DB9 - 60,000 miles - dangerous?

[Petrus1983]

Am I crazy to consider such a car - 60,000 miles, convertible, FSH - and I’d be buying it on a budget. It would be used for Goodwood and maybe a French hoon a year.

[DAVIDOXE]

Sounds fab what are you worried about? What year is the car i beleive early cars had some engine issues.

[paulrog1]

No not at all, these cars can handle the miles really well, plus they are better if they are used and not a garage queen.

Make sure the suspension arms, brakes, shocks and wheel bearings are ok.

Full service history is ok, but sometimes even the main dealers skip service intervals as the owners don't want to pay.

Look at all the previous invoices for replacement parts ok, very important to find out when the sparkplugs and coil pack were replaced.

Try to find out exactly why the previous owner is selling it, do not believe his story..........there will be something wrong with the car that's expensive to sort, you just need to find out.

IMO people sell these cars because there is a huge garage bill coming up.

But........don't worry, I run my early DB9 on a budget, I do all the work and service it myself, mainly use genuine AM parts and sometimes if I find identical parts cheaper I'll use them. The car does share parts with Ford/Volvo/Landrover.

Lots of info on here regarding buying a DB9.

My 7 things to do -

1 - Disconnect Tracker
2 - Replace the old radiator
3 - Remove and recondition the rear subframe
4 - Remove the Primary cats
5 - Replace the sparkplugs and coilpacks
6 - Renew the ZF gearbox oil
7 - Renew the power steering fluid

I've almost done everything above, no1 and 4 you'll need to go to Bamford Rose as they are not a home garage job.

Plus keep up with all the service intervals like replacing the rear diff oil, coolant and brake fluid, there are specified service intervals for all these, minor service every year, major service every other year.

Go and get it and enjoy it, the DB9 are the most beautiful cars in the world.

Edited by paulrog1 on Thursday 22 April 19:45

Edited by paulrog1 on Thursday 22 April 19:47

[Hutch525]

Mines over 90k and a 2004 model
No issues with the engine what so ever

[Petrus1983]

paulrog1 said:

No not at all, these cars can handle the miles really well, plus they are better if they are used and not a garage queen.

Make sure the suspension arms, brakes, shocks and wheel bearings are ok.

Full service history is ok, but sometimes even the main dealers skip service intervals as the owners don't want to pay.

Look at all the previous invoices for replacement parts ok, very important to find out when the sparkplugs and coil pack were replaced.

Try to find out exactly why the previous owner is selling it, do not believe his story..........there will be something wrong with the car that's expensive to sort, you just need to find out.

IMO people sell these cars because there is a huge garage bill coming up.

But........don't worry, I run my early DB9 on a budget, I do all the work and service it myself, mainly use genuine AM parts and sometimes if I find identical parts cheaper I'll use them. The car does share parts with Ford/Volvo/Landrover.

Lots of info on here regarding buying a DB9.

My 7 things to do -

1 - Disconnect Tracker
2 - Replace the old radiator
3 - Remove and recondition the rear subframe
4 - Remove the Primary cats
5 - Replace the sparkplugs and coilpacks
6 - Renew the ZF gearbox oil
7 - Renew the power steering fluid

I've almost done everything above, no1 and 4 you'll need to go to Bamford Rose as they are not a home garage job.

Plus keep up with all the service intervals like replacing the rear diff oil, coolant and brake fluid, there are specified service intervals for all these, minor service every year, major service every other year.

Go and get it and enjoy it, the DB9 are the most beautiful cars in the world.

Edited by paulrog1 on Thursday 22 April 19:45

Edited by paulrog1 on Thursday 22 April 19:47

Thanks so much for this. It’s an ex HR Owen with perfect service history. I’ll certainly follow your advice on all the points.

[Petrus1983]

Hutch525 said:

Mines over 90k and a 2004 model
No issues with the engine what so ever

Great to know.

[CAPP0]

Mine's on 65k now and no significant issues. It was at a main dealer last year and they (unprompted) pronounced it "a good one". Currently it needs a new AC condenser (but that's very much not a marque-specific thing) and the upper suspension arms squeak a bit at times - simple to rectify but the arms are pricey. Otherwise, it gets used whenever I fancy driving it, which is every week at some point or two. Miles schmiles, so it'll be worth a bit less in future, but hey, so will I!

Re French hoons, as soon as we're allowed I'll be off with MrsC in mine to recreate at least part of my stag roadtrip many years ago, which of course she wasn't part of! (broadly, Calais > Millau > Monaco > Italian Lakes > multiple Alpine passes > Nurburging > Calais).

JFDI!

[Manners79]

Bit low on the miles to be honest. Is it even run in yet???

(It's not some Italian fancy boy delicate thing - meant to be driven and all the better for it!)

[pancholi]

mileage is not an issue on these cars as long as the usual maintenance, that you have already highlighted, is kept up to date with.

[Petrus1983]

pancholi said:

mileage is not an issue on these cars as long as the usual maintenance, that you have already highlighted, is kept up to date with.

Thanks - I’ll certainly be paying the service history a lot of attention. Hoping to see it at lunchtime.

[JonnyCJ]

paulrog1 said:

Go and get it and enjoy it, the DB9 are the most beautiful cars in the world.

Normally I find your posts informative, entertaining and helpful, however you are very wide of the mark here.

The VH series Vantage is CLEARLY the most beautiful car in the world !

Pass the popcorn...

[MarkM3Evoplus]

It is a big, low stressed V12. Less than 500bhp from 6 litres.

If it has been serviced regularly, I would expect it to triple that mileage before needing any serious work

[SL500UK]

I think it all depends how much of a tight budget you're on? Whilst these cars are pretty solid, they're not cheap to maintain should anything need to be replaced.

[Petrus1983]

The car wasn’t there today so no updates until Monday. I’m still interested but other options are on the table.

[Audis5b9]

Please keep us updated.

I think I'm about 10 months behind you on your search.

Hoping to buy a nice 09 or newer example in a years time for £30-40k.

I'm not fussed by the mileage as long as its been maintained.

[Sydney V8V]

My 2 007 Vantage is over 130,000Ks or 80,000 miles and goes like a rocket.Just fitted VAP exhaust headers with 100 cell cats and X pipe with VAP update to ECU and goes even better.

[JohnG1]

Sydney V8V said:

My 2 007 Vantage is over 130,000Ks or 80,000 miles and goes like a rocket.Just fitted VAP exhaust headers with 100 cell cats and X pipe with VAP update to ECU and goes even better.

Hello! Could you please explain why you fitted an X-pipe in the exhaust system? What does it do for you? It's a genuine question, I'm interested in understanding the purpose. Thank you!

[Astontony]

JohnG1 said:

Hello! Could you please explain why you fitted an X-pipe in the exhaust system? What does it do for you? It's a genuine question, I'm interested in understanding the purpose. Thank you!

Hi John,
I fitted an X pipe to my 2009 DB9 and after some research decided on an x pipe as due to the nature of its manufacture each pipe scavenges the other which in turn increases the outward flow of exhaust gases which is a plus for any restrictions in the exhaust chain eg, Cat converters.

I found after fitted the car seemed to rev more freely, sounded deeper, barked a bit between gears at 4000 rpm and generally seemed to perform better.
From my research a h pipe or straight pipes don't have this scavenging benefit.
There are many good youtube clips and tests on this topic.

[cornershop]

Bamford have done some videos on the DB9 ‘tick’ - worth watching if you haven’t already.

[Sydney V8V]

Astontony best explained X pipe , found it well worth it. V8 wails now .