Thinking of buying a DB7 - I will need help

[bluechim]

Hi There

You will note from my handle (bluechim) that I also have a Chimaera. I drive a BMW E39 M5 as my everyday car at the moment and have been thinking about trading across to a DB7. I do quite high miles (146000 in 5 years with the M5) will this be a problem with an Aston?

What are my options, are there different engines sizes etc? - I really want a manual car, is that a good / bad idea?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

[forthright MC]

hi,
there were 2 engines available on the DB7, a 3.2 litre supercharged straight 6 and a 6.0 litre V12, i thoroughly recommend this one www.pistonheads.com/sales/122165.h this one used to belong to one of my uncles who used it everyday in all conditions with no problems what so ever. it drives beautifully and it has a rather desirable spec too IMO.
good luck!

Edited by forthright MC on Monday 22 January 19:43

[Fattrader]

Ahh interesting I was thinking along the lines of a similar Aston but am concerned on expected running costs on a DB7 with 60,000 plus miles. Are they possible as an evryday car? As running costs on the higher milage cars what could you expect to have to incurr?

[PUMPMAN1860]

I bought one in October for weekend and good weather use.... and have a car for every day use (I do about 40k miles a year.... I'd love to use the DB7 daily.... yes the fuel costs(when included in running costs would be high) but I'm of the opinion that a car like this does not benefit from sitting in a garage for days at a time.... If you buy a car you do so to drive it... if you want to make money buy a house (then you'll really see what running costs are like !!Bloody hell! If a car of this quality can't stand every day use without having thousands (other than service costs) a year spent on it there must be something wrong.

I've had an Alfa 156 2.5 V6 that would probably knock the Aston into a cocked hat when it comes to running costs, and any Mercedes, Audi etc will start costing a lot for dealer service as the miles go up and the warranties expire.

thoroughbred horses and high pedigree dogs and high performance cars....equals costs

Buy Andrew Noakes' book on the DB7 ... a good read.

[S1m VP]

Interested to see the opinions of the mass myself.
Am likeminded in that these sort of cars should be used and not kept for show ... done approaching to 40k in my 996TT in 2 years (not as many miles as you guys do).
Split between keeping the Porsche or a DB7 V12 or a Maserati 4200 at the minute. Had TVR's but they were not really suitable for a daily drive.

Anyone in the KNOW (ie. an owner) what is the REAL reliability of the DB7 (circa 2001MY) and what are they like to use as an everyday car?
Other than the cosmetics and engine, how do Si6's compare to the V12?

[Jappo]

Mate of mine has done 90K miles over the last 5 years in his straight six 7 with little to no problems. I had a V12 for just over a Year (2001 car) and put 12K on in a Year and the thing didn't have a month without visiting my friends at the DB7Centre in Bovingdon (had done 16K when I bought it). The recurring problem was the ignition system which kept deteriorating every 1,500 miles or so - it was never really fixed and I sold the car at a 20K loss (Ouch). Also, the car misfired badly as soon as the fuel tank went below about a third full meaning that effectively it's range on a full tank was less than 200 miles - again it was never fixed.

On the positive side nobody gobs on it, people let you out at junctions, smile at you and commend you daily on your taste in automobiles - it was almost worth the hassle and, I am told, later cars were cured of these "development issues".

I'll have a Vanquish at some point in the near future so obviously I'm a sucker for the whole experience regardless!

[f328nvl]

I have had mine for 5 years, the longest I've ever kept a car.

It was my daily car for about four years. It let me down once, when the battery had a fault, and a tyre blew on the M1 but, sh1t happens. It's now done 40k miles and it's fine.

It doesn't get particularly cossetted or anything else, just driven by me and regularly serviced by Works Service. Major costs have been:
£10k of brake & suspension GT upgrades, Oct 03
£4k New clutch in Jan 06 (34k miles)
£3.7k Service and replaced Tyres, brake pads, suspension bushes etc etc in Nov 06 (37k miles)
Generally a service costs about £1.5k at the factory, a little less at a AM dealer and again less (I believe) at a specialist. You pays your money...

MPG is about 20

Insurance for me (3pts, over 5 yrs no claims, S.E.England) about £800 pa.

so it'll cost you about £1800-£2500 plus petrol & depreciation, and a big bill is £4k. The engine is totally indistructible as far as I am aware, so there's not much chance of a catastrophic engine bill. As noted above, the suspension bushes do seem to be allergic to speed bumps, but you can quite clearly hear most problems when you drive the car, so it shouldn't be a surprise.

jg