Aston Martin is an iconic British luxury sports car manufacture that produces one of the most enjoyable sounding and greatest performing naturally aspirated V12 engines available. I called my local Aston Martin dealership in North Scottsdale last week to inquire about a new or used Vanquish. I spoke with Nancy (who seems to be the only sales rep at this dealership!). At first, Nancy was very helpful, until she met me in person, and then apparently judged my ability to purchase a new car from her. On the phone, we discussed pricing, models, options and we discussed Aston Martin's plans for new releases. Prior to this call I had already test driven a lightly used Vanquish Volante in California, which I nearly purchased for $185k (but my wife did not prefer the color). I was ready to drop $300k with Nancy to purchase a new Vanquish Volante in an Arizona Desert color (which was gorgeous), but I also needed a back seat that could fit a child or small adult on an emergency basis when there are three or more occupants. While these cars are safety tested and approved in several countries, Nancy was altruistic enough to inform me that the back seat was unsafe to use for anyone, and that it was strictly for tax and insurance purposes. Fine. I then had a look at the Rapide S. I have a special-needs teenager who loves to travel with me almost everywhere I go. Unfortunately, the Rapide S was just a bit too long in appearance for my liking. So I left the dealership and returned the next day to test the back seats of the new DB11, because, based on my casual observation while walking by a demo DB11, I thought that the back seats could be slightly more comfortable than those in the Vanquish. A copper-colored DB11 was parked outside the dealership when I arrived. Nancy was with another potential client, so I waited around. Approximately 15 minutes later, while the other potential client was idly staring at a vehicle inside, I walked in the showroom to ask a question, but Nancy would not even acknowledge me. I wanted to try the back seat of the DB11, but felt as though Nancy was snubbing me. She might as well had asked me to leave - I felt as though I had entered someone's home before knocking. So I walked outside and attempted to open the door of the DB11, which had the windows open. An alarm sounded, and that frightened my son who has hyperacusis (a hearing disability where certain sounds cause him tremendous pain). My son ran to our vehicle to escape the sound. I asked Nancy to turn the alarm off, which was quite embarrassing I might add. After reassuring my son that the alarm would not sound again, we reattempted to open the DB11 to adjust the rear seat. The alarm sounded again. My son ran back to our vehicle, he got in, locked the doors, and would not speak with me. Important to note, Nancy did not even attempt to make one single follow up sales call with me. To end this review, I'd like to say that I have tested and considered purchasing a Ferrari FF, an Aston Martin Vanquish and Rapide S, among other cars, all in the past week. Perhaps out of disappointment with Nancy, the same day this happened, I drove to a Porsche dealer and purchased a $211k Porsche 911 Turbo S, which made my son and I very happy. Nancy can verify this by calling her sister store, Porsche North Scottsdale. My logic was simply this... if Nancy is a representation of Aston Martin's North Scottsdale pre-sales, then surely the after-sales and service must be the same or even worse. I will not be considering an Aston Martin again unless I move out of state. That's too bad, because I really had a liking for Aston Martin. read more
