Aston Martin DBX - my journey

[nathwraith1]

NGK210 said:

So, moral of the story / thread: avoid Aston Manchester when buying and/or servicing your car.

Or buying an Aston Martin at all haha.

I do enjoy the car immensely and tend to forget about the bs experience when out for a drive. There is still nothing in its class I’d rather have.

[nathwraith1]

NGK210 said:

Indeed, it’s the best unibody SUV.
Meanwhile, the 707’s ‘rival’ from Solihull is (non-)running true to form:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CRzl9bMtTmA&pp=y...

Oh dear. The problem with buying a Land Rover product is that you are one of thousands in the queue for warranty claims, parts etc. and will be treated the same whether you’ve dropped £50k or £200k.

[nathwraith1]

Another problem discovered. Loose engine bay trim.

Video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/VOYgxgQxTWo?si=17JK7iRK...

I’m rejecting this car now.

So bored of the problems!

[nathwraith1]

-TorqueR said:

Is this the green family car solution?

https://www.bramley.com/stock/2024-bmw-alpina-b5-g...

Nice but has this dealer had a rebrand? I recognise the surroundings but not the name.

[nathwraith1]

RC1807 said:

Ouch.

Can you reject it after 2 years or will they say they'll fix the problems, parts cannon again?
Dealer's been quite poor from what I've understood so far.

I hope you get some satisfaction, soon.

Depends how much money I want to spend getting legal really. I was offered £135K to buy the car back from the dealer today haha. If you don’t laugh you’ll cry.

[nathwraith1]

2.5pi said:

I’ve followed this thread since the start..DBX certainly looked an appropriate choice for me…your experience has largely undone that impression & I’m very thankful for the details you’ve provided

…I’m still searching for Range Rover insurance providers btw

The DBX and DBX 707 are incredible cars. They are engaging and fun to drive quickly but have the duality to cruise well and run family duties very well. I have been seriously unlucky I feel. As a used buy(in warranty) they are certainly worth a look!

[nathwraith1]

NGK210 said:

Perhaps a polite but firm email, incl. a link to this thread, to the ‘new broom’ might be effective?
[e-mail]

Emailed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Not really sure what I’m expecting.

[nathwraith1]

nathwraith1 said:

Emailed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Not really sure what I’m expecting.

Never mind, both emails bounced back

[nathwraith1]

Master Bean said:

Who buys ready to use screen wash?

Me obviously! Although I normally use concentrate diluted but do like to have a pre mix bag to go ready in the car.

[nathwraith1]

Gnevans said:

ossibly not the biggest cost here.

Haha touché

[nathwraith1]

NGK210 said:

Ah, b*gger, probably means Hallmark hasn’t officially started, still on gardening leave.

Allegedly, this fella is the global head of sales operations, who in turn would (should) be interested to hear about your crap dealership experience:
[e-mail]

[e-mail] is the general format, could also try lawrence.stroll@…

No bounce back this time. Let’s see what they have to say.

Can’t be worse than “we’ll buy your car back at £135K” like my local dealer haha

[nathwraith1]

JAMSXR said:

I feel your pain (but on a much smaller scale) when my FL5 Type R developed a steering issue. Escalating with senior management seems like the best option, in parallel it’s probably worth contacting their customer services directly to raise a case.

Maybe it’s a dodgy angle but this isn’t exactly the finish you would expect from a car like this.

So I got a reply to my email which just got me a call from the dealer, no doubt after they got a ball bagging.

The best they can do is fix the car and offer a discount on a new one. But I’m not really in market for a 2 seater or 2+2. We have welcomed our second child last week so long drives in a sports GT aren’t really the priority!

[nathwraith1]

Mezzanine said:

So basically what they should have noticed/rectified previous anyway without you having to email an important guy and the chance to repeat your less than stella buying experience as well as lose all that money over again?

Not exactly a premium experience.

I know. Absolutely useless really.

[nathwraith1]

CSK1 said:

Sorry to hear you are having ongoing problems with your car Nath. I doubt you can reject the car after having owned it for so long.
The trim under the bonnet coming loose should be an easy fix though so I wouldn’t worry too much.
I would definitely try another dealer.
Again, for those contemplating the purchase of a DBX and for some balance, my DBX707 has been faultless over 18 months and 30,000 km (about 19K miles).
I’ve had one single issue, the exhaust valve mechanism got stuck in closed mode in one of the exhausts, replaced under warranty.
Lovely car, I can’t see anything else that would offer the same driver involvement in total comfort.
A Purosangue perhaps but even more expensive and I need to be able to have 5 seats occasionally, Purosangue has only 4.
Love the idea of the naturally aspirated V12 though!
I would find a competent dealer who sorts your car Nath, that would be the more cost effective option for you .

This is it. All the VAG alternatives to the dbx are not as engaging to drive or exclusive to own.

The Ferrari questionable styling, practicality and price but the drivetrain is heavenly.

[nathwraith1]

bolidemichael said:

SydneyBridge said:

Would you consider a Urus?

nathwraith1 said:

All the VAG alternatives to the dbx are not as engaging to drive or exclusive to own.

Haha touché. The Urus has a serious image problem. Although it no doubt is the wiser financial option, they hold value well.

[nathwraith1]

NomduJour said:

Think it goes with the small-volume territory, a DBX is still an awful lot more desirable than the VWs.

Agreed. The bespoke nature of the car is appealing and I can take a few niggles but this car been a lot more than a few!

[nathwraith1]

Good morning PHers. I find myself in a first world dilemma.

My complaining to Aston has borne some fruit as I have now been offered a significant discount off a new DBX707 or vantage or DB12.

Currently our household has my dbx and my wife’s RAV4. Now the RAV4 is being replaced by a Cayenne E Hybrid in a months time so it has me musing some options:

A) keep the DBX, swap RAV for cayenne as planned
B) get a new DBX and hope everything is different this time, swap RAV for cayenne
C) get rid of DBX, acquire vantage/db12, keep the RAV and buy cayenne
D) keep DBX, buy vantage/db12, swap RAV with cayenne
E) get rid of dbx, acquire a m3 touring type car, acquire vantage/db12, swap RAV for cayenne

Sometimes when in doubt do nothing but I can’t shake that getting a solid discount of one of these cars is tempting.

[nathwraith1]

Stu78 said:

Got to say I'd be seriously tempted with a DB12 but will it fit in with your lifestyle? The DBX ticks lots of your boxes and I'm not sure a Cayenne will fill that role. You'd hope the facelift DBX has sorted some of the issues and I suspect you might miss the DBX.

This is a valid point. Naturally I lust after the low centre of gravity sports/GT car vs the SUV but like you say, lifestyle priorities. Having two young kids isn’t going to allow much “me time” in a car like that and they are both a good few years away from being able to be slung in the back!

The new DBX is very much the same car just with a different infotainment, which does make it harder to justify especially as the price has gone up quite significantly (£158k base when I bought mine vs £205k base now!).

[nathwraith1]

Acorn1 said:

The NSX looks awesome, Aston not so much.

Thanks, I sold it 2 years ago now.

Funnily enough it’s back up for sale @ DT Performance you are interested in it. I’m not affiliated to them fyi, they bought it off me and the subsequent owner has put around 6k on it and then sold it back to them by the looks of it. I can’t think of a much better car for £95k tbh.

[nathwraith1]

Master Bean said:

Replace DBX with Toyota Avensis.

I think I’d truly lose the will to live then haha