Hello everyone - virgin in the house

Hi everybody. I've been lurking here for a week or so since deciding that it's time to start my midlife crisis proactively rather than allow it to hit me over the head, and there's no better way to do that than to invest in a new toy. You see, I got divorced back in November (happily), changed jobs in September, will turn 35 in August, and have been driving a 2002 M5 for over 5 years now. The Beast has performed flawlessly over 165,000 miles, has been a joy to drive, inexpensive (in the grand scheme) to maintain, and will remain in my stable as my Beater. But now, with all the changes above, I figure it's time to spread my wings a bit, which, after some consideration, and plenty of contact with a gentleman who brokers from the Manheim auctions (I bought the M5 through him at a ~25k savings), led me to...

...a 2005 or 2006 Bentley Continental GT.

So... why am I here?

Two reasons.

Firstly, the former boss who dragged me kicking and screaming out here to San Diego back in 1998 (from New England) is a four-time Ferrari owner (I believe his current ride is a '99 F355 Spyder, his previous a '97 F355 Berlinetta), and tooling around with him, getting used to the SoCal lifestyle (this is the land of Creative Financing, after all), seeing the reactions he got, really turned me on to the idea.

Secondly, there is zero camaraderie among Bentley owners that I can find, at least on the internet. None. Not a single functioning, active message board or viable car club. The only option I have is to, perhaps, go make friends with the boys down at Symbolic Motors, which really defeats the purpose of seeking a club or message board in the first place - to get unbiased opinions and suggestions from real owners who have invested heavily in and live with these cars every single day.

I dunno - maybe Bentley people are just all misanthropes.

Anyway, all of the (extremely limited) research I could do on the Bentley indicates that I'd love it, and that it's reasonably solid, but there is simply not nearly enough longevity, service, and maintenance cost information for me to even consider getting one that's out of warranty (which eliminates about half of the 2005s), and which, apparently, is a common consideration for others, since there's a significant price jump just going from 2005 to 2006 with no other differences, including mileage.

On the other hand, the unbelievable wealth of information and support I see from Ferrari message boards such as this and from local clubs has given me a reasonable basis to consider investing about the same amount that I would have spent on the GT in a Ferrari that's 5-8 years older, completely without warranty, and with much higher maintenance costs, simply because now I KNOW what to expect.

So, thanks to all of you who make this thing possible, and hopefully soon I'll be a member of the club.

That having been said, I'm now in the market for a 97-01 550 Maranello, red or black (preferably red, though I'm seeing a lot more black out there). I've read just about every post here I can find, and just about all of my questions were preemptively answered (what to watch for, PPI suggestions, dealer vs. private party vs. Ebay, etc.), except for one:

To you knowledge, are there any significant differences in durability, quality, or longevity in the 97-01 model years? That is, any year-specific problems that I need to watch out for? I recall reading about a recall on the 97 wheels, and I believe I remember reading also about a short-lived problem with the glue Ferrari used on the dash that would cause major shrinkage and warping over time and require eventual replacement, but I don't remember a year quoted for that one.

Thanks again for all of your help, and I'll be keeping my eyes open.

Regards,

Tom

 

Thanks very much for the response, and for those who emailed me directly. All things considered, I'm leaning heavily toward a 550 for a large number of reasons. And, in fact... may I ask for some opinions on this?

http://www.sportscarcompany.com/detail-2000-ferrari-550_maranello-2479180.html

This unit seems to have all the toys and reasonable miles.

I believe a few of you have dealt with Jim Lyons either directly for a purchase or indirectly through events. My research seems to say that his prices are reasonable and that he's a stand-up guy. Any thoughts?

 

Thanks VERY much for that link to the other thread about Jim - that really did help. I'm going to give him a call tomorrow and see about setting up a time either Friday or Saturday to look at that one above.

Not far now!