Discussion
My first visit to this forum and a big hello to my fellow car enthusiasts.
My background. Well I won't see 45 again. Always been a petrol head. The first word I ever spoke was car indeed before mum and dad.
So all down hill from there really.
I own an eclectic mix of vehicles.
I am not a one make car guy.
You have to sample the delights of many and enjoy their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Okay I have a heavy 911 focus all air cooled.
Not really a new car guy save for the Cat but who can resist an old school muscle car with modern day underpinnings.
So what next.
My thoughts have turned to one of the most iconic cars ever made.
The early Aston Martin.
I would very much appreciate some real world insight into the DB4,5 and 6.
What are they like to live with. Not a daily but a fair weather friend. (how the hell do you keep on top of those beautiful wire wheels)
Who can I trust to look after it and carry out a thorough pre purchase inspection.
It would be manual.
Budget £300K which I sense might not be enough.
allastonmartin have a graphite DB6 at £300K which looks nice in the pictures. (we all know pictures can lie)
Originally a white car with a 4.5 vantage spec engine.
Would that kill resale having been messed with.
The DB4 in Wedgwood blue at £365
Your thoughts, warts and all would be very much appreciated
My background. Well I won't see 45 again. Always been a petrol head. The first word I ever spoke was car indeed before mum and dad.
So all down hill from there really.
I own an eclectic mix of vehicles.
I am not a one make car guy.
You have to sample the delights of many and enjoy their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Okay I have a heavy 911 focus all air cooled.
Not really a new car guy save for the Cat but who can resist an old school muscle car with modern day underpinnings.
So what next.
My thoughts have turned to one of the most iconic cars ever made.
The early Aston Martin.
I would very much appreciate some real world insight into the DB4,5 and 6.
What are they like to live with. Not a daily but a fair weather friend. (how the hell do you keep on top of those beautiful wire wheels)
Who can I trust to look after it and carry out a thorough pre purchase inspection.
It would be manual.
Budget £300K which I sense might not be enough.
allastonmartin have a graphite DB6 at £300K which looks nice in the pictures. (we all know pictures can lie)
Originally a white car with a 4.5 vantage spec engine.
Would that kill resale having been messed with.
The DB4 in Wedgwood blue at £365
Your thoughts, warts and all would be very much appreciated
Not really easy to give answers to those questions in a thread like this. Could write pages and pages. As a general comment, compared with modern cars (even a budget modern car), they aren't great to drive, the brakes are terrible, the handling poor and they 325bhp (or so) of the Tadek V6 feels like a lot less. The cars get very hot inside - you can get thermal insulation for the drive tunnel, engine wall etc, but expect to be lightly boiled, one reason why retro-fitting air conditioning is popular
But then driving them is unforgettable, they truly make you feel special, you realise that you don't truly own the car, you're merely the privileged and temporary caretaker of a piece of history
The DB4 is lighter, purer of design, but as you would expect as the first generation (well first 5 generations really) it's not as well sorted. Prone to overheating etc. But they are truly classics and I wouldn't be too surprised to see them overtaking DB5s in value in due course
The DB5 is beautiful. But with the James Bond connection don't even think about it with a £300k budget. A well sorted one will be more than twice that now
Which leaves the DB6. It's the most sorted. The Kamm tail helps handling (but detracts from the lines). There's more rear room. But the car is heavier (and lots came with automatic transmission). But with a £300k budget it's the most realistic prospect unless you want to look at a DBS or a V8
Originality, particularly matching numbers adds value. A change of paint colour isn't ideal but not disastrous. But the huge thing to watch for is condition. You MUST get an independent inspection. The cars used a lot of aluminium but everything else corrodes and unscrupulous dealers/sellers often conceal it with new paint jobs etc. Frankly if the car hasn't had a full restoration within the last 10-15 years you're facing huge bills. At the very least sills need to have been redone (they rot). And on a 50 year old car the engine should have been rebuilt at some point. On the 5 & 6 the engines were 4.0ltr but you will mostly find 4.2s now as it's easier to bore out the liners than remove them when rebuilding/converting to unleaded. Some owners took them out to 4.5 in the process. For me it's not a big deal
They are rewarding cars to own. But he prepared for big bills if the car has not been restored recently!
But then driving them is unforgettable, they truly make you feel special, you realise that you don't truly own the car, you're merely the privileged and temporary caretaker of a piece of history
The DB4 is lighter, purer of design, but as you would expect as the first generation (well first 5 generations really) it's not as well sorted. Prone to overheating etc. But they are truly classics and I wouldn't be too surprised to see them overtaking DB5s in value in due course
The DB5 is beautiful. But with the James Bond connection don't even think about it with a £300k budget. A well sorted one will be more than twice that now
Which leaves the DB6. It's the most sorted. The Kamm tail helps handling (but detracts from the lines). There's more rear room. But the car is heavier (and lots came with automatic transmission). But with a £300k budget it's the most realistic prospect unless you want to look at a DBS or a V8
Originality, particularly matching numbers adds value. A change of paint colour isn't ideal but not disastrous. But the huge thing to watch for is condition. You MUST get an independent inspection. The cars used a lot of aluminium but everything else corrodes and unscrupulous dealers/sellers often conceal it with new paint jobs etc. Frankly if the car hasn't had a full restoration within the last 10-15 years you're facing huge bills. At the very least sills need to have been redone (they rot). And on a 50 year old car the engine should have been rebuilt at some point. On the 5 & 6 the engines were 4.0ltr but you will mostly find 4.2s now as it's easier to bore out the liners than remove them when rebuilding/converting to unleaded. Some owners took them out to 4.5 in the process. For me it's not a big deal
They are rewarding cars to own. But he prepared for big bills if the car has not been restored recently!
Btw - the db4 on Byrons site looks fabulous.its a shame it's LHD
The DB6 I'd want to see the full history file. It stops at 2010 in the website. One thing I should add with DB6s. If you go back even just 6-7 years they traded hands at £100k. So for many owners it wasn't worth spending large sums on restoration etc. So short cuts are more common. Did the recommendation of repairing the rust in 2010 get acted on?
The DB6 I'd want to see the full history file. It stops at 2010 in the website. One thing I should add with DB6s. If you go back even just 6-7 years they traded hands at £100k. So for many owners it wasn't worth spending large sums on restoration etc. So short cuts are more common. Did the recommendation of repairing the rust in 2010 get acted on?
Wrong time to be buying IMO.
I suspect 300k limits you to a DB6, and I wouldn't buy one. Like many British cars of that era they became bloated to suit the US market (IMO).
Never owned any of them. Very nearly bought a DB4 12yrs or so ago. Beautiful car. Nice to drive. Sounded great. Had a few issues during the test drive which in all likelihood were minor but prompted me to continue my search for a Daytona (which was the original target).
If it were me, it would likely be a late DB4 or a DB5. Prices of all classics just seem...steep....to me though. They have done for a number of years.
When I bought a Daytona my view was that it was highly unlikely to lose much/any money so was a safe bet even if it would cost some money to run. That was when they were 5 figure cars. (The DB4 was similar money at the time).
At current levels I wouldn't be anywhere near confident enough in that approach.
I'd take the view that if you can afford for them to fall back to 5 figure levels without wincing, do it. Otherwise, wait.
I suspect 300k limits you to a DB6, and I wouldn't buy one. Like many British cars of that era they became bloated to suit the US market (IMO).
Never owned any of them. Very nearly bought a DB4 12yrs or so ago. Beautiful car. Nice to drive. Sounded great. Had a few issues during the test drive which in all likelihood were minor but prompted me to continue my search for a Daytona (which was the original target).
If it were me, it would likely be a late DB4 or a DB5. Prices of all classics just seem...steep....to me though. They have done for a number of years.
When I bought a Daytona my view was that it was highly unlikely to lose much/any money so was a safe bet even if it would cost some money to run. That was when they were 5 figure cars. (The DB4 was similar money at the time).
At current levels I wouldn't be anywhere near confident enough in that approach.
I'd take the view that if you can afford for them to fall back to 5 figure levels without wincing, do it. Otherwise, wait.
I'd say it depends what type of owner you are. If you want mechanical and cosmetic perfection, then you will face big bills to achieve that or pay a high purchase price. And once perfection has been achieved, it will cost to maintain. However if you are comfortable with a mechanically well sorted but otherwise well patinated car, then they are not that expensive to own. My DB4 got its MOT this year with no advisories for under £300 of which over £100 was cost of 3 gallons of oil.
A few years ago driving in rain through Wales, came to a village with 30 limit, monitored by 2 policemen with a speed gun. As I went by (slowly), they put the speed gun down and applauded. Yes they are classic and many of the points raised by Robdown are very true
PM me if you want, I've owned mine since 1979 and have more or less all its service history since new except 64 to 67
A few years ago driving in rain through Wales, came to a village with 30 limit, monitored by 2 policemen with a speed gun. As I went by (slowly), they put the speed gun down and applauded. Yes they are classic and many of the points raised by Robdown are very true
PM me if you want, I've owned mine since 1979 and have more or less all its service history since new except 64 to 67
Having spent a year just having my DB6 restored and prior to that a long search to find what I considered to be the "right car" all I can say I have never regretted it and find the DB6 a very practical classic car, goes really well and although I don't want to loose money I am not interested in the car as an investment but one to driven hard and used. Yes the market values DB4 & 5s more highly, 5s probably because of the marque's best brand ambassador - James Bond. You can certainly find good DB6s for £300K but you will need to be prepared to fund some work at that level but that could wait until you are ready. Please PM me if you wish.
I have been running these cars since 1999 and have examples of each model. They are all, in my opinion, wonderful. The DB6 coupe gives you the most for your money at less than half the cost of a 5. How the cars drive is much more a reflection of how they have been maintained/restored than a reflection of the differences between models. My advice would be to go for the best condition car you can and have a specialist do an RTR for you. Bodywise, make sure you check the sills and that the panels are not rippled and enginewise do a compression check. A full engine rebuild will be between 30 and 40k by the time you are done. I think that because of values the 6s have typically not have had the money spent on them that 4s and 5s have. Bear in mind a full restoration is at least £350k. If you are looking to spend 300k you are probably limited to a non-Vantage 6 coupe. You could get a very good car at that price. I see Des Smails has a rally spec DB6 which has had a full Bodylines / Smail restoration for 280k asking which looks tempting (not my car I hasten to add!). Avoid DB6 autos. Avoid anything restored by anyone except a marque specialist as the details will inevitably be wrong. Properly looked after they are reliable and good fun. Thats my two-penneth worth!
VS co-drove a DB5 on the Peking to Paris rally:
http://www.rswilliams.co.uk/aston-martin-projects/...
http://www.rswilliams.co.uk/aston-martin-projects/...
Edited by V8LM on Sunday 23 July 15:52
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