Owning an Aston V8 Vantage

‘I had two new Vantages a year in period, and still swear by them today,’ says Aston Martin specialist and serial Vantage owner Roger Bennington of the Stratton Motor Company. ‘They’re capable of huge mileages without giving trouble - in 200,000 miles I only had one fuel pump fail and even then it still limped home. I’d routinely drive to Monaco and Geneva in one hit without feeling achey.

‘One design fault is the air conditioning – the matrix is right next to the heater which causes the screen to mist up badly, but it’s fine if you don’t fiddle with the temperature and just wind the window down to let the air out.

‘Their weak spots are the sills – many were bodged but they really need their doors off and lower body cutting away. A full body-off restoration is £250k but it’ll last well.’