Regular Mulsanne or Speed - Honest advice please?

[chilistrucker]

Hellers said:

Honestly, many congratulations - that is indeed stunning! I completely get where you are coming from about the colour vs. black.

I'm 53 and hankering for a Bentley and my fiancée keeps saying I'm too young! Just wait 'til I show her your beautiful new motor.

All the best,

Hellers.

Buy it

OP, how dare you, I am 45, and I am the chauffeur. The car looks lovely and the colour is great. I really enjoyed driving the Mulsanne, and although the Naim system was great it was a bit fussy at times. Enjoy your car.

[allister]

Aeroresh said:

Looks amazing in that colour! Did you deal with Jan at Bentley Manchester? Hes a top bloke.

Thanks for your kind words Aeroresh..... I actually bought the car from Brittle Motor Group. I wouldn't normally buy from outside the main dealer network, but as this car was sourced direct rom Bentley Manchester and the car was still brand new (only 32 miles on the clock) I decided it would be fine - Full warranty etc. From what I understand, from time to time Brittle deal some of their stock.

I couldn't find another similar car anywhere within main dealer network (certainly not brand new), so I was very pleased to come across this one

It is however going back to Bentley Manchester, for a 1,000 mile service in a few weeks time, everyone I spoke with their seemed great.

[allister]

chilistrucker said:

Hellers said:

Honestly, many congratulations - that is indeed stunning! I completely get where you are coming from about the colour vs. black.

I'm 53 and hankering for a Bentley and my fiancée keeps saying I'm too young! Just wait 'til I show her your beautiful new motor.

All the best,

Hellers.

Buy it

OP, how dare you, I am 45, and I am the chauffeur. The car looks lovely and the colour is great. I really enjoyed driving the Mulsanne, and although the Naim system was great it was a bit fussy at times. Enjoy your car.

Firstly thank you chillistruker - hopefully no offence was caused with my chauffeur remark and it's also nice to hear that the Naim System wasn't perfect.

Hellers - thank you also for your kind words.... I know EXACTLY where you're coming from with the fiancée thing, my wife is only 38 years old and we had these very same conversations - In order to convince your "wife to be", you need to find the right spec to win her over - Don't get me wrong, I do still love the traditional woods and colours such as dark sapphire, but get the right colour combination and a Mulsanne can go from a beautifully made, traditional motor car, to a very cool piece of handcrafted art.

The craftsmanship in these cars is second to none - They really are beautiful pieces..... The strong smell of leather that hits you every time you open the door is like nothing else!

Edited by allister on Wednesday 11th May 07:54

[chilistrucker]

No, no, just messing 😀
Great choice, they really are a fantastic machine.

[matt5791]

Absolutely lovely looking car.

Had the privilege of a tour of the Crewe factory on Friday - what I noticed is the Mulsanne is made much more like the older cars - things like the wood waist rails are solid wood under the veneer (rather than veneer onto plastic substrate as in the GT/Fluing Spur/Bentyaga). You really can see where the extra money is going with the Mulsanne.

[allister]

matt5791 said:

Absolutely lovely looking car.

Had the privilege of a tour of the Crewe factory on Friday - what I noticed is the Mulsanne is made much more like the older cars - things like the wood waist rails are solid wood under the veneer (rather than veneer onto plastic substrate as in the GT/Fluing Spur/Bentyaga). You really can see where the extra money is going with the Mulsanne.

Hi Matt, that's nice to know - I'm planning on asking the dealer to arrange a tour, sounds like you enjoyed it.

It's good to know that a bit more care and attention goes in to their flagship.

Edited by allister on Thursday 12th May 07:24

[matt5791]

allister said:

Hi Matt, that's nice to know - I'm planning on asking the dealer to arrange a tour, sounds like you enjoyed it.

It's good to know that a bit more care and attention goes in to their flagship.

Edited by allister on Thursday 12th May 07:24

If you can get a tour, it's very interesting - I find any factory interesting, but Crewe is especially so.

There are a lot of people there who have been at Crewe for years - the chap who talked us through the steering wheel trimming said he had been working there for 42 years! One of the hosts in their "showroom of showrooms" at the end of Pyms lane, used to go out to Brunei and service and maintain the Sultan's cars. Lots of interesting people there.

[Byteme]

Horrible doesn't even start to describe this.

[allister]

Byteme said:

Horrible doesn't even start to describe this.

Your opinion is fair enough - I know this colour combination will not suit everyone and definitely not all the chaps who prefer the more traditional colour schemes, with polished burr walnut, etc (a look which I also admire and appreciate).

I might have been slightly offended by your comments Byteme, but clicking on your profile name and then the forums tab, shows both myself and anyone else who chooses to look, that in all of your replies, you never actually have a nice word to say about anything..... So I won't take it personally.

All of your comments build up a very good picture of you, confirming my suspicions, that you are sadly, a miserable lonely old man, writing on forums at 2.15am in the morning.

I hope life gets better for you and one day you find happiness.

[enjoythemusic]

My wife also feels I'm too young for the GTC. After a few years am going to sell/trade it. As we all know, will lose tens of thousands during the trade. The Bentley is perhaps the single worst 'investment' I've made in years. Reliability has not been that great, so I should have taken notice when others warned me and seeing all the problems online.

[allister]

enjoythemusic said:

My wife also feels I'm too young for the GTC. After a few years am going to sell/trade it. As we all know, will lose tens of thousands during the trade. The Bentley is perhaps the single worst 'investment' I've made in years. Reliability has not been that great, so I should have taken notice when others warned me and seeing all the problems online.

Hi enjoythemusic

You say "Reliability has not been that great" I kind of know what you mean - A quick update........ My 5 day old Mulsanne is currently parked up, awaiting recovery after I noticed power steering oil leaking on to my garage floor.

I guess with hand built cars you're bound to get some problems, particularly at the beginning of ownership, I am expecting that, I just hope this car doesn't start spending more time in Bentley's garage than it does mine.

I know what you mean about the single worst investment / purchase - Despite the heavily discounted price I received, I know I'm still going to take a massive hit on this car. The only thing that will help soften the blow, is if I keep it long term (10+ years), which is certainly my intention but only time will tell.

I also noticed you saying that you're going to change, but for what? This was a huge dilemma for me and the one that put me in a Bentley - I'll explain why.

I've just come from a Ferrari F430 Spider (Manual), a very rare car which made me £30k profit in 12 months - However, I didn't particularly enjoy driving it. The ride was firm and bumpy to say the least, comfort was pretty much non existent, other road users hate you and it spends most of it's time in your garage, particularly as it always rains here in the UK.

So I thought I can buy pretty much anything I like, what do I want?

Having just come from a Ferrari and with comfort becoming more and more important to me, I dismissed changing to the likes of Porsche as I didn't want to go back to uncomfortable motoring. So what were my options...... Well I drove the Rolls Royce Phantom, a beautiful car, unbelievably quiet but for me it felt just a bit too big. Not interested in the Rolls Royce Ghost as from what I understand it shares too many components with a 7 series BMW.

So I looked at the Mercedes S Class LWB, as I had one some years ago and loved it. Unfortunately now it just feels dull and very much like a mass produced Mercedes (good value but certainly not exciting).

Don't laugh but I also have a 10 year old (2007 MY) Range Rover 4.4 Vogue Petrol which I absolutely love, it's quieter than the new diesel, smooth as silk and has bags of character, so a new Range Rover was a no go.

So where do I go then..... I don't know - I don't want another high performance sports car and I feel I've explored all the "Luxury Comfort" stuff. The only thing I found left that excited me was the Mulsanne. The interior reeks of quality (obviously not the power steering), it's smooth on the road, has an immense sense of presence and when you accelerate it sounds like a diesel locomotive - Seriously, it really does, I've never known anything like it!!

That's how I ended up in a Bentley - If you do trade / sell where do you think you'll go next?

Allister

[enjoythemusic]

Wow, you seem like myself in some wonderful ways as also tried a Roller. Been debating a Jag, or going back to my 'roots' with a Lotus. Just got the wife a BMW X1 as a grocery-getter and came away quite impressed with the steering and handling. Makes the Bentley seem far too bloated and lacking being nimble. Like you, did the Ferrari thing yet after racing open wheel Formula 2000 there simply is no street car that can perform... perhaps the Ariel comes closer.

So the Jag perhaps, Lotus if I want another toy car or BMW. The other factor is to get as far away from any VW Group products due to the way they handle known defects. We all know about the false air line problem in Bentley cars that require engine out in older models, defective GTC tops with either holes in the canvass or the rear glass window coming unglued, or the.... My friends had to hire lawyers because of VW and Porsche defective engines that the factory refuses to make right until you are about to go to court. Then there is.... So yes, never again a VW Group product.

The good news for now is that I'm able to warn others who see the GTC about looking for something else from another company and why. If someone from the VW Group is reading this, perhaps offer me an appropriate buy back to make up for the problems would be an honorable gesture. It is time we part ways and never cross paths again.

[dazzalse]

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

[Modificata]

What an absolutely stunning looking car. If im honest the interior is spot on, but personally I prefer the exterior in Blue. But your silver is still lovely.

I really relate to your reasons for buying a Bentley at a relatively young age. I purchased my Arnage T at 40 after wanting one for at least 5 years. I too came from Ferrari (although I still own a classic), and wanted something more comfortable and quicker. The Bentley has amazed me and each time I jump into it I think I should drive this more often! In fact im going out tonight... Looks like I'll have to take it

[enjoythemusic]

Just a small update: Test drove a BMW 4-series, too numb an experience. Going back to try the M4 and maybe consider the ltd edition track M4. The SL550 has too much plastic for my liking. Then try Jag and... If they could eliminate about 400 kgs from the Bentley GT / GTC and lower the center of weight/gravity they'd be closer to a more ideal for me. Maybe I am 'growing younger' with each passing year

[RR-B fixer]

enjoythemusic said:

If they could eliminate about 400 kgs from the Bentley GT / GTC and lower the center of weight/gravity they'd be closer to a more ideal for me. Maybe I am 'growing younger' with each passing year

How about the Bentley GT3-R?

http://www.hrowen.co.uk/bentley/continental-gt3-r/

[enjoythemusic]

Sorry, yet you can't be serious that a 2195 kg car is anywhere close to being lightweight and nimble. Still very far from ~1600 kg. Frankly, am very surprised that Bentley made the GT3 is so very heavy for a supposed 'track inspired' car, whilst it lost extremely little in the weight department while gaining very little in the power output. Seems more like just another limited edition they could sell to the masses

[allister]

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?

[dazzalse]

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!

[allister]

Modificata said:

What an absolutely stunning looking car. If im honest the interior is spot on, but personally I prefer the exterior in Blue. But your silver is still lovely.

I really relate to your reasons for buying a Bentley at a relatively young age. I purchased my Arnage T at 40 after wanting one for at least 5 years. I too came from Ferrari (although I still own a classic), and wanted something more comfortable and quicker. The Bentley has amazed me and each time I jump into it I think I should drive this more often! In fact im going out tonight... Looks like I'll have to take it

Thank you for you kind words Modificata

Like you, I'd also wanted a Bentley for some time before buying one - I was planning on an Arnage Final Series but the deals being offered on the new Mulsanne meant I went that way. I know what you means about the blue..... I do also love this, in fact Dark Sapphire / Black Sapphire, together with Cream Leather and Dark Burr Walnut have always been my dream colours, so buying what I did was a big shock to me and not what I expected at all but after having a Mulsanne loaned to me for 5 days, I just fell in love with the polished steel air vents and piano black wood, which then lead to the colour change externally.

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

Edited by allister on Sunday 22 May 08:22