Skyrex - I just took delivery this week of a pristine '09 DB9 coupe with sports package and 7K miles. Overall, I'd say that I looked seriously for about 6 months and worked in detail on 3 cars before selected the one I have, which I purchased out of state from a Bentley dealership in Boston. It was a time consuming effort that requried patience and dedication, but I can tell you that within the first 20 seconds of my maiden drive, I realized all the hard work was worth it. A few tips:
1. You are probably using the web, but I relied on several search engines to find the car I wanted. The ones I think are the best are
www.trovit.com as well as
www.cargurus.com. I set up saved searches and kept looking each day. Trovit will allow you to set up a daily blast of any new cars and price changes, etc. It was extremely helpful.
2. Expand your search across the country. I was initially very hesitant to buy out of town, but it was actually quite easy, and to some degree, a good hedge against making a snap decision as it will take time to arrange - this slower pace helps ensure that you feel confident in your choice. A cheap plane ticket will get you to the test drive, and shipping is very easy. By looking wide, you can find a great car at a great price
3. Have Aston Martin perform the PPI, but remember that they will be EXTREMELY picky, as they should be for a purchase like this. They will take a variety of pictures, give you an impression of the mechanical and cosmetic condition of the car in details, and will also perform a test drive. In my case, the car passed the PPI but AM wanted me to replace the shocks (a $7,000 job), which ultimately I did not need. My car had only been driven 1,500 miles in two years, but hadn't had regular service in either year. I was able to get the dealer to pick up the cost of the PPI as well as the two years of back service, which was performed by Aston Martin. There were some other cosmetic items that needed repair and the Bentley dealership performed all of these, included reconditioning and repainting the front bumper, which had a little road-rash. The end result was stunning - I have a brand new car.
4. From research, I discovered that the best deals on quality cars are generally those which are 3-4 years old as they offer the highest combination of current features and value with maximum depreciation. I bought my '09 car for $106K, roughly half it's original price but with proper care and maintenance, should see it hold it's value well as Astons historically take the biggest hit in the first three years. '09's also have the best available engine performance (470HP vs 450HP) as well as the updated center console from the DBS, Sirius/XM, and built-in iPod/USB integration.
Best of luck and don't give up. Your car is out there! Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.
Mike