Stick or twist? Unmolested and highly original but would you preserve or restore it?
CHASING CARS Russ Smith’s market headliners
Cars like this Aston Martin DB5 are such a rare find now that it has the whole Aston Martin world buzzing about this discovery. All-original and with a confirmed 36,677 miles covered, up until 1998 it had three owners, all in the medical profession and all known to each other. It was inherited by the daughter of the last of those twenty years ago and has since been used sparingly but regularly on local journeys, racking up a total of 7000 miles in her ownership. It was kept garaged in London with invoices confirming regular specialist care.
The paint is a little dulled from age, but the bodylines retain their factory crispness, the leather wears its creases proudly and the original Motorola radio is still in place. We’ve seen the car and it really looks the part. It is to be offered at Anglia Car Auctions’ next sale on January 26 with a £450,000 to £525,000 estimate. The next owner faces the dilemma of what to do with it – full-blown restoration or try to preserve as much originality as possible? We asked Roger Bennington of Norfolk-based Aston specialist Stratton Motor Company for his take on the car and its possible future. ‘That’s a very difficult question to answer until I’ve seen the car up close. But I will probably go and try to buy it anyway because I have a couple of interested parties.
‘It seems to have a good history and my opinion is it’s probably worth doing a restoration. But all these cars, as you know, are usually very rusty once you get down to it. A complete body-off restoration on a DB5 now is over £300,000 with the VAT. So once purchased at around the price suggested and the restoration is done it brings the car up to full market value, so realistically there is no actual profit to be had. It’s more of a long-term investment and the kudos of owning such a DB5.’
‘Up until 1998 it had just three owners, all in the medical profession and all known to each other’
