Continental GT owner experiences.
Discussion
I cant afford one as yet but at some point I quite fancy one, they have really grown on me, interested to hear what they are like to run and live with day to day.
Say I had 30 grand to buy one which seems to cover a fair few earlier examples, 2005/2006 ish.
Are they total money pits and prone to expensive failures or generally pretty solid and reliable ?
Say I had 30 grand to buy one which seems to cover a fair few earlier examples, 2005/2006 ish.
Are they total money pits and prone to expensive failures or generally pretty solid and reliable ?
Just my opinion as an owner. They are expensive cars to run. They are complex so there's lots to go wrong. Although it probably won't be major (note probably), a couple of little jobs to be sorted and you're almost always going to be paying four figures. I wouldn't buy a £30K one. If I wanted one that badly I'd use the £30k as a deposit and finance a newer one but for £30k there are lots of other interesting cars available.
I could write a book about this, but I am just going out in my GT.
How complete is the service history. What has been skipped to save money. Can you afford £2000 a year to run it. Would an £8000 bill for engine removal wipe you out. Can you keep it in a garage. Get the car you want checked over by Bentley main dealer to see what is wrong or about to go wrong. Make sure it is on the correct wheels and tyres. Check under the front left hand carpet to see if is wet. Windscreens are £1600 trade price so make sure your insurance company offers appropriate cover.
Don't forget that these are 200 mph cars that will outrun all but the most exotic cars on the road. Treat them properly and you will have a magic time. Skimp and you will reap misery.
The day you get your hands on the car, put new batteries in it. Use it often so they don't lose their charge.
How complete is the service history. What has been skipped to save money. Can you afford £2000 a year to run it. Would an £8000 bill for engine removal wipe you out. Can you keep it in a garage. Get the car you want checked over by Bentley main dealer to see what is wrong or about to go wrong. Make sure it is on the correct wheels and tyres. Check under the front left hand carpet to see if is wet. Windscreens are £1600 trade price so make sure your insurance company offers appropriate cover.
Don't forget that these are 200 mph cars that will outrun all but the most exotic cars on the road. Treat them properly and you will have a magic time. Skimp and you will reap misery.
The day you get your hands on the car, put new batteries in it. Use it often so they don't lose their charge.
Yeah, not something I would enter into lightly, I have a CLS 500 which is a 5.5 litre V8 but it is less complex than the Bentley, no 4wd, no turbos, 4 less cylinders.
Its only a thought, cant afford one currently anyway, just pondering how ruinous they can be, I am fairly hands on with my cars but appreciate they arent really easy to fix, its jut whether they generally just carry on and need regular servicing and consumables or is it one thing after another.
Couldnt fit one in the garage, do they not take kindly to living outdoors ?
two grand a year I can do, but 10, not really, am thinking when the kids are done at university and I am 50.
Also, are they worth it ?
There are loads round here in Cheshire, been out in a Speed model, massively impressive and have been walking the dog down the road between ALderely and WIlmslow and one went past on full throttle, utterly amazing.
Its only a thought, cant afford one currently anyway, just pondering how ruinous they can be, I am fairly hands on with my cars but appreciate they arent really easy to fix, its jut whether they generally just carry on and need regular servicing and consumables or is it one thing after another.
Couldnt fit one in the garage, do they not take kindly to living outdoors ?
two grand a year I can do, but 10, not really, am thinking when the kids are done at university and I am 50.
Also, are they worth it ?
There are loads round here in Cheshire, been out in a Speed model, massively impressive and have been walking the dog down the road between ALderely and WIlmslow and one went past on full throttle, utterly amazing.
Edited by J4CKO on Saturday 30th January 13:03
Another thing that stuck with me and made me aware of the possibility for pain was a young lad coming into the tyre place round the corner with a white one with black wheels, seemed like a bit of a blinged up older example, he was all saggy jeans and baseball cap, probably only early twenties, swaggered in, then the mechanic came in and told him 2 of his alloys were cracked and he couldnt change the tyres until they were replaced, I suspect that was what, £500 a piece second hand ?
Kind of removed the swagger a little.
Kind of removed the swagger a little.
Hi.
I love mine, or should I say, we both love ours, me and her ladyship that is. She uses it more than her own car.
I've spent a fair bit since buying it. Some on things that a few folk wouldn't bother with, but also money on having the vacuum hose on top of the gearbox fixed. That's an engine out job at a cost of £3,700 at Bentley in Knutsford.
It's been running very nicely since all of the problems have been fixed. Actually, I've carried out some work myself, discs and pads, vacuum air pump, air filters, I-Pod module and a lovely set of V8S alloys.
If you do buy one, you are in luck. My Indie specialist in Crewe was the worldwide flying doctor for Bentley when the GT was first introduced. He knows more about these cars than most and even has one himself. He's also a lot less expensive than the main dealer, who I would not recommend to anyone, with good reason. So, he's just a short drive from you and thoroughly recommended. He also does vehicle inspections if you want to be sure before committing.
If you see a black one around your area at full chat it could well be me, especially from Wilmslow down the bypass to Cheadle. What a blast that road is!
Mind you, there are a lot of them around the golden triangle as you probably know.
Good luck and if you do buy one, it is definitely a smile a mile.
I love mine, or should I say, we both love ours, me and her ladyship that is. She uses it more than her own car.
I've spent a fair bit since buying it. Some on things that a few folk wouldn't bother with, but also money on having the vacuum hose on top of the gearbox fixed. That's an engine out job at a cost of £3,700 at Bentley in Knutsford.
It's been running very nicely since all of the problems have been fixed. Actually, I've carried out some work myself, discs and pads, vacuum air pump, air filters, I-Pod module and a lovely set of V8S alloys.
If you do buy one, you are in luck. My Indie specialist in Crewe was the worldwide flying doctor for Bentley when the GT was first introduced. He knows more about these cars than most and even has one himself. He's also a lot less expensive than the main dealer, who I would not recommend to anyone, with good reason. So, he's just a short drive from you and thoroughly recommended. He also does vehicle inspections if you want to be sure before committing.
If you see a black one around your area at full chat it could well be me, especially from Wilmslow down the bypass to Cheadle. What a blast that road is!
Mind you, there are a lot of them around the golden triangle as you probably know.
Good luck and if you do buy one, it is definitely a smile a mile.
J4CKO said:
I suspect that was what, £500 a piece second hand?
Try more like £700 each second hand. And yes, expect the typical £1100 here and there easy each year and the occasional £4000 fix every other year or so too. There are many known problems with the early models you might need to attend to. I would not buy a new one as the depreciation is mind-boggling!Edited by enjoythemusic on Saturday 30th January 15:08
enjoythemusic said:
J4CKO said:
I suspect that was what, £500 a piece second hand?
Try more like £700 each second hand. And yes, expect the typical £1100 here and there easy each year and the occasional £4000 fix every other year or so too. There are many known problems with the early models you might need to attend to. I would not buy a new one as the depreciation is mind-boggling!Edited by enjoythemusic on Saturday 30th January 15:08
I have just joined PistonHeads. Between jobs a few years ago, I worked for my local Bentley dealer (Broughtons) as a sales dept. driver. They had two other branches - Cheltenham and Byfleet (Surrey) so there was lots of moving cars around. First day was to drive a Ferrari 360 from Cheltenham to Pangbourne! Then various Lambos, Astons (the Cheltenham branch was a main dealer) and so on.
Obviously drove lots of Bentleys - liked Flying Spurs but they are a bit Old fogey/wedding hire vehicles. I always enjoyed the GTs, which at that time were all W12s. I thought I would quite like one at some point. I like big engines ( had a 7.2l Jensen Interceptor back in the day, a 4.4 V8 BMW X5 and latterly a Cayenne 4.8 GTS). I have just traded in the Porsche for a Continental GT. It's an early one (Jan 04, which makes it a 53-reg), however it has only done just over 34k miles and has full Bentley SH (10 stamps) with loads of original invoices and old MoTs.
I think there's a lot of scaremongering about buying sub-£30k GTs. If you choose carefully, you can get something which won't depreciate much further (they were the same price around 2 years ago - I couldn't find one I liked so bought the Cayenne). Of course, if you go to a Bentley franchise you will pay a lot. I am going to start using a Bentley Indie in Berkshire. Obviously, it will cost more than a Mondeo to maintain but won't necessarily break the bank. Tyres - the correct Pirellis - can be had for £180 ish (Event Tyres) and brake pads,etc are readily available. Just check for work which was recommended by previous garages but not taken up by the owner. Tyre Pressure Monitors are a typical fault, which owners won't usually pay for - especially if they are about to get rid of the car. In short, if you buy carefully you should be OK. However, as others have pointed out, they are Supercars and have their foibles. If regularly serviced, then they should be no less reliable than top of the range Mercs or BMWs. Happy to discuss with anyone sitting on the fence about a GT purchase.
Obviously drove lots of Bentleys - liked Flying Spurs but they are a bit Old fogey/wedding hire vehicles. I always enjoyed the GTs, which at that time were all W12s. I thought I would quite like one at some point. I like big engines ( had a 7.2l Jensen Interceptor back in the day, a 4.4 V8 BMW X5 and latterly a Cayenne 4.8 GTS). I have just traded in the Porsche for a Continental GT. It's an early one (Jan 04, which makes it a 53-reg), however it has only done just over 34k miles and has full Bentley SH (10 stamps) with loads of original invoices and old MoTs.
I think there's a lot of scaremongering about buying sub-£30k GTs. If you choose carefully, you can get something which won't depreciate much further (they were the same price around 2 years ago - I couldn't find one I liked so bought the Cayenne). Of course, if you go to a Bentley franchise you will pay a lot. I am going to start using a Bentley Indie in Berkshire. Obviously, it will cost more than a Mondeo to maintain but won't necessarily break the bank. Tyres - the correct Pirellis - can be had for £180 ish (Event Tyres) and brake pads,etc are readily available. Just check for work which was recommended by previous garages but not taken up by the owner. Tyre Pressure Monitors are a typical fault, which owners won't usually pay for - especially if they are about to get rid of the car. In short, if you buy carefully you should be OK. However, as others have pointed out, they are Supercars and have their foibles. If regularly serviced, then they should be no less reliable than top of the range Mercs or BMWs. Happy to discuss with anyone sitting on the fence about a GT purchase.
J4CKO said:
I cant afford one as yet but at some point I quite fancy one, they have really grown on me, interested to hear what they are like to run and live with day to day.
Say I had 30 grand to buy one which seems to cover a fair few earlier examples, 2005/2006 ish.
Are they total money pits and prone to expensive failures or generally pretty solid and reliable ?
I have a September 05 Mulliner model purchased 4 years ago and with 60k miles on the clock I have had absolutely no problems whatsoever. Say I had 30 grand to buy one which seems to cover a fair few earlier examples, 2005/2006 ish.
Are they total money pits and prone to expensive failures or generally pretty solid and reliable ?
The only thing I have done is change the battery after being abroad for 3 months.
Main dealer servicing was expensive but after 10 stamps I now use a local Bentley specialist which saves me a lot of money.
Maybe I was lucky but mine has been completely solid and is probably worth about what you are looking to pay (though I have no intention of selling it!).
So in my experience they are incredibly well put together. Good luck!
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