2003 Aston Martin Vanquish review from UK and Ireland

3 weeks delivery purchase the battery went flat after 7 days idle.

2 months after delivery the airbag needed replacing.

3 months after purchase the car kept slipping into neutral and would not engage any other gear without disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds using the cut off switch in the boot. You can imagine the amusement to other drivers in the rush hour. This needed new gearbox sensors and new software to sure it.

At the same time the car occasionally sounded very strange on starting and would not go over 3000rpm. This happened on a trip to Le Mans and could only be rectified by killing the battery to reset the CPU.

On the same trip car started juddering badly at speed. which seemed to be caused by the brakes sticking. Still at least it meant I wasn't going at flat out when I got caught speeding.

Seven months after purchase the engine light came on and the car had to be towed away again. They told me they could not find a fault and disabled the light.

On its return the exhaust system was faulty and the valves which provide the extra silencing were not working so it had to go back for another 3 days.

Currently the interior trim is very noisy, but I can't be bothered to send it back just now.

When the car is running correctly it is incredible. But the disappointment and inconvience caused by all the faults far out way the pleasure.