Discussion
I've had my DB7 Vantage for 6 years and it has been absolutely fine. Several friends and colleagues have also had them at various times and all except 1 have been happy with them and have bought either DB9s or (old) V8 Vantages. (I'm nothing to do with the car trade btw) Based on my experience and talking to the guys who look after mine (Works Service)and my mates comments about theirs:
Generally the Engines are very strong and really shouldn't be any issue. A misfire and or sluggishness is probably a failing ignition coil costs about £600 + labour to fix (that can also involve the expensive plug change you hint about, putting another few £100s on the bill)
Suspension noises and sloppy handling are a sign of bush failures, quite common, costs £500 + labour. Tyres are £175 front, £200 rear so check when they were last changed.
The drive chain is noisy by design, so compare a few. Clutches last well if the driver doesn't ride them, but a new one is £2.5k. Mine was changed after 35k miles but would have easily lasted another 5k if I'd been minded to leave it. If (on a manual) the car has trouble starting with the clutch anything other than buried in the carpet, it's an irritaing but cheap switch that needs replacing (costs £60+ lab)but the car won't start if it fails completely.
The paint work is probably the last of a true Aston Standard (discuss) and the front spoiler gets chipped and scratched to hell. Its made of a honeycomb so if its damaged its tricky to mend well. If it needs one a new nose is about £2.5k-3.0k fitted at the factory.
Aircon replacement is a dash out job, so make sure you check it is working or you'll get a £2-3k bill.
Brake discs wear quite quickly (its fast and heavy) so check they aren't worn. A new set (GT upgraded) is £1300+ fitting, just pads are £250+ labour, standard discs are cheaper, but not as good.
New exhausts are £1.5k fitted (Sports) but there's no issue as far as I know with them.
Batteries suffer on cars that aren't driven regularly, especially if they have after market alarm or a Tracker. A trickle charger solves the issue and, unlike some cars, fits snugly in the boot. Cost me £120 + lab when it was new, so not sure about now. If it's a low mileage car that's sat about, I'd ask for a proper battery check. A new battery is about £120.
The only issues I've had have been suspension bushes not lasting and (has anyone else had this) exhaust brackets that seem to work loose of their own accord and click. Friends have had coolant tank replacement problems, and there's the almost guaranteed airbag light that's caused by a failed switch that's less than £100 to fix.
I would suggest that the best check is to stick the car in 3rd and pull away, stay in 3rd up to whatever speed is appropriate to the circumstances. Other than a bit of throttle to get moving, the car should be totally smooth and pull all the way to it's red line. If it chugs or struggles or makes any funny noises, it'll need a service at least.
Find a twisty bit and listen for clunks or odd thumps, they're not immediately obvious so listen closely. If it feels wallowy and makes background noises, the bushes (at least) need replacing. My suspicion is that lots of people have driven DB7s that haven't had their suspension properly looked after and that's why so many people comment on the handling. The difference in mine when it's been sorted (about once every 2 years) and not is incredible.
Hope this helps, mine will shortly be looking for a new home if you are interested.
jg
Generally the Engines are very strong and really shouldn't be any issue. A misfire and or sluggishness is probably a failing ignition coil costs about £600 + labour to fix (that can also involve the expensive plug change you hint about, putting another few £100s on the bill)
Suspension noises and sloppy handling are a sign of bush failures, quite common, costs £500 + labour. Tyres are £175 front, £200 rear so check when they were last changed.
The drive chain is noisy by design, so compare a few. Clutches last well if the driver doesn't ride them, but a new one is £2.5k. Mine was changed after 35k miles but would have easily lasted another 5k if I'd been minded to leave it. If (on a manual) the car has trouble starting with the clutch anything other than buried in the carpet, it's an irritaing but cheap switch that needs replacing (costs £60+ lab)but the car won't start if it fails completely.
The paint work is probably the last of a true Aston Standard (discuss) and the front spoiler gets chipped and scratched to hell. Its made of a honeycomb so if its damaged its tricky to mend well. If it needs one a new nose is about £2.5k-3.0k fitted at the factory.
Aircon replacement is a dash out job, so make sure you check it is working or you'll get a £2-3k bill.
Brake discs wear quite quickly (its fast and heavy) so check they aren't worn. A new set (GT upgraded) is £1300+ fitting, just pads are £250+ labour, standard discs are cheaper, but not as good.
New exhausts are £1.5k fitted (Sports) but there's no issue as far as I know with them.
Batteries suffer on cars that aren't driven regularly, especially if they have after market alarm or a Tracker. A trickle charger solves the issue and, unlike some cars, fits snugly in the boot. Cost me £120 + lab when it was new, so not sure about now. If it's a low mileage car that's sat about, I'd ask for a proper battery check. A new battery is about £120.
The only issues I've had have been suspension bushes not lasting and (has anyone else had this) exhaust brackets that seem to work loose of their own accord and click. Friends have had coolant tank replacement problems, and there's the almost guaranteed airbag light that's caused by a failed switch that's less than £100 to fix.
I would suggest that the best check is to stick the car in 3rd and pull away, stay in 3rd up to whatever speed is appropriate to the circumstances. Other than a bit of throttle to get moving, the car should be totally smooth and pull all the way to it's red line. If it chugs or struggles or makes any funny noises, it'll need a service at least.
Find a twisty bit and listen for clunks or odd thumps, they're not immediately obvious so listen closely. If it feels wallowy and makes background noises, the bushes (at least) need replacing. My suspicion is that lots of people have driven DB7s that haven't had their suspension properly looked after and that's why so many people comment on the handling. The difference in mine when it's been sorted (about once every 2 years) and not is incredible.
Hope this helps, mine will shortly be looking for a new home if you are interested.
jg
sjc said:
After my post above about nothing TOO scarey, I've seen an advert in the classifieds for a 23,000mile 2000 Volante. The last 2 services were £7500 and £3000 
. Thats the sort of thing that puts me off! I know thay were 100K new, but £7500 for a service? Now that IS scarey.
. Thats the sort of thing that puts me off! I know thay were 100K new, but £7500 for a service? Now that IS scarey.Jumping Jesus!!
I can only assume that was main dealer stuff and BIG bits needing replacing. My research seems to point to circa £1k mark for a service - an XJ220 was 'only' £4000 a service!!!
I wouldn't touch a motor that advertised those big bills...
It depends entirely on where you are planning to have your car serviced. If you have it done at Newport Pagnell you pay a lot more, compare (say) an exhaust replacement. Main dealer costs about £1.9k, factory is about 25% higher, specilaist about 25% lower.
The service interval on a DB7 is 6 months and the standard service costs roughly about £1000 at Newport Pagnell, £750 at a dealer. If they have spent £7k, they will have either replaced something (read the invoices don't just look at the totals)or had crash repair work. You can replace the entire engine for about £10k-£15k.
Remember : 4 tyres = £1000, a clutch replacement = £2500, a set of plugs and coils = £1000, all of which will, at some time or other need doing (on any high performance car). The questions are: Are DB7s any worse than any other high performance car? Answer, the service interval is shorter than most cars and on suspension components yes the DB7 can be hard, on everything else, no. Do the bits cost any more than any other comparable car? The answer is, it depends; Works Service and Main Dealers are expensive, but very good, others are less expensive and in some cases just as good. My experience is that you have to negotiate a quote before getting any work done and you get 10-15-20% off if you are a loyal customer. It costs a bit more than a Mercedes, but then it's a whole lot more satisfying to own one.
On the plus side compare insurance for a DB7 against a Ferrari 550 : I have both and pay £500 per annum less for the Aston on better insurnace terms than the Ferrari. It pays for 1/2 a service a year, or a set of rear tyres if you like.
jg
The service interval on a DB7 is 6 months and the standard service costs roughly about £1000 at Newport Pagnell, £750 at a dealer. If they have spent £7k, they will have either replaced something (read the invoices don't just look at the totals)or had crash repair work. You can replace the entire engine for about £10k-£15k.
Remember : 4 tyres = £1000, a clutch replacement = £2500, a set of plugs and coils = £1000, all of which will, at some time or other need doing (on any high performance car). The questions are: Are DB7s any worse than any other high performance car? Answer, the service interval is shorter than most cars and on suspension components yes the DB7 can be hard, on everything else, no. Do the bits cost any more than any other comparable car? The answer is, it depends; Works Service and Main Dealers are expensive, but very good, others are less expensive and in some cases just as good. My experience is that you have to negotiate a quote before getting any work done and you get 10-15-20% off if you are a loyal customer. It costs a bit more than a Mercedes, but then it's a whole lot more satisfying to own one.
On the plus side compare insurance for a DB7 against a Ferrari 550 : I have both and pay £500 per annum less for the Aston on better insurnace terms than the Ferrari. It pays for 1/2 a service a year, or a set of rear tyres if you like.
jg
Standard service from an Aston dealer for a DB7 Vantage is around £750 for the standard one and £1500 for the service including plugs. This is because the inlet manifolds and fuel rails have to come off to get at the plugs!Service costs of more than this means a lot of additional work must have been carried out. So the message is buy a car which has a full dealer service history and has had money spent when needed. It shouldn't cost the earth particularly if you do lowish milage.
Firstly, I have to confess and apologise that I'm completely ignorant when it comes to Aston Martins (have always been pretty much a dyed-in-the-wool BMW person for over 25 years) but have this strong hankering to own one!
I had kind of set my sights on a DB7 Vantage...but suddenly got very apprehensive reading some of the superbly informative stuff written above! Thank god I saw this thread before making the leap! Nevertheless, I still can't help looking at them...
I'd only be getting it to drive VERY occasionally and probably as the only thing I would want to replace this car in my collection of BMWs:
www.bmwclassics.co.uk/840cisport01/index.html
This is a very low mileage car (for a BMW) that I have driven maybe less than 250 miles in the last year! If I got the Aston I'd probably want to do a few more miles than that...but you get the picture? Very much a 'high-days' kind of car.
My question is essentially:
How does the servicing scheduling work on an Aston Martin? Is it mileage based, time dependent, both (i.e which ever is the sooner)? Not too keen on the prospect of having to have expensive scheduled, time-based services whether I'd driven the car or not, if you see what I mean? In this respect I've been a bit fortunate with the BMWs as the servicng schedules are based on the service indicators so on some of my cars that I drive very little I can actually go for a very long time without 'having' to service them.
Presumably if Astons have time based schedules and one does adhere to this it destroys the value?
Thanks for any guidance on this.
I had kind of set my sights on a DB7 Vantage...but suddenly got very apprehensive reading some of the superbly informative stuff written above! Thank god I saw this thread before making the leap! Nevertheless, I still can't help looking at them...
I'd only be getting it to drive VERY occasionally and probably as the only thing I would want to replace this car in my collection of BMWs:
www.bmwclassics.co.uk/840cisport01/index.html
This is a very low mileage car (for a BMW) that I have driven maybe less than 250 miles in the last year! If I got the Aston I'd probably want to do a few more miles than that...but you get the picture? Very much a 'high-days' kind of car.
My question is essentially:
How does the servicing scheduling work on an Aston Martin? Is it mileage based, time dependent, both (i.e which ever is the sooner)? Not too keen on the prospect of having to have expensive scheduled, time-based services whether I'd driven the car or not, if you see what I mean? In this respect I've been a bit fortunate with the BMWs as the servicng schedules are based on the service indicators so on some of my cars that I drive very little I can actually go for a very long time without 'having' to service them.
Presumably if Astons have time based schedules and one does adhere to this it destroys the value?
Thanks for any guidance on this.
Edited by derin100 on Sunday 29th April 20:53
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