I get a lot out of this board and want to give a bit back with this post. I've been looking at DB9 Volantes (manual only - hard to find) for quite some time and thought that I had found "the one" this week. How wrong I was, and how thankful I am for the great pre-purchase inspection (PPI) performed by British Automotive Repair in Scottsdale, AZ (http://britishautoaz.com/contactus.htm).

The car in question is for sale by Plaza Motors in Tempe, AZ and is shown on their site at (http://www.plazamotorsaz.com/showroom/1205/show/1213320/2006-Aston-Martin-DB9) as well as on eBay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Aston-Martin-DB9-Volante-Convertible-2-Door-2006-Aston-Martin-DB9-Convertible-Rare-6-Sp-Manual-Blk-/370701222725?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item564f83c345 ) and some other sites. The VIN is SCFAB02A56GB04556. It was originally sold in Florida, then moved variously through Maryland, New York, and back to Florida before it was auctioned and changed hands among several independent used car dealers over the past 18 months. Despite this and the fact that Plaza Motors did not even know the right color (Onyx Black) or options (pretty much fully loaded) on the car, I was interested and negotiated what I thought was a fair price, contingent on an acceptable PPI.

What was found in the PPI was pretty shocking, especially for a car with barely 13,000 miles. In the interest of the Aston Martin community and potential future purchasers, I thought I would post it for everyone after investing in the PPI. The findings included:

• Evidence of past rollover protection system deployment in February 2006, resulting in replacement of the windshield, convertible top, and module
• Oil leak at right front of engine
• Leaking left rear shock
• Damage to lower air dam, including a hole clear through
• Poor quality paint touch-up to the door handle
• Extremely low (10%) rear brake pads
• Warped wood cover on the nav screen
• Missing seat belt anchor cover
• Missing tire filler in tool kit
• Old/cracking wiper blades

Just so that there is no doubt, I have walked away from the deal and have also shared these same findings, verbatim, with Plaza Motors. While some of the findings are fairly minor, the mechanical issues, physical damage, and apparent rollover are extremely worrisome. Perhaps this would be a great car for someone at the right price, but not for me. Thank goodness for the PPI!

 

Sounds as if the car was in a more than a minor tiff, but not major. I would have told shop if he is willing to take $15,000 off the asking price we would have a point where we could begin final purchase price negotiations.

FWIW, I would implore everyone to do a PPI + CarFax over the next 2-3 years. Much like post-Katrina, the Hurricane Sandy cars will begin filtering their way into the reseller market over the next few months as they make their way through Insurance Lot auction > Wreck Shop > Independent Retailer channels.

 

Wow good to know your ppi paid off. Before I bought my DB9 I had an Aston independent specialist perform a ppi also and my car passed perfectly but I did not rely on carfax alone (for sake of undisclosed history can go unseen on carfax) I had to get a ppi as part of negotiaions and prior to flying out and doing the deal and driving the car back home. In fact I've had ppi done one each and every high end car, actually every car, I currently own or have owned, with exception to maybe one or two where I've known the original owner or the car had a longstanding rapport with the original owner and full supporting documentation and history.

 

Always a warning sign when a car like this has been passed (or rather cleaned) through numerous states in a short amount of time.....oftentimes the cars dodgy title history can be cleansed this way

 

Very true in my parking garage alone 2 Astons have been flooded due to Sandy. My Vantage and a DBS...

 

Man sorry to hear that ...what are you going to do, file a claim or issue a salvage/flood title on your car? What happens in these cases, what are the options owners have when their cars are subject to natural disasters like Sandy?

 

The car was declared total loss by my insurance they already sent me a check based on market rate in the area. I have to say State Farm was very good and pretty fair in the settlement.

 

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The insurance co will present you with a quoted value of the vehicle.
You then have three options:
- Reject the assessed amount.
- Accept the assessed amount.
- Negotiate to purchase the car back from the insurance company, under a salvage title. They will issue you a check for the difference between the salvage value and the previously quoted assessed value.

Option 3 is often taken by motorcyclist. They buy the wrecked bike back from the insurance company, never retitle it and instead rebuild it as dedicated track machine. The remainder is used as a down payment for a new street motorcycle and/or use it all on the track bike and make it a full race bike.

 

Norman,

So sorry to see your car like that. I'm on the South Shore of LI. As my wife will attest, I was losing my mind as the water rapidly rose on my street, came up the lawn and the driveway, and... stopped rising just a few feet from my garage. I got very lucky. Will you be getting another Aston?

 

Yes I see exactly what you mean. I leave in downtown manhattan and saw the water rising fast too. More than a hundred cars were destroyed in my parking garage with 6 underground levels completely filled with muddy water..
I definitely want to get another Aston in the future but not right away maybe in a couple of years with a Vanquish2... I purchased a 2009 Bentley Brooklands a few days ago and will pick it up on Monday.
A pic of the entrance of my parking after the water recessed.

 

I can't seem to be able to post the pic sorry.

 

Norm, the easiest way to upload pics is to use http://imgur.com/,
- Click Upload from Computer (on the right) or web (then drag and drop the image).
- Click Upload image.
- Once the image is loaded it will generate a new page with a few embedding /share codes
- Copy and paste the one labeled "BB Code" and voila.

 

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All that damage from the water alone? It looks like the Hulk ripped his way out of the building.
BTW - I'm from NYC originally. What section of lower Manhattan was this?