Db9.2 purchase advice.

[zepe]

Hi, long time lurker and finally the time has come. After test driving just about everything the db9.2 won me over as most complete package for my needs. So found a carbon edition in the perfect spec but it has been lowered with h&r springs by previous owner, the stock springs aren’t available as I’m buying car from independent dealer. So my question is would it be worth it to buy this car because the spec is exactly what I want or should I pass? I should add the Aston dealer quoted an insane price to bring the car back to stock saying the springs can’t be bought independently from the dampers.
Thx.

[zepe]

Thanks I should add I’m in the US and car is one of one carbon edition with every single option except suede steering wheel. Also the car is at a dealer 1500 miles from me, going to local Aston dealer for pre purchase inspection.

[zepe]

The car not being local is the biggest detriment to taking it to an independent, that would have been my preference, unfortunately the only option where the car is located is the main dealer.

[zepe]

Hmmm, that might be an option. Unfortunately for me I just fell in love with the spec. I'm really concerned about issues arising from car having been lowered. I'm flying out Tuesday to sign off on deal if car passes ppi, hopefully the aston dealer doing ppi can enlighten me where the car might have been modified.

[zepe]

Well gents drove car and was pleasantly surprised, car was a little stiffer but not so much that it made it a deal breaker. Turns out the local Aston dealer actually installed the springs but no one knows where the stock ones ended up. All paperwork as been signed just awaiting the inspection, unfortunately due to inclement weather it might be a couple more days.

[zepe]

cayman-black said:

That looks terrific, congratulations.

Thank you, I love the spec/colors it even has fluted leather headliner.

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

Congratulations. I love my 9.2. Welcome to the club.

Very kind, thanks for your advice. I see your deleted your primary cats, can you share opinion on that?

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

Sure, better noise, more power, and removes the cat ingestion potential problem.

I'm sold on cat ingestion alone, is power noticeable or do you need headers for big gains?

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

I had the GT throttle remap to (factory quoted) 540bhp done by BR at the same time as the primary cat delete along with a switchable exhaust valve (can be always open, shut, or as per factory spec). So a like for like on the primary cat delete alone is not something I can comment on. BR said the cat delete was worth 10-15bhp gain, so overall I was looking at around 550bhp or so. With it all done the car certainly was/is quicker and more responsive everywhere and a better sound with the valve set always open, more audible pops on decelerations as well. Done a couple of trackdays with it and it holds its own with the V12Vs on the straights but less so on the bendy bits due to the additional weight over the vantage.

If I were to buy another 9.2 I would do it again no question.

Thank you for that info, I would love to do that, can’t wait to get car and take it to my local Indy and see what we can get done reasonably.

[zepe]

shuzzy said:

Wow that looks mean as hell. Need some more pics of that soon as. And the red interior too, what is it spicy red?, looks great against black exterior (I may be biased).

It is chancellor red interior with black piping, black carpets with red trim. The car is over 2000 miles away so it’s going to take an eternity for it to arrive, as soon as it does I’ll get some more photos up.

Edited by zepe on Wednesday 15th January 19:49

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

Sounds like a great excuse for a running in road trip back by collecting it yourself.

You ever driven across Texas? Lol, even in the Aston that might drive me batty. Seriously I considered it but the winter weather issues across the Us Midwest followed by what is without a doubt the most boring and featureless drive across the USA nudged towards enclosed transport.

[zepe]

Well ppi came back with alignment needing to be redone, no surprise really with the lowering. The biggie is the start/stop switch (dock) became temperamental while at dealership and they now recommend full replacement. The dealer I’m purchasing from balked at that and is offering to disassemble and have the leads cleaned at his expense as according to himthis is a common issue. Any thoughts on that? I’ve never heard of the start/stop dock being problematic before.
Thanks.

Edited by zepe on Saturday 18th January 21:49

[zepe]

vernierMike said:

Haven't heard of that one, although others might have?

A dealer will always want to replace. It's just the way it is, but when paying myself I try to fix first. I would say that a reasonable first thing to do with a sticky switch is to disassemble and contact-clean everything (the switch too, not just the wires as the contacts and mechanism inside the switch might be dirty.) I restored my Ma's old Beogram turntable to working order last week, where the Start button was indeed sticky and intermittent for the price of a cup of tea and contact cleaner. So whilst it might not be a specific 'they all do that sir', switches sometimes do...

From the seller's point of view worth a try, but they should agree to replace if that doesn't work or the fault returns in the next few months.

That was my initial thought process as well, however the option of going back to seller down the road is not there. This is why I am really curious if anyone has been able to permanently fix the dock by cleaning or tightening contacts.

[zepe]

Well turns out they found one of the docks internal springs had come completely off its track and was mangled, they replaced it and cleaned all the contacts for good measure. So it seems like a good option to open dock up and have a look when experiencing the abnormal start issue. With the issue resolved the deal is officially complete and we are just awaiting the transporter, here are a couple of more pics of my new to me Aston.

[zepe]

Ok, one more....

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

Nice. Have the bonnet louvres been power coated / wrapped, or are they carbon (not seen any before)?

They are wrapped, whole car was done in Avery satin black.

[zepe]

On the way home, loaded up today. Wait is killing me, lol

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

What colour is the original car?

Here’s build sheet. I originally balked at the wrap but in person it just looks so cool, might keep it for a little bit.

Edited by zepe on Saturday 25th January 22:35

[zepe]

soofsayer said:

I dont know what jet black is like but I would be curious.

It is a “flat” black paint. Apparently really tough to upkeep and that was reason previous owner chose to wrap car shortly after purchase. The info I have shows the euro carbon cars with a different color, carbon black ii.

Edited by zepe on Sunday 26th January 02:25

[zepe]

So this paint talk got me curious, I did a little digging using vin numbers from other carbon edition US cars and it turns out about half the cars are Bergwerk Black and the other half are Jet black like mine, odd.