tiggerfink

Dealer said it is a problem ordering parts from Germany. But I dread taking my car in for any repair work unless it is absolutely necessary, because it seems to take a week to get anything fix. Also my dealer does not have loaner cars.

mjr24

Tigger, regardless of how many days it was in, it needs to be in there because of problems that relate to the safety of the car. It sounds as if you just need to change dealers if they have to keep the car that long for minor repairs. You cannot believe that they are going to give you a new car because the dealer had to keep it 5 days to replace the door panel. Don't get me wrong, you still had the car in there for 31 more days than it should have been, but like I said, you aren't going to get a new car. Your dealer is telling you to write MB corporate because they do not want to lose your business if they were to argue against your point here. As I said, the dealer is the REAL issue here....this is not a Mercedes problem. If they fixed it right the first time, you wouldnt be back in there.

As for a Corvette....come on. The new ones do look nice....but you cannot even begin to compare them. It is like people who have the new Hummers...big deal. It USED to be cool when the H1 was $100k and no one had them. Now with tax rebates, dealer incentives, etc.....the Hummer and Corvette are not that special. It has nothing to do with money either...you are comparing a $90k versus a $60k car. For $60k though, I would still buy a 6 series or something of that sort.

LovinMercedes

You know, as far as the Corvette is concerned I couldn't agree with you more but I have a friend that argues with me all the time about this. He has a new Corvette and you couldn't give him an SL.

I don't get it...?

mick1

I think the '06 Z06 is very nice.

http://www.edmunds.com/future/2006/c...7/preview.html

mjr24

Corvette owners are hardcore, no doubt about it. Half of them probably would not trade their Vettes for that Vanquish you have coming.

LovinMercedes

Funny you should say that. He tried to talk me into getting the Vette because he said dollar for dollar and performance wise, it wasn't worth the diffence in price given you could buy 5-6 Vettes for the price of the Vanquish S.

When I get my Vanquish S and take him for a ride, hopefully he will understand...but I don't think so.

I'll post below a thread I started on the Aston Martin forum that talks about a Vette I met on the road...

LovinMercedes

This is one of my posts from the AMOC site but check about half way down and see what happened when I met a new Vette on the road.

Re: I am no expert but...Vanquish compared to Vanquish S
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, I am not an expert as I am new to this world but today I got the chance to spend some time driving a Vanquish S instead of the Vanquish without the sports dynamic package that I had driven before. I thought I would give you my observations of the differences, please remembering that I am a novice at this.

First, I thought the Vanquish was crazy and it is. The Vanquish S is sick. I know people kind of look at the Vanquish S as just an upgrade to the Vanquish but I see it as a different car.

Its feel is stiffer and the responsiveness to steering is greatly improved. In addition at higher speeds you definitely notice the increased braking power. These attributes, along with the increased power, give you a different experience in the car.

Today I went for a drive in the hills of Northern California, very long and winding roads, miles and miles. Almost like a course with very few cars. Dropping her into third gear and accelerating through the winding turns was unbelievable.

While first and second is slightly faster, the power in third gear is tremendously improved. You accelerate building up the RPM's and then when you shift to fourth gear, it is seamless and the car takes off like a bullet.

I was driving on these roads and we came to a new Corvette with a license plate that read "BAAAAAD" that was holding me up. Couldn't pass him on the winding roads but we soon got to a straight away. I dropped her down to third, gave it some gas and the Corvette started to accelerate thinking he wanted a race. By the time I shifted into fourth gear and got to look behind I was up to 110 mph (nah...not me, that must be a typo, I would never speed) and the Corvette was no where to be seen. He obviously gave up and that was the smart thing to do. Maybe he was going to consider getting another license plate?

The Vanquish is an incredible car but I don't quite understand why the difference between the two is not played up more than it is. It must be a marketing thing.

Being the novice that I am, I saw a big difference. The ride was not as soft, but it was still smooth and definitely more planted on the road and together with the steering and braking improvements, the car felt safer and easier to control around corners and at high speeds. Understanding of course that this is all relative and while the Vanquish gave me some of the most incredible driving experiences of my life, I do feel that the Vanquish S does go to that next level.

I wonder if any of you have had a chance to drive both cars and felt your experiences were the same as mine, as limited as they may have been.

Before this I couldn't wait for my car to come in, now I am going to have to go to bed for 3 months. Hopefully when I get done hibernating my car will be here.

Gunther

Tigger...

Keep the car...trade the dealer.

We're lucky here in Atlanta to have four MB dealers so we have a good ability to comparison shop for both sale and service.

You dealer is full of crap when he's claiming it takes him a week to get parts; he's also a lousy dealer for not having loaners. My best guess is that you are remote enough that he's not only the only game in town...he's the only game for several towns - and he knows it.

pilot20

Lovin, although there are probably many reasons to choose a Vanqiush over a Corvette acceleration is not one of them.

The new C6 Z06 does 0 - 60 in 3.6 seconds (in first gear!) and is faster than most Ferraris.

Dr Do

As you well know, he was not up against a Z06 with the Vanquish. Most likely the more common C6. Owning a corvette is like belonging to a cult. Owners would not trade their vettes for absolutely anything including a woman. I briefly considered the new C6. Very fast, but felt like a lumber wagon. I prefer the SL500.

LovinMercedes

I understand the statistics in the 0-60 mph category although quite frankly, while I am not one of them, the true test of which car is faster will be the ability of the driver because of the back wheel spin. All things being equal I do understand the statistics and that the Vanquish is not the fastest...however.

When driving in practical situations the most important speed of the car is indicated by acceleration between 50-150 mph and in that area very few cars in the world can beat the Vanquish S.

This is where Aston Martin made most of the acceleration improvements in the car when they added the 60 horsepower to bring the total to 520. In this regard, the new Vanquish S is either equivalent to or out performs any of the Ferrari's including the F430 and the 575M between 50-150 mph. When I started to race the Vette, no matter which Corvette it was, given that we were already moving at 60 mph, there was an overwhelming possibility that I would have overtaken him.

By the way I am using the 50-150 mph acceleration but I also remember 30-130 mph. I don't remember which benchmark was used when they did the testing.

Now, ask me how many times I am going to get to race some one at those speeds. Well, hopefully not too often.

Well, occasionally.

Gunther

I think we're all forgetting about that big selling point....

EVERYONE gets the GM Employee discount right now!!!
I'm stocking up while I can!

pilot20

Porsche is one of the few automakers I know that publishes data for what they call "elasticity" 80 - 120 km/hr time. Does Aston do the same and do you know the numbers?

RJC

I'm into the total driving experience vs. just performance. I've owned some wickedly fast cars including Porsche 930 Turbo's that were also very well made and great driving cars, but these days I want more than performance. If 928's were still made I'd own another one.

Corvettes and the mighty Z06 are basically very good looking and great performing cars with poor build quality and sub par materials for a $60+/- to over $70,000.00 (Z06) car.

In my neighborhood there are Bentley GT's, Porsche Turbos, MB 55/600's and even Ferrari's ever present; once in a while you'll see an Aston and if it's a Vanquish S it's always a treat to look at, and study its great lines and curves.

The Aston offers old world english charm & appointmnets with excellent performance, a comfortable ride, great looks and great build quality, not to mention an impressive exclusivity factor.

LovinMercedes

Here are some reviews and performance statistics. Note the two second increase from the Vanquish to the Vanquish S in this review which is huge and what makes this car so fast once it gets going.

Aston Martin Vanquish S : Verdict

The Aston Martin Vanquish S is a flawed diamond, but it's a gem nonetheless and carries British hope against the likes of Ferrari.

For the first time in years Aston has been able to capitalise on the Italian’s design disasters and take the fight to the world’s best sports-car manufacturer.

Put head-to-head with a 575 the new Aston should come out on top in the dynamics department and walks away with the emotional fight. It’s an achingly beautiful car and that front grille, headlights and bulbous bonnet will go down as automotive classics in years to come. If it can come purely down to looks, and it really can, then the Aston will land the deposit every time.

Aston Martin Vanquish S: Performance

The Vanquish S works with a monstrous six-litre V12 that produces 520bhp and 425lb-ft of torque in this guise. But it’s the deep, guttural roar that kicks in as soon as an indecent amount of right foot is deployed, with the traction control struggling to keep the 19in rear wheels spinning out of control, which leaves the lasting impression.

New cylinder heads with fully machined inlet ports and a variety of other engine and exhaust mods have increased the power output from the standard Vanquish's 460bhp. Torque is also up by 25lb-ft. In fact the figures have now just crept past those posted by the Ferrari 575M, which is obviously no coincidence.

The big beast charges past 62mph in 4.2 seconds and the Vanquish S now accelerates from 50-70mph two seconds faster than the Vanquish, which means that torque is concentrated on in-gear acceleration. That’s good for overtaking, and it’s also a lot of fun. Put the pedal down in almost any gear and the Aston effortlessly punches down the road.

The paddle shift-operated gearbox, despite extensive work, still isn’t a match for Ferrari’s system. It’s still a great driving experience, but a big gearstick and muscular clutch could turn a great GT into a lip-curling road racer in the Ford GT mould.

It certainly scythes into bends willingly for such a big car and with that much power on tap it would be a simple matter to send the tail out of line and balance this 1875kg car on the throttle out of hairpins, should you have the nerve to disengage the electronics. In high speed bends it feels calm, assured and planted to the floor.

The ride is much harder than the DB9, thanks to a more sporting set-up. It will still soak up the bumps at town speeds, but at speed takes on a keener edge and the chassis seems to stiffen up to match the bristling roar of the engine that is a match for any V12 in the world on the soundtrack stakes. The car skips off bumps, rather than absorbing them, and the suspension adopts a harder approach as you lean on it more.

For the record, it tops out somewhere north of 200mph, but it weighs close to two tonnes and so will take an age to reach its terminal velocity.

mjr24

But is the Vanquish faster than say a SL65? The prices are comparable aren't they?

LovinMercedes

I am not sure many cars are faster than a SL65 except maybe cars like the SLR. The horsepower and torque in that engine is huge.

My personal opinion is that the SL65 has too much engine for the design of the car. The car is designed too much like the normal SL500, etc. and that kind of car with that kind of horsepower and torque should not be designed similar to those cars.

The SLR on the other hand is designed to handle the horsepower and torque and is in a different league all together along with the Porsche GT and alikes.

The prices are not comparable. The SL65 is in the $185,000 range, the Vanquish S is in the $270,000 range and the SLR and Porsche GT are in the $450,000 range.

tiggerfink

I meet with my lawyer and he is asking me to get information from my financial broker of money lost if I invested my money instead of purchasing my car.

Looks like my lawyer wants to go court rather than dealing with Mercedes. I gave him all my gas receipts when I had to drive to Nashville and rental expenses.