HomePick of the DayPick of the Day: Low-mileage 2005 Aston Martin DB9

Pick of the Day: Low-mileage 2005 Aston Martin DB9

The beautifully styled British GT is powered by a 6.0-liter V12 yet moderately priced

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There are some truly amazing deals to be found in the classic car market, and it seems that the higher end the car, the better the deal.

Take for example the Pick of the Day, a 2005 Aston Martin DB9. While some might say that the DB9 is not really a classic, I would argue that the DB9 was a classic on its introduction. This DB9 is being offered on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in West Palm Beach, Florida, and has covered only 26,411 miles from new.

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Powered by a 48-valve 6-liter V12 engine and with styling by Ian Callum, the DB9 is possibly one of the finest driving and best-looking GT cars ever created. These were the first Aston Martins built at the new Gaydon factory and benefitted from modern production methods combined with the finest of hand craftsmanship.

Aston had solved the issues that existed in the DB7 and other earlier Aston models and built a brand-new car that was not based on anything that came before, a true clean-slate piece of engineering yet one that captures the very essence of Aston Martin.

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Another positive about the DB9 is that at the time it was the most well-constructed, thoroughly engineered and reliable Aston Martin that the company had ever built. Everything about the design is logical, and it is a car that is not a nightmare to deal with for service technicians.

The DB9 incorporated quite a few innovations that had never been featured in any car in its class. It has ingenious scissor doors that were designed to lift both up and out, which makes it easier to enter and exit than a gull wing door. They were designed in order to avoid striking the tall granite curbs you see in many cities. They also have an interesting feature in that they will hold any position you to which open them.

The chassis balance is a perfect 50/50. This was accomplished by moving the engine as far back as possible and utilizing a rear transaxle.   The best way that this balance was demonstrated was on the race track. At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, an Aston DBR9 caught air on elevation change at great speed. The car was in the air practically as long as the original Wright Brothers flights at Kitty Hawk, yet it landed flat on all 4 wheels with no issues. 

In fact, the racing version of the DB9, the DBR9, would have incredible success with wins at Le Mans, Sebring, Laguna Seca, and Petit Le Mans to name a few.

When the DB9 was designed. Aston Martin was was part of the Ford Performance Automotive Group, which also included Rover, Jaguar and Volvo. Aston Martin had Volvo do the safety engineering on the DB9, making it one of the safest exotic cars in a crash.

The Aston is finished in Meteorite Silver paint with a Parchment leather interior. It is equipped with automatic transmission, and before you dismiss it due to that, consider that it is a 6-speed automatic, will never need an expensive clutch replacement, will be relaxing in stop and go traffic and is still capable of a 5 second 0-60 time and a 184 mph top speed. Also remember it is a GT car rather than a sports car, and a GT with an automatic transmission is completely acceptable in my book, especially one with this kind of performance.

When new in 2005, this DB9 sold for more than $160,000. But today, this low-mileage example is being offered for a market-correct price of only $39,900.

I cannot think of a single car model that offers more value for the money than a used DB9, and while it is not likely to spike in value anytime soon, it looks to be at the bottom of its depreciation curve, which has always been the best time to buy a car.

To view this vehicle on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

Andy Reid
Andy Reid
Andy Reid's first car, purchased at age 15, was a 1968 Fiat 124 coupe. His second, obtained by spending his college savings fund, was a 1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2. Since then, he has owned more than 150 cars—none of them normal or reasonable—as well as numerous classic motorcycles and scooters. A veteran of film, television, advertising and helping to launch a few Internet-based companies, Reid was a columnist for Classic Motorsports magazine for 12 years and has written for several other publications. He is considered an expert in European sports and luxury cars and is a respected concours judge. He lives in Canton, Connecticut.

3 COMMENTS

  1. I know many purists are very dismissive of the Jaguars built during the era when the company was owned by Ford, I believe those are some of the best Jaguars ever built. They inherited much of Ford’s build quality, yet retained that true British charm that enthusiasts love about them. That being said I would have no problem buying this Aston-Martin because it was built during the “Ford era”.

  2. I think that when there is a car of the day story, that the seller should reply to requests of interest in a timely manner. Twice I’ve seen an car of the day, hit a request for more info to discuss purchasing and both times found myself getting a multi-day delayed reply that the vehicle was sold…..

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