Quentin Willson
Better to drive than a DB5 and significantly better value, but there are caveats to watch
tips DB Astons, ‘Hipo’ Fords and Minis, then gives his verdict on readers’ real-world buying and selling conundrums
Aston DB6 prices are looking interesting. They’ve fallen back after chasing DB4S and DB5S up to £300k in 2015 and now there are DB6S on the market at less than £200k. That feels like an opportunity. In October, RM Sotheby’s sold an original and nicely mellowed Tudor Green 1970 MKII with 28,000 miles – and delivered new to Aston Martin racer Robin Hamilton – for £197,000. With the desirable manual gearbox, upgraded to Vantage spec in the Seventies, cherished rather than restored and out of 30-year ownership, it felt good value.
Beamish in Co Durham sold a restored Sierra Blue ’68 auto for £165,000 in July, and Bonhams sold a restored Caribbean Pearl blue ’68 auto in ‘wonderful’ condition after a bare metal restoration for just £158,333 at Goodwood last year.
Even Vantages may be softening. Bonhams also sold a ’68 factory Vantage with 25-year ownership, gently patinated and original but colour changed from Dubonnet Rosso to BRG, for £203,100. Still a cheap Vantage – even if you repainted.
Lots of DB6S enjoyed restorations, upgrades and expensive refreshes during the boom. But some must now be selling for much less than cost, particularly when marque specialists quote £400k+ for a bare shell restoration – on top of the cost of the car. That means that there’s heavy value on offer at today’s corrected prices with most examples having had expensive sill, body work, re-trims and engine rebuilds done by previous starryeyed owners. Manuals are preferred, numbers should be matching and cars with long and continuous histories carry a premium. And don’t forget the longerwheelbase DB6 is much more refined with more cabin room, better seats, a smoother ride and sharper handling plus options like power steering and air conditioning. You’ll find they’re much better to drive than a DB5. And on the subject of colour changes, the DB6 engine compartment was black from the factory so you don’t need to take the motor out to revert to an original colour – a big saving. Converting an auto to manual can be done for around £10k but buyers prefer their DB6S to be factory spec so there won’t be much uplift in value. And a later non-factory Vantage conversion (especially on the few MKIIS with troublesome AE Brico injection) isn’t a negative as long as you don’t pay too much. A restored, cherished or recently refreshed DB6 at less than £175k sounds like a handy deal to me.
‘There’s heavy value on offer at today’s corrected prices’