling to justify continued ownership of the RS3, it goes to the station and back everyday and to my Mum’s at the weekend. We have the Q3 for the more mundane driving tasks, I feel very drawn to the Alfa 4C, anyone had one long term?
Unfortunately for me (my wife would disagree) living in Preston, the roads are too busy and pot holed to enjoy spirited driving in a nice car just for the pleasure of it. Therefore my need/want of a special road car for the foreseeable is pretty much nil.
On the flip side my wife agrees that I should try to get much more use from the 211 this year on track. She’s a good un
I’ve had one since Aug 2014, one of the first non-Launch Edition UK cars. I love it, although it’s not been without its problems.
Pros:
- Looks & wow factor. It really is a good looking thing and gets a lot of (positive) attention, even compared to Lotuses. Carbon-fibre tub makes it feel special. If you haven’t seen one in the flesh, photos don’t do it justice.
- Noise… Not to everyone’s taste but with the race exhaust option it is comically loud and addictive
Cons: - I didn’t think this was possible but it’s even less practical than an Exige. Bootspace is tiny and there’s zero storage in the cabin. Weekends away are a struggle, but just about do-able.
- Reliability… nothing spectacular has gone wrong (yet) but there have been enough niggles and trips back to the dealer that I wouldn’t want to own one without a warranty, and the early ones like mine are coming to the end of their 3 years.
There have been a lot of negative reviews particularly around steering feel and tramlining - from the factory it was pretty awful, but is vastly improved with the recall (sorry, ‘Pitstop Programme Upgrades’) they did for revised dampers, mine has also had revised (Spyder) wishbones and a proper geo which really helped. I was genuinely impressed with it on track in the dry, less so in the wet where it was pretty understeer-y, but that could just be tyres.
They’re holding their money pretty well, £40-45k would probably get you a good one (coupe) and you’d not lose much on it if you changed your mind
They do have great road presence.
Thanks for the write up very interesting to know how it is in the real world, not having a huge fault list is quite good considering it is a mostly hand built Alfa…
Alfa has already taken us to Millbrook for half a day of driving. I must admit I was quite impressed with it as a whole, the handling circuit was great fun and the instructors did let you enjoy yourself. The launch control was really good as well. I was a little worried about the gearbox, it seemed a little dumb in comparison to the Audi double clutch boxes I’m used to.
I can live with the small boot as I have other cars, might have to go have another look
Really fancy a 4C myself once I get my house finished , also like the Jag F type R now I’m getting on a bit lol
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That’s lovely that, esp in shiny black with the cloverleaf wheels 
Especially the bodywork
Two things:
1, roads round Preston and Lancashire as a whole are probably among the worst in the UK, if not Europe.
2, full marks to your missus.
The only SL I would consider is the “third series” 300 / 500 from late 86 to end of production in 89 which all befitted from galvanised body shells, but I agree, anything pre 86 is relatively cheap because of the well known extensive bulkhead rust issues and should be avoided.
If you are considering a Gaydon era Aston please do yourself a favour and purchase the excellent guide book in the attached link. It will save you an awful lot of money. As with all expensive new cars they always remain expensive to maintain and an Aston second hand dealer warranty is a must, a friend I worked with went through 3 V8 Vantage clutches in 8k miles, all replaced under warranty without question. http://www.astonmartinreview.co.uk
The 4C is a good call … but man, those ugly headlights complimented by the UK license plate stuck ad hoc on the right. The Italian designers certainly had an off day when lights were on the agenda
If you buy the soft top, you get nicer looking lights, also you can spec the nicer lights on the Coupe if you buy new.
The US style lights were on the original 2011 concept - apparently it was the accountants that resulted in the ‘ugly’ coupe ones. Rather than pay for type approval on a new design they went for a collection of off the shelf Hella units 
I actually quite like them now, they’ve grown on me.
Agree the front numberplate ruins the looks, it’s the same with most Alfas. I’ve got a 3/4 stick-on one but it still looks poor; I’m tempted to just remove it and velcro a proper one back on come MoT time