Any DB9's to avoid right now? (sub £30k)

[ThrillhouseR55]

Been looking at DB9 Ph1 listings for a while now and have seen a few that are just not selling.

Is this a slow market right now for older DB9's, or are these specific DB9's ones to avoid?

Here are a couple examples:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276581862802?itmmeta=01...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202404299...

[paulrog1]

Where do I start...........

Those cars do look ok, but they can have alot of problems some buyers might not notice when having a casual look -

Some could suffer from the "dreaded DB9 tick".

Some might need a new radiator because the older ones bend and swell up like a banana.

Front & Rear lights can get excessive condensation which fails the LED units needing new lights.

The shock absorbers can leak, they are ridiculously expensive, around £800 per shock.

The leather could look tired, headlining starting to fall down,

The rear subframe could be excessively corroded,

Batteries don't last long, especially if the tracker hasn't been disconnected.

I would strongly recommend you to purchase a 2008 glass key car if possible, as those are better cars that don't suffer from some early car issues.

But.....they look and drive amazing if you get get the right one.

Edited by paulrog1 on Tuesday 6th August 17:11

[Apollya]

I’d also strongly suggest having a pre-purchase inspection done on any car you’re looking to buy from an AM specialist of your choosing. I used Pugsley & Lewis only because the car was going there for a service. Bamford arose were cheaper and I think they would have done a better job on the inspection, they were also cheaper, but the seller wasn’t able to drive at the time and it would have meant me having the car trailered to them at additional cost.

This would highlight any issues, such as the engine tap, condition of any steel subframe. If a seller is not willing to undergo a pre-purchase inspection, maybe they’re hiding something.

Edited by Apollya on Tuesday 6th August 17:27

[Simpo Two]

Interesting that production of the DB9 is heavily skewed to the earlier years. I wonder why that was?

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/aston-martin-db9-sal...

[skyebear]

Simpo Two said:

Interesting that production of the DB9 is heavily skewed to the earlier years. I wonder why that was?

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/aston-martin-db9-sal...

2008 recession killed demand for luxury V12 supercars?

[ThrillhouseR55]

paulrog1 said:

Where do I start...........

Those cars do look ok, but they can have alot of problems some buyers might not notice when having a casual look -

Some could suffer from the "dreaded DB9 tick".

Some might need a new radiator because the older ones bend and swell up like a banana.

Front & Rear lights can get excessive condensation which fails the LED units needing new lights.

The shock absorbers can leak, they are ridiculously expensive, around £800 per shock.

The leather could look tired, headlining starting to fall down,

The rear subframe could be excessively corroded,

Batteries don't last long, especially if the tracker hasn't been disconnected.

I would strongly recommend you to purchase a 2008 glass key car if possible, as those are better cars that don't suffer from some early car issues.

But.....they look and drive amazing if you get get the right one.

Edited by paulrog1 on Tuesday 6th August 17:11

My worry is spending over £30k, and still getting those issues because the seller isnt genuine.

I have Bamford Rose close to me so I have no qualms paying for a proper pre-purchase inspection. Didnt even know it was a thing until recently! Would have saved me wasting a lot of money on tatty motors lol!

2008 Glass Key seems to be £30k upwards, and I know this sounds dumb when its a £25/30k car but.. the tax is double the earlier models.

Apollya said:

I’d also strongly suggest having a pre-purchase inspection done on any car you’re looking to buy from an AM specialist of your choosing. I used Pugsley & Lewis only because the car was going there for a service. Bamford arose were cheaper and I think they would have done a better job on the inspection, they were also cheaper, but the seller wasn’t able to drive at the time and it would have meant me having the car trailered to them at additional cost.

This would highlight any issues, such as the engine tap, condition of any steel subframe. If a seller is not willing to undergo a pre-purchase inspection, maybe they’re hiding something.

Edited by Apollya on Tuesday 6th August 17:27

Bamford Rose is just down the road from me in Shipston on Stour, I am in Stratford Upon Avon, so its almost perfect location. I definitely wouldnt be confident checking it over myself - but also, I am worried about spending out on Pre-Purchase inspections on cars that are KNOWN duds.

Simpo Two said:

Interesting that production of the DB9 is heavily skewed to the earlier years. I wonder why that was?

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/aston-martin-db9-sal...

James Bond! Surely....

[Simpo Two]

ThrillhouseR55 said:

2008 Glass Key seems to be £30k upwards, and I know this sounds dumb when its a £25/30k car but.. the tax is double the earlier models.

They're not entirely connected - my 2007 car has a Ford Sierra key from the 1980s and is still double tax...

But if Sir is going to buy an Aston, is he really worried about a few hundred quid extra? He'll have to get used to spending a few hundreds of quids quite a bit during ownership.

What appeals to me about 2008+ models is not the glass key, which costs a bazillion pounds to replace if you drop it, but the centre console storage More seriously, there aren't a lot of DB9s around in the scheme of things, so if you want a particular colour combination you may not have a choice of year. The later the year, the more monochrome they get.

[Jon39]

skyebear said:

Simpo Two said:

Interesting that production of the DB9 is heavily skewed to the earlier years. I wonder why that was?

https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/aston-martin-db9-sal...

2008 recession killed demand for luxury V12 supercars?

Another aspect is that the DB9 was the only Gaydon car in production until September 2005, when Vantage deliveries began and the early waiting list for that model was very long.

A DB9 does provide small rear seats, but did you know the Vantage has greater luggage capacity?

Edited by Jon39 on Wednesday 7th August 10:10

[skyebear]

A pre purchase inspection is a sound investment even if it means you walk away from a couple of cars. Just "add" the cost to the car you eventually buy and know that you have a solid example.

[996Type]

It’s worth speaking to the independents such as McGurks and Bamford Rose regards what you are looking for.

While no car of this age (nearly 20 years old in some cases) is going to be low cost to maintain and run, some will be better kept than others and they will have customers that are looking to sell that won’t be advertising.

While you might pay a bit more, the cost to fix any issues not picked up at purchase can quickly mount.

As an example, I’ve had used approved vehicles from a main AM dealer with full warranty / pre-check of this era and still managed circa £10K of work (under warranty thankfully) in under 12 months.

Occasionally DB’s of this era come up in the main dealers with a full (not timeless though) warranty. They tend to be priced quite high but should be sorted.

If you can stretch and buy such a car, it would be one of the less riskier ways into ownership.

If I were doing the same again, I’d push for a second year of warranty and also maybe even an independent PPi, but the issues that affected my car came on during ownership anyway and wouldn’t have been picked up.

So a base entry car in summary might be great or could easily require the purchase price spending on it again to sort over a relatively short period of time.

There have been a small number of project cars that have developed the tick appearing at the low end of the market and these are around £10K (if you can find a buyer).

Hartech are doing a rebuild package (the blocks are no longer available I believe) so this may save some of these cars, but the earlier DB’s are in a very dangerous tipping point area now of cost to maintain versus the value of the car.

Same has happened to many sports cars through time but this version of DB can require some very expensive work (carbon brakes on later models will be worth more than the car in some cases….) so it’s a bit tricky.

Go in with your eyes open and go as official as you can or get the PPi etc. AM do a warranty inspection (for £400….) which would tell you if the car could go back into the main dealer scheme (circa £3500 pa) and that might be peace of mind for you for year 1X and cap any surprise expenses (brakes etc aren’t covered though).

Don’t get me wrong, fabulous cars but buy with your head otherwise you may not get the joy of ownership to the degree you are seeking.

[paulrog1]

996Type said:

There have been a small number of project cars that have developed the tick appearing at the low end of the market and these are around £10K (if you can find a buyer).

Project cars??? My car wasn't a project car and it developed the tick.

I think the DB7 vantage and early DB9 engines have a design fault so any from that time can get it.

[Simpo Two]

skyebear said:

A pre purchase inspection is a sound investment even if it means you walk away from a couple of cars. Just "add" the cost to the car you eventually buy and know that you have a solid example.

I might add that a test drive of 30+ minutes is required - because my car had a fault that only became apparent after 25 mins!

[996Type]

paulrog1 said:

996Type said:

There have been a small number of project cars that have developed the tick appearing at the low end of the market and these are around £10K (if you can find a buyer).

Project cars??? My car wasn't a project car and it developed the tick.

I think the DB7 vantage and early DB9 engines have a design fault so any from that time can get it.

There was one on Pistonheads recently I recall stating the tick was already present and presented as a project car, this is the one I was referring to specifically.

[karatemaserati]

I'd swerve this one... previously listed on auto trader as "cat s cause of failed catalysts" and now on copart

https://www.copart.co.uk/lot/58806794/clean-title-...