Used Aston Martin DB11 (2016-2023) buyer's guide: fast, fun and glorious
A full used buyer's guide on the Aston Martin DB11 that was on sale in the Uk between 2016 and 2023
Verdict
It would be utterly impossible to argue that £65,000 is an insignificant sum of money to spend on a car, but in a world where it’s possible to spend that on a mid-range BMW 5 Series, the Aston Martin DB11 is a performance car bargain. Even if you spend more on a newer example, you’re not going to feel short-changed, because the DB11 is an all-time Aston Martin highlight. It didn’t sell as well as Aston hoped that it would, and that means there aren’t as many of them on the used market as there might be, but if you’re looking for a modern classic that’s exciting to look at and also to drive, and which is relatively attainable, the DB11 is about as good as it gets.
Aston Martin has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. It’s a company that’s struggling, and that feels undeserved when it builds cars as brilliant as the DB12. The problem is that you need upwards of £150,000 to buy a new one, but for less than half this amount you could buy the DB12’s predecessor.
You only have to look at the DB11 to see that it’s no consolation prize. When it took over from the DB9, the DB11 ushered in a new era for Aston Martin. It was based on an all-new structure that was much stiffer and lighter than before, and when it launched, it was Aston’s first turbocharged production car; there would soon be a choice of turbocharged V8 or V12 engines, both of which are very desirable. In fact, a second-hand DB11 could actually be a more sensible purchase than you might think.
History
The DB11 coupé was unveiled at the March 2016 Geneva motor show, but the first deliveries didn’t start until October of that year. Priced from £154,900, the DB11 came with a 600bhp 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission.
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The 630bhp DB11 AMR replaced the regular V12-powered DB11 in May 2018, then in July 2021 a 2022 model year DB11 was introduced. The V8 engine now came with 527bhp and the V12 variant dropped the AMR moniker.
On the road
All DB11 engines have a pair of turbochargers, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it, so seamless is the spread of torque; there’s no lag or peakiness at all anywhere in the rev range.
It helps that the eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission offers smooth gearchanges; Aston also claimed that this provided faster shifts. The result is a quick car whichever engine is fitted.
The suspension set-up is superb, so there’s excellent handling with a very compliant ride, and as you would expect, the brakes and steering are equally superb. With a choice of driving modes so that you can set up the suspension, throttle and steering just how you want them, the DB11 is a dynamic masterpiece.
Which one should I buy?
The V8 models make sense because they’re ridiculously quick and the running costs are more sensible, but with equivalent V8 and V12 DB11s worth broadly the same, we would forgive you for going for the ultimate version.
Even the V8 cars can crack 0-62mph in four seconds; the V12 cuts this by just 0.1 seconds, which isn’t exactly noticeable.
Equipment levels were lavish and included 20-inch alloys, a 360-degree camera, heated front seats, navigation, a 400-watt hi-fi and Alcantara headlining.
The options list was extensive and included two-tone interior trim along with an array of other upholstery choices, a Bang & Olufsen hi-fi, heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, plus all sorts of exterior cosmetic tweaks including smoked tail-lamps, a contrasting roof and different designs of wheels.
Prices
You can bag a DB11 coupé for as little as £55,000 if you buy privately, but any cars at this level will be high mileage (more than 60,000) or an insurance write-off.
Buy an average-mileage DB11 from a trader and you’ll need to find upwards of £65,000. This secures an early V12 with 40,000 miles on the clock; slightly more than half of the DB11s for sale have the bigger engine.
Thanks to the supply/demand balance, V12-engined DB11s aren’t worth all that much more than an equivalent V8-powered car (there was a premium of £25,000+ when new), but you will pay a premium for a convertible. These start at around £80,000 for an early example with 40,000 miles notched up, and values go up to about £110,000 for a 5,000-mile car from 2023; an equivalent coupé will be £100,000 or so.
You can buy a used Aston Martin DB11 for just over £60,000 through our Buy a Car service.
Check the price of an Aston Martin DB11 with our free car valuation tool...
Alternatives to the Aston Martin DB11
The DB11’s closest rival is the Bentley Continental GT, which is another British GT with supercar performance. It’s also available in coupé or convertible forms, just like the Mercedes-AMG GT, which uses the same V8 as the DB11.
If you’re torn between open and closed cars, try a Ferrari Portofino, which is a coupé-cabrio that offers a bit of both. Its replacement, the Roma, came in coupé or proper soft-top convertible forms.
The Maserati GranCabrio and GranTurismo are eye-catching and unusual, the Mercedes S-Class (coupé and cabrio) is less exciting but very accomplished, or you could always buy a Porsche 911, a truly brilliant all-rounder.
What to look for
Reliability
The DB11 brought in more electronic tech than ever before in an Aston, and early cars were especially problematic, with sat-nav and alarm systems likely to play up, while key fob batteries go flat quickly.
Hot air
A few owners have suffered problems with their car’s air-conditioning, so it blows warm air instead of cold. It can be a leak, a failure of the compressor, or it could be because the condenser has failed.
Bodywork
Most of the DB11’s bodywork is made of aluminium, while the bootlid and bumpers are made from plastic. The aluminium panels can suffer from localised corrosion, while bubbling paint is also a possibility.
Join the Q
In spring 2017 Aston Martin launched the Q scheme, to allow owners to personalise their cars much more. Separately, two unique DB11s were made in 2017 (coupé) and 2018 (Volante) to celebrate Henley Royal Regatta.
Interior
The DB11 represented a big advance over the DB9, with usefully more cabin space, a more contemporary design, and vaguely usable rear seats. You still need to be under five feet eight to fit in them for any length of time though. Boot space is on the tight side, but isn’t bad for the class at 270 litres (206 for the Volante).
Running costs
The DB11’s maintenance intervals are set at 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever is sooner. Services alternate between Minor and Major at £650 and £760 for V8-engined DB11s, or £740 and £855 for the V12 versions. Every fifth service is a really big one that costs £1,305 for V8s and £1,450 for V12s.
A pair of new front brake discs costs £2,400 though (parts only), while pads are £1,000 per set and tyres are typically £350 per corner.
All DB11s are in insurance group 50, they all cost £200 per year in VED (plus £440 until the car’s sixth birthday), but fuel consumption isn’t too punishing – Aston claimed 28mpg for the V8 and 24mpg for the V12. The latter is helped by cylinder deactivation when cruising. In reality you can expect more like 23mpg for the V8 and about 21mpg for the V12.
Recalls
There have been four recalls for the DB11 so far. The first was issued in July 2017 and affected 628 cars built up to June 2017, which were supplied with incorrectly calibrated tyre-pressure monitoring. Six months later came recall two, for 1,069 cars made up to October 2017; the driver’s airbag in these could go off for no reason.
Recall three was issued in November 2019, for DB11s produced between November 2017 and February 2019. This time it was because of faulty passenger airbags, which hadn’t been installed correctly.
The latest recall campaign came in October 2020, for some DB11s made up to May 2019. Once again it was for airbag glitches, this time because seat-mounted airbags hadn’t been installed properly.
Driver Power owner satisfaction
Aston Martin doesn’t even sell 1,000 cars in the UK each year and its market share is around 0.05 per cent, so it’s no surprise that it never appears in our Driver Power surveys. It doesn’t even appear in our Brands survey because it’s so niche, but look at forums and you’ll see that owners buy with their eyes open and know what they’re getting into. They know that running costs can be steep, but they tend to see the DB11 as good value, brilliant to drive, and generally well put together.
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