Three observations relative to points made in this thread:

1) Coil pack replacement, catalyst ingestion, etc. Yes this is an engine killer but IMHO after plenty of my own research, my personal conclusion is that the issue is a bit hyped and less common in reality. Note that I am NOT seeking to convince anybody else about this and you are all free to come to your own conclusions, just stating the posture that I have decided to adopt on this issue for my own 2015 DB9 with about 16k miles. On the Aston1936 website there is a procedure to inspect the top surface of the catalysts to check for any damage. I have personally chosen to rely on used oil analysis on my car. I have been doing a Blackstone analysis diligently for several years on all my collector cars and the results have alerted me to issues on two other cars before they became too serious, and I expect the same for the Aston. I recently received a bill of good health on the Aston and in the process engaged with the Blackstone team on their experience base with these V12s. To paraphrase their emails, they have a database of about 40-50 cars (not huge, but not insignificant) and had noticed some issues many years back but none recently. This jives with the observation that the early V12s had oiling and misfiring problems that have largely been fixed. But as stated, YMMV in big letters!

2) The brakes on these cars are not the same as the earlier DB9s and are not inexpensive on the Bosch or any other sites. Not only the ceramic disks but also the pads for the ceramic disks - much more expensive than pads for iron disks. Fortunately they should also last a lot longer than conventional brakes as long as they are not mistreated.

3) Air bag replacement at the 10 year mark. It's not only Aston that specify this; Mercedes and Volvo do the same. That said, I have NEVER heard of this being followed and I have had plenty of cars over the years that would have qualified for this replacement. IMHO it's mostly a legal CYA thing, just like the warnings that say that EVERYTHING in the state of California is known to cause cancer!

Good luck to the OP on buying this car - go for it!

 

Some input on the CC Brakes....had 52,000 miles on my 2012 V12 Vantage when sold and the brakes had plenty of life left in them.
Have 35,000 miles on my DBS and still more than plenty of life left.
Thanks,
JH

 

Thanks everyone for all your comments. I did decide to buy the DB9. I signed the agreement a few days ago and will be going down to Orlando to finalize the sale and pick up the car on Saturday and drive it home. The delay until this weekend had to do with the tires. Although both the dealership's website and the Carfax indicated that 4 new tires were put on the car last October when the car was first listed for sale, when I reviewed the actual inspection report, it noted that only the rear tires were replaced because the thread on the rear tires was at 3/32, but the front tires were at 5/32 and didn't need to be replaced. I made replacing the front tires a condition of the sale. They were ordered Monday and are supposed to be in by the end of the week.

 

On a related matter, almost immediately after I get home, the car is going to be sitting unused for about 3 weeks. Do I need to get a tickle charger for that period of time. If so, can you recommend a specific one to buy? I assume that there is no reason to buy one directly from AM? Other than this 3-week period, the car will most likely be driven every few days.

 

Thee are as you know very power sensitive…absolutely grab a ctek charger..they are inexpensive and ensure the battery remains in good condition for as long as possible…have one on my vantage…plug it in every time I park up…solid investment…enjoy the car..pics on arriving home are a must..lol

 

Congrats on the new ownership! Yes, cteck's work well. Double check what conector you need. Most likely the cigar plug type. One important thing is the age of the battery. If you don't know by reviewing the maintenance records..... find out! Astons don't like weak or battery's in poor condition.

 

i do the same but have recently noticed my CTek (not aston branded) gets hot while charging. Wonder it's is working to hard to keep battery charged or after 5 years it's dying.

I use NOCO charger on my BMW and AMG with no overheating issues

 

Interesting..have noypt noticed that on mine…but I will check…cheers

 

Thanks!

Due to issues that may have been related to the CDK cyberattack, there was a week-long delay in me finalizing the purchase. I wired the money for the purchase early last week, and then my wife and I took Amtrak down to Orlando Friday to pick up the car. (There are no direct flights to Orlando from Savannah and I couldn't get a one-way rental car from anyone.) As it was late in the day when we finished the paperwork, we spent the night in Orlando, and then drove the 300 miles back to Savannah yesterday. The car is both beautiful and a joy to drive.

Speaking of the car (and perhaps because of the delay in finalizing the purchase), I understand that someone else here also was interested in this particular DB9. According to my salesman, someone here called him, mentioned this thread and wanted to know if I had followed through on the purchase. It's good to know that I'm not the lone admirer of this car. Anyone want to fess up, lol?

 

i bought mine it was under waranty for 2 months, i was advised to buy a warranty i never did and i am gald i never did, i wont buy anything if i was you. i was scared at first but now i will really skip any additionnal cost.
look, this is what i ve done myself, instead of throwing money in warranty , insurance is already a bummer, do a diferential and gearbox fluid chnage, its due at 35k miles 60k kms, i did both and i k happy, it cost 1500 ttc approx, and i did a ceramic treatment, paint job of the rear bumper, and wheels, this has revived the whole car, i will keep my money for this instead and 4 good new pirelli. Mine is a 2013 but first model rapide not s, and i did this begining of 2017, when the car was 4 years old. i can tell you repainting just the rear bumper was a huge diference, just in 4 years. i doubt the dealer has done the diferential and gearbox fluid change even at 10 years old. keep your money for that stuff instead of overspending.

 

I was pretty much talked out of buying a warranty by the service manager at my local AM dealer when I first bought my Rapide.

They did a general inspection (needed a battery after I bought the car) and he said based on their experience with Rapides and the car condition that he thought it was unlikely I would need it.

They offered the Timeless warranty without additional inspection at that. I declined and glad I did. I had a few items over time, but nothing near what the warranty would've cost.

I kept with the AM service schedule which is just an annual service since I am just 4-5K miles a year of all in driving (work from home).

 

me i can drive 4000 kms with some brand new Pzero. each time, used perfectly 4000kms not 1 km more. so i think about this budget first too, even investing 400$ on a new cristal for the key is smarter than these stuff, i hydrated maybe 3 times al the door gaskets, and i change my door gasket at 6 years old? repaint door handle it make a difference, small details that addup and make its look newer. 3 doors were repainted due to some light vandalism too. my wheels are still perfect. for 2 years not dropping the key, i did but with the leather cover on and nothing happen, the key is to put the key as soon as you can inside the cover, cause if it drops its bad...so i dont touch the key if i don't have the cover in hand.

 

I don't know that I would have paid outright for a warranty either. However, with the dealer kicking in for the majority of the cost and with me only paying $2k, I thought it was worth the peace of mind. Especially given the fact that if anything does go wrong in the next year, I'm roughly 300 miles away from the nearest dealer/authorized repair shop.

 

Respectfully, I am on the other side of the warranty preference. Years ago, my 2012 V12 Vantage suffered from the catalytic converter issue requiring engine replacement. Along with the engine came new clutch, anti-freeze, catalytic converters and a host of other things...all covered under the AM extended warranty. Would have cost $70,000 (and my marriage). To me, the peace of mind is worth it.
Thanks,
JH

 

There was a guy in Belgium in 2017 who bought a db9, have it serviced at a main dealer, big town, he got back the car stopped at a gas station filled out the tank of gas, drinked a cofee, i remember the cofee, really...and went to start the carm the engine was dead, geting out of the annual service,,,a bummer, he paid 35k a rebuilt one if i remeber well. it was on the aston martin french forum. a bad time with the dealer, i will have drained the pil myself to try to check it out...instead of the dealer who threw it away.