Upon retiring I decided that I deserved to own a truly special car. It would have to be beautiful to look at, engaging to drive, have nimble, well-balanced handling, responsive performance and sound wonderful. Most importantly, it would need to put a big smile on my face!
After test driving various marques and models I determined that a manual Aston Martin V8 Vantage would be the perfect choice. Then followed months and months of intensive research and searching whilst I determined the best variant to buy.
I finally settled on a 2015 Tungsten Silver V8 Vantage which was for sale at Zagame Aston Martin Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Purchased in January 2017, the car was only 20 months old, was nicely run in with only 7991 kms 'on the clock' and was in immaculate condition. The car had been originally purchased from Zagame and before driving it home I had them fit a switchable Aston Martin sports exhaust to enhance the rich exhaust note.
I then began an 824 km drive, heading north east to my home in New South Wales. This was a great opportunity to learn about some of the car's characteristics especially over the last 30 kms, when I drove some of my favourite local, twisty roads. This demonstrated the car's nimble, responsive handling and reinforced the feeling that I had made a great choice.
I subsequently had the car wrapped in PPF and ceramic coated to protect the immaculate duco. The car has now completed over 50000 kms and although not a daily driver gets driven most weeks. It has completed journeys on some of Australia's best driving roads including The Great Ocean Road and The Great Alpine Road. The car has been west along the Hay Plain and has even negotiated 20 kms on smooth high speed dirt when I accidentally took a wrong turn on the way to Swan Hill in Victoria.
I have recently upgraded the car's wheels and tyres and it is now an even better car to drive and, most importantly, never fails to put a broad smile on my face!