New DB9, but problems........
Discussion
A week ago I purchased my very first Aston Martin DB9, my lifetime dream, never thought i'd be able to own one, but life's been good to me and my career has developed better than I thought.
I do like the Vantage but my true love is for the DB9, I fell in love with this car when it was first released, and the closest I got to it back then was a toy remote control DB9. I'm not wealthy like some of you so my budget was low end, upto £40K, but I knew I could get a 2005 clean example.
It's meteroite silver with a grey interior, I love it.
Photo -
The purchase was from a very good garage, best customer service i've ever had, very enjoyable.
The drive home (around 100 miles was the best drive of my life).........But......... I noticed a few problems that I didn't find on the test drive, But it has a short warranty and most will get sorted by them which is great, I have found a few wear & tear issues which I am sorting out myself.
The car is currently off the road getting some problems sorted, once complete it should be sorted for sometime and I can start enjoying it!!
Paul.
I do like the Vantage but my true love is for the DB9, I fell in love with this car when it was first released, and the closest I got to it back then was a toy remote control DB9. I'm not wealthy like some of you so my budget was low end, upto £40K, but I knew I could get a 2005 clean example.
It's meteroite silver with a grey interior, I love it.
Photo -
The purchase was from a very good garage, best customer service i've ever had, very enjoyable.
The drive home (around 100 miles was the best drive of my life).........But......... I noticed a few problems that I didn't find on the test drive, But it has a short warranty and most will get sorted by them which is great, I have found a few wear & tear issues which I am sorting out myself.
The car is currently off the road getting some problems sorted, once complete it should be sorted for sometime and I can start enjoying it!!
Paul.
Rappa said:
Paul,
Well done. In my opinion the best car (biased obviously).
I actually prefer the original interior like yours and mine.
I hope you get the niggles sorted.
Sean
I'd have to agree - it's a much purer realisation in my opinion and did a wonderful job of combining traditional materials with a modern aesthetic. Well done. In my opinion the best car (biased obviously).
I actually prefer the original interior like yours and mine.
I hope you get the niggles sorted.
Sean
shuzzy said:
Nice one Paulrog1 great to see you have a DB9. Like already said you have the later 5 bar grill also, which I think looks better than the earlier 7 bar one. So what were the problems that you found with the car, hope you get them sorted.
The faults I have found since purchase - 1- The air con not working at all
2- The wiper plastic clips are broken and are worn, rubber splitting off either ends
3- All 4 brake pads & discs are worn & need replacing, almost down to the wear sensors.
4- All 4 TPMS sensors are either missing or smashed off rolling around inside the tyres (I took the car to a wheel refurbisher and they found the issues) There is not a light on the dash so assuming the TPMS control box has been bypassed.
5- Quite a bad steering wheel wobble at 60mph on motorways, i'm hoping the wheels are just out of balance.
5- The CD player does not work, cannot get the "Insert disc" to show ??
I'm getting the air con regassed, The wipers are an easy fix. I'm replacing all 4 brake pads and disc's.
The wheels have now returned from the refurbishers, they have done a great job, they have installed normal valves and obviously the previous owner bypassed the TPMS control unit, I might just leave it and just check the pressures once a month.
As soon as I get onto a motorway i'll see if there is still a wheel wobble as the wheel refurbishers have re-balanced the wheels.
Not sure about the CD player, it's going into a dealers next week for the aircon repair, they will investigate the problem with the CD player, but I found an iPod cable in the glove compartment, I think it's a retrofit, that might have something to do with the CD player issue? anybody have any ideas?
If your car had a Dension Gateway unit at some earlier stage that might explain the ipod connector. I would try and read up on the installation of one of these as it may involve some rerunning of the optical cables which may not have been put back properly on removal. Just a guess, not an expert opinion!
As for the aircon, I had a similar issue with my 2005 DB9 after purchase. I had the system recharged but it had a very slow leak and stopped cooling after about a week. Kwik Fit did a free uv leak detection for me but a repair is having to be done by an independent a/c specialist. A new pipe is all that will be required.
All the best, Mark
PS just an additional point - if you ever need to check the 4 wheel alignment, it's worth paying attention to the condition of all the bushings in the suspension. If you're unlucky - as I am - they can not only deteriorate but also they sometimes get completely seized into their mountings necessitating replacement wishbones! If you get the opportunity to do any work on this area then I'd seriously look into sourcing some alternative non-rubber replacements.
As for the aircon, I had a similar issue with my 2005 DB9 after purchase. I had the system recharged but it had a very slow leak and stopped cooling after about a week. Kwik Fit did a free uv leak detection for me but a repair is having to be done by an independent a/c specialist. A new pipe is all that will be required.
All the best, Mark
PS just an additional point - if you ever need to check the 4 wheel alignment, it's worth paying attention to the condition of all the bushings in the suspension. If you're unlucky - as I am - they can not only deteriorate but also they sometimes get completely seized into their mountings necessitating replacement wishbones! If you get the opportunity to do any work on this area then I'd seriously look into sourcing some alternative non-rubber replacements.
Edited by Markchip on Thursday 9th June 17:32
Markchip said:
If your car had a Dension Gateway unit at some earlier stage that might explain the ipod connector. I would try and read up on the installation of one of these as it may involve some rerunning of the optical cables which may not have been put back properly on removal. Just a guess, not an expert opinion!
As for the aircon, I had a similar issue with my 2005 DB9 after purchase. I had the system recharged but it had a very slow leak and stopped cooling after about a week. Kwik Fit did a free uv leak detection for me but a repair is having to be done by an independent a/c specialist. A new pipe is all that will be required.
All the best, Mark
PS just an additional point - if you ever need to check the 4 wheel alignment, it's worth paying attention to the condition of all the bushings in the suspension. If you're unlucky - as I am - they can not only deteriorate but also they sometimes get completely seized into their mountings necessitating replacement wishbones! If you get the opportunity to do any work on this area then I'd seriously look into sourcing some alternative non-rubber replacements.
Yes you are right, I connected an ipod to the connection in the glovebox and the screen told me there is a Dension Gateway 500 device connected, so that explains why the CD player doesn't work, I'm happy with that as I prefer to use an ipod instead of CDs.As for the aircon, I had a similar issue with my 2005 DB9 after purchase. I had the system recharged but it had a very slow leak and stopped cooling after about a week. Kwik Fit did a free uv leak detection for me but a repair is having to be done by an independent a/c specialist. A new pipe is all that will be required.
All the best, Mark
PS just an additional point - if you ever need to check the 4 wheel alignment, it's worth paying attention to the condition of all the bushings in the suspension. If you're unlucky - as I am - they can not only deteriorate but also they sometimes get completely seized into their mountings necessitating replacement wishbones! If you get the opportunity to do any work on this area then I'd seriously look into sourcing some alternative non-rubber replacements.
Edited by Markchip on Thursday 9th June 17:32
The car has all new brake pads and disc's all round, the wheels have come back from the refurbishers looking really good, plus no steering wheel wobble anymore.
The 2 problems still outstanding are the faulty air con and TPMS, it's going into Aston Martin Derby next Thursday 16th to look at those.
So overall I'm happy, most of the problems have been fixed and I'm really starting to enjoy the car now.
The gateway 500 has a small switch box to allow you to switch the CD player back on, see Link, you might need to search for it under the carpets?
http://www.dension.com/files/products/gateway_500/...
http://www.dension.com/files/products/gateway_500/...
sportie said:
The gateway 500 has a small switch box to allow you to switch the CD player back on, see Link, you might need to search for it under the carpets?
http://www.dension.com/files/products/gateway_500/...
Yes your right, I found the small box with the switch and the CD player now works, Great.http://www.dension.com/files/products/gateway_500/...
As soon as one problem gets resolved, another one comes round the corner, last week I removed the undertray to do some work underneath, I found a damp oil cooler pipe and the engine sump had a damp mist of light oil, so looks like the transmission cooler pipes are leaking.
The cars going into Stratstone Derby for the air con and TPMS tomorrow, they will investigate the cooling pipes also, the car still has warranty from the purchasing garage, hopefully they will agree to pay to fix these issues.
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