My name is Gary. Born in Scotland and moved to Texas when I was little, so obviously have a soft spot for British cars. I've been lurking on this forum for a while. Lately, discovered prices of DB9's were coming down to where I could justify buying one. So, we started hunting for my dream car, a green DB9.

I found a few in Ghillies Green. Green DB9's are rare now, so I could settle for the dark green. The first one was in California, on 22's. I inquired about it, a few red flags of some things not adding up such as the wording in the ad not being 100% correct. Apparently, the manager and sales rep weren't talking to each other and the car got traded to another dealer. Found another Ghillies Green in New Jersey, high miles but only $32k. It got sold quick locally. Found yet another Ghillies Green in Florida with 30k miles (and chrome wheels... meh). Spoke with the dealer back and forth who said it had 'recent' service, but was fairly persistent and rude about getting a PPI done. We booked out flights to go check it out anyways.

Two days after booking the flights, my wife finds yet another one in California. Autotrader had it listed as green, but no pictures were loaded yet. A Google search of the VIN showed pictures of the car at the previous dealership. Says it had a major service at 10k miles with all new coils packs and spark plugs. This looks is promising and really is a green like I originally wanted. California dealer sent a video which verified it was indeed the same car. Called it off at the other dealer, and booked a pair of tickets to Oakland.

2005 Aston Martin DB9
12,300 miles
Derwent Green 2 paint, Sandstorm interior w/ Parliament Green Stitching and Bamboo Trim
Touchtronic 2, Linn 950W Audio, Cruise, Silver Calipers, Heated Seats, Rear Parking Sensors, Power Folding Mirrors, Bright Finish Grill, Sport Exhaust.

One odd thing was it didn't have the "DB9" badge on the boot.







We had tried to schedule a PPI and oil change at the Aston Martin Los Gatos when we first booked the tickets for the flight, but they didn't call us back until three days too late.
There is a bit of paint flaking from the valve cover, as well as a few small rock chips on the front end.
Already has the correct 'short' dipstick. Tires were replaced a few years ago with Michelin PSS. Needs brakes and the battery cable recall, but there was enough there to make it home.

We bought the car, and did what it was built to do... drive it 2300 miles back to Houston! Sometimes it's just meant to be. So glad we didn't get any of the others.

 

We made a mini-holiday out of it since the upcoming weekend was Memorial Day weekend, and saw some sights on the way back. Drove thru San Francisco to check out the Golden Gate Bridge, down Pacific Coast Highway for a bit to Monterrey.

A quick photo op at Laguna Seca


I smiled so much taking this picture that my cheeks hurt. I'm just a big kid at times.


Did a small portion of the old Route 66


Can't not stop by and see the Grand Canyon. Got lucky with this shot as the parking spots had just opened up. One of the few with an unobstructed view.


Didn't stay, but again smiling so much (due to the movie Cars)




Of course stopped by Roswell so the wife could have a giggle. Then onto Carlsbad Caverns which had a nice couple of miles of road leading to it.


Car drove great for the most part. The A/C handled the heat very well which was a pleasant surprise. We did discover a few things that we didn't notice on the test drive. The cigarette lighter didn't work which made for some conserving of phone batteries and no Garmin. Checked the fuse and it was not blown. Got a USB battery pack for the rest of the trip. First nightfall, noticed the autoleveling lights not coming up. We had planned our stops all before nightfall anyway. The other more serious thing was a slight pull on throttle vs off throttle. May just be alignment at best, or tie rod or control arm bushing at worst I hope.

 

Well done. Truly beautiful inside and out. I hope your 2005 makes you as happy as my 2006 has made me.

 

That’s a beautiful color combo. Congratulations and welcome to the fold.

 

Thanks! Upon getting home, and after a good wash to get all the bugs off, we started to realize just how good this particular car is. My wife had bought me the "Definitive Guide to New Gaydon Era Aston Martin" book for my birthday when we first started looking. The green is not one of the standard colors offered but rather from the DB7's and is the same as the Project Vantage prototype. The sandstorm interior with the contrasting green stitching looks fantastic, much better than the Gillies Green cars we looked at with green carpets.

It really is fully loaded with the options that later became standard that, while each is not a deal breaker, they are really nice to have like the backup sensors and folding mirrors. The only option it doesn't have it the SatNav, which is fine by me as gadgety things tend to go obsolete quickly and apparently the AM SatNav wasn't the greatest to begin with. I found and bought my truck used with 5k miles on it. If I were to order one new at the time, I would have gotten the exact same options as it had. This car I feel the same way, if not better, and that's very rare in the used car market.

Next task is to find a local shop in Houston to service it. I've replaced the wiper blades and am working on the rear license plate lights to pass inspection. The trunk is a bit tough to close and I'd like to have a post purchase inspection done to see it that is normal and to find anything else we have not yet discovered. I've read a few grumblings on here about avoiding Star Motor Cars. Anyone have suggestions on an independent shop in Houston?

Here's my wife's high school/college dream car, 2001 BMW M3 in Leguna Seca Blue. Another car we bought just for the color. She enjoys it, just looking at it, but not so much driving it. Said our Mini Cooper JCW is more fun to drive. So the M3 is up for sale!


I'll put good money that this is the only Aston Martin in the world that shares a garage with two third gen Camaro's!

 

Welcome. The color combo looks great. Your right about the Sat Nav. The early MY's are crude at best. Enjoy your new ride!

 

Wow. Best color yet. What a beauty!!!

 

Great pictures and story. It looks like you know what you are doing with all those cars. I've read the Houston AM dealer is not the best, FWIW.

 

Weclome to the wonderful world of Aston Martins...
nice car...I hope you enjoy for many years..
Good luck and safe driving!

 

Derwent is a great shade of green. I'm not a fan of dark greens like Ghillies, preferring light to mid shades. Like you mention, seen on DB7s and Project Vantage. Aston does have a large assortment of tasty shades of green; too bad they are so hard to find on the used market.

 

Congrats on the purchase! Nice to see a rare and beautiful shade of green... I don't think I've ever seen a Gadon-era car in Derwent.

 

Thanks for the compliments. It does look great in the sun, until I realize it's baking in the TEXAS sun! IntroTech sunshade came in which helps, and window tint will go on soon. Debating on getting the windshield done with the 80% tint that is now offered, never used that on any other vehicle before.

I did find the thread of 5 or so Houston independent shops and will give Lucas Auto Care a shot. The unfortunate thing is the car didn't come with the owners manual, so I'll be flushing all fluids as a precaution. We'll see how much work I do on it myself if any. Would be a good excuse to save up for a MaxJax portable lift though I highly doubt my slab it thick enough.

 

Gary, great choice and great car, if you want badges for the back, contact me I have a set I havent used.