Running And Servicing An Aston Martin DB7 Won’t Break The Bank
The DB7, introduced in 1994, is a beautiful and very usable car. Also, partly because over 7000 were produced, it’s an affordable Aston Martin that you could use as your daily driver.
A quick search online on a popular car sales site showed me 28 cars available for under £30k, and as we’ve said previously, these cars may well start to appreciate in value. A DB7 could turn out to be a worthwhile investment.
Base Servicing Costs
The costs associated with servicing a DB7 can be split between the original car, the 3.2L i6, and the later 5.9L Vantage. The difference is mainly down to the cost of changing the coil packs on the V12. Aston Martin advise changing these every three years or 30k miles, and they cost over £2k plus fitting and VAT.
Having said that, most people wait until the coil packs start to fail before replacing them, and we’ve seen them last a lot longer than the prescribed three years. The decision basically comes down to your appetite for risk.
Averaged Out Over 5 Years
In our experience, if you average the cost of servicing over 5 years and allow for wear and tear, an i6 will cost about £1100/yr and a V12 about £1600/yr. All things considered, this isn’t a million miles away from maintaining a high specification modern car, and it’s unlikely you’re going to experience much if any, depreciation. So it stacks up.
Use An Independent Aston Martin Specialist
We’re independent Aston Martin specialists, so it will come as no surprise that we think using a company like us makes good sense, and here’s why.
We’ll start by saying you could take your car to an Aston Main dealer, and we don’t discourage that. However, most main dealers are set up to look after new Astons, vehicles that are still in warranty. They would be the first to admit they are less well equipped to look after older Astons. They simply don’t have the range of skills required to keep these cars reliable and trouble-free.
Aston specialists like us know every nut and bolt of classic and modern Aston Martin classics like the DB7. We know where the likely problems will appear, such as known corrosion hot spots, and how to stop them in their tracks to preserve your investment. This kind of work doesn’t interest main dealers.
So although we have great relationships with main dealers and we’re not in the business of treading on their toes, when it comes to servicing and looking after DB7’s, independents have the edge.
Drive An Aston Martin With Confidence
So if you’re considering perhaps your first Aston Martin and the DB7 is firmly in your sights, congratulations, you’re making a good choice. Their relatively low initial cost, along with the manageable servicing costs, makes them a very usable modern classic that won’t break the bank.
Before purchase, we advise using an Aston Martin pre-purchase inspection service, something specialists like ourselves offer for absolute peace of mind. Even if you’ve set your heart on a specific vehicle, an inspection makes sense, so you know the likely cost of debugging the car once you’ve bought it.
We think you’ll love this very driveable, comfortable and gorgeous looking mile muncher. If you’re in the market for one of these fantastic cars and want to chat with a team who know them inside out, simply give us a call. We’ll do our very best to make sure your introduction to Aston Martin ownership is a great experience and the start of a long and happy relationship.
