DB7 as a daily?

[TROOPER88]

Hello
I have recently parted with a 911 and have just seen this on e-bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1996-ASTON-MARTIN-DB7-AU...

Mine field, avoid at all costs money pit or not??

I have a 30 miles round commute a day from Walton on Thames into Hammersmith.

Silly idea or the potential to own it for a year and sell on at the same price?

Cheers

[Dalto123]

I would have expected it to cost more than a 911 to run in my opinion, parts, servicing etc... The seller seems shady with his mileage only talking about average mileage and how strong the engine is without giving a proper number.

[TROOPER88]

Dalto123 said:

I would have expected it to cost more than a 911 to run in my opinion, parts, servicing etc... The seller seems shady with his mileage only talking about average mileage and how strong the engine is without giving a proper number.

The seller pictures the odometer in the advert; it has covered 103,000 miles with FSH according to the seller.
I am pretty handy with the spanners myself; is basic servicing and brakes etc something a home mechanic could take on?

Thanks

[Dalto123]

TROOPER88 said:

The seller pictures the odometer in the advert; it has covered 103,000 miles with FSH according to the seller.
I am pretty handy with the spanners myself; is basic servicing and brakes etc something a home mechanic could take on?

Thanks

Ah! Didn't see that in the pictures. Still, it does look like a good way into Aston ownership. With any car, particularly of this type I would check all maintinence records are in check. Must say you're quite brave to take on the maintinence yourself :-) and it would pretty cool to say you use a DB7 as your daily car!

[CraigV12V]

TROOPER88 said:

The seller pictures the odometer in the advert; it has covered 103,000 miles with FSH according to the seller.
I am pretty handy with the spanners myself; is basic servicing and brakes etc something a home mechanic could take on?

Thanks

I reckon you could do things like brakes yourself. Over the years of owning exotic cars, I have endeavoured to always get the dealer stamp for services but where ever possible try and use others for the simpler stuff, such as you are looking to undertake. Saved me a small fortune over the years. Luckily I have family with a garage so changing discs etc is something they can do and it costs me little in labour. I haven’t resorted yet to supplying the dealer with oil for a service, but I might yet!

I guess the problem is that 911's are pretty bullet proof and AM's older marque's don't carry same reputation although I am no expert on DB7's, certainly the likes of the Vanquish come in for a lot of stick for spending more time in the dealer’s garage than yours.

I would of thought the amount of technology on a DB7 is somewhat less than modern cars and easier for DIY enthusiasts. But AM parts will doubtless costs a small fortune even if you fit them yourself.

But I am sure I will not be the last posting on here and others wiser and more experienced than I will be able to advise you of the idiosyncrasies of a DB7. Beautiful looking beast though.

[Grom1t]

I,ve had mine for 6 months now, apart from constant engine warning light that I need to resolve there is not anything I have seen yet to be scared of, unfortunately the Zytec ECU is very bespoke so its a case of working through issues

Underneath it looks pretty much like a 4.0l XJS I owned, and once you start digging most of the mechanics are Jag items.

No reason then not to cover lots of miles, straight 6 engines are very strong, just keep changing all the fluids and greasing the rear end.

Interior is high quality so lasts well, couple of bits are cheap mazda parts, ie door handles.

They rust.... look closely.

Economy, 3.2's are not bad into the 20's, V12's far worse.

[V8LM]

I used one (very early i6 manual) a daily for several years. Lovely car. British weather is your enemy, and at the time I spent a considerable amount of its value on repairs. However, to put things in perspective, I sold it to pay for a bill on the Lemon. Budget for a few thousand a year to keep running (providing it is decent now) and you will be smiling. Budget for a few hundred and you'll regret the day.