Bentley Continental GT | High Mile Club
Sure, it's covered 184k and only costs 14 grand - but here's an old GT worth a second look...
While we all love to see a car that’s been obsessively cared for by a doting owner, it does tend to be the same type of vehicle that gets that sort of treatment. Find a hand-written log of fuel consumption or similar and it tends to be the service history of an old British sports car or saloon. We’re generalising, of course - lots of people love lots of different cars - but the point is the Bentley Continental GT is not necessarily one you’d have at the top of a list of beautifully maintained modern classics.
We all know why, of course. For those who loved old Bentleys, the Conti was too new school and too VW-influenced to be proper, and their considerable contingency fund would go on something with a 6.75 V8. And many who bought them new would have moved onto something else within a few years; Bentley sold so many original GTs that they soon got cheap. And, well, we’ve all seen what tends to happen with cheap luxury cars, where people attempt to run them on a budget fit for the purchase price - and not the original RRP. It tends to end disastrously.
You’ve probably taken one look at this 2005 GT and reached a conclusion already. Private plate, loads of miles (184k), resale grey, a sub-£15k price tag - avoid at all costs, right? However, here’s a lesson here, surely, in not judging a book by its cover. Because not only has this Bentley not had an MOT fail since April 2017 (six thousand miles ago), its service history includes 38 main dealer visits. 38! At Bentley! Talk about dedication, and expense. The advert suggests there’s more than 100 invoices with the car to document the work undertaken, including fairly recent work to the gearbox, brakes and suspension.
The laudable (and potentially ruinous) approach to keeping a Bentley on the road is at least reflected in the condition of this one. We’ve all seen plenty of Conti GTs over the past 20 years - there's actually a very nice Dark Sapphire one due to go under the PH hammer this week - and many were in much worse condition than this. And most didn't have more than 180k on them. The bolster wear on the seat isn’t that bad at all, the wheels look smart and the paint seems in great condition. It’s a familiar cliche, sure, though this could most certainly pass for a much lower mileage example.
Now, of course, to keep a Bentley of this calibre looking this good is going to require a similarly methodical approach. It’s not like the diligence of one owner buys the next a couple of years of slacking off (though a Bentley specialist, rather than a main dealer, is probably alright from now on). Bentley bills stay big whatever the value of the car, and while common faults have been addressed already that isn’t to say a couple more won’t rear their heads. And it’d be reasonable to say some folk might not want to spend that money on a car with so many miles.
That being said, it’s hard not to be just a little bit curious about the Bentley with almost as many main dealer visits as it has valves. Many lower mileage ones won’t have been so spoilt. Someone has loved this old thing recently, and it’s surely got some life left to lead with similarly conscientious upkeep. There’s even a fresh MOT going on it, to save some angst. And it’s £13,995 before any negotiation. Then, before you know it, the 200,000-mile W12 Bentley will be on the drive. Which is a story to tell, if nothing else.
I used to work with someone a few years back who paid around £40k for a nicely sourced one of these ( thought he did all the right checks on the car etc.) - And in his first year of ownership, he spent in excess of £9,000.
Enough said. I couldn't stomach spending that every year...and that's from someone who currently owns an L322 Range Rover!
However, as leggy, almost 20 year old Bentleys go this one doesnt say run away quite as loudly as most of them you see sat looking forlorn in the classifieds, advertised from a sketchy looking hand car wash in the arse end of Birmingham.
It looks cared for, its not been messed with and looks pretty much like it did in 2005, it seems like its been used, enjoyed and looked after by someone who knows what needs doing and not skimped it into the ground.
In this case the high mileage is weirdly reassuring, its been used and things replaced and issues ironed out, that mileage shouldnt be a massive issue for a car like that if looked after, I would be poring over all those invoices and cross referencing it with all the research I would have done if I was going into something like that.
I would say to buy this and run it for three years, double the purchase price, thats your budget, buy it for say 12/13 and keep the rest back, if you dont spend it all happy days, if you do, its a leggy old Bentley, what did you expect ! Then bail out, take a bit of a hit but know when to cash out.
However, as leggy, almost 20 year old Bentleys go this one doesnt say run away quite as loudly as most of them you see sat looking forlorn in the classifieds, advertised from a sketchy looking hand car wash in the arse end of Birmingham.
It looks cared for, its not been messed with and looks pretty much like it did in 2005, it seems like its been used, enjoyed and looked after by someone who knows what needs doing and not skimped it into the ground.
In this case the high mileage is weirdly reassuring, its been used and things replaced and issues ironed out, that mileage shouldnt be a massive issue for a car like that if looked after, I would be poring over all those invoices and cross referencing it with all the research I would have done if I was going into something like that.
I would say to buy this and run it for three years, double the purchase price, thats your budget, buy it for say 12/13 and keep the rest back, if you dont spend it all happy days, if you do, its a leggy old Bentley, what did you expect ! Then bail out, take a bit of a hit but know when to cash out.
Over £69,000 has been spent on fuel...
Im actually quite optimistic about this car. It appears to have been properly maintained, and what it has needed its had done. The leather interior is in fantastic nick, for the mileage.
Its presumably spent much of its life thundering along motorways at 80mph doing 1200 rpm.
Even if it halves in value in the next two years it will still be cheaper to run I'll wager than a newer more expensive one. Cheaper road tax too, happy days.
The only issue is that there are cheaper, much lower mileage cars for sale, though I appreciate "buy on condition" etc.
This could be a very cunning buy...
He was flagged down on the motorway one night recently - seems his rear lights weren't working. One light switch replacement later - which I did for him - & there was light! It's a superbly (over)engineered bit of kit.
Over £69,000 has been spent on fuel...
Im actually quite optimistic about this car. It appears to have been properly maintained, and what it has needed its had done. The leather interior is in fantastic nick, for the mileage.
Its presumably spent much of its life thundering along motorways at 80mph doing 1200 rpm.
Even if it halves in value in the next two years it will still be cheaper to run I'll wager than a newer more expensive one. Cheaper road tax too, happy days.
The only issue is that there are cheaper, much lower mileage cars for sale, though I appreciate "buy on condition" etc.
a) don't do a lot of miles
b) consider yourself to be the last owner and write off the £14k purchase cost
c) are of an income bracket / co car opt out payments that can lease a decent BMW 5 series etc
d) fancy rolling the dice for the lolz on this for a couple of years
Budget £2k/yr for an MOT and an oil change, that's £750/mth exc fuel and insurance over 24 months.
If you keep it longer / manage to sell if for anything after that, you win.
If it borks within 2 years, you lose.
Man maths
As you say, the worst case is the gearbox goes kaboom 6 months in and it goes to a breaker for 5-8k.
It's not that wildly different from the "got a cheap 997/348/GTR on ebay" type stories, is it? Plenty of people do that.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401115...
https://www.manorparkclassics.com/auction/lot/lot-...
Or even less money if you're brave. 132k miles, 2005, £10,688:
https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/18-2005-bentle...
There have been cat N and cat D car too of course.
If the new Batur design backs into the Conti then all good. how it should have looked in the first place.
k me it's expensive to run .....and that's not even discussing the whole 2 or 3 pages of other even more expensive engine out stuff that can go wrong with them . Stay well well away ......https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202401115...
Has to be said, something like that would be a real sense of occasion, and perhaps more fun in today's crowded, speed-limited roads than a sports car. This is a 'proper' engined one as well.
Think of all the V Power points you'd get, it would practically pay for itself
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