Slightly tangential, but just to encourage you...
I've had a Series 3 from new - now just over 4 years old and 11,500 miles on clock.
Car is absolutely fantastic to drive, and better now in lots of ways than when new. I've not driven (but have looked at) earlier Aeros and, while they have lots of appeal, for me the ease of use, better space, stronger engine, airbags etc. outweigh the very slight loss of purity. The Series 3 is definitely not a softie and goes and handles really well.
I've also driven Series 4 (auto) and Supersports (Auto) and for me the manual gearbox is the better option. The manual gearbox was quite tight and sticky on my car when new and has gradually got better and better, and is still loosening up. I couldn't detect any performance difference between the 4.4 and 4.8 but have to accept it must be there, but grunt is never short in the Series 3 anyway.
I've looked at Aeromax and Supersports and was offered £42K - £45K (trade-in) for mine unseen a couple of months ago, but for the money it would be crazy to change, because the 8 is pretty much the same and the roof flexibility is actually better than the Supersports most of the time.
I did have a few niggles with my car, and eventually found the best way to get the more troublesome things fixed was to go to the factory, where the odd things (leaky roof, dodgy central locking, rattle from behind dash) were fixed in 3 hours.
The Aero 8 Series 4 seems to have suffered some electrical problems that don't seem to afflict Series 3, and the lost space behind the seats makes the cabin feel a good deal more claustrophobic. I'm sure the rear-end is a bit better controlled and the engine may be slightly stronger, but the differences are small.
So - a definite vote for the Series 3 as the best all-rounder (but hardly impartial!!).
Good luck with the search,
Wiscos
