It's been a very long time since I last posted or had my Ferrari and as I get older the need to drive down the tollway at 120 has diminished. So I'm looking at getting a sedan and I am considering a Rolls or maybe a Bentley. Anyone on here have experience with either vehicle? Service, etc?
Wow. Nick! Where the hell have you been? And no Ferrari? Dang. I have no experience with a Rolls or a Bentley beyond having ridden in them. Hope you're well.
The Rolls Royce is a very different drive to the Bentley. If you want a good Rolls then i would suggest the Ghost, unless you like the feel and size of the Phantom. Both very good cars and low maintenance. The Early Bentley's i would avoid due to suspension issues and air pipes leaking on the secondary vacuum system. The later Bentleys are a great car and come in, Speed, Supersport, Supersport carbon edition, Diamond, LeMans and just the normal edition. Spur is the 4 door and GT 2 door. Most Bentley's can be upgraded but remember the W12 is a quiet engine. Feel free to call for more info. All the cars are suprisingly very quick cars. (not as quick as the Italians) but very impressive. Mark 832-277-7062
Jim, doing well. Yeah, after the 3rd battery I asked myself why I had the car. I'll give you a call to catch up. I guess I should also consider a Masseratti too. Know anything on them? Mark, thank you very much. Actually I started out looking at the Wraith but I think the Ghost is the one that I am really considering. As Jim said ridden in them but never owned one so I wanted to find out a bit more. Is there a Bentley sedan you would recommend? I will give you a call.
Grab a Bentley much more 'sporty' IMHO. Both terrible cars maintenance wise, but if you really want one, grab Bentley. And depreciation makes McLaren look like a La Ferrari. Enjoy it!
I honestly think they are good cars, and are fairly reliable, much more so than the other models produced by the respective companies that own them. The typical issues arise from poor maintenance habits since the cars are seldom driven. I service several modern Bentley models, GT, Spur, etc, and their common issues are typically front suspension related. The plastic vacuum hoses for the engine do crack, and can require the drive-train to be removed for repair, which is not inexpensive, but not out of line with any other large repair on an exotic auto, and typically happens one time on a 10-12 year old model. The Ghost is a great car as it is based on BMW's 7 series F02 platform. We see few issues with the Ghost beyond standard maintenance, air suspension, and rubber suspension bushing failures. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions.
Old School F/chatter sighting. What was the bar on Travis's name where we sat outside with Yoshi, Frances, Jim, Rob, and probably Tillman and Dave. Had cigars, and sat outside if I remember right. Miss those early Dallas f/chat events. Nick and I had matching 355 spiders. Glad to hear you are still in the area, and looking for something fun Nick. I have always had a desire to drive a Continental GT. A friend got to drive Brian Redman in a convertible for a day at the Crescent Classic in Eureka Springs Arkansas. They had a blast !
I had a good talk with some of the local Bentley service guys a little while ago. They were clear that the Continental/Flying Spur is a much easier platform to work with than the Arnage. And that cars under 8 or 10 (can't recall which) model years old can still get a warranty. Their take was that the best 'bang for the buck' with Bentley was an ~09-10 and a warranty. Looks like that puts you in the $55k-80k range depending on mileage.
That was a great evening. Several pitchers of mojitos as I recall. What I can't recall was the name of the place! Good to hear you are still around as well.
I currently have a 14 flying spur w12 and couldn't be happier. No issues and is pretty darn quick. Which reminds me I need to service it. Taking it to spheremotors for sure.
I still remember my first DFW Fchat rally riding with Nick when a guy in a Corvette pulled up next to use on 35W and wanted to race.
Might have been a little before my time. But just a little. I remember Carson's, SpeedZone as first times hanging out with the crew. And of course when Wolfgang came to visit, plenty of fun with stories that have echoed for years! Good to see you well, Nick!