Bentley Thread

Great piece of kit and used price-wise are a great deal. Reliability, build quality, service and costs for upkeep are far and away better than the Mercs and Aston Martins imho. Also, the 4WD is excellent for those who live in climates where it snows, so the Bentley is truly a year around driver when Mercs and Martins are left for dead.

 

I own a Bentlley GT Continental coupe that I have had for years and just love. If I ever replace it (not for a while), it will be with another Bentley.

 

Agree wholeheartedly.
My one and only complaint is the lack of storage for "little" things (small glove box,minuscule space under the armrest,a joke of the door pockets).
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I've had three; a '67 T1, an '89 Turbo R and presently, a '96 Turbo R which is my daily driver. Love 'em. Last of the real RR-built Bentleys. Cost a king's ransom to drive and maintain properly, but worth every penny, IMHO...

I can't seem to upload photos in this thread, but if you search my other posts, there will be pics of the cars.

Cheers,
Aaron

 

Nice! Sorry to hear the RR versions are expensive to keep, as the new versions are very inexpensive for parts and upkeep relatively speaking. Normal thorough dealer service on the new Bentley is only a few hundred and the big 40k miles is only $2400 (and 100k miles service is $3000).

 

Steven,

I guess I should have reiterated my statement some re: upkeep costs. For ME, the costs aren't bad, as we work on RR/B at my garage, but if someone were relying on dealer servicing for an "SZ" series Roller or Bentley, the costs would be astronomical. This year, I've done the following to my car;

-heater matrix
-major service plus hydraulics
-new tires
-brake pads front and rear
-suspension gas springs
-brake accumulators
-engine mounts
-front coil springs
-rear subframe dampers

I know I'm forgetting things, but that's the gist of it. For someone paying full boat parts and labor, the aforementioned would probably equate to $10-12K worth of work rather easily. For me, it cost about half that.

And yes, the parts prices for newer models aren't so bad. We had an '06 CFS in for a water pump a couple of weeks ago. New pump from Albers was only $220 or so.

Cheers,
Aaron

 

Aaron, no worries and that is quite a list of items(!). That is actually what i like about the new Bentley models as parts should easily be available many years from now (probably at reasonable price) due to VW platform share with the Phaeton. Sure we all love old cars, yet a friend who is a very high-on-the-food-chain USA concourse judge even steered me clear of pre-BMW and earlier Rollers. They looked so cheap for sale used, but that Total Cost Of Ownership thing can really sting. Learned that the hard way with a Ferrari.

Still, always good to know there ARE guys out there with deep pockets (or wrench turners) who are willing to take the time to keep these vintage rolling works of automotive art going. Guys like you are, sometimes, unsung heros.

 

Wholeheartedly agree, though I think it's definitely more often than not

 

that grey SS is wonderful. Such a nice car.

 

My DD - no comparision to almost anything else
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Steven,

Haha, thanks for the nice words. More likely, we just have too many screws loose

That being said, my Turbo R works for a living. I drive it every day, rain or shine. It is put away for winter and I put my Series III XJ6 into duty, but the Bent is used up until the first snowfall of the year and comes out after enough spring rainstorms have washed the roads clear of salt. It'll see 10-12K per year on average

Cheers,
Aaron

 

Could you tell me what is that silver color? Is that a matte silver wrap? Or some kind of factory color? Thank you.

 

Thanks guys, this along with some of the other threads are very helpful. I'm actually thinking of picking up a preowned (say '05) Continental GT that I'd use as a daily driver. They are beautiful cars with what appear to be real/usable back seats.

Any issues I need to be aware of in the prepurchase process? Maintenance items I need to look for? Prices seem relatively reasonable - looks like I could probably pick a good one up in the $70-85k range based on what I've seen online. Is this a fair expectation?

Thanks again for your help...

 

Sushimon,

Judging by your pricing... On a 2005 with around 30k miles am sure all issues have been worked out. Just look for the typical always factory serviced at the yearly/mileage intervals. The only two things i can think of are that the coil/spark wires have been replaced (Bentley/VW got a bad batch or ???) and the top center brake light has been replaced (early models 'shorted' when wet then came back to life when dry). Other than that, the Bentley CGT is highly reliable. Have the dealer check the brake pads and if they need replacing work it into the deal.

This dealer has two 2005 models
http://www.herbchambers.com/ou/wayland-bentley/console.do?page=p_inventory&sort=year&sortOrder=0&stockType=Used&make=Bentley

 

Wow! That is what you can get an '05 for these days? You will get a lot of car for that price. Definately a bargain and well worth it. I have had mine for years and am not parting with it for a number of years more.

 

I saw that exact matte silver car in Chicago. Only one Ive seen like it, so I had to get some pics.
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Actually prices have been going up the past year or so.... so much so that the past year has been a 'free' 8k miles drive in the CGT that is here Without a doubt it is a lot of car, and extremely high quality all around, for the low entry $$$.

 

Thanks again, guys! Very helpful. These really are beautifully understated vehicles...great to hear they're reliable and not crazy in terms of maintenance costs. There's no urgency on my end but I will post some photos once I pull the trigger.

All the best!

 

Saw the Bentley Mulsanne special on National Geographics Ultimate Factories yesterday. Was blown away by the level of attention on every single part of the production. Arguably better than that of the RR Phantom.

Bentley wants their flagships to exist for a century or two - that pretty much sums it up.