Faults:

3 weeks delivery purchase the battery went flat after 7 days idle.

2 months after delivery the airbag needed replacing.

3 months after purchase the car kept slipping into neutral and would not engage any other gear without disconnecting the battery for 30 seconds using the cut off switch in the boot. You can imagine the amusement to other drivers in the rush hour. This needed new gearbox sensors and new software to sure it.

At the same time the car occasionally sounded very strange on starting and would not go over 3000rpm. This happened on a trip to Le Mans and could only be rectified by killing the battery to reset the CPU.

On the same trip car started juddering badly at speed. which seemed to be caused by the brakes sticking. Still at least it meant I wasn't going at flat out when I got caught speeding.

Seven months after purchase the engine light came on and the car had to be towed away again. They told me they could not find a fault and disabled the light.

On its return the exhaust system was faulty and the valves which provide the extra silencing were not working so it had to go back for another 3 days.

Currently the interior trim is very noisy, but I can't be bothered to send it back just now.

General Comments:

When the car is running correctly it is incredible. But the disappointment and inconvience caused by all the faults far out way the pleasure.

Faults:

The electronic windows on both sides failed. This was caused by a blown fuse.

A pleasant individual scraped a nail down the passenger side door while the car was parked outside my apartment. Unfortunately the door had to be replaced at significant cost to my insurance company!

General Comments:

I have owned several Aston Martins over the years - through the good times and the bad, and without doubt this is the best machine ever built by the company. Ian Callum's design is incredible to behold, while the performance is bettered by few car available today.

I am however unconvinced by the paddle shift gearbox - the action is occasionally jerky, though undeniabley swift.

Although the cost of the car is that of an above average house (nearly £160,000), you really are buying an incredible machine (460bhp with a top speed of nearly 200mph).

It is the small touches that make the car special - far more so than the DB7, you really do feel like James Bond should you release the massive power reserves!

I would recommend this car to anyone, jump on the waiting list - it's only 3 years!