Evaluation: Bought new by the actor Hugh Grant after filming “About a Boy.” Regularly maintained (13 Aston Martin main dealer stamps). Serviced by Aston Martin Works in 2019 and a recent service by Harwoods Aston Martin, Chichester. Showing 38,359 miles. Good paint but the window trim has small corrosion marks. The wheels and calipers look good. The interior is original with only slight wear on the driver’s side outer bolster. A lightly used late model Aston with some celebrity cachet.
Bottom Line: Comparable in size, performance, cost, and sales to the Ferrari 575M, the original Vanquish is one of those late-model Astons languishing at used exotic prices even as other 2000s high-performance cars get pricier month to month. Blame the dated tech of its semi-automatic gearbox as well as the high running costs. And since Hugh Grant is no James Bond, the Goodwood bidders were unimpressed by the celebrity ownership history and put up what is the going rate for a Vanquish with moderate mileage in the UK these days. It’s about a third of what Mr. Grant would have paid for the car 20 years ago, not even adjusted for inflation.
