What are the most common problems with an Aston Martin V8?

At MOT, seat belts is flagged more often than on other cars the same age.

What should I ask the seller before buying a used Aston Martin V8?

Any recent work on the seat belts? (Flagged at MOT 2.4× as often on the Aston Martin V8 as on other cars the same age.) Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?

Used car guide · 1972–2012

Aston Martin V8 common problems and MOT failures

What goes wrong on a used Aston Martin V8, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 9,047 MOTs done during 2023–2025), and what to check before you buy one.

9,047MOTs done in 2023–2025, all years of this model

530on the UK register

2009best year at its MOT

Pick the year

Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).

2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 1986 1985 1984 1981 1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 1973 1972

What usually goes wrong with an Aston Martin V8?

We haven’t found widely reported faults for the Aston Martin V8 in the UK buying guides we use yet. That doesn’t mean it has none, so check the car carefully and look at the MOT weak spots below.

Common Aston Martin V8 MOT failures to check

Parts flagged at MOT well above the usual rate for cars the same age, in more than one year. From the DVSA’s results for every MOT done in Great Britain during 2023–2025.

Seat belts
up to 2.4× usual

Stands out on cars registered in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Rough price £80–£250 our estimate

At the viewing: Pull each seatbelt sharply. It should lock and retract smoothly.

Aston Martin V8 MOT pass rate by year

Of the years since 2005 with plenty of MOT tests, the 2009 Aston Martin V8 did best (93% passed first time, 34 points above all 2009 cars) and the 2011 did worst (92%, 30 points above all 2011 cars). Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.

Year	Pass first time	All cars that year	MOT tests
2012	88%	64% +24	367 (small sample)
2011	92%	62% +30	510
2010	93%	60% +33	623
2009	93%	59% +34	1,072
2008	91%	57% +34	1,400
2007	91%	57% +34	2,145
2006	90%	56% +34	2,726
2005	89%	57% +32	204 (small sample)

Questions to ask the seller before buying an Aston Martin V8

Ask before you travel to see it. A seller who knows the car will have answers, and receipts.

Any recent work on the seat belts? (Flagged at MOT 2.4× as often on the Aston Martin V8 as on other cars the same age.)
Can I see the service history and receipts for any big jobs?

Looking at an Aston Martin V8?

Check the actual car: its own MOT history, whether it already shows these weak spots and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.

Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2023–2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score