Man who bought Aston Martin DBX dirt cheap because it was completely submerged underwater finally attempts to start it
Published on Jul 28, 2025 at 5:06 AM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Jul 24, 2025 at 4:05 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
A man who bought an Aston Martin DBX dirt cheap because it had been submerged underwater finally attempted to start it.
Mat Armstrong had bought the flood-damaged Aston at auction, with an aim to give it to his dad.
The engine needed a lot of work, though.
But would it be worth it in the end?
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This Aston Martin DBX had been completely submerged
This Aston Martin DBX had been completely submerged, causing catastrophic engine damage.
As a result, the engine block was rusted beyond repair.
“I didn’t realize that the damage was this bad when I bought it at auction,” Mat Armstrong said.
Armstrong and his team procured a secondhand Mercedes‑GLC63 block, hoping to transplant DBX internals onto it, but only the block matched.
They decided to clean it and proceed.
The crankshaft showed corrosion from water damage, leaving them with a decision to make.
Looking to seek professional advice, they turned to KMBB Engineering, where Kevin took a look at the crankshaft.
He deemed it usable.
After a long and laborious process – rebuilding an engine isn’t easy after all – it was time to get it started up.
“This was a really long job, and I hope we don’t have to take this thing apart again,” Armstrong said.
The car started up, and the engine started up, leading to ecstatic approval from Armstrong and his team.
“It looks like brand new!” he gushed.
“It sounds like a Rolls-Royce engine! The engine is purring – my dad’s one step closer to driving his dream car.”
There was still some steam coming out of the exhaust caused by excess water, but that passed soon enough.
Cars and water often don’t mix, unsurprisingly
We’ve seen plenty of cars that have been submerged in water to know that cars and water don’t mix.
But that doesn’t mean they’re beyond the point of no return.
One Porsche 993 spent four years underwater, before a brave man decided to rescue it.
In another case, a diver retrieved a submerged Lamborghini Aventador from a lake and performed a miraculous feat in reviving it.
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