Market specific spec changes

[velocitas]

I'm considering a gaydon DBS manual as a long term investment, I absolutely love the look of the car and given it's Bond association coupled with it's place as one of the last V12 manuals I think it could be a safe bet. I'll also benefit be bringing the car back to Europe tax free when I've finished in my term in the Middle East.

The question I have for the gents of the Aston forum is two fold; is the DBS a good prospect for a long term investment versus say a V12 Vantage, secondly for eventual resale do you know of any major spec changes between the GCC (Gulf) specs and other European LHD markets? Car will likely be placed on Dutch, German or Monegasque plates when I return to Europe.

[C997]

I was told by the dealer in Doha that my V8V was exactly the same spec as the UK cars. The big issue with that was the capacity of the AC system which was inadequate at best in the four hot months.

It had the umbrella in the boot though, useful for both days it rained per year!

[mikey k]

I'd say a manual V12V vantage is a better bet as they were made in much smaller numbers.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

mikey k said:

I'd say a manual V12V vantage is a better bet as they were made in much smaller numbers.

I doubt that this is the case. For there to be as many manual DBS as V12V would require about 35% of all DBS produced to have been equipped with the manual. So, a manual DBS is rarer than a V12V.

[velocitas]

Cheers gents,

@C997S - I had heard that GCC cars are generally "fully loaded" and only uprated in terms of cooling systems when speaking to my Mercedes dealer regarding the spec on my S so you might be onto something. Realistically I should stop by the AM dealer and pose them the same question.

@Mikey - It's a fair point and something to consider neither are likely to depreciate too heavily

[mikey k]

DB9VolanteDriver said:

mikey k said:

I'd say a manual V12V vantage is a better bet as they were made in much smaller numbers.

I doubt that this is the case. For there to be as many manual DBS as V12V would require about 35% of all DBS produced to have been equipped with the manual. So, a manual DBS is rarer than a V12V.

I didn't say manual DBS (I know the OP did)
Yes manual DBS's are even rarer but they are only the early ones and very very hard to find.

[AMDBSNick]

mikey k said:

I didn't say manual DBS (I know the OP did)
Yes manual DBS's are even rarer but they are only the early ones and very very hard to find.

Especially with B&O

[mikey k]

AMDBSNick said:

Especially with B&O

Yous is just uber exclusive
manual
pop up speakers
Curry coded interior (see what I did there )
Not sure what the last one does for value though

[JohnG1]

C997 said:

I was told by the dealer in Doha that my V8V was exactly the same spec as the UK cars. The big issue with that was the capacity of the AC system which was inadequate at best in the four hot months.

It had the umbrella in the boot though, useful for both days it rained per year!

I have spoken with people in Gaydon and the cooling system for V12V is global - there is no different system for hot or cold countries. DB9 was proposed to have a hot country system and this has a part number but it's not available - I have been told it was an idea that was never followed up to delivery.

[C997]

JohnG1 said:

I have spoken with people in Gaydon and the cooling system for V12V is global - there is no different system for hot or cold countries. DB9 was proposed to have a hot country system and this has a part number but it's not available - I have been told it was an idea that was never followed up to delivery.

That makes sense. Makes sense in that I sweated my *rse off for two and a half years driving it in 50C ambient in summer with cooling vents that would only blow at neck height. Would still do it again though :-).

Not sure where you are looking to buy but you wont get a V12V in Qatar, there was only one and the guy that owns it is, let's call it flush. There was one for sale in Al Ain Class in the UAE for a long time. Not sure if it's still there or not. My old V8 is/was for sale in Dubai a few weeks back.

cheers,

[velocitas]

mikey k said:

AMDBSNick said:

Especially with B&O

Yous is just uber exclusive
manual
pop up speakers
Curry coded interior (see what I did there )
Not sure what the last one does for value though

B&O is on the nice to have list, not sure my hears would know the difference between it and the standard setup but I do like the novelty of the popup tweeters.

Curry interior on the other hand I'll pass. I'm going to be a boring sod and look for Black Half Leather / Alcantara with Grey or Black exterior.

[velocitas]

C997 said:

JohnG1 said:

I have spoken with people in Gaydon and the cooling system for V12V is global - there is no different system for hot or cold countries. DB9 was proposed to have a hot country system and this has a part number but it's not available - I have been told it was an idea that was never followed up to delivery.

That makes sense. Makes sense in that I sweated my *rse off for two and a half years driving it in 50C ambient in summer with cooling vents that would only blow at neck height. Would still do it again though :-).

Not sure where you are looking to buy but you wont get a V12V in Qatar, there was only one and the guy that owns it is, let's call it flush. There was one for sale in Al Ain Class in the UAE for a long time. Not sure if it's still there or not. My old V8 is/was for sale in Dubai a few weeks back.

cheers,

@JohnG1- That's a positive at least, on the whole the spec on Gulf cars seems to be above and beyond Euro specs rather than below standard.

@C997- I think that V12 Vantage is the one I was looking at... Black 2011/2012 it was for sale for months but I just went online and couldn't find it listed anymore.

[velocitas]

Found it, just slotted a few offsite meetings in my diary and I'm off for a look
http://www.formulamotors.ae/index.php/listing/asto...

Getting serious pressure on the home front to buy a FFRR Supercharged we looked at over the weekend but I've no interest in joining the SUV set.

[petop]

Is that the right price. 265k AED works out on my XE app as being 48k UK! I pass through Dubai every 3 months, i would be tempted to pick one up and throw it in a ISO container and meet it at Flexistowe!

[C997]

velocitas said:

Found it, just slotted a few offsite meetings in my diary and I'm off for a look
http://www.formulamotors.ae/index.php/listing/asto...

Getting serious pressure on the home front to buy a FFRR Supercharged we looked at over the weekend but I've no interest in joining the SUV set.

That's it, that's the one. Maybe it was Formula motors I saw it in and not Al Ain Class, can't remember tbh.

[C997]

petop said:

Is that the right price. 265k AED works out on my XE app as being 48k UK! I pass through Dubai every 3 months, i would be tempted to pick one up and throw it in a ISO container and meet it at Flexistowe!

That used to be a good money maker for some of the expats many years ago in Doha. Order an RHD Merc from the main dealer and ship it straight back to the UK for a tidy profit. The rules were changed years ago to stop it and I believe you cant order RHD any more.

If you're in the right place at the right time, you can pick some incredible deals. Had my V8V for 2.5 years, 8000km, 2500 quid on brake pads and services, a new clutch on warranty, and I sold it for exactly what I paid for it. My sale price was going rate, I got it cheap. Had a mate who bought a Cayenne Turbo S for about the price of a good night out! It was a bit rough in places but still the deal of a lifetime.

[velocitas]

Unfortunately the car "couldn't be found" by the absolutely useless salesman. The suspiciously low price also made me wonder if the car had a dubious history.

Long story short, I got tired of the hassle of looking around Dubai for the right car and was running out of time as work is busy at the moment so I ended up with a deposit on a low mileage R8 instead. Which will make a nice run around while I continue the search for the perfect DBS.