Category: Commentary

The True Costs of Owning an Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary15 Comments

The notion of owning an Aston Martin DB9 is tempting.  The allure of the curves, the power, the feel.  You become infected wondering what would it be like.   I’m a life long car guy and I’ve reached 50 years old and can finally indulge a bit. [Insert mid-life crisis jokes here – but I love my Sweetie of 27 years and still have all my hair – life is good]  I can’t afford to go drop $250K on a new DB11, but I can generally afford a new luxury or sports car.  I’d been carefully watching the used market prices on early DB9 models dropping for a few years until I finally succumbed back in 2013.

If you have or are about to take the plunge,  you will (or should) inevitably be thinking:

 Can I afford this car after I purchased it?

That’s a good question to ask before you commit, particularly if you stretch to just barely manage the purchase.  Is it myth or truth that it takes a fortune to run a car like this?   After living with mine for three years now, I can share the naked truth with you. Continue reading “The True Costs of Owning an Aston Martin DB9” →

The True Costs of Owning a 2009 Acura TL

On By Steve McEvoyIn CommentaryLeave a comment

Prior to getting my DB9 my last new car was a 2009 Acura TL w/SHAWD and Tech Package.   Essentially a top of the line all wheel drive 4 door sedan with 307HP.  This was a great car that I very much enjoyed.  The only knock against it was the homely ‘beak’ design of the front end.

Being that this is a website about my Aston Martin DB9, you might be wonder why the heck I am waxing on about an old girlfriend.  I have done an in depth ownership cost analysis of my DB9 (see the costs here), and I wanted something to compare it to that was more mainstream like my Acura.  I had all the same data available to me so I have worked out the complete and exact costs of ownership for my TL. Continue reading “The True Costs of Owning a 2009 Acura TL” →

Aston Martin DB9 Coil Packs – Everything you wanted to know and more

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary28 Comments

As I was preparing to replace my Spark Pugs and Coil packs (read the article here) to deal with a Lumpy Idle issue with my DB9 (read this other article here) I was researching the Coil Packs to learn if I could find a cheaper source for them.  Many of the parts in a DB9 are not bespoke, and rather scavenged from the massive Ford conglomerate parts bin. Continue reading “Aston Martin DB9 Coil Packs – Everything you wanted to know and more” →

Come join me at the AMOC USA West Track Day 2017

On By Steve McEvoyIn CommentaryLeave a comment

If you are a frequent visitor of this Blog you know that I am a believer in taking our fabulous cars out for a stretch once in a while in the safety of an AMOC sponsored track day.  These are a great event and you are surrounded by other Aston’s with drivers sharing the same anxiety as you “Don’t hit my car”.  We all are out to enjoy our cars, not trash them.

Aston Martin Owners Club AMOC LogoThe AMOC USA West division has just announced its 2017 Track Day to be held again at the tremendous Thunderhill Raceway Park in Northern California on Sunday January 15th.

I am personally inviting you to join us and make the journey if you can from anywhere in California, Oregon, Nevada or wherever you are.  We only have room for 40 cars, so please sign up ASAP. Continue reading “Come join me at the AMOC USA West Track Day 2017” →

Happy Birthday! Aston1936.com is 1 year old

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary6 Comments

first-birthday-cupcakeI have been amazed by the response to the site.   This weekend it turned officially one year old from when I feebly stuck up my first post “Here We Go“.  From the beginning this site hasn’t been about making money.   I just wanted a place to share tips & trick with you that I wish had been available to help me.

Stats

increasing-statsSince then traffic has grown steadily, especially since it started to get discussed on the AMOC forums.   Amazingly 5,700 viewers have read posts 20,500 times.  Currently about 30-50 people a day view a total of about 100-150 posts.  Viewers are from 125(!) countries all around the world including the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, U.A.E, Japan and more.  Just Wow. Continue reading “Happy Birthday! Aston1936.com is 1 year old” →

Sagging Headliner in my Aston Martin DB9

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary15 Comments
Furstrated with the Sagging Headliner on my Aston Martin DB9
Sagging Headliner – Unhappy Owner

Arrrgggh!   You may be wondering – “Hey, where are those articles on changing the Coil packs?”   Well, I’ve been distracted by a new issue – the headliner in my DB9 let go and is sagging on my head.   Not something you can really ignore, each time you get in to drive it sits like a cap on your head.   Only got 10 days of driving bliss (after the Coil Packs change).   Frustrating.  In its defense, it was 103°F outside the day it went, and heat certainly speeds the deterioration of the glue.

Rigging the Interior Apart to remove the Sagging Headliner on my Aston Martin DB9
Pulling apart the interior trim

I don’t have a main dealer in the city where I live, so I’ve made a few calls (to the local Maserati and Rolls dealers) and they both suggested the same interiors shop.  Spent this weekend learning how to remove the headliner from my car, along with how to remove all the Instrument panels (which the books and blogs talk about removing to get the A-pillar trim off).   Basically, ripped my interior apart.  I must be crazy.

Sagging Headliner Out of my Aston Martin DB9
Headliner Removed

Anyways, headliner is removed and will be off to the interior shop in the morning, and hopefully will have it back together in a few weeks (I have some travel for work coming up).  Sorry for the delay on the Coil Packs articles, but now I have material for articles to post for the rest of the year.  [Updated Oct 2017 – You can now read and see the entire headliner series here]

Oh yeah, and I think my Battery is getting weak, and I bet that goes soon too.  Rrrrrrr.  I love my car – I love my car – I love my car…..

My Coil Pack Change Long Weekend – DONE!

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary5 Comments
Aston Martin DB9 Coil Pack Change in Progress
Coil Packs changed and putting the Inlet Manifolds back on.

Just a quick update for those of you interested.  I’ve just spent the last three days changing out my Coil Packs, Spark Plugs and PCV system.  Fired the wee beasty up at 5pm today (July 4th holiday here in America).   Idling smooth as silk now.

In the coming weeks I will be posting articles with detailed how-to’s as well as video’s of each step of the process.   I used a lot of information from the forums to prepare myself, and it went mostly according to plan.   I will share what I learned so it may help the rest of you in your own projects.

Stay tuned!

Up Next – Coil Packs and Spark Plugs

On By Steve McEvoyIn Commentary8 Comments
Aston Martin DB9 Coil Pack
DB9 Coil Pack

Been travelling (with work for about 8 weeks now) and looking forward to getting back to home and some R&R time (which for me means fiddling with something on the DB9).

I’ve had a lumpy misfire at idle since I purchased the car, but it used to be very, very minor.  A few months back it started to become much more noticeable and it’s time to deal with it.

Misfire Profile Correction LearnedAvid readers of the blog may have figured out I was heading in this direction already by my posts about the OBDII reader and finding information about misfires, etc.    What’s I’ve learned with my car is that I have 2 cylinders misfiring substantially.    I have also been doing my research about previous service history (which you can see in the My Car section of the blog) and I learned that the DPO (damn previous owner) serviced just ONE of the coil packs prior to selling me the car, and the dealer had a footnote about other cylinders showing misfires, but they deemed it not worth the expense to fix it then.  So now its my problem.

A lumpy idle / misfire is a common problem with early DB9’s and is an issue with weak coil packs.  I think I’ve heard people say that if your car is over 10yrs old or 20K miles or more, the issue will appear.  It’s even mentioned as typical issue by Grant Neal in his excellent book The Definitive Guide to the new Gaydon era Aston Martin – A Buyer’s Guide and Car Enthusiast’s Guide (check out my blog article on this book)

This July 4th long weekend I am all set to change all 12 coil packs and spark plugs.  Parts ordered and arrived.   Process researched and vague ideas in place.  Special tools ordered and delivered.  GoPro charged and ready!

Over the next several weeks I’ll be starting to publish the process in both written blog and video format.  As usual I will be breaking it down into bite size chunks matching the sequence of tasks to get it done, usually 2-5 mins of video at a time.

Send along you tips and advice.   Here we go…..

Thinking of Buying an Aston Martin DB9? Then this book is for you.

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary12 Comments
The Definitive Guide to the new Gaydon era Aston Martin - Book Cover
11th Edition Cover

I was a little slow on the uptake.  I bought a DB9 – then I started to ask questions on the forums I should have asked BEFORE I bought one.  “What should I look out for?”  “What options are standard?”  “What changed between the model years?”

These questions are not unique, and through this Blog I am hearing users asking me those same questions, and I am doing my best to answer.

I finally noticed, discovered, was pointed at probably the ultimate resource in the matter.   Written by Grant Neal, The Definitive Guide to the new Gaydon era Aston Martin – A Buyer’s Guide and Car Enthusiast’s Guide is really what you need. Continue reading “Thinking of Buying an Aston Martin DB9? Then this book is for you.” →

Preparing your Aston Martin DB9 for Track Day

On By Steve McEvoyIn Advice, Commentary, How ToLeave a comment

You Own a DB9 – Now Act Like It

Steve-AM1
My DB9 at a Track Day

I think the phrase ‘Track Day’ gets a bad rapp in some of the Aston Martin forums.  If you are worried about your depreciation value more than enjoying your car, your reading the wrong blog.

We own beautiful cars that are technical mastery.  What’s the point of owning it if you aren’t interested in taking it out for a romp once in a while?   Just staring at it in the garage is only 1/3rd of the fun.  Sitting in it and fondling it is another third.  Taking it for a spirited drive is the last third. Continue reading “Preparing your Aston Martin DB9 for Track Day” →