£22k Bentley Continental GT - running costs?

[300bhp/ton]

ehyouwhat said:

I think I would want to budget £6k-£8k a year for servicing, consumables and general W&T repairs...whilst remembering that the odd huge bill could crop up too.

Really?

How much of these is VAG though? And would you really still use a main dealer or even a highly expensive £/hr specialist on a car that is still fast depreciating and now only Ford Mondeo money?

[Grey Ghost]

A guy I work with has one and it is maintained by a Bentley dealer. He budgets an absolute minimum of £1200 per year for the service and a few minor issues they may find that he always has done. Obviously with the service schedules the costs differ (£450 and £750 from memory the last time we spoke) but he has never had a straight service without something else on top.

It might be an idea to have the car looked over by a Bentley dealer to get an opinion on condition. You could either have a bargain on your hands or be able to walk away from a money pit.

[gabbo]

Fox- said:

10k a year, as he said.

oops didnt see that. On 10k per annum servicing wouldnt be much more based on those figures from Amari, but youve got to expect a big bill at some point

[Deva Link]

SooperDan said:

As a reference, Amari do a GT 6k service at £399 and a major 18k at £849. Not sure if that's including VAT however..

http://www.serviceamari.com/independent-bentley-se...

I would think it essential that the OP makes sure he has someone trusted and experienced with these cars on hand to look after it (unless he intends to do-it-himself).

[btdk5]

ehyouwhat said:

I think I would want to budget £6k-£8k a year for servicing, consumables and general W&T repairs...whilst remembering that the odd huge bill could crop up too.

What utter bks. Which hat did you pick that out of?

[trickywoo]

You've really got to want a GT - a 996 turbo is the same money and I'd guess would be a lot cheaper to run all in.

[bromers2]

btdk5 said:

What utter bks. Which hat did you pick that out of?

Petrol alone is going to be £4-£5k a yr.

[300bhp/ton]

Grey Ghost said:

A guy I work with has one and it is maintained by a Bentley dealer. He budgets an absolute minimum of £1200 per year for the service and a few minor issues they may find that he always has done. Obviously with the service schedules the costs differ (£450 and £750 from memory the last time we spoke) but he has never had a straight service without something else on top.

But how much of that is just profiteering, knowing that most Bentley owners who use main dealers are generally good for the money and unlikely to even take a passing glance at the cars oily bits?

Also how much does a Bentley dealer charge per hour?? £150, 170 200 maybe?

Lets face it, an oil change is not anything mystic or magical. Any competent mechanic can do it. But why pay £200-400 for it if you could get it done for £50-90?

[Chris71]

trickywoo said:

You've really got to want a GT - a 996 turbo is the same money and I'd guess would be a lot cheaper to run all in.

Not sure about running costs to be fair, but although the Bentley is a lovely place to be it's a long way off some of the more overtly sporting grand tourers for driver involvement, so you'd have to specifically want a car of that type.

Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 23 May 13:29

[disco1]

OP, the simplest thing to do would get a pre purchase inspection done by a specialist, this will highlight anything that needs doing, they review the service history and tell you about the general condition along with market values, PPIs cost around £300. Some even come with warranties against the report.

Frankly all these comments about 8k per annum running costs are ridiculous! Its a german exec car and simple things like pairs of disks being around £250 and major services around £800.

I've always like the GT, they're lovely inside and out with great road presence. 100k+ miles shoudlnt put you off.

[nickg123]

Also considering it's only worth £22k now I guess you're not worried about how much you'll be looking to sell it on?

With that in mind I'd use a local small Garage / VW Indy that you know and trust and save yourself a load of money compared to what you'll pay from a Bentley dealer.

What benefit is there maintaining full Bentley history really on a car of that age / mileage?

[jas xjr]

Buy it ! As you are buying it at a good price you would have to be very unlucky to lose out over the course of a year or so

[Caulkhead]

theironduke said:

22k....bloody hell, thats some stonking depreciation, what would it have cost new? over a 100k?

Considering a Merc CL600 of a similar age and mileage and wasn't much cheaper when new, will only be worth £7-8k, I'd say the Bentley is a gilt-edged investment by comparison!

[btdk5]

bromers2 said:

btdk5 said:

What utter bks. Which hat did you pick that out of?

Petrol alone is going to be £4-£5k a yr.

Which isnt covered by any of these....

servicing, consumables and general W&T repairs

So whats your point?

[E30M3SE]

Evo did a buying guide on these a couple of months ago.

Some key points;

Spark plugs every 4 year, a bit of a dismantling required.
Tyre pressure sensor every 5 year, (then battery dies) £142ea. + fitting
Minor service @10k £490
Major (inc plugs) @40k £1620

Coil pack (12) £345.60
Airfilter pair £149.95
Front pads £276, disks £576.48

prices from Silver Lady Services.(all inc VAT but I assume not fitting.)

[Grey Ghost]

300bhp/ton said:

Grey Ghost said:

A guy I work with has one and it is maintained by a Bentley dealer. He budgets an absolute minimum of £1200 per year for the service and a few minor issues they may find that he always has done. Obviously with the service schedules the costs differ (£450 and £750 from memory the last time we spoke) but he has never had a straight service without something else on top.

But how much of that is just profiteering, knowing that most Bentley owners who use main dealers are generally good for the money and unlikely to even take a passing glance at the cars oily bits?

Also how much does a Bentley dealer charge per hour?? £150, 170 200 maybe?

Lets face it, an oil change is not anything mystic or magical. Any competent mechanic can do it. But why pay £200-400 for it if you could get it done for £50-90?

Fair points; but he likes to maintain the car via a reputable authorised dealer that he has built up a good relationship with as this will help when he wants to sell it. On a lower scale I take my TVR to Dom and his crew at TVR Power for the annual service and MOT. They call and tell me a few things could do with being fettled, replaced etc (not had an MOT failure........yet) and I just ask them to do them as if I don't they may fail at an inconvenient time (it's a TVR) or at worse will need doing next year when I have something else to look after.

Guess it all comes down to having a bit of a passion for your car and wanting it to be 100% at all times. I am like this with my TVR and if I was ever in a position to buy a Bentley or equivalent would want to know running costs to maintain the car in the same way my TVR is.

[anonymous-user]

Budget 2-3K a year for 'normal' servicing and pray you dont ever need a turbo changing

You would be better off calling a specialist or trawling owners forums before you make the call. Most things are cheap for a reason but I cant think of many better things to spend the money on myself.

[Deva Link]

yonex said:

... and pray you dont ever need a turbo changing

I was wondering why that didn't come up on another poster's search of the repair history!


I wonder what this kind of car is like to live with, day to day? Where the heck to you park it etc!

[pidsy]

how much is a turbo for one? (assuming it doesnt damage the engine on failure)

[jonnydm]

bromers2 said:

Petrol alone is going to be £4-£5k a yr.

This is PH, I reckon a lot of people are spending similar, myself included on something with a fraction of Bentley running costs.

OP should bear in mind the costs which whilst not comparable to a 'normal' car need not be huge but also the market for a 135k Conti GT in 2 years time. Can the OP suffer further depreciation which is likely given how many of these were made and finally as others have mentioned, whilst it is an attractive price, theres lots of other great metal out there at similar price, age etc that may have similar costs and may not even depreciate as much - example as suggested being a 996TT.