Have not driven the car as frequently the last couple years. The car i am reporting on is a 2007 v8v with every option including Aston Martin power upgrade. I replaced the secondary air relay today. It was stuck on when it failed and had to use the battery disconnect swith to turn it off. Part cost more to ship than cost of part, and waited six days for arrival fro UK. I have owned the car for 16 years and have driven over 175k. I change the oil every 5k, and always get heat in the motor (I know it's an engine, just what am used to saying) before exceeding 3500rpm, and try to never lug it when it is cold. The car has the original clutch and am only now feeling the throw out bearing getting a little marbley, but no noise. The car rides nice on the worn shocks, but would not play on bumpy roads, not as if this car was ever really happy doing it. This car is for smooth twisting secondary roads and for making time between cities. The trailing throttle hop has become more pronounced over time, but less scary, either I am used to it or worn rubber (bushings) make the slop less jarring. I don't know how many sets of pss tires i have put on, too many to count, but generally get about 10 to 15k miles per set. I have not changed the geometry of the wheels but have been tempted. The interior still looks great and is more comfortable now than when I got it. The premium sound is still excellent, but the "multi cd player, haha" quit a year ago. ( I use blue tooth from my phone) the cold mornings like today give it a discernable increase in power across the range, but above 5500rpm it is really pronounced, perhaps due to the power upgrade. It has only become as comfortable as my previous cars, to push to close to its limits cornering and exiting, in the last couple years, the hop is always in the back of your mind, and until the driver aids save you a couple times, the confidence is not there. BTW, I recommend never turning them off, not even on a track. You must remove all the rubber and significantly stiffen this car up to make it predictable. This is a 4.3. The 4.7 are likely better, but I would much rather have the 4.3 and have no rear seal worries. Also, the car uses about 1 qt oil between changes, a record for Ford, haha, and does not leak anything, unlike every other sports cars I have owned. Even after all this time and miles, it is still like my e-types, it turns every trip into an occasion.

 

Amazing! Congratulations!!

 

This is an awesome ownership story! It's hard to think of an Aston going that many miles, but good to see an example.

Best,

 

Wow! Thank you for sharing. Mine has 52k miles and I thought that was high! Great inspiration for long term ownership as I truly enjoy mine every time I get the chance.

 

On the other side of your amazing journey is my similar 2007 Vantage with 11 thousand miles.

 

Wow..that’s low mileage…op…nice write up…I have the power pack too..would love to know how many power upgrades were sold….

 

I absolutely love hearing this. I know of several of these that are in the low-100k mile range, but this is the highest-mile V8V I've heard about. Great to hear it has given you such fantastic service, and it lends huge support to my opinion that these are not only special cars, but they're also genuinely good cars. I've had my '09 V9V from new, though it's a weekend/fun car so the mileage is just 18k.

 

wow... high miles AND original clutch? I had to replace mine after 25k miles...

 

Thank you for sharing! And well done actually using your car! There are far too many low milage Vantages out there, people need to drive these cars.

Shocked to hear you're on the original clutch, my 07 needed a clutch change at 15k miles! At 15k miles did seem odd though, probably not the best prior owner.