Regular Mulsanne or Speed - Honest advice please?

[allister]

dazzalse said:

allister said:

dazzalse said:

Look a great car, hope you got the problems sorted. I've actually done a deal on one myself, being delivered Tuesday.

Excellent - What did you go for, Regular, Mulliner Driving Spec or Speed? And what about colour combo?

MDS, Black, Linen, Black Wood, Sunroof, Rear entreatment, iPad Tables, Naim, Ventilated seats, not a lot of choice left now as there was only a limited number of cars with support and we need rear entertainment and a sunroof but pleased with the spec!

That's a fantastic spec - You got a lot more rear seat toys than I did - I think this car was also one that was on my radar but as we have no children, I chose the Speed over the high spec MDS - Like you though, a sunroof was a must have (although I am disappointed it doesn't slide - tilt only.... Actually, hope you know this).

Was this a Harwoods Sussex car? If so, did you deal with Paul in sales?

[matt5791]

allister said:

This was my second choice and the car I very, very nearly bought - See images below:

I think the one you have has a better colour (easier to live with) and nicer wheels

[dazzalse]

allister said:

dazzalse said:

allister said:

dazzalse said:

Look a great car, hope you got the problems sorted. I've actually done a deal on one myself, being delivered Tuesday.

Excellent - What did you go for, Regular, Mulliner Driving Spec or Speed? And what about colour combo?

MDS, Black, Linen, Black Wood, Sunroof, Rear entreatment, iPad Tables, Naim, Ventilated seats, not a lot of choice left now as there was only a limited number of cars with support and we need rear entertainment and a sunroof but pleased with the spec!

That's a fantastic spec - You got a lot more rear seat toys than I did - I think this car was also one that was on my radar but as we have no children, I chose the Speed over the high spec MDS - Like you though, a sunroof was a must have (although I am disappointed it doesn't slide - tilt only.... Actually, hope you know this).

Was this a Harwoods Sussex car? If so, did you deal with Paul in sales?

Yes it was a Harwoods Sussex car and we did deal with Paul, i've not met him actually as i did the deal over the phone, but I've had a couple of cars from them before, when Simon was there they also looked after my Arnage Final Series

[allister]

dazzalse said:

Yes it was a Harwoods Sussex car and we did deal with Paul, i've not met him actually as i did the deal over the phone, but I've had a couple of cars from them before, when Simon was there they also looked after my Arnage Final Series

I thought so..... I made an appointment with Paul to see that exact same car (he seems a really nice guy) but found my car the day before - I'm quite confident I would have bought that had I not found the Speed the day before, so excellent choice, it's definitely the pick of what's out there in my opinion.

[allister]

matt5791 said:

I think the one you have has a better colour (easier to live with) and nicer wheels

Thanks Matt....

[allister]

A few new external pics:


http://thumbsnap.com/f/twXOja7I

http://thumbsnap.com/f/glvE6GH3

http://thumbsnap.com/f/Q18lS8PE

http://thumbsnap.com/f/1CPXq7Yc

http://thumbsnap.com/f/twXOja7I

http://thumbsnap.com/f/0q9iMziY

Edited by allister on Thursday 2nd June 23:30

[Modificata]

Dazzalse - Congrats on the new purchase. Love to see pics once you take delivery.

Allister - Both cars look stunning, although your home pics really show the exterior colour. I can see why you chose it! It really shows the sharp lines of the car. Great choice.

[allister]

Modificata said:

Dazzalse - Congrats on the new purchase. Love to see pics once you take delivery.

Allister - Both cars look stunning, although your home pics really show the exterior colour. I can see why you chose it! It really shows the sharp lines of the car. Great choice.

Yes Dazzalse - It would be great to see some pics of delivery tomorrow.

Thanks Modificata - My thoughts exactly regarding the colour...... The first pictures I posted were taken in extremely bright direct sunlight, which meant the light was bouncing of the paint and wheels, making it difficult to really see the car. Thanks again for your comments, I'm glad you like it.

[sealtt]

This thread was a great read, I can certainly relate having almost entirely given up on sports cars in recent times!

I had a very similar experience to you with the F430 Spider, though mine was an 'F1' gearbox. The points you made were all reasons I do not regret selling it and don't miss it at all. Reading your write up on the Mulsanne will certainly make me consider such a car next time around. The way that you have described the workmanship put into the car, I'd certainly appreciate that sort of thing myself. Though currently I have a new Range Rover since I love the commanding view through the vast windows and the cavernous interior is very useful as I have a young family (and a baby on the way).

The spec of your Mulsanne is great, the interior stunning, and from the outside it is classy but still has that proper 'Bentley' look about it. Very nice, enjoy.

[mirage5512]

It seems the "cheap" mulsanne deals seem to be tempting quite a few people.

I have also just changed from an older flying spur to an 18 month old mulsanne speed with less than 2000 miles on it. I also considered the rolls phantom and ghost but the phantom gets replaced soon and the ghost is a bit too similar to my 730LD and I thought having both you would compare them even more but I still love the series 2 ghost and I'm not criticising it as I think they are a great car.

I don't subscribe to the old man car analogies either as I like anything that is top of the line and whether you're 30 or 100 (I'm 37) if you like this type of thing you're kind of limited to a rolls phantom, mulsanne or merc maybach's etc and I expect to go to a new shape rolls phantom after this car in a few years time.

Similar routes in regards to previous cars after numerous ferraris and Porsches etc but thought it would be nice to have a special car all the family can enjoy.

Mine was bought from GC motors up in Harrogate and I was happy with the deal as well though I didn't realise they were selling brand new ones at £165k lol. To be fair my car has everything apart from the bottle cooler and tv tuner (not sure which one I'll miss most) and I thought why not go for a car with less than 2000 miles at less than half price so these cars are great "value" at the moment.

Regards the driving they are a totally different drive to the spur and don't go round corners like that car but I'm finding that just sitting in the car and the ambiance of the car mean I'm not in such a rush to get where I'm going if that makes sense and it is just a wonderfully comfortable car. The quality of the materials are just on another planet from the older Spurs as anyone who has one will know. I especially love the small round vents on the b pillar, I don't know why I always think of those but they are so well made and seem dinky compared to the bigger ones but wonderfully crafted.

I spent the first weekend I had it just sat in the front and back playing with all the settings and gadgets so I had a good handle on the car. I also figured that if you use an old iPhone 4 as a "dvd" changer you don't have to mess about changing discs and my old 32gb version holds over ten films (sd and hd). It must be the later iPod cable mind with the red colour on the cable otherwise the video doesn't work. The in car wifi isn't over fantastic either but I've not tried it on a proper run yet.

I thought the Naim audio system is the best thing I've ever heard in a car, I've had a couple of after market systems and the Naim is very good in my opinion.

I also think the fuel consumption is ok for the size of it and the speed's is much improved over the standard mulsanne.

I forgot to mention mine is anthracite with an all black interior. I normally go for black and light interiors but in light of three kids under 7 I thought it might be sensible to have black this time!

[avinalarf]

Congratulations on your purchase of the Bentley.
I am curious to know why you and other posters on this topic have appeared not to consider an Aston,for example the Vanquish or the Rapide ?
I can understand your choice if you needed a full four seater and if comfort was your main criteria I suppose the Bentley also fulfills that.

[Modificata]

avinalarf said:

Congratulations on your purchase of the Bentley.
I am curious to know why you and other posters on this topic have appeared not to consider an Aston,for example the Vanquish or the Rapide ?
I can understand your choice if you needed a full four seater and if comfort was your main criteria I suppose the Bentley also fulfills that.

I recently sat in the back of a Rapide at the London Motorshow and was left very unimpressed. The seat base is very short and left my legs with no support under my thighs, and im not particularly tall! I suspect a 10 minute journey would be more than enough.

[mirage5512]

Hi there,

I like the Aston's styling and sound but when I sat in an early db9 once I thought the car felt a bit tinny which put me off a bit but I did sit in an Aston Rapide once and was very impressed by the improved feel of the interior but I need a full five seater these days anyway.

I would consider the newer Astons in the future for sure as the new vanquish for one looks very nice but I've not seen one close up yet.

Cheers

[avinalarf]

Modificata said:

avinalarf said:

Congratulations on your purchase of the Bentley.
I ami curious to know why you and other posters on this topic have appeared not to consider an Aston,for example the Vanquish or the Rapide ?
I can understand your choice if you needed a full four seater and if comfort was your main criteria I suppose the Bentley also fulfills that.

I recently sat in the back of a Rapide at the London Motorshow and was left very unimpressed. The seat base is very short and left my legs with no support under my thighs, and im not particularly tall! I suspect a 10 minute journey would be more than enough.

I agree that the DB9 and Vanquish offer no practical space for rear passengers over the age of 5,useful only in an emergency for adults.
The Rapide is more practical but nothing like the Bentley.
The boot space in the Volante is also compromised.
Big upside is they are very pretty.

[sealtt]

Aston Martins are not really luxury cars - in the sense of being a very luxurious driving experience, they don't have the build quality or interior design.

[jeyjey]

I have a (first gen) Vanquish and an Arnage. I wouldn't say the Vanquish's interior is that far behind the Arnage, but some of the switchgear on the Arnage is indeed a bit higher quality. The new Vanquish is probably closer to the Arnage, but the Mulsanne ups the game a bit again.

As far as use, my Arnage probably sees 5 miles for every mile on the Vanquish. But the Vanquish occupies a unique space in terms of looks and sound. You just can't get that anywhere else.

Cheers,
Jeff.

[dazzalse]

mirage5512 said:

Hi there,

I like the Aston's styling and sound but when I sat in an early db9 once I thought the car felt a bit tinny which put me off a bit but I did sit in an Aston Rapide once and was very impressed by the improved feel of the interior but I need a full five seater these days anyway.

I would consider the newer Astons in the future for sure as the new vanquish for one looks very nice but I've not seen one close up yet.

Cheers

My wife had a run of DB9's all of them being new in 2005, 2007 and 2009. I then had a Rapide, one of the first in 2010, however being a new model, early car we paid full list for it and due to AM discounting 3 months later of 40k we suffered what can only be described as the most horrendous depreciation on any car we have ever owned (and there have been a lot) after a much heated dispute and face to face confrontation with there then UK MD I have vowed never to buy again!

[dazzalse]

mirage5512 said:

Hi there,

I like the Aston's styling and sound but when I sat in an early db9 once I thought the car felt a bit tinny which put me off a bit but I did sit in an Aston Rapide once and was very impressed by the improved feel of the interior but I need a full five seater these days anyway.

I would consider the newer Astons in the future for sure as the new vanquish for one looks very nice but I've not seen one close up yet.

Cheers

My wife had a run of DB9's all of them being new in 2005, 2007 and 2009. I then had a Rapide, one of the first in 2010, however being a new model, early car we paid full list for it and due to AM discounting 3 months later of 40k we suffered what can only be described as the most horrendous depreciation on any car we have ever owned (and there have been a lot) after a much heated dispute and face to face confrontation with there then UK MD I have vowed never to buy again!

[avinalarf]

dazzalse said:

My wife had a run of DB9's all of them being new in 2005, 2007 and 2009. I then had a Rapide, one of the first in 2010, however being a new model, early car we paid full list for it and due to AM discounting 3 months later of 40k we suffered what can only be described as the most horrendous depreciation on any car we have ever owned (and there have been a lot) after a much heated dispute and face to face confrontation with there then UK MD I have vowed never to buy again!

A most unfortunate experience,very annoying.
However just reading this topic of the OP's huge discount he got on his new Bentley it appears that bad practice is not just relevant to AM.
But should we be surprised by shady business practices....they are behaving like .....hhhmmm let me think.....I know ......car salesmen.
With your history of being a very good customer of AM you'd have thought it was in their interest to offer you some recompense in the form of a really good price on your next purchase.

[dazzalse]

avinalarf said:

dazzalse said:

My wife had a run of DB9's all of them being new in 2005, 2007 and 2009. I then had a Rapide, one of the first in 2010, however being a new model, early car we paid full list for it and due to AM discounting 3 months later of 40k we suffered what can only be described as the most horrendous depreciation on any car we have ever owned (and there have been a lot) after a much heated dispute and face to face confrontation with there then UK MD I have vowed never to buy again!

A most unfortunate experience,very annoying.
However just reading this topic of the OP's huge discount he got on his new Bentley it appears that bad practice is not just relevant to AM.
But should we be surprised by shady business practices....they are behaving like .....hhhmmm let me think.....I know ......car salesmen.
With your history of being a very good customer of AM you'd have thought it was in their interest to offer you some recompense in the form of a really good price on your next purchase.

The huge discounts currently available on the Mulsanne are as we all know due to the new model currently being released, its not to say the current car is not great, but having tried to buy one last year I know the discounts available were small then, Bentley have also been very careful with the number of cars that have factory support.

The sad thing with Aston was the Rapide had only been launched 9 weeks earlier as a brand new model, to rave reviews, and was genuinely a great all-round car. The factory then decided to offer between 40 and 50k off new cars, they also released to the dealers all of the early pre-production cars, some of them having 50,000 miles on the clock, - as there MD said at the time they were forced to put anything that had wheels into the network and basically get what they could for it to raise cash and starve off liquidation. There were a number of us that got caught up in that mess with depreciation.

To give you an example we had had the Rapide on order for 18 months and a Ferrari California on order at the same time which both arrived and were delivered to us within 7 days, both costing about 165k OTR, both without any discount, I covered 6,000 miles in the California and sold it for 157k 12 month later, the Rapdie with 2,300 miles on the clock made 95k after 12 months