Aston Martin DB 7 Owners

You may get a few responses here, but you're far better off going to the Aston Martin Owners' Club site at www.amoc.org.

It's not as busy a chat site as this, but you'll find what you're after. As an aside, although many of the site regulars are from the U.K., a number of the DB7 owners who post there are American.

Cheers,

Neil

 

Great car, got a chance to sit in one 2 months ago. It has great sport seats. They only made the GT in 2003 and there is only a handful in the state (Under 100). I say go for it, Astons are fantastic.

 

Not an owner myself, but Evo magazine in the UK used to run one as a long term test car - you can read the reviews here: http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/archive/

DB7 GTs are beautiful looking cars, in fact I think they'd make a fantastic daily driver!

Hope this is of help - sorry I don't know any actual owners...

 

Go with the DB7 GT, in my opinion it's one of the most beautiful cars ever made. Top Gear tested it once, the video is on YouTube. You should check it out!

 

No problem, hope you find a car soon!

 

One thing you MUST keep in mind is what an Aston Martin is truely about. All of the magazines try to compare them to Ferraris or Porsches, etc. They never beat the Ferraris or Porsches as far as the driving goes, but they aren't supposed to. Don't expect a DB7 to be a life-changing drive. You mentioned you own a TR. In my opinion, a DB7 will be a perfect complement to the TR. They're total opposites. A TR is a commitment to drive. You have to be in the mood for a mindblowing experience. In a TR, you don't go for a Sunday afternoon cruise, you go for a Sunday afternoon romp session. You scare yourself to death and come home with a smile on your face, emotionally exhausted. Don't expect to do that in any Aston. You can drive the Aston all day long, and you don't come home with your ass hurting from the tight suspension, or your arms all sore from the steering. If you ever get those days when you want some fun, but just aren't up for the whole Ferrari experience, then I think the Aston will be a great addition to your garage. Drive a few of them, and I'm sure you'll see what I mean. You may love it, you may hate it. Hope this helps. -Will

 

Glad I could point you in the right direction! If there is anything more that you need feel free to PM me.

I believe Bentley Long Island has a black/black GT in stock with 3500 miles...

 

Well said. I once read "it is nice to have owned a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but once you put an Aston in your garage, you'll have one in there for the rest of your life."

Astons are true gentleman GTs- cruisers. They are luxury cars built to go fast, not race. Ferraris are race cars detuned/stripped down to go on the road. That is exactly how they- Astons and Ferraris drive. One is loud, uncomfortable and beats you up in an hour, whereas the Aston can be driven all day and is a pleasure to drive. On the road it is just as fast, handles just as good and has more creature comforts.

The Vanquish is an absolutely fantastic car. It has a cupholder, if it only had cruise control it'd be perfect. I've never sat in a DB7 only a DB9, sorry.

As an 100% greaseball, guinea, dago, I grew up being a Ferrari nut and had the opportunity to buy an 04 360 spider for my 40th b-day. I've only driven it 3300 miles in 2 years (frankly it has been a bit of a disappointment), to the contrary, my 05 Vanq has 10,000 miles on it (in one year). The main reason is that the Ferrari had been on the potential trading block (pretty much from the beginning) for the Vanq. Instead I traded in my SL 55- this was in retrospect a mistake.

The Vanq is a wonderful daily driver- fast, comfortable and classy. Plus Aston Martin dealers are easy to deal with, not pompous pricks and treat you like a white man. You don't have to blow them to be honored with the opportunity to buy one of their "overrated" vehicles in 4-5 years.

Buy an Aston, you won't regret it.

 

Have you considered getting a 550 or a 575 in place of the 360? By the way you described the Aston, it sounds like you love GT cars. Perhaps the 550 or 575 will suit your ferrari needs.

 

In all honesty, I think that is the root of my problem. I actually had a deposit on an 04 575. When it came time to pick out colors I wanted it to be a family affair and looked at all colors on the net. My wife, 14 y/o, 13 y/o all liked the 360 spider. My baby (6 y/o) was a big 007 fan, so you know what he wanted. So......I got my deposit back, bought a flipped spider and put the money down on the Vanq.

(Of course the "logical" part [if you can use that term when buying a quarter mill dollar car] did the homework on the 12 cylinder vs 8 cylinder blah blah blah.......and both cars 350/575 were to be replaced yada yada yada... and here we are today- no I'm not a 599 fan, don't care how well it drives)

P.S. actually I'm in a really PO mood- I got locked out of my on line bank acount as they went to some new security BS. Uh I think I know "what high school I went to" and "who was the best man at my wedding" but I guess the security people know that better than me.......I feel sorry for whoever is "customer service" at the bank as I did not count backward from 20 before I let fly........sorry for the rant....

 

i own an '00 db7 vantage (12 cylinders). i bought the car in '02 with around 16k miles. the car now has 24k miles and i am SHOCKED at how problem free it has been. for a while, my wife drove it everyday (until her maserati qp came in). i wouldn't hesitate to jump into the db7 and drive o n a 200 mile trip. the car is bullet proof. we have too many cars and the db7 is on the "list" of cars to sell. however5, it has been there for at least 1 1/2 years, but i can't bring myself to sell it. they are very well made, they drive great, and they have minimal maintenance. what more can you ask in a "rare,supercar"?

 

Forgive me for this but isnt the DB7 just an old Jaguar XK?

 

First you have to decide how important "Aston Martin" is to you. There are other, less expensive competitors out there, for instance the new Jaguar XKR. Most who buy Astons, like many Ferraristi, simply want that marque, period.

Then test drive a new V8 Vantage and a DB7GT to see how they feel to you. Prices are not that far apart. The DB7GT will feel heavier, tighter cockpit, more of a big-engined muscle car. It will have already been through initial depreciation, but will probably be harder to sell because V8 Vantages will compete with it on the secondary market.

If you decide that you like the DB7, then judge how important the hp/suspension differences on the GT are to you vs. the price you'd pay for a regular DB7 Vantage.

I have had two 1998 DB7s (with the I6 engine), not just because of the lower price but because ever since Goldfinger I've always thought of Astons as DOHC I6 cars and like the feel/sound of that powertrain.

In answer to Dino Martini's question, the DB7, like the last-generation XK8/R, is built on a modified Jaguar XJS platform.

 

It's built on a modified XJS platform.

 

I've heard of people in the UK converting their DB7 Vantages to GT spec suspension, etc. Not sure how much it costs, but just wanted to mention it in case there could be the potential for making a saving.