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Aston Martin DB9 5.9 V12buyer's guide

2004–2016

The faults this model is known for, what they tend to cost in the UK, and what a service history has to show before any of them counts as covered. Researched from the sources shown, and open to correction.

If none of it were documented

£11,900–£18,400

Across 5 costed items, plus 3 named with no published figure and therefore not counted.

This is a ceiling, not a forecast. A report on a specific car counts only the items its paperwork does not already cover - a folder showing the clutch done last year removes that line entirely.

Known faults

Clutch (manual cars only)

£2,000–£3,000

The six-speed manual is hard on clutches - a heavy car, a torquey V12 and a twin-plate clutch that does not tolerate slipping. Short clutch life is normal rather than a sign of abuse, but a folder with several changes in quick succession says something about how the car has been driven.

An upgraded twin-plate clutch and flywheel with parts and labour is quoted around £2,500 including VAT, on 10–12 hours of labour. Dealer quotes nearer £3,000; independents nearer £2,000.

Typically bites

Reported at roughly 15,000–20,000 miles between changes, which is short enough that most manual cars will have had at least one.

Verified against 3 published sources.

Timing cover oil leak

£2,500–£4,000

A classic labour trap. The part itself is inexpensive, but reaching the timing cover means partially dismantling the front subframe, so the bill is almost entirely hours. Oil weeping around the front of the engine is the tell.

Twelve to twenty hours of labour. Main dealers quoted around €4,000–4,500 and independent specialists around €3,000, against a parts cost of roughly €300.

Typically bites

Age and heat cycling rather than mileage. Common on older cars in this range.

Verified against 2 published sources.

Ignition coil packs and spark plugs

£2,000–£3,200

Failing coils give hesitation under load and persistent misfires. The V12 has twelve of each and they sit under the intake manifolds, so nobody sensibly does one - the job is all twelve coils and all twelve plugs together, because the access is the expense.

Eight or more hours of labour plus twenty-four parts. Reported at roughly $2,500–$4,000 done professionally.

Typically bites

Progressive. Misfire codes and cold-start roughness are the early signs; a car with one coil replaced and no others is a question.

Verified against 3 published sources.

Battery drain and consequent electrical faults

No published figure

The car has a meaningful parasitic draw. Left more than about a week or two without a conditioner, the battery falls low enough to throw a cascade of unrelated-looking electronic faults that clear on a reset. Worth knowing because it makes a stored fault list look far worse than the car is.

The battery itself is an ordinary cost. The risk is paying to diagnose faults that were only ever a flat battery.

Typically bites

Any car left standing, which describes most cars of this type.

Verified against 2 published sources.

Early Linn audio systems

No published figure

Not expensive by the standards of the rest of this list, but the early Linn units have a poor reliability reputation and are awkward to replace sympathetically. Later Alpine units are the more dependable fitment.

Typically bites

Early cars specifically.

Verified against 1 published source.

Catalytic converters

£5,000–£7,000

Reported at around £5,000 for the parts alone before fitting, which makes them one of the largest single figures on this car and one that almost never appears in a buying conversation. A misfire left running is the usual route to needing them, which ties this item directly to the coil packs above it: a cheap fault ignored becomes an expensive one.

About £5,000 in parts, plus fitting. The reason to care about a misfire promptly rather than eventually.

Typically bites

Consequential rather than scheduled. Age and a history of unresolved misfires are what put a car at risk.

Verified against 2 published sources.

Suspension bushes and rear differential bushes

£400–£1,200

The bushes perish and the car loses precision rather than developing a fault: it feels vague and imprecise rather than broken, which is why it is so often accepted as the character of an older GT. Described as recurring service items rather than one-off repairs, and cheap enough that their absence from a long folder is a question rather than a saving.

Relatively inexpensive to fit by the standards of this car, and specialists describe the result as transformational.

Typically bites

Age- and mileage-driven, and recurring rather than done once.

Verified against 2 published sources.

Recall work - subframe bolts, front suspension cambolts and the 2007 battery cable

No published figure

Three separate recalls, two of them affecting how the car steers and one a battery supply cable that could short. Carried as an item because recall work is free at a franchised dealer and therefore costs a buyer nothing to resolve, which makes an outstanding one a question for the seller rather than a bill. The battery cable recall is confined to cars built in the early part of 2007.

Nothing. Recall work is carried out free of charge by a franchised dealer whatever the age or ownership of the car.

Typically bites

Not a wear item. Either the work has been done or it has not.

Verified against 2 published sources.

Service interval

Every 9,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first.

Annual, or every 9,000 miles, whichever comes first. A full service at a UK independent specialist is reported at £550–£950. On a car that covers 2,000 miles a year, the months side of the interval is the one that matters and the one most often missed.

The interval is here so a report can do arithmetic rather than form an opinion: last recorded service, current mileage, today's date. Whether a car is overdue is a sum, and sums should not be able to hallucinate.

What to check on the day

Written to be read standing next to the car, with the folder open.

  1. On a manual car, ask when the clutch was last changed and at what mileage - expect a short life, and expect an invoice.

  2. Look for oil weeping at the front of the engine around the timing cover.

  3. Cold start it yourself and listen for misfire or roughness before it warms up.

  4. Ask whether the car is kept on a conditioner, and read any stored fault list with the battery history in mind.

  5. Check the service record against dates, not just mileage - these cars are usually time-expired long before they are mileage-expired.

What this research does not know

  • The timing cover and coil pack bands are converted from euro and dollar figures respectively and rounded outward. Treat them as indicative UK specialist rates rather than quotes.
  • The clutch item applies only to manual cars. The automatic is reported as reliable and should not be counted as exposure on an automatic.
  • Contrary to a common assumption, timing chains are not a known weak point on this engine - they are mentioned here only to record that they were checked and dismissed.

Last reviewed on 16 August 2026. Cost bands are indicative UK independent-specialist rates, not quotes.

Now find out which of these the car you're looking at can actually prove.

Photograph or upload the seller's folder and every invoice is read, checked against the official mileage record, and matched against the list above - so the total you get is what this car has no evidence for, not what the model might cost in general.

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