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What would you do? 2005 DB9

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Old 12-11-2022 | 01:02 PM
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What would you do? 2005 DB9

I've enjoyed my car 4 years now. I rewarded myself with it after a long search a year before retiring. 27,xxx miles on her currently. I have averaged ~4300 miles/yr the last 4 years Grand Touring AM style. I do drive it and have acquired a little road rash to prove it. There was none when it was delivered. I mean NONE. A Long Beach, Cali garage queen since 2005.

I plan to keep the car. My kids are trying to come up with some kind of lottery to see who gets it. All 3 of them love it. My daughter is actually the best driver. That's for another time. My question is where do I go for superior service? I am an avid Aston1936 fan and have used Steve's blog as a resource for much service. We both have '05s. I need to step it up as we approach 30K miles.

I want to ship it to a shop for a solid once over. All fluids/filters changed. Coil packs/plugs. O2 sensors. Brakes/align/tires. A/C and coolant service. You get the picture. It doesn't need to be a dealership, BUT, I would love her plugged into the latest diagnostics. Not a deal breaker. A huge plus though. I've read the (old) posts on service. Where do forum members recommend now? Today? I'm ready to start the conversation with qualified shops.

Thanks in advance.......
 
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Old 12-11-2022 | 03:34 PM
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It might be cheaper to fly someone over from the UK for a few days of work. The only thing on your list that they couldn’t do would be the alignment and the AC recharge. You wouldn’t pay the huge parts markup and the high labor cost of a dealership. You’d have to pay for a RT ticket, hotel, local car rental and labor.

That’s what I did to service my 3 Astons over a 4 day period. Saved me a lot of money plus I could observe and discuss everything being done. And I knew it was done right.
 
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Old 12-11-2022 | 05:06 PM
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Originally Posted by XJRS Owner
It might be cheaper to fly someone over from the UK for a few days of work. The only thing on your list that they couldn’t do would be the alignment and the AC recharge. You wouldn’t pay the huge parts markup and the high labor cost of a dealership. You’d have to pay for a RT ticket, hotel, local car rental and labor.

That’s what I did to service my 3 Astons over a 4 day period. Saved me a lot of money plus I could observe and discuss everything being done. And I knew it was done right.
Great advice. Personally, I do all my own work, that way I know it's done correctly. This is a very straightforward car to work on. Full fluids this winter and I'm doing headers, replacing cats and new exhaust.

Steve (Aston1936) is an AMAZING resource. He makes our DIY life easy!

Jim
 
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Old 12-11-2022 | 06:25 PM
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Keep the car, bring it up to the standards that make you happy and them use it. Of course you would have first dibs! As far a shipping the car to get serviced.... what about a road trip, you can always fly home and then back to pick it up.
 
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Old 12-12-2022 | 06:43 AM
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How about the Rolls Royce dealer in Raleigh? I think they've had a few Aston's for sale time to time. I use to work in RTP every other week for a couple of years. Miss the Angus Barn, lol.
 
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Old 12-12-2022 | 09:43 AM
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This is not really an answer to what you asked, but here's what I've done...
I'm 70 and also planning to hang on to my '06 DB9. This year I've replaced brake pads and fluid, installed a rear anti-roll bar, installed front and rear cameras, changed my oil and filter, added Second Skin soundproofing inside the doors, developed and installed an aluminum skid plate to protect the chin, repaired the digital display panel, and rewired my GROM Bluetooth/USB audio adapter. Sometime between now and February I'll remove the wheel well liners and replace the degraded soundproofing with new Second Skin material.
But one of my neighbors has a son who's a mechanic for a local auto dealer, and I've been paying him $25/hour to just hang out with me and observe and assist when I take on these jobs. He already has the theoretical knowledge and a ton of practical experience working on a range of cars, but he's been learning about my DB9's special features and idiosyncrasies. For example, he now knows how to position my QuickJacks and the process for getting that #$%%# oil filter out. He also helped me change my coils and plugs a couple of years ago.
He obviously doesn't have an AMDS system, but he certainly understands similar equipment and uses it every day, and between my Foxwell and his own diagnostic gear, we can understand a lot of what's going on in the black boxes., especially with Steve McEvoy's help and the AM tech info available for download.
I know that many people won't have the same kind of resource available, but I've invested less than $2k in him over the past couple of years, and he has developed a real commitment to my car. I suspect there are a lot of other mechanics who might be similar.
One day in the future, when I don't want to take the lead on a job, I know I'll be paying him more than $25/hour, but I am confident I'll have my car in the hands of someone who understands it and cares about it.
 

Last edited by zuman; 12-12-2022 at 09:47 AM.
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Old 12-12-2022 | 11:22 AM
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I thought about a road trip. Always good to put the car on the road.
I thought renting a bay and tech for a month.
I know of the Rolls dealer. I don't have any intel on their service.

What I didn't consider is flying a tech in. That's what I call takin' care of business! And zuman- you're welcome here any time. I've done all the maintenance myself since taking delivery. I'd love to find an indy AM certified tech to help with this next round.
 
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Old 12-12-2022 | 02:46 PM
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Old 12-12-2022 | 07:20 PM
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Since you are in NC, you can take it to Steel Wings. They specialize in restoring Aston Martins. They do all my work on my DB9. They have an AMDS. I couldn't ask for better service.
 
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Old 12-22-2022 | 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by bobdisp
It doesn't need to be a dealership, BUT, I would love her plugged into the latest diagnostics. Not a deal breaker. A huge plus though.
That certainly sounds like a good plan. I can't recommend a main dealer or specialist independent, because i'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic. If you intend on keeping the car indefinitely and want to make sure that it's performing at its absolute best, then one thing that I would definitely recommend (and something that is often overlooked), is a trip to a main dealer or independent specialist with AMDS, to get them to check what versions of all the different software on the electronic control modules. We did a lot of work and released a lot of updates for the VH-platform cars, and these updates only ceased in 2018. Again, it is worth doing because you will notice the difference and an overall improvement.
 
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Old 12-27-2022 | 04:08 PM
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Old 12-28-2022 | 05:51 AM
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I have always avoided dealerships and helpful independents because of my DIY attitude and pseudo-frugal nature...

But if I was going to spend money on someone helping me with the car it would be corrosion mitigation - especially for the wiring harness where it grounds to the frame (firewall, torque tube, battery well and rear end). The voltaic / galvanic action is real and it shows up as random errors and low cranking power (due to the ohmic losses). I was also reasonably horrified by the heating/baking effects of the engine heat on the wiring to the starter/alternator. The insulation had debonded from the wiring under the heat shield of the loom so I rebuilt it. This type of assistance requires actual aptitude and not just parts pulling/replacing which makes it hard to find and difficult to pay for...

Lastly, these cars do benefit from keeping the hood raised after use so they can cool down. If only to keep the plastics "happy".

YMMV and best wishes,
Larry
 
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Old 12-31-2022 | 12:24 PM
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Just treat it like you would any other car. I had a 05 DB9 and now a 09 DBS. I think people make too much of the required service and perceived fragility of these cars. We seem to forget sometimes that these are just cars.. They don't "require" any more or less service than any other marquee.

A good shop that has any experience at all servicing British or any other European brands, is fully capable of taking care of the routine (and repair) work your car needs. They aren't some fragile piece of art that demands only "expert" care.

I started to figure this out shortly after a dealer told me it would be some $600 to perform the first oil change needed for my DB9. Since then I've done ALL work myself.

The info is so readily available online through wonderful sources like this forum, independent online enthusiasts pages, YouTube videos, etc. Often with much better detail then any Aston Martin service manual.

If doing this yourself is not what you're interested in, find a local, well respected, independent that specializes in European cars. I think you'll be plesently surprised with cost and quality of their work. Enjoy your car!
 
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Old 12-31-2022 | 01:12 PM
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Drive it up to Indiana and throw it on the lift.....we can knock out the fluids/filters in an afternoon or leave it and I'll drive it back down to our home in Chapel Hill and you can pick it up there.

 
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Old 01-01-2023 | 02:55 AM
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Originally Posted by jimshadow
Drive it up to Indiana and throw it on the lift.....we can knock out the fluids/filters in an afternoon or leave it and I'll drive it back down to our home in Chapel Hill and you can pick it up there.


​​​​​​​Hey Jim, did you get that headliner fixed?
 


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