RE: Aston Martin DB7 | The Brave Pill
Discussion
Stick Legs said:
I'm not, firstly the Works Service upgrades are mind warpingly expensive. Secondly the DB7 is recognised for what it is by AM themselves. Thirdly they would have to invest a fortune to make the tooling with very little chance of selling anything. Fouthly the Upgrades for say Virage V8 are based on the later Vantage and V8 Coupe parts, so the sourcing and tooling process as already happened, for the DB7 it would be a case of redesigning and new tooling for obsolete components for a 15 year OOP car.
It's not like they actually tooled up for most of those parts in the first place. They were bought in. There are loads of companies who could provide nicer steering wheels and seats, and probably even more places in China who could turn out the original switchgear in nicer finishes. The mark up would be huge and the owners would be left with a really desirable car
I bought one of these earlier this month. In cobalt blue with 57,000 miles.
I deliberately wanted the supercharged straight six engine, which is very smooth and supercharged!
I have a DB9 with a V12 and the DB7 is a lovely alternative.
Mine is a very early car which has the composite panels, so less to rust.
I deliberately wanted the supercharged straight six engine, which is very smooth and supercharged!
I have a DB9 with a V12 and the DB7 is a lovely alternative.
Mine is a very early car which has the composite panels, so less to rust.
belfry said:
I bought one of these earlier this month. In cobalt blue with 57,000 miles.
I deliberately wanted the supercharged straight six engine, which is very smooth and supercharged!
I have a DB9 with a V12 and the DB7 is a lovely alternative.
Mine is a very early car which has the composite panels, so less to rust.
Its the early cars I like most. Something very elegant about them.I deliberately wanted the supercharged straight six engine, which is very smooth and supercharged!
I have a DB9 with a V12 and the DB7 is a lovely alternative.
Mine is a very early car which has the composite panels, so less to rust.
I'd much rather have an XK8, except the DB7 was available with a manual gearbox - which sadly this one doesn't have!
IMHO they haven't aged as well as the XK8 in terms of styling either.
I'm sure they have some appeal to AM fans but there are plenty of other, quicker, cars I'd rather buy for that sort of money.
IMHO they haven't aged as well as the XK8 in terms of styling either.
I'm sure they have some appeal to AM fans but there are plenty of other, quicker, cars I'd rather buy for that sort of money.
As with Jaguar, AM managed to produce an ‘inverse TARDIS’, in that it was a lot smaller on the inside than the outside suggested.
The ones I have seen all have that whiff of Arthur Daley / bombsite car lots, with cracked leather, smelly and damp carpets and a slight sadness about them.
Not for me I’m afraid../
The ones I have seen all have that whiff of Arthur Daley / bombsite car lots, with cracked leather, smelly and damp carpets and a slight sadness about them.
Not for me I’m afraid../
tomic said:
It's not like they actually tooled up for most of those parts in the first place. They were bought in. There are loads of companies who could provide nicer steering wheels and seats, and probably even more places in China who could turn out the original switchgear in nicer finishes. The mark up would be huge and the owners would be left with a really desirable car
Yes the parts are bought in, but the OEM is still expected to buy any bespoke tooling required.We did the headlamps for these back in 1994. They are repackaged BMW projector units with a bespoke housing and outer lens. We just put them back into production actually, as demand is increasing for original parts. But I can’t see there would be any return in producing kits of new parts for them.
Never driven the six cylinder car but done a few thousand miles in the V12. It has its issues and a number of elements feel quite dated. However, to me, it looks great (not the body kit on this one) and the V12 sounds lovely. I have found it really comfortable for longer drives and it’s got a nice turn of pace when you want it. I quite like the look of the convertible someone posted above. They look great on the road and would make a really nice top-down cruiser for the summer. I think that’s the thing... these are best looked at as GTs and you aren’t going to want to push them that hard. Get into a rhythm on a nice road and there is definitely satisfaction you be had. Agree with others on corrosion and that would be a worry for me.
Good pill.
There's one near me in dark grey metallic. Still a good looking car IMHO. I kind of admire the bloke who runs it for making that street more interesting.
Cold logic would say get an aluminium XKR for the same money.
But I'm glad he didn't as it brightens up my day when I see it.
There's one near me in dark grey metallic. Still a good looking car IMHO. I kind of admire the bloke who runs it for making that street more interesting.
Cold logic would say get an aluminium XKR for the same money.
But I'm glad he didn't as it brightens up my day when I see it.
289 said:
Early model steering wheel looks fine
I did the airbag system engineering on the later DB7. The driver airbag is what it looks like, an XK8 part with a new embossing. 
These cars were so low volume there was no option (at the time) to do anything bespoke.
Shame about the bodykit on this one. Under there it’s still a lovely looking car
sparks_190e said:
I've seen many DB7's, love them, and they are a bargain and don't always cost the earth to run, however...
They rust. Floorpan, arches, front and rear screen edges.
The air conditioning evaporator can pack up on both the i6 and V12. Dash out job, £2-3k.
Coil packs on the V12 can fail, another circa £2k.
Some owners report module failures, particularly for the braking and lighting systems. These are increasingly hard to acquire now as numerous DB7 modules are NLA, and eye wateringly expensive if you can find them.
I do love the DB7 (not the one in the article, with it's naff bodykit) I'd wager a good one starts at around £22-£25k and should be purchased from a specialist such as Chiltern Aston.
A sub £20k V8 Vantage isn't going to be far away. That'll be the new bargain Aston.
BCA Blackbush have a V8 right now with a guide of £17.1 - £17.9 plus fees - been through once and whilst I haven't seen it - it's a 2005 4.3 manual with 63k miles.They rust. Floorpan, arches, front and rear screen edges.
The air conditioning evaporator can pack up on both the i6 and V12. Dash out job, £2-3k.
Coil packs on the V12 can fail, another circa £2k.
Some owners report module failures, particularly for the braking and lighting systems. These are increasingly hard to acquire now as numerous DB7 modules are NLA, and eye wateringly expensive if you can find them.
I do love the DB7 (not the one in the article, with it's naff bodykit) I'd wager a good one starts at around £22-£25k and should be purchased from a specialist such as Chiltern Aston.
A sub £20k V8 Vantage isn't going to be far away. That'll be the new bargain Aston.
This DB9 on Autotrader at £23k with a V12 and half the miles is surely worth the extra £9k (unless you haven't got an extra £9, in which case you probably shouldn't be buying an Aston):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
That is relatively reasonable, when you consider that a DB7 V12 Vantage with similar mileage went through an auction only 2 weeks ago for more than that!
https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2020-0...
https://www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2020-0...
The H & H auction results from 18th March are finally up (it was telephone / online bidding only in the end). A DB7 with 104k miles went for £10,125:
https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/4-1997-Aston-M...
https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/4-1997-Aston-M...
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