2000 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage

First supplied on 25th October 2000 by Grange Brentwood to Peter Osborne, the late founder of the Haymarket Exhibitions business, as his company car and then bought by him for his personal use, it was bought by the current owner and vendor in March 2011. So that’s technically three owners but only two different human keepers.

The vendor, a chartered tax specialist, bought the car to reward himself for hard work and success in his business. He considers it one of the most beautiful grand tourers ever made and loves the classic British interior feel. Having used it mostly at weekends to either play golf or turn out for the local cricket team in Sussex he has also made a few trips further afield in the southern half of England. He has thoroughly enjoyed DB7 Vantage ownership, has serviced it impeccably and kept it garaged; it has never let him down. Now he’s upgrading to a Rapide S and can’t really justify owning multiple Aston Martins.

Finished in its iconic Aston Martin Racing Green paintwork, this superb colour catches the light and shows off the car’s lines and curves in a way that few other shades do. From the pouting lips of the grille, the bonnet line continues through the wings and down the subtly sculpted sides of the car before evolving into the powerful haunches where it meets the sloping roofline of the fastback rear.

No paint finish is perfect, there will always be something to find, but this DB7 Vantage still presents in a superb condition and looks beautiful. The front of the car - bonnet, wings and nose cone - was repainted back in 2014 to deal with stone chips and still looks very strong considering its vulnerability - but then the car has only driven around 2,500 miles since.

The 18” alloy wheels present very well with no discernible blemishes and are fitted with a full set of matching Bridgestone tyres of varying ages all showing a reasonable amount of tread. A few of the wheel centre caps are looking a little scruffy and one of the brake calipers could do with recoating. Also being picky, the satin black on the windscreen wipers needs touching in and the topmost door frames would also benefit from a little attention.

We know that you will rightly be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on. Or, even better, contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call, where you can direct us in real-time.

The interior, with its combination of two-tone parchment and green leather and sage green carpets with original fitted mats is as good as the exterior, which means it is very good indeed. Underneath the carpets, the floor is clean and, so far as we could see, rust free.

The seats seem unmarked with only the typical patch of wear on the driver side bolster. The rear seats look almost unused. Overall, the headlining looks good with just a little discolouration towards the rear. As many of you will know, a DB7 that hasn’t been cared for can have very poor interior with peeling and curled leather on the dashboard and worse, it’s always good to find a better one like this.

The vendor reports just a couple of other issues, one being the seat release lever on the driver’s side is broken, which has happened before but is a simple fix (the seat tilts fine). The other is that the SRS airbag warning light is permanently lit, this has come and gone in the vendor’s life with the car; after investigation, HWM Aston were not concerned by, believing that it is a wiring or fuse issue rather than an airbag fault.

The engine bay is very tidy and clean but there’s little to see apart from a few hoses and air ducts tucked in around the enormous bulk of the V12 engine. The painted surfaces around the bonnet closure all look to be clean and corrosion free.

The undersides appear very straight and corrosion free, aside from the surface rust you’d expect across the suspension components, running gear and fixings. The underseal on the floor pans seems intact and the sports exhaust system fitted in 2012 still looks to be in excellent order - it certainly sounds good.

Take some time to study the detailed photos of the undersides in the gallery and you’ll see that there’s an opportunity to renew and improve the condition underneath the car. At present though, nothing is causing a concern for roadworthiness.

The inside of the compartmentalised boot is in near pristine order and comes complete with a warning triangle, spare bulbs, small tool kit and tyre inflation canisters. The CD multi-changer unit sits in its own recess underneath a floor panel for protection from luggage.

The online MOT history shows nothing of recent concern and historically it has only failed on airbag warning lights and faulty bulbs. The record also validates not only the nearly 43,000 miles but also the average 1,000 miles a year over the last 13 years. The car comes with a current MOT certificate valid until March 2021

The service history of this Aston is really strong. The first keeper had the car serviced regularly at the supplying Grange main dealership for the first five years and then by his trusted local service station. Since 2011, in current ownership, the car has returned to Aston main dealer servicing and ongoing maintenance with HWM in Walton-on-Thames. A service stamp is missing from the service record and one of the mileages has been incorrectly transposed but other paperwork exists to fill in the gaps and the vendor has provided a chronological list of all servicing, MOTs and other maintenance along with mileage and location. A very impressive list when many classics show more sporadic recent servicing.

Please visit the documents in the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of all the MOTs, AM maintenance sheets, invoices and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been extremely well maintained.

The car comes with an Owner’s Guide and two keys with remote fobs.

As we’re looking after this DB7 Vantage during the sale we’ve selflessly taken it on a quick test drive (it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it) and it is a joy. The combination of sports car handling and ride comfort is amazing - smoothly delivering the power to transform it from a quiet purring cat to a roaring lion in the flex of a big toe. Its fabulous service history represents a great opportunity to buy into the turnaround in Aston Martin’s fortunes that this achingly pretty, mechanically robust, gentleman's express represents.

The prices of Aston Martin DB7 Vantages have softened after a brief surge a year or so ago, so we expect this car to achieve between £22,000 and £29,000. Don’t forget that you are buying a beautifully presented, modern-era Aston Martin with a V12 engine under the bonnet for less than the cost of a new VW Golf GTi and very little of the depreciation. The only DB7s that come better than this have a Zagato badge on the front wings - and for one of those you’d need to add another row of beads to your abacus.

This particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange a call please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.