Man bought damaged 2024 Aston Martin DB12 with 29 miles on the clock and rebuilt it in a day

  • UK Car enthusiast bought 2024 Aston Martin DB12
  • He got it for a great price considering its low mileage
  • But it was crash damage so proved tricky to fix in 24 hours

 

Published on Nov 17, 2024 at 2:00 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones

Last updated on Nov 14, 2024 at 5:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Kate Bain

This UK-based car enthusiast bought a damaged 2024 Aston Martin DB12 and rebuilt it in just 24 hours.

It had only 29 miles on the odometer.

But it had previously been involved in a crash.

With the cause of the damage unclear, he knew it would be a tricky fix.

DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie

The damaged 2024 Aston Martin DB12

Content creator and car enthusiast, Mat Armstrong, bought the crash-damaged car with just 29 miles on the clock.

He managed to win the car at auction ‘for a really good price’, challenging himself to attempt a rebuild within 24 hours.

Similarly, this UK guy bought a crash-damaged Range Rover for less than $2000 before finding out just why it was so cheap.

The rub is that, with a murky history, the cause of the damage is unclear.

The car’s registration and ownership history is puzzling, with inconsistencies about whether it was ever registered or insured before it was sold.

However, theories range from a transporter accident to ditching.

A shame, considering the new Aston Martin DB12 is said to be a jet set-ready V8 super tourer.

The car is rebuilt

The goal to rebuild the car in 24 hours is put in jeopardy when multiple issues arise.

These include everything from a non-starting engine and extensive cosmetic to structural damage, and missing parts.

All of the above caused delays.

Several sticky issues arise, such as repairing the roof, air conditioning, seat rails, and engine mounts.

Mat Armstrong

So was the day-long challenge achieved?

Sadly, after 24 hours of intensive work costing $78,000 on top of the initial $76,000 for the car, while it looked a lot healthier from the outside the car still didn’t start due to unresolved fuel and airbag issues.

One car that did miraculously start despite severe water damage after being submerged in a lake was this Lamborghini Aventador.

user

All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”