A fistful of Astons, from the Fifties to the Noughties, have taken a large chunk of this month’s Price Guide Movers On The Slide, though it looks like their fall from grace may be about to change.
Leading the pack is the Vanquish, one of Aston’s most important comeback cars. After the Jaguar-derived DB7 did the groundwork for the marque’s recovery in the 1990s, the all-new Vanquish tru-ly restamped the maker’s authority with an entirely modern approach to the big, bruising grand tourer market.
After enduring the usual exotic car depreciation to the point where usable examples could be picked up for around £35k, these dramatic machines benefited from the general surge in Aston prices 10-15 years ago. Now they’re being pulled down instead. A 5.2% drop puts project cars around £45k, with usable examples £5k more. Fault-free will cost more like £57.5k and the best are typically £64k, so they’re well ahead of their historic low.
The downturn has affected models as early as the 1950-53 DB2, and most variants of its Frank Fee-ley-styled descendants, but largely skips over the Touring-styled cars of the Sixties. Right now, the only faller of the William Towns-styled V8 era is the Vantage Volante, slipping softly by 1.6% to give a price spread of £72.5k, £155k, £225k and £285k, depending on condition.
So if you’re in the mood for a classic Aston, it’s decision time – buy now and bank the relative modest falls in prices, or hold your nerve and hope for more exciting savings to come. It’s worth knowing that a couple of Sixties Astons have hopped into our Price Guide Movers On The Up list this month – the DB6 Vantage and DB5 Convertible, up 7.5% and 9.1% respectively. We’re waiting to see if they’re signs of a wider return to growth for classic Astons, one starting to be seen by oth-er marques around this price point.
Price Guide Movers On The Up is part of 16 regular pages of market tips, analysis and buying advice in the latest issue ofClassic Cars.