Phantom Ownership One Month On
Discussion
Its been little over a month since we took delivery of our Phantom Series 2, and we've already added 1500 miles to the clock, and generally the improvements over the previous car are welcome, I'm still a little unsure on the new 8 speed box, although the changes are pretty much executed un noticed, I can tell that there are more changes taking place then the previous gearbox in our last car, and instead of relying on the torque of the engine as in the previous car, the new gearbox seems to be pretty busy, changing up at every opportunity.
The most welcome change has been the new Satellite Navigation/Ipod integration, the iPhone works better, the screen is bigger and the sat nav actually works! In making the screen bigger they have made the chrome air vent smaller, i'm not sure if this is a good thing but as we head further south and the temperature rises I'll let you know. But i seem to have spent a lot of time fiddling with the temperature control trying to get comfortable. The new LED headlamps are superb at night.
We've covered about 700 miles over the last few days after leaving home on Tuesday and taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander (Brittany ferries were superb moving us to one side and then loading us on our own right down the front which was a relief) and then heading south down to Estoril in Portugal.
We had some drama 10 minutes after leaving home as the check control showed a puncture, but it doesn't tell you which tyre, having had many problems with this system in the previous car i'd invested in a pressure gauge, so in the torrential rain i checked all four tyres and all appeared ok, a quick call to Rolls Royce confirmed that they'd had problems with the system being very sensitive and told me over the phone how to reset.
I had brimmed the car in Taunton with fuel and managed to get to the portuguese border on one tank (450 miles) before adding another 95 litres, it was a fast run down through Spain cruising at about 85 mph, the car was fully loaded as we are away for 5 weeks and 3 of us on board, so she averaged about 22mpg a small improvement on the previous car.
The children were content in the back and my 9 year old has mastered the complicated rear entertainment system, a £15,000 option that doesn't include headphones!
We had used a different dealer this time as frankly the last dealer was useless, although I will reserve judgement on the current dealer until we are further into ownership, but in terms of the experience in buying the car, after sales, delivery and keeping in touch Bentley have well ad truly got RR beaten in overall experience and it really is something that they need to look at going forward.
The car itself is heavily optioned to the tune of 150k making the list price close to 450k, some of the options I considered essential others more because the wife liked them, some of that money was taken up in bespoke options, the colour and interior are bespoke, the starlight headlining at £8k was more of a novelty for the children but overall she is a stunning car.
Our intention is to try and use the car more then the last one and if there is interest i will post a report every so often on the overall experience of ownership and reliability.
The most welcome change has been the new Satellite Navigation/Ipod integration, the iPhone works better, the screen is bigger and the sat nav actually works! In making the screen bigger they have made the chrome air vent smaller, i'm not sure if this is a good thing but as we head further south and the temperature rises I'll let you know. But i seem to have spent a lot of time fiddling with the temperature control trying to get comfortable. The new LED headlamps are superb at night.
We've covered about 700 miles over the last few days after leaving home on Tuesday and taking the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander (Brittany ferries were superb moving us to one side and then loading us on our own right down the front which was a relief) and then heading south down to Estoril in Portugal.
We had some drama 10 minutes after leaving home as the check control showed a puncture, but it doesn't tell you which tyre, having had many problems with this system in the previous car i'd invested in a pressure gauge, so in the torrential rain i checked all four tyres and all appeared ok, a quick call to Rolls Royce confirmed that they'd had problems with the system being very sensitive and told me over the phone how to reset.
I had brimmed the car in Taunton with fuel and managed to get to the portuguese border on one tank (450 miles) before adding another 95 litres, it was a fast run down through Spain cruising at about 85 mph, the car was fully loaded as we are away for 5 weeks and 3 of us on board, so she averaged about 22mpg a small improvement on the previous car.
The children were content in the back and my 9 year old has mastered the complicated rear entertainment system, a £15,000 option that doesn't include headphones!
We had used a different dealer this time as frankly the last dealer was useless, although I will reserve judgement on the current dealer until we are further into ownership, but in terms of the experience in buying the car, after sales, delivery and keeping in touch Bentley have well ad truly got RR beaten in overall experience and it really is something that they need to look at going forward.
The car itself is heavily optioned to the tune of 150k making the list price close to 450k, some of the options I considered essential others more because the wife liked them, some of that money was taken up in bespoke options, the colour and interior are bespoke, the starlight headlining at £8k was more of a novelty for the children but overall she is a stunning car.
Our intention is to try and use the car more then the last one and if there is interest i will post a report every so often on the overall experience of ownership and reliability.
stain said:
My Dealer is pretty good though I did have issues with bodywork repairs under warranty. They sub it out to a regular bodyshop and the quality was very poor. Agree about the 8 speed box. I don't like it and I find it gives engine braking, unlike the S1 which is much easier to 'waft'
Can you list the options you have?
I was told it was 100k for personalised seatbelts.
Yes I completely agree that you seem to get engine braking with this box and the S1 felt more relaxed to drive on long distances, I also expected slightly better economy with the new box, but seem to recall getting similar mpg out of the S1 last year.Can you list the options you have?
I was told it was 100k for personalised seatbelts.
Options off the top of my head,
Bespoke exterior colour
Bespoke interior leather
Starlight headlining with bespoke coloured headlining
White instruments
Silver clock
Sunroof
Rear Entertainment
Individual rear seat with occasional seat
Black Piping
Piano wood
RR emblems in headrests
Polished 21"wheels
Bespoke coach line colour
Mother of pearl inlays
lambswool rugs
Veneered picnic tables for theatre
Visible tailpipes
Sun protection glass rear
Having spent a month with the car there are a few things that they need to addressed for the next model year, firstly the Hi-Fi, 10 years ago it was astonishing, there is now better, it used to be branded Lexicon but no longer is, but they really need to improve this as its no where near class leading anymore. Keyless entry and engine start would be good, and although they have upgraded the sat nav it is still not the latest generation thats in the wife X5. The TPS system is a joke and really needs to be addressed I seem to recall in our BMW back in 2001 it told you which tyre was flat so this generic tyre failure system is not good enough. There is very little feel in the steering wheel (doesn't bother me as I have other things for that) but the active steering fitted to some BMW would make things a lot easier at low speed
xto said:
Hi dazzalse,
Nice write up.
You are right at this price level you expect that everything is top em dame working without issue. The phantom has been out for a good few years so such issues like not knowing which type might have a puncture is silly.
Can we see the car, loved to see some pictures?
My question is about ownership, normally are you driven around or you bought the car for you to drive it?
Always felt the phantom was to be driven in not driven by the actual owner(?)
No I drive myself the majority of the time, this car has replaced our previous car which was a drop head, its slightly longer then the Drophead but I was offered good money for it as there seems to be a shortage of 2011 Dropheads. The 4 door suit our needs slightly better. I do have a driver who works for me but only adhoc if we are going to a function or airport etc.. It is not used all the time but used everyday over the summer when we are down in Portugal as its the car we take down, Ive got a G wagon and X5 for everyday, will post some pictures when I get a chanceNice write up.
You are right at this price level you expect that everything is top em dame working without issue. The phantom has been out for a good few years so such issues like not knowing which type might have a puncture is silly.
Can we see the car, loved to see some pictures?
My question is about ownership, normally are you driven around or you bought the car for you to drive it?
Always felt the phantom was to be driven in not driven by the actual owner(?)
Well we've been back from Portugal for about 8 weeks and the car has been up with the supplying dealer for the last 3 weeks having various niggles rectified, nothing major but minor things. I asked them to look at the gearbox as I didnt feel the new 8 speed box was as smooth as the series 1 car we had owned before especially in slow moving traffic where it seemed to hunt between gears and also changed down for no reason, we've had a very annoying rattle from the area around the sunroof area and the sunroof switch was also loose.
In the old car the A/C was forget and leave what ever the temperature was outside but this car above 30 degrees outside seemed to struggle to maintain a comfortable temperature, so that also had to be looked into, they've also replaced the LED headlamp on the n/s as it kept giving failure warnings up on the dash. They've also replaced both battery as we kept having low voltage warnings.
Overall over 3,000 miles we averaged 23.6mpg so pretty good.
On a different note I've just bought a new mini Cooper S for the wife and the sale and after sale service has been superb and I really think RR could learn a lot from the experience we had buying the Mini to the experience we had buying the Phantom, the service we received from Mini was in a different league and made me realise how shoddy and what hard work it had been buying the RR.
Coming back up from Portugal we covered the best part of 700 miles in a day and it really is one of the most relaxing places to be, and on the motorway is so refined (more so then the last car which was a drophead)
Overall its a better car then the series one Phantom, not leaps and bounds, its more evolved which is no bad thing, as I mentioned earlier the stereo could be improved (its great but could be brilliant) there are a couple of things that could be added which include adaptive cruise and a blind spot warning system to the standard spec
Here are some pics
In the old car the A/C was forget and leave what ever the temperature was outside but this car above 30 degrees outside seemed to struggle to maintain a comfortable temperature, so that also had to be looked into, they've also replaced the LED headlamp on the n/s as it kept giving failure warnings up on the dash. They've also replaced both battery as we kept having low voltage warnings.
Overall over 3,000 miles we averaged 23.6mpg so pretty good.
On a different note I've just bought a new mini Cooper S for the wife and the sale and after sale service has been superb and I really think RR could learn a lot from the experience we had buying the Mini to the experience we had buying the Phantom, the service we received from Mini was in a different league and made me realise how shoddy and what hard work it had been buying the RR.
Coming back up from Portugal we covered the best part of 700 miles in a day and it really is one of the most relaxing places to be, and on the motorway is so refined (more so then the last car which was a drophead)
Overall its a better car then the series one Phantom, not leaps and bounds, its more evolved which is no bad thing, as I mentioned earlier the stereo could be improved (its great but could be brilliant) there are a couple of things that could be added which include adaptive cruise and a blind spot warning system to the standard spec
Here are some pics
9six4 said:
Thanks for the update - car looks fantastic....
I personally prefer the Phantom, but did you consider a Mulsanne as an alternative, especially given the dealership experience seems to be better?
Andy
Yes we did, I had a Mulsanne on loan from the factory for over a week, and they tried really hard to sell us the car, we had a evening at Highgrove for dinner and the service was 2nd to none and we probably would have bought it but my wife swayed more to the Phantom, in all honesty its one thing Bentley Motors are very good at looking after there customers, not only at a dealer level but also from the factory. We are probably going to get a Bentley GTC for next summer. I personally prefer the Phantom, but did you consider a Mulsanne as an alternative, especially given the dealership experience seems to be better?
Andy
In terms of service from RR, it is always you chasing them, they don't return calls, don't do as they say they are gonna do and really dont want to go out of there way to help, when we collected the car I had asked for it to be delivered but they couldnt agree with me a suitable time that was suitable for them, I then went up on the train to collect it but instead of meeting me at the station that was suitable for me, was asked to change at the main terminus and take a another train to arrive at a station closer to the dealership as it was out of the way for them, various little things that one should not expect.
Petrus1983 said:
It's threads like this which allows me to still love PH!
And to top it off, as if any evidence was ever needed to show you can have an seriously amazing car without any respect of grammar (I doubt there's many people in the Grammar Police forum driving around in a Phantom!)...
Ummm grammer, not my strongest point but then I went to a state school in the East End and never went to college or university, but I've made my own way in life and done okdazzalse said:
we had a evening at Highgrove for dinner....
And to prove (if any is needed) that Dazzalse is a true petrolhead...dazzalse said:
I then went up on the train to collect it
Seriously, at this money if it wasn't a) Hand delivered, b) a car coming to pick me up, c) helicopter landing in my back garden I'd be wondering what the f*** I'd just spent the money on.And to top it off, as if any evidence was ever needed to show you can have an seriously amazing car without any respect of grammar (I doubt there's many people in the Grammar Police forum driving around in a Phantom!)...
dazzalse said:
dont want to go out of there way to help
You're my new PH hero - enjoy the car and hopefully keep us posted outandabout said:
Can we have an update?
Not used it for the last 2 months, its been sitting in the garage on battery charger! We last used it on New Years Eve. It was however collected last week to have a few things attended too, namely the 2 rear vanity mirrors had started to corrode slightly and have been on order for 4 months, a bespoke item because of the leather colour, the auto dipped/main beam has stopped working, the key still rattles in the ignition and the spirit of ecstasy has become rather noisy !
It was with the dealer for about 3 weeks late October having various issues resolved, i wonder if the main beam problem is related to the nearside headlamp unit they replaced back in October, it had not stopped working but was playing havoc with he check control giving warning messages of failure.
Not great service back in October, they lost the list that i'd given them with a number of items to attend to and I'd not made a copy!
I also heard from the sales manager last week ( first time since buying the car!) i can only imagine thats in relation to RR ringing me last week too ask if I'd answer a questionnaire on the dealer, they really have it so wrong when it comes to customer service
I have told them to have the car back next week as we are hosting a party here for 250 people and there will be a number of people to collect from the station/airport so it will be a busy weekend for the car, I know I've said this before but Bentley Motors really do have them when it comes to customer service, even down to small things like getting a christmas card from the factory, would cost Bentley next to nothing but its the small things that are remembered next time you buy a car…….
Thought I should update this thread, the dealer had the car about 8 weeks ago for a few niggles and a service, although they ended up keeping it for nearly 3 weeks as they had to replace the ignition module where the key sits, this for the last few months had been rattling causing much annoyance, they also replaced both of the rear vanity mirrors which had delaminated and because they are bound in leather had been on special order from the factory for the best part of 4 months! The timescales I am told was because the leather colour on this car was a bespoke option.
I've not covered that many miles in the last few months but annoyingly the computer says another service so its being collected next week, where they also need to attend to the auto boot which has become very slow, a blown bulb in the instrument cluster, and corroded wheel centre caps, although they assure me its only going to be away a few days.... We are taking the car off to Portugal soon for the summer so it needs to be perfect as we will be covering a good few thousand miles.
As a side line the Mini cooper S i bought of my wife has been faultless since collection last November!
I've not covered that many miles in the last few months but annoyingly the computer says another service so its being collected next week, where they also need to attend to the auto boot which has become very slow, a blown bulb in the instrument cluster, and corroded wheel centre caps, although they assure me its only going to be away a few days.... We are taking the car off to Portugal soon for the summer so it needs to be perfect as we will be covering a good few thousand miles.
As a side line the Mini cooper S i bought of my wife has been faultless since collection last November!
Well its been a year since I started this thread, and we have covered a little over 6,000 miles in the car, most recently 800 miles down to Portugal this week, 600 of those miles in a day. It still amazes me how this car eats the miles so easily. I brimmed the tank in Taunton before we left and after taking the ferry to Santander got all the way to the spanish border on one tank, a little over 23mpg and 500 miles , thats fully loaded with 4 people and a boot full of luggage, although mostly motorway we were not hanging around. The expensive rear entertainment has kept the kids occupied for the whole journey! Most of the initial niggles have been ironed out and I have a few things on the list that will need attending on my return in September, although minor the auto boot has become quite slow and the inlaid black on the RR badge on the grill has started to peel off ( the same as the back one on the boot lid did early on in ownership. Despite the niggles the car still has a great feel good factor, Myself and Mrs Dazzalse have both decided that we will probably keep this car longterm and will add the new RR Dawn to our fleet next year to run alongside it.
Its interesting as I never liked the Wraith but after a track day it is a superb drivers car, I have done a few track days over the last year and as most of the test drivers are self employed you meet the same guys on different events, I knew I had to drive the Wraith when on a ferrari day a driver that I know well said it was one of the best cars he had ever driven, and after seeing the Dawn at the factory earlier on in the year I knew I had to have one, I think people might be surprised when they see the car in the flesh as from the front it is different from the wraith, but I think most people will be shocked at the engine choice for the new car, for me a outstanding choice, that will deliver power and comfort, the lines remind me of the old azure it really was a beautiful car and much effort has been put into the styling and drive train, its an astonishing car intact. It will be very interesting where they place the price of the new car as there are good discounts to be had on the Phantom DHC, so there could end up being very little between the too cars.
I've owned a lot of luxury/exotic cars over the years and I think people are shocked when you mention that you have niggles and quality control issues, the reason being of course is rather being put together by a machine most of these ares are hand built so no car will ever be the same in terms of build quality and the way they drive.
We were recently lent a Mercedes G63 (a car that I have owned previously and I was so astonished at how well it drove compared to others that I have driven, even the driver that delivered it said "this car drives amazingly well" It was the same with the Arnage, we have had six of these over the last 15 years and they all drove different, some a lot better then others, Our current phantom is now a really sorted car as I have made a lot of effort over the last year sorting everything so its now perfect, and I would really say that if you are considering one of these consider a car that has been used and had everything sorted, as with all of these cars it is critical that in the first year of ownership the owner takes the time and effort to sort everything, seems crazy on a car costing so much, however I have long since concluded that the more you spend makes no difference to overall build quality and customer service, as a side note the Mini Cooper S that I bought for my wife last year has continued to be faultless and has not been back for one single issue!
I've owned a lot of luxury/exotic cars over the years and I think people are shocked when you mention that you have niggles and quality control issues, the reason being of course is rather being put together by a machine most of these ares are hand built so no car will ever be the same in terms of build quality and the way they drive.
We were recently lent a Mercedes G63 (a car that I have owned previously and I was so astonished at how well it drove compared to others that I have driven, even the driver that delivered it said "this car drives amazingly well" It was the same with the Arnage, we have had six of these over the last 15 years and they all drove different, some a lot better then others, Our current phantom is now a really sorted car as I have made a lot of effort over the last year sorting everything so its now perfect, and I would really say that if you are considering one of these consider a car that has been used and had everything sorted, as with all of these cars it is critical that in the first year of ownership the owner takes the time and effort to sort everything, seems crazy on a car costing so much, however I have long since concluded that the more you spend makes no difference to overall build quality and customer service, as a side note the Mini Cooper S that I bought for my wife last year has continued to be faultless and has not been back for one single issue!
Well I knew it could not last, we covered 3,000 miles in July/August down to Portugal and back without problem. Had the car valeted on my return and put her back in the garage, but decided to use her to get down to the Goodwood Revival as my back had been playing up and I thought the comfort would be good.
On the Friday afternoon I left here to head up to my brothers in Oxford so we could motor down together, just off the M5 in Gloucester and as i adjusted the seat slightly the thing went crazy and fully reclined the seat and jammed and that way is how it stayed completely jammed. Rolls Royce assistance had someone with me in less then 15 minutes and also sent a low loader in addition, incase they couldn't fix it. The engineer stripped the seat down at the side of the road, he then stripped the wires back to the motor and powered each motor up individually with a 12v battery to get me going and the seat adjusted.
RR recovered the car first thing Monday and had it for for a week diagnosing a faulty seat ECU, they also replaced both LED headlamps as the fault warning on the dash had returned saying headlamp failure.
The car is now safely back in the garage, on a different note the faultless Mini Cooper S belonging to my wife has suffered it first fault and its a major one it is in the currently in the garage having a new engine under warranty after only 10,000 miles......
On the Friday afternoon I left here to head up to my brothers in Oxford so we could motor down together, just off the M5 in Gloucester and as i adjusted the seat slightly the thing went crazy and fully reclined the seat and jammed and that way is how it stayed completely jammed. Rolls Royce assistance had someone with me in less then 15 minutes and also sent a low loader in addition, incase they couldn't fix it. The engineer stripped the seat down at the side of the road, he then stripped the wires back to the motor and powered each motor up individually with a 12v battery to get me going and the seat adjusted.
RR recovered the car first thing Monday and had it for for a week diagnosing a faulty seat ECU, they also replaced both LED headlamps as the fault warning on the dash had returned saying headlamp failure.
The car is now safely back in the garage, on a different note the faultless Mini Cooper S belonging to my wife has suffered it first fault and its a major one it is in the currently in the garage having a new engine under warranty after only 10,000 miles......
After the last run of problems, and having been away I decided to use the Phantom to collect my daughter from the airport. Now it had not been used in 3 weeks and and had been in the garage since being delivered back last time, I'd only just pulled onto the motorway to be greeted by a warning light saying LH dipped beam failure, however both lights were working so i made a mental note to add it not a list for the next time it goes in. (this follow on from them replacing both lights last time for the same problem. When we arrived back i left it on the drive only to be woken at 1am by my wife who had just got in to say there was a motor of some sort running on the phantom in the engine, when I went out the following morning said motor was still running somewhere deep in the engine. The Rolls royce assistance tech who I am now on first name basis with said there were pages of faults on the computer and it would have to be recovered, that was 3 weeks ago and its still not back.
The Tech didn't know what was running and when I spoke with the dealer yesterday they too seem at a loss to work out what it was!
The delay in getting the car back is resolving the headlamp issue, Goodwood have bene in talks with the dealer helping to try and solve the problem.
Rolls Royce Goodwill have been good in lending me a DHC and there is talk that mine might be back next week, but too be honest I am becoming slightly annoyed as its starting to be that every time we use the car there is some problem or another, I have put this to RR and await there response.
On a separate note the Mini is now back on the road, however after a lengthy discussion they are replacing the car with a brand new Mini at the end of the month, excellent customer service !
I have too report that the recovery service for the RR was not great, he didn't want to drive it not the transporter, asked if I would do it, and it come to light that the towing eye which had never been used does not fit at all, so he decided to strap a rope around the front axle, complaint lodged!
The Tech didn't know what was running and when I spoke with the dealer yesterday they too seem at a loss to work out what it was!
The delay in getting the car back is resolving the headlamp issue, Goodwood have bene in talks with the dealer helping to try and solve the problem.
Rolls Royce Goodwill have been good in lending me a DHC and there is talk that mine might be back next week, but too be honest I am becoming slightly annoyed as its starting to be that every time we use the car there is some problem or another, I have put this to RR and await there response.
On a separate note the Mini is now back on the road, however after a lengthy discussion they are replacing the car with a brand new Mini at the end of the month, excellent customer service !
I have too report that the recovery service for the RR was not great, he didn't want to drive it not the transporter, asked if I would do it, and it come to light that the towing eye which had never been used does not fit at all, so he decided to strap a rope around the front axle, complaint lodged!
All I can report at the moment is that the car has now been off the road and with the dealership for the best part of a month, RR Goodwood tell me it as been escalated to the highest levels within the factory and they are working with the dealership who are working constantly on the car to rectify the problems.....
The car was delivered back to me Friday, so nearly 5 weeks off the road. They have also sent me a rather large F & M Hamper. It's gone straight into the garage as the weather has been terrible and the lanes are thick mud so we've been using our 4x4. My wife will be using it this weekend as she is going shopping in London and its easier to get around with a driver so no need to worry about parking, I will then be able to report back if its been fixed, but they have given me assurances that they replaced every possible item that caused the problem, so we are looking forward to some trouble free motoring.....
Vroom101 said:
Just stumbled across this thread and it's been a great read. Thanks for sharing your experiences. It's a real eye opener. I know that it's a limited series product, but I really am surprised at the issues you have had. With the amount of testing that goes into cars nowadays, I really wouldn't expect so many to appear. I'm also amazed at the apparent lack of customer service you've experienced too. You've done very well to keep your cool.
And more importantly, did you manage to make your way through that hamper?
In all honesty its not moved out of the garage since they delivered it back to me at the end of November, we are also about to go away for 6 weeks holiday so it will not be used until early May. Its just been sat in the garage on battery charger, I'd really forgotten how long its not been used for, so i must go over and start it up !dazzalse said:
The car was delivered back to me Friday, so nearly 5 weeks off the road. They have also sent me a rather large F & M Hamper. It's gone straight into the garage as the weather has been terrible and the lanes are thick mud so we've been using our 4x4. My wife will be using it this weekend as she is going shopping in London and its easier to get around with a driver so no need to worry about parking, I will then be able to report back if its been fixed, but they have given me assurances that they replaced every possible item that caused the problem, so we are looking forward to some trouble free motoring.....
So now it's been a couple of months since your last post. Have the problems finally been banished, or are there still RR gremlins running around inside your Phantom?And more importantly, did you manage to make your way through that hamper?
allister said:
Is it the end of the road for the Phantom dazzalse?? - My close monitoring of the high end, motor car market tells me it might be? (unless I'm completely wrong).
You would have known by the Mulsanne thread that my new Bentley has arrived! The Phantom has gone but will be shortly replaced by a new RR Dawn, there was a huge warranty bill on the Phantom just before Xmas and the deal with the Mulsanne was too tempting, our worry was keeping the Phantom longterm because of the warranty issues that its had, although its been great since xmas without fault. But I will take a new Phantom as soon as they get launched, and keep the Bentley more as everyday it was such astonishing value.Edited by allister on Wednesday 8th June 18:07
allister said:
dazzalse said:
You would have known by the Mulsanne thread that my new Bentley has arrived! The Phantom has gone but will be shortly replaced by a new RR Dawn, there was a huge warranty bill on the Phantom just before Xmas and the deal with the Mulsanne was too tempting, our worry was keeping the Phantom longterm because of the warranty issues that its had, although its been great since xmas without fault. But I will take a new Phantom as soon as they get launched, and keep the Bentley more as everyday it was such astonishing value.
Sounds like a wise move, I know you've had your ups and downs with the Phantom.... So how are you finding that beautiful new car, that I so very nearly bought??Any notes to compare??? Mine has been back to the garage a couple of times so far, with only very minor faults (teething problems), I do find it sometimes a little jerky / clunky on gear changes at very low speeds in slow moving traffic, have you experienced this??
Other than that, I'm loving it......
Its not has much use, small problem with the keyless entry and the car recognising the key, but they sent the technician from Harwoods the following morning (300 miles round trip) who rectified it all on the drive within the hour, the jerkiness comes with the 8 speed box and also affected the Phantom, something we never had with the series 1 Phantom or our Final series Arnage, my personal view is that these cars with huge engines and massive reserves of torque do not need the 8 speed gearbox, less cogs would make for a smoother ride in slow traffic.
Mine has the Naim system which I now remember from when we had a last Arnage, hugely powerful but a rather detached and disconnected sound it's a very bright system that lack depth and warmth.
Edited by allister on Thursday 9th June 00:16
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