It allows you to connect your iPhone or Android phone to your car and display a simplified interface on its infotainment system. You can stream music, turn text messages to voice and use your navigation apps amongst others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can switch between the two. Both are wireless connections (phone dependent) although we also fit a USB socket to offer a maintenance charge for your phone (1 amp supply). Where possible, we also integrate with the car’s OEM hands free system so you can still use the steering wheel controls to answer the call. You can also then use Siri or Google Assist to make a call and this will be routed through the hands free kit. For cars without hands free, then our kit does come with a hands free facility, using our control hub to answer the call.
Phone, Messages from SMS or Whatsapp, Apple Music, Waze, Google Maps, Sygic, TomTom, Spotify and more. There are more being added all the time, Apple and Android Auto websites will have a comprehensive list.
We supply the module to convert the signal from your phone to one the screen can understand and controls to allow you to operate the kit in the car without touching your phone. We supply the Higher Definition screen (vehicle age dependent) affording you twice the resolution that is currently available on the early (2004-2011) Aston navigation screens. Plug and Play wiring harnesses allowing straight forward connection to the car’s power supplies. We 3d print and leather line a new ashtray aperture to replace the existing one, this hides all of the controls for your new CarPlay/Android system. Audio interface module to utilise the existing audio system (for earlier car’s without an AUX socket under the armrest), switches, USB cables and any additional connectors, indeed everything required for the installation is included in the kit.
Yes, either on their own (we do change the screen over to our Higher Definition unit at the same time) or when you have our CarPlay/Android system. You can also have just the front or just the rear. We can also add a front camera option to the AMI III system on 2017/2018 VH cars, using the factory controls.
The Vantage was launched with two different audio levels, 160W and 700W. The 160W had speakers in the doors and a 100W Sub speaker behind the seat on the left side of the car. The 700W or Premium Sound System came with the same door speakers, but it added rear speakers, a front centre (surround sound), an upgraded Sub Speaker (200W from 100W) and twin amplifiers in the right side for the boot or between the seats on a Roadster. We can upgrade the basic 160W system to the factory 700W system using all the factory components, with no visual changes to the car.
We can now offer our own upgrade to the second century Vantage using aftermarket components from Audison. We change the front door speakers and the tweeters in the dash tops to ones with a higher dynamic range. Fit the factory sub speaker box behind the seat on the left side, but change the speaker inside the enclosure to give us greater power and presence and team this with a digital sound processor and amplifier feeding from the existing stereo system. This is then tuned to the interior of the car, with the correct time delay for each of the speakers with reference to the driver location to ensure top quality sound.
Largely depends on the job. If it’s CarPlay/Android Auto, then 3-4 hours is sufficient. If we are adding cameras then another hour and a half or so. If it’s Premium sound then from 2-4 days, depending on the car and the level of upgrade we’re undertaking. Just a reverse camera can be from 2-3 hours. Customers are welcome to work in our comfortable reception area, or relax and drink our wonderful coffee, walk into Tewkesbury or we can give them a lift into Cheltenham. You can pre book our loan car (license required) or have a wander around the workshop and see what else we’re getting up to.
We can offer a collection and delivery service should you not be able to get the car to us personally, although we love to meet our customers, peoples time constraints means that’s not always possible. Alan, our driver, is happy to travel to your place of home or work and pick up your car and return it to our workshop. we can always collect you from the nearest railway station should you wish to collect your car from us, which we do prefer because then we can show you how everything operates.
Changes in temperature at certain time of the year can allow the headlamps to mist up inside. Silica gel packs have limited success, and they need to be changed often (which is a pain!), there was a factory solution of a pipe from the aircon kit in the passenger compartment. We offer the AM upgrades kit of an extractor fan kit connected to the access panel at the back of the headlamp assembly. This is switched on when the car becomes hot, from a sensor on the coolant hose. It switches off when the car cools down or there is an optional timer available (at additional cost).
The headlamps on the Vantage are a sealed unit, one of the problems with this is that should the circuit board or the LED’s fail, then the suggested solution is to replace the headlamp! This is quite an expensive solution, but not required. We are able to repair the headlamp assembly and replace the LED’s. The LED’s that Aston used are no longer available, the ones we can obtain are slightly brighter, so it would be best if both headlamps were upgraded at the same time, this would prevent problems from occurring to the other light in the future. The rear lights are also a sealed unit, these can also be repaired and we have a stock of these, ready to go, on an exchange basis.