Aston Martin DB7 i6 vs the opposition....

[Stick Legs]

Hi,

this has probably been asked before in one way or another but...

I have £18ish K to spend and will be buying a 2dr big coupe with the money.

My preference after having 2 XJ-S' (3.6 and a V12) in the past is for a brit coupe in the classic mould.

The ones that have caught my eye at my budget are the early DB7 and late (mk1) Jaguar XKR.

I have great access to a Jag specialist, and a relly good ability to look after cars myself. I am in the Merchant navy so the car will be my 'daily' (my wife runs an '08 Volvo S40) but will not be doing the commute, just fun and the occasional food shop!

My big fear is Depreciation, I feel that the DB7 will never be any lower than around £12k and the XKR will do the traditional Jag swan dive into oblivion.

So, anyone who has owned either or both what do you suggest?

Cheers.

[Valentin]

I think we will never see somthing with an Aston badge that runs will ever fall below 12K£. So I think your money is pretty safe on the Aston. Go for it!!!

[Stick Legs]

Thanks for that, I'll print taht off and show it to the wife! :-)

[blackice1]

Agree with what has been said above , but have you driven one .

[notax]

XKR looks lovely (esp with 20" Detroit alloys) and drives beautifully. They are generally reliable, however I was very unlucky and bought a dud which cost me more than the purchase price in repairs in 18 months! Parts for both cars are pricey.

I agree the XKR will depreciate more than the Aston. I would drive both, you may find you prefer the Jag, just a shame it won't have an Aston badge on it

Whichever you buy, budget £300 or so to get it checked independently before you buy. Could save you a fortune!

[Stick Legs]

I drove a DB7 about 10 years ago, remember being very impressed compared to my 3.6 XJ-S.
Never driven an XK.

I would be looking to buy from an independent specialist dealer in anycase.
If private would be getting it checked by a marque specialist for sure.

Thanks for the comments guys!

[blackice1]

Have a look here http://www.runnymedemotorcompany.com/

I know the owner and has been dealing with Aston's , DB7's for years.

[Stick Legs]

Know the place quite well, popped out there a couple of times. Looking forward to car shopping! :-)

[Ray f]

I currently have a 1997 DB7 and have recently owned a Ferrari 400GT manual and 2 XJ-S V12s. Before I bought the DB7 I drove XK8s, BMW 650/840s and a variety of other big coupes but settled on the Aston for the following reasons:

1. It's an Aston Martin.
2. Although not the fastest of the bunch, it's no slouch and there's not enough usable performance difference to merit one above another.
3. Most of the DB7 components can be sourced from Jaguar specialists.
4. DB7 is well catered for in the specialist servicing market, Chiltern Centre DMS etc just a couple of examples; most Jaguar specialists can also maintain them.
5. A DB7 will hold it's value better than any of the above; in fact they have probably reached (or are close to) their lowest value.
6. See No. 1.

Find the best you can afford, regardless of mileage, that you like, have it checked over/srerviced for peace of mind, buy it, then start having fun. I kid you not, looking out over that curvaceous bonnet with the Aston wings in front of you when you nail the throttle and hear the supercharger whine and exhaust growl - you'll never regret it.

Regards and good luck, Ray.

[JMC1]

If you could squeeze a little more money you could get into an early DB7 V12 Vantage for which you will definitely not be disappointed with the performance and I then can not see you loosing very much money on your original investment

[manek]

You could do worse than take a look at my 1997 DB7 (manual, uprated) - now up for sale
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2356489.htm