2005 Aston Martin DB9

With just three previous owners and 40,000 miles from new, a figure that neither we nor the owner have any reason to doubt given the car’s extensive paper history.

The owner tells us that it has “never been thrashed” in the seven years that he has owned it, and it has always been stored under cover and serviced on the dot by his local Aston Martin main dealer as you can see from the paperwork.

Other than that, there isn’t much of a story to tell, which is always reassuring when you’re considering buying a V12-powered supercar. It’s with us, we’ve driven it, and can confirm that it’s a good example of the breed, so why not pop along and take a look for yourself? We promise you won’t be disappointed.

While the Titanium Silver paintwork helps lend the DB9 a carved-from-steel look, the tight, even shutlines play a huge part too; long gone are the days when buying a handbuilt Aston Martin meant putting up with shoddy panel gaps and iffy paint.

Because this 15-year-old car presents beautifully; stick a private number plate on it and we reckon 95% of the population would mistake it for a nearly new model, which is quite the accolade.

It helps that the car features upgraded clear DBS-style rear lights, which were fitted at a cost of £2,000 but the fact is that the DB9 responds well to careful curation, and this one looks to have been treasured by every single one of its four owners.

More proof of this comes via the tyres, which are matching Pirelli P-Zero and were only fitted two years and 5/6,000 miles ago, so still have plenty of tread.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but do give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

There are, as you’d expect, a few stonechips to the front end and we think the car may have seen some new paint at some stage, given the relative lack of marks on the lower front valance. Additionally, it’s rear bumper was resprayed following a scratch that was incurred while it was being serviced, but our resident Aston enthusiast says that it has “great paint and bodywork” overall, and what blemishes and remedial work that has been done is consistent with a careful owner who simply wants his car to look its very best.

And, to prove this point, the only real problems we can see are that the black paint is starting to flake away from the base of the driver’s door mirror and a couple of the 19-inch alloy wheels which have the odd minor scuff. The former is a common problem, while the latter would be cheap and easy to rectify and is a fact of life when you’re running such low-profile tyres on the UK’s potholed roads.

The interior, which Richard Hammond called "one of the best known to man" when the car was first launched is, well, one of the best known to man. Blending high-technology with the sort of traditional styling cues we’ve all come to associate with luxury cars isn’t easy – and few manage it better than Aston Martin.

So, while you’ll find plenty of leather and wood plus deep-pile carpets bound with leather, you’ll also find brushed aluminium, white stitching, and electrically heated and adjustable front seats with variable lumbar support. There’s a heated windscreen in there too, plus a factory fitted pop-up sat-nav system, a six-disc CD changer, and rear parking sensors.

Little ‘Easter eggs’ are dotted throughout the cabin like the small metal ‘Aston Martin DB9 Hand built in England’ plaque set inside a sculpted piece of leather trim on the inside of the sills, the light-grey Alcantara headlining, and the knurled rotary controls – and lifting the carpets reveals the alloy floor, a wonderful piece of engineering that few will ever see but one that we would find very satisfying were we to own it.

Importantly, having spent some time checking them all out we can confirm that all of the Aston’s many electrical goodies seem to work as they should and the air-conditioning blows ice-cold. An aftermarket tyre pressure warning system has been fitted, which seems a good idea to us given how low-profile the tyres are and how hard a puncture would be to feel or hear.

The heavily sculpted and bolstered leather seats are in fine fettle, being firm and supportive and practically unmarked bar a scuff in the middle of the base cushion of the driver’s seat. The carpets are fresh and unworn, and the door cards and dashboard look as good now as they did when the DB9 rolled off the production line at Gaydon all those years ago.

It’s the same story with the boot, which is clean and contains an indoor/outdoor car cover with which to protect your new Aston Martin while it’s in the garage.

The only real fault we can find is some slight cracking to the finish of the wood on the driver’s door capping, and a small split on a seam of the offside rear seat. That’s not a bad To Do list, is it?

New front discs and pads were fitted a few months ago after being identified as needing to be changed during the car’s last MOT. Other than that,. it hasn’t needed anything other than routine servicing, which potential bidders should find reassuring.

As well as the vendor having driven the car here from his home near Maidenhead, we’ve taken it for a comprehensive test drive (well, you would, wouldn’t you?) and the report that came back is that it “drives beautifully, and is very responsive with a smooth gearchange and very powerful and effective brakes.” So, it starts, runs and drives exactly as it should then.

The engine bay is clean without being obsessively so, as is the underside. You might think you want a freshly power-washed engine and neatly undersealed floor, but we’d rather see them au naturel to reassure ourselves that the seller isn’t trying to hide anything. Prettification is cheap, and you can sort that out for yourself later if it bothers you.

The online MOT history shows nothing of concern whatsoever. In fact, the only advisory points it has ever gained are for thin brake pads; so much for the DB9’s ill-founded reputation for complexity and unreliability, eh?

The history also confirms the car’s low mileage, and shows that the car’s MOT certificate expires in September 2020.

The car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates plus a sheaf of invoices and bills to confirm the work that has been done to it over the years. It also comes with three keys (although the spare remote needs a new battery), the original owner’s handbook and a stamped service history booklet.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained in recent years to a very high standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please contact us to arrange an appointment.

The satisfaction of being able to drop a set of Aston Martin keys down on your hallway table or the bar top of your local isn’t to be understated; while many aspire to own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, the discerning Brit will always prefer to own and drive a car that has been hand-built in their own country.

Nor is the DB9 the poor relation compared to its Italian contemporaries because few cars are as satisfying to drive long and hard as a DB9, and almost none make a better noise. That they’re comfortable, easy to get into and see out of, and (relatively) cheap to look after is the icing on an already tasty cake.

And they aren’t expensive. We think this one will sell for between £25,000 and £29,000, which is peanuts when you take into account how fabulous you’re going to feel every single time you get in it.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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.