Take Your Pick

[ROB J]

Which one would you choose and why? It's a tough decision, as I love them both.

Option 1: 2008 Mercedes CL65 AMG

Mercedes-Benz : CL-Class V12 BI-TURBO in Mercedes-Benz | eBay Motors

Option 2: 2008 Aston Martin Vantage

Aston Martin : Vantage Coupe in Aston Martin | eBay Motors

Still toying with the idea of one of these cars. Would have to sell something first for it to make financial sense, but I'm having a hard time resisting the urge...

[dukegrad98]

Of those two, the Benz.

I probably would have gone with the A-M if you had said Vanquish rather than Vantage. Check the used market... For a while there, low-mileage Aston Martin V12 models were practically being given away. Beautiful machines.

If you're into older ones, a good friend of mine owns a very unique '64 DB5.



Cheers, John

[NiceGuyEddie]

what are you kidding me rob? can i be you for a day? i'd love to have this kind of confusion in my life!

go with the Aston!

it's got to be less common in Miami. but common enough for people to know what it is.

any way you slice it, a Mercedes is as run-of-the-mill as a Honda. even if it's an SLR.

cheers mate,

[MVM]

I'm guessing that one important issue would be maintenance.

If something goes wrong, I would guess that Aston Martin doesn't have the service and logistics in place that Mercedes does. You might want to search the Aston forums and see how difficult it is to get one repaired and how long the car is out of commission. I don't have any data on this, but I'm guessing it's significantly longer than your average car.

[kobrak]

I forget what you do Rob, but if you do need to impress the folks you are working for and with, I would guess most are not car people? So, The Benz wins hands down. Most folks would recognize that over a Martini right?

[ClemsonS197]

Aston. Hands down.

If you're going to get something with reliability issues, get the one that looks better, right?

[ROB J]

Been on the Aston forums doing research. Seems reliability and service of the V8 Vantages is not that bad (For an exotic). Since the car was designed and engineered when Ford was the owner of Aston, the QC standards of Ford trickled into the brand at that time.

It'll be a while still before I pull the trigger on something of this nature, so I'm taking my time, and doing my research.

Yes, I'm sure most of my clients will know what an Aston Martin is.

The biggest difference in the two cars I referenced is substantial. The Benz will blow the doors off of the Vantage in terms of straight line speed, power, will seat 4. But, the Vantage has far greater sex appeal, and exclusivity. As nice as the CL65 is, to the average person it looks no different than a standard CL550 which was roughly half the price of a CL65 new.

[jlfernan]

Well, since the Aston has the rear park sensor...the choice is simple!!

[BS]

I've been in my friend's Aston Martin Vantage and they are absolutely beautiful inside. The leather and stitching and attention to detail is gorgeous. The 390 hp V8 is no slouch and they handle like a dream. OTOH, I'm sure the Mercedes is equally as adept. The ad says 605 hp? and an MSRP of $201K?

I'm thinking the Mercedes is going to come a little more dear than the Vantage and as said above, unless the client is a car guy, it will look like every other Mercedes out there. The Vantage is still rare enough to be appreciated even by non-car guys, IMHO.

Shop around. I looked a couple months ago and a 3-4 year old Vantage was going for around $65-70K then at online sales sources.

Bob

[NiceGuyEddie]

dude even NiceGuyEddie can get laid if driving an Aston Martin.

"Eddie, NiceGuy Eddie."

[Don Payne]

Given the purpose for which you are buying the car and the car savvy of your clientele, you better get the Mercedes. NiceGuyEddie, would certainly tire of getting laid all too often if he was rolling in that Mercedes!

[NiceGuyEddie]

i think Don may be right, for some reason i thought this was a 'fun' car and not more of a DD.

if you must take clients (plural) around the Mercedes is easily the choice.

.

[cobrathegreat]

Aston hands down.
Have you considered this? One of my all time favorite cars. Sounds amazing, looks amazing, sex appeal and sits 4. And fairly reliable according to the Maserati forums. Not bad on price either.

Maserati : Gran Turismo ~ $120,725.00 MSRP ~ in Maserati | eBay Motors

[NicksPapaw]

Rob, you better get the Mercedes. Your clients will probably get tired of Nice Guy Eddie in the back seat of your Aston with them trying to get laid.

[NiceGuyEddie]

ahahahahahahhaaahahha

best laugh of the day! people at work actually asked what was so funny because i laughed so loud.

sorry if this hijacks rob's post.

(btw i'm dating a model. p/m for photos)

[mcmustang]

Neither. Go with this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge... | eBay Motors

Twice the car for half the price.

[dukegrad98]

Originally Posted by mcmustang

Neither. Go with this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge... | eBay Motors

Twice the car for half the price.

Vipers are for people whose gold chains are too big to fit in a Corvette.

Cheers, John

[trevor]

aston hands down, you cant beat the looks. Cant use the full MBs power on the street anyway w/o going to jail. I have that problem in the ctsV. Triple digits instantly. Im taking mine to the track to play around in a few weeks. I have to get it out of my system without losing my license

[ROB J]

Originally Posted by dukegrad98

Vipers are for people whose gold chains are too big to fit in a Corvette.

Cheers, John

What he said. I'd never buy a Viper. Besides, they sound like a Honda Civic with a fart can exhaust. No Thanks.

BTW, the Vantage has no back seat, so Eddie will have to ride in the small ass trunk.

[browncd24]

Hopefully you don't get any Eddie Jr's on the alcantara headliner, might be tough to clean them off

[ram_g]

I'd get the Aston on account of its relative rarity.

And also IMHO it looks a whole lot better!

[SeanHM]

The owner of Brumos has a Vanquish. Just beautiful car, but the paddle shift set up is kind of irritating and awkward. I don't remember the procedure exactly but I do remember that when backing up it would constantly slip back into neutral when you lifted the throttle requiring you to re-engage it constantly. Not sure if it was a common issue or specific to his car or even an early issue as it is a 2005. I'm sure you could get used to it, but it always stuck in my head. Manual perhaps. I wish I had such conundrums. The Aston is Bond, but the AMG is Clark Kent and Superman.

[lmmargheritis]

Aston Martin

Mercedes are a dime a dozen. James Bond wouldn't get caught dead in one.Well, Maybe once or twice by accident.

Nothing says class better than an Aston. At this price range either car will be tough on the wallet when it comes to repair and maintenance.

[skunkman]

One of my partners just sold his 2008 Aston. He used it as a DD and loved it. Great car. Its a shame that Jaguar copied its design. I would go Aston over MB

[Aaron Silidker]

Originally Posted by ROB J

What he said. I'd never buy a Viper. Besides, they sound like a Honda Civic with a fart can exhaust. No Thanks.

BTW, the Vantage has no back seat, so Eddie will have to ride in the small ass trunk.

Don't knock it till you have driven one of the new ones!

They sound great when they are screaming.

[ROB J]

Originally Posted by cobrathegreat

Aston hands down.
Have you considered this? One of my all time favorite cars. Sounds amazing, looks amazing, sex appeal and sits 4. And fairly reliable according to the Maserati forums. Not bad on price either.

Maserati : Gran Turismo ~ $120,725.00 MSRP ~ in Maserati | eBay Motors

Yes, I have considered those as well. A great choice as well.

[ROB J]

Originally Posted by Aaron Silidker

Don't knock it till you have driven one of the new ones!

They sound great when they are screaming.

Aaron, I'm sure the new ones are a different story. But, unfortunately, a new one won't fit the budget for I'm sure at least 4-5 more years.

[crash]

Just buy both and call it good!

[ROB J]

Originally Posted by crash

Just buy both and call it good!

Hey, if your willing to donate 80k to the cause, I'm game.

[crash]

Originally Posted by ROB J

Hey, if your willing to donate 80k to the cause, I'm game.

The pool can wait...must have cars!

Seriously though, while I am happy for you that you can afford these things, I must warn you that, at least around here, pools are RIDICULOUSLY expensive. The neighbors just put in a pool about two years ago. Right after our other neighbors did. My wife sugggested we do the same. I asked her if she knew what a pool cost to put in? She didn't, but agreed to talk to the neighbors first. The first neighbors spent $180k on their pool. The second neighbors spent $225k on their pool. My wife stopped talking about getting a pool.

So, point is, decide which will give you more enjoyment, that edgeless pool feature, or BOTH really nice cars? I bet the cars end up making you more money than the pool also.