[mjlaris]

I'm looking at a 2002 12 cylinder DB7 coupe. It has less than 19,000 miles. What should I know before I buy. I have admired DB7 for a long time, more so than the DB9, but have never owned one. I currently own a 2002 Jaguar XKR and am very familiar with what to look out for on this car. Any advice is welcome.

Mark

 

[WayneB]

Hi Mike

Owned mine (2000 DB7 Vantage Volante manual transmission) for three years now and have suffered no real issues.

Mine was a low mileage car also (24,000 miles) and had already had its coil packs and fuel pumps changed by its previous owner (common problem)

Other areas are radiator and header tank leaks (check it has a aluminium header tank instead of the plastic one), the rad's seem to leak where the aluminium core is crimped to the plastic header tanks.

Power steering reservoirs also can leak, (mine is on its second tank which is leaking again), a by product of this is that the fluid can get on the r/h metalastic subframe V mount and cause it to fail (changed mine, its a jaguar part so is cheap)

Clonks going over bumps is usually the upper shock mounts (also a cheap Jaguar part sourced fix)

Mine has actually been more economic to own than I originally thought it would be, so I have been spending some of the money saved on doing fun upgrades to it.

If you like your XKR, you will definitely like the DB7 Vantage, I have a few Jag's as well and find the DB7 has a similar feel to it, also many of the parts used on the DB7 were Jaguar sourced so many parts can be sourced much cheaper than via Aston Martin.

Being in Texas you may want to test the A/C to make sure its blowing cold, as some DB7 vantage owners complain about poor A/C efficiency (mine works well and is ice cold in the summer).

Another issue seems to be a ticking noise that seems to come from the valve train at idle, mine doesn't do it , but some cars have the tick and seem to drive their owners crazy trying to solve the problem.

Could be its just down to lack of regular oil changes, have read even the cars with the noisy lifters run fine still.

Another slight issue is that they seem to set slow 02 sensor codes frequently, mine will If I don't drive it hard enough,a reset via a code reader usually sees the check engine light go out for a couple of months.

So I think they are a worthwhile car to own, certainly as much fun and somewhat classier than the equivalent Ferrari.

Wayne

 

[mjlaris]

Thanks Wayne, I really appreciate the input.

Mark

 

[michael hoskins]

Mark,
I'll second Waynes comments. I have a 01 DB7 Vantage 6 sp. manual also a 02 Ferrari 456M GTA and a late model Jaguar XK coupe, it always feels good getting into the Aston. I had the fuel pumps replaced shortly after I got the car, I lost the left bank due to that problem. A lot of car for the money, and OH that exhaust sound! You can't go wrong.
Michael
Kerrville Texas

 

[V12 volante man]

Hi Mike

Owned mine (2000 DB7 Vantage Volante manual transmission) for three years now and have suffered no real issues.

Mine was a low mileage car also (24,000 miles) and had already had its coil packs and fuel pumps changed by its previous owner (common problem)

Other areas are radiator and header tank leaks (check it has a aluminium header tank instead of the plastic one), the rad's seem to leak where the aluminium core is crimped to the plastic header tanks.

Power steering reservoirs also can leak, (mine is on its second tank which is leaking again), a by product of this is that the fluid can get on the r/h metalastic subframe V mount and cause it to fail (changed mine, its a jaguar part so is cheap)

Clonks going over bumps is usually the upper shock mounts (also a cheap Jaguar part sourced fix)

Mine has actually been more economic to own than I originally thought it would be, so I have been spending some of the money saved on doing fun upgrades to it.

If you like your XKR, you will definitely like the DB7 Vantage, I have a few Jag's as well and find the DB7 has a similar feel to it, also many of the parts used on the DB7 were Jaguar sourced so many parts can be sourced much cheaper than via Aston Martin.

Being in Texas you may want to test the A/C to make sure its blowing cold, as some DB7 vantage owners complain about poor A/C efficiency (mine works well and is ice cold in the summer).

Another issue seems to be a ticking noise that seems to come from the valve train at idle, mine doesn't do it , but some cars have the tick and seem to drive their owners crazy trying to solve the problem.

Could be its just down to lack of regular oil changes, have read even the cars with the noisy lifters run fine still.

Another slight issue is that they seem to set slow 02 sensor codes frequently, mine will If I don't drive it hard enough,a reset via a code reader usually sees the check engine light go out for a couple of months.

So I think they are a worthwhile car to own, certainly as much fun and somewhat classier than the equivalent Ferrari.

Wayne

+1 Wayne on all counts. I have a last off the line May 2004 registered DB7 Vantage Volante Touch tronic auto and its superb. Only got 37k miles on the clock now and ive owned it for exactly 1 year now with no real issues to complain about YET.

She is Nero Black and has a lot of unique GTA extra's fitted from new and on the build sheet making her a fully loaded car.

I have been told by the AM register man that my car is one of ONLY 3 cars registered in the UK on a 04 plate and mine is the last one being May 04. I have seen the other 2 for sale on ebay and they are both March/April 04 registered cars.

My car was held back by HWM but I have learned they also held back another one which was not registered until Sept 04 which would give it a UK 54 plate and the only one.

I have only done 900 miles in her so far though as she is a summer show car ONLY toy. but I have like Wayne spent money on mine making her better and close to Concours now. Just a few more jobs to do for the summer and she will be spot on MINT.

I do have a slight leak coming from my 2 year ago fitted all alloy main radiator which has only done 2k miles since being fitted so I am baffled as to where its dripping from.

The car runs perfect and does not overheat or lose coolant when in use. She just drops drips after she has been stood for a couple of days and stone cold and the coolant is dripping from the bottom of the radiator. I can live with it to be honest but I do closely monitor it daily for peace of mind. I might put a bottle of K-seal in there to see if that seals the drip.

I have owned a few nice top end cars over the years all powerful models too but the Aston does put a big smile on my face when I fire her up and drive her!!!!

Regarding your OBD11 scanner you bought with ABS, if its not worked for you I would send the thing back!!!!

 

[66toaster]

DB7 Purchase

Just seeing your post today. So for what it's worth.

I sold my ’97 BMW 840 to buy my auto ’01 DB7 coupe in the fall of 2010 from an authorized out of state AM dealer. It had just under 17k mi & had been recently serviced. I was aware that upkeep could be serious expense-wise. When I got it delivered & began to use it as intended for my daily driver, initially I started to have second thoughts. Not as roomy or cushy as the 840 nor advanced feature-wise. AM did not enough capital at the time to produce a fully modern car compared to other cars. But, I kept saying to myself (& even today) “Sh-t, I’m driving an Aston Martin!”

Repairs; For the first 8-9 months the car ran fine. Then I started to have left bank slow down/shut down problems. Result: I have had to put a lot of money into the car. (Note; the 840 was no economy car either.) Part of the reason was that the first 2 shops (one was a local dealer; the other specialized in older Astons) were not up to speed for this model. Current exotic specialty shop advised that 1 fuel pump was bad. So made sense to replace both. Shop found other problems that were either missed or caused by the previous 2 or perhaps not touched by selling dealer. That was about a year ago, & so far it's been running as it should.

The car is exclusive, no doubt. I love looking at the car & it gets a lot of stares. Some little things that bother me: A/C sounds more powerful than it really is; no cruise control; old fashioned auto antenna vs. internal; can't easily distinguish gears at night as not on dash display for 2001 model; hand-brake technology backwards; key fobs not self contained; & if you are tall or heavyset, it can be a hassle to get in & out. Fortunately, I'm neither. Front seats are very good. I recommend tinting all glass areas, especially the rear window as the car can take on greenhouse temps due to its angle.

Those who have some “knowledge” will ask if it’s an Austin Martin! But would I do it again? Probably not, but I’m liking the original Vanquish! Oh no.

Good luck!

 

[CaifanSC]

Just seeing your post today. So for what it's worth.

I sold my ’97 BMW 840 to buy my auto ’01 DB7 coupe in the fall of 2010 from an authorized out of state AM dealer. It had just under 17k mi & had been recently serviced. I was aware that upkeep could be serious expense-wise. When I got it delivered & began to use it as intended for my daily driver, initially I started to have second thoughts. Not as roomy or cushy as the 840 nor advanced feature-wise. AM did not enough capital at the time to produce a fully modern car compared to other cars. But, I kept saying to myself (& even today) “Sh-t, I’m driving an Aston Martin!”

Repairs; For the first 8-9 months the car ran fine. Then I started to have left bank slow down/shut down problems. Result: I have had to put a lot of money into the car. (Note; the 840 was no economy car either.) Part of the reason was that the first 2 shops (one was a local dealer; the other specialized in older Astons) were not up to speed for this model. Current exotic specialty shop advised that 1 fuel pump was bad. So made sense to replace both. Shop found other problems that were either missed or caused by the previous 2 or perhaps not touched by selling dealer. That was about a year ago, & so far it's been running as it should.

The car is exclusive, no doubt. I love looking at the car & it gets a lot of stares. Some little things that bother me: A/C sounds more powerful than it really is; no cruise control; old fashioned auto antenna vs. internal; can't easily distinguish gears at night as not on dash display for 2001 model; hand-brake technology backwards; key fobs not self contained; & if you are tall or heavyset, it can be a hassle to get in & out. Fortunately, I'm neither. Front seats are very good. I recommend tinting all glass areas, especially the rear window as the car can take on greenhouse temps due to its angle.

Those who have some “knowledge” will ask if it’s an Austin Martin! But would I do it again? Probably not, but I’m liking the original Vanquish! Oh no.

Good luck!

Now this is a very appealing observation to me . I have 2 850's....a 91 850i 6speed and a 94 850CSi and I've always loved the DB7 (hence i'm trolling this forum ). It's a definite contender for my next ride.

I'd be curious how your repair expenses compare year by year between your old 840 and the DB7?

 

[DRIVEIT77]

The ticking l found was coming from the S/Charger and was the coupler inside.You would need to buy
the new version coupler because it does not break down in oil like the old one.Oil needs to be siphoned
out of top of S/C all bolts undone and belt removing.For the belt removal you need a special tool,which
Mark Chandler of AMOC makes 15 gbp. They say you need to remove everything to get front of S/C off,
but if you drill out the one awkward bolt it is easy,just replace with nut and bolt.No more TICK.