RE: Bentley Continental GT | High Mile Club
Discussion
I believe there are quite a few of you on here that quite fancy this or a lower mileage model but the cost of ownership and potential borkage is putting you off. Perhaps a Fractional Ownership scheme is worth looking at? A 1/6 share...all the benefits of driving a lovely Bentley but sharing the costs 6 ways. Who's in?
I wonder if anyone knows whether the V8 is a better proposition and easier to work on in a CGT and FS? I presume it is used on high end Audis so must be more straightforward in layout and access?
The V8s are only in the gen2 cars I think but 40k for a 9/10 yr old gen2 Flying Spur is a lot of car for the cash, looks far better than the Rover 75 looks of the gen1, and a V8 may reduce borkage potential?
The V8s are only in the gen2 cars I think but 40k for a 9/10 yr old gen2 Flying Spur is a lot of car for the cash, looks far better than the Rover 75 looks of the gen1, and a V8 may reduce borkage potential?
I don't think it's a bad buy but with a few huge caveats and with the right owner will give them an awful lot of bang for their buck.
You simply have to be very handy and confident in home mechanics and have all the gear and be able to source parts cheaply meaning finding a decent second hand market for spares.
You have to assume you'll be the last owner so no worrying about having Bentley service stamps going forward but it's £14k. Even if you do have to let it go, you're not losing that much in the scheme of things.
Limit your mileage. Low mileage will eek out those expensive tyres and brakes but try to avoid lots of short runs. Run it well, allowing for everything to regularly get up to temps will help reliability.
If you're (very) handy with the spanners, this would make a lovely weekend cruiser and looks a hell of a lot more than the price suggests.
You simply have to be very handy and confident in home mechanics and have all the gear and be able to source parts cheaply meaning finding a decent second hand market for spares.
You have to assume you'll be the last owner so no worrying about having Bentley service stamps going forward but it's £14k. Even if you do have to let it go, you're not losing that much in the scheme of things.
Limit your mileage. Low mileage will eek out those expensive tyres and brakes but try to avoid lots of short runs. Run it well, allowing for everything to regularly get up to temps will help reliability.
If you're (very) handy with the spanners, this would make a lovely weekend cruiser and looks a hell of a lot more than the price suggests.
valiant said:
I don't think it's a bad buy but with a few huge caveats and with the right owner will give them an awful lot of bang for their buck.
You simply have to be very handy and confident in home mechanics and have all the gear and be able to source parts cheaply meaning finding a decent second hand market for spares.
You have to assume you'll be the last owner so no worrying about having Bentley service stamps going forward but it's £14k. Even if you do have to let it go, you're not losing that much in the scheme of things.
Limit your mileage. Low mileage will eek out those expensive tyres and brakes but try to avoid lots of short runs. Run it well, allowing for everything to regularly get up to temps will help reliability.
If you're (very) handy with the spanners, this would make a lovely weekend cruiser and looks a hell of a lot more than the price suggests.
Like i have already mentioned it could probably make sense for somebody like me as a holiday only car in a lower labour cost EU country where taxing, insuring and servicing it would cost me less than 600 pounds per year. If the tyres, the brakes and the struts are in good condition and high failure rate parts like the vacuum lines are ok, i could probably eek out a few trips out of it before it all goes crashing down. You simply have to be very handy and confident in home mechanics and have all the gear and be able to source parts cheaply meaning finding a decent second hand market for spares.
You have to assume you'll be the last owner so no worrying about having Bentley service stamps going forward but it's £14k. Even if you do have to let it go, you're not losing that much in the scheme of things.
Limit your mileage. Low mileage will eek out those expensive tyres and brakes but try to avoid lots of short runs. Run it well, allowing for everything to regularly get up to temps will help reliability.
If you're (very) handy with the spanners, this would make a lovely weekend cruiser and looks a hell of a lot more than the price suggests.
Yes, there are more financially sensible alternatives like the SL55, but the Bentley interiors are something else and there is the added practicality of AWD, +2 seating and more boot space, not inconsequential for a GT car and the CGT is only 25 cm longer than the AMG. If the above is not important and the car is bought for a daily in UK the thunderous V8 Mercedes coupe would probably make more sense, but like any indulgent buy logic doesn’t always prevail and i am not discounting the AMG myself as the metal folding roof would be nice to have when holidaying in Lefkada or Dubrovnik.
I honestly can't get over how cheap these are in the UK
once a stretch goal for me but the values here run at around 50k (sterling) for something with some miles on - but they generally don't fall into the used and abused categories that UK cars tend to.
The idea of buying one for less than 15k is somethign I don't think I could ignore if I still lived there. In fact it's tempting for the sake of hiring something similar for a week a few times a year would cost more..
Negotiating hard I think I'd prefer a 10k CGT vs say a 30k Merc of similar stance, with a bucket of money in a slush fund ''in case of s***''.
once a stretch goal for me but the values here run at around 50k (sterling) for something with some miles on - but they generally don't fall into the used and abused categories that UK cars tend to.
The idea of buying one for less than 15k is somethign I don't think I could ignore if I still lived there. In fact it's tempting for the sake of hiring something similar for a week a few times a year would cost more..
Negotiating hard I think I'd prefer a 10k CGT vs say a 30k Merc of similar stance, with a bucket of money in a slush fund ''in case of s***''.
Vivid memories of my first sighting of one of these monsters one balmy summers eve in August 2004. I was on my first 98 R1, on the way home from Guildford after viewing and putting a deposit down on a lovely low miles guards Red 86 3.2 Carrera. As I joined the Essex section of the M25, I came up behind a dark metalic blue GT, which suddenly pulled left and slowed down……
As I came alongside it, I saw that the driver was a huge tat covered “Buster blood vessel” lookalike with a similar looking front seat passenger. The driver turned & looked @ me and suddenly booted it Hard. I just couldn’t believe how this huge luxo barge suddenly built up speed. It was no problem staying with him, until I had to pull off for the A127 exit.
Back in 2013, I was very tempted by a high ish miles dark metalic blue 54 plate GT @ just £9,995, via the Trade but bottled out and bought an E46 M3.
As I came alongside it, I saw that the driver was a huge tat covered “Buster blood vessel” lookalike with a similar looking front seat passenger. The driver turned & looked @ me and suddenly booted it Hard. I just couldn’t believe how this huge luxo barge suddenly built up speed. It was no problem staying with him, until I had to pull off for the A127 exit.
Back in 2013, I was very tempted by a high ish miles dark metalic blue 54 plate GT @ just £9,995, via the Trade but bottled out and bought an E46 M3.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 23 January 17:19
stuart100 said:
stuart100 said:
Nish Gnackers said:
sandysinclair said:
I bought a 2007 GTC main dealer car utterly immaculate 28000 miles fsh, just serviced , new brakes , new tyres loved it ...then within the first week broke down , bill £2700 , next month another £1000, then 4 months later the front shocks went £2000 , in summary more expensive to run than the Murci I had per mile , which I put 22000 miles on running it as my daily driver . Bentley Conti is a fabulous car but f
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 ......
Are you saying you bought a s/h Bentley from a main dealer with no warranty??? 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 ......k all to do with anyone. Toxic wker
FlukePlay said:
I believe there are quite a few of you on here that quite fancy this or a lower mileage model but the cost of ownership and potential borkage is putting you off. Perhaps a Fractional Ownership scheme is worth looking at? A 1/6 share...all the benefits of driving a lovely Bentley but sharing the costs 6 ways. Who's in?
Like Pass the Picasso 
if I wasn’t dealing with my current high mileage hero breaking the bank I’d be interested. D1on said:
Xenoous said:
I mean... Its a nice car but only a fool would part with that sort of cash on a car with that sort of mileage, regardless of what it is.
TrueD1on said:
Xenoous said:
I mean... Its a nice car but only a fool would part with that sort of cash on a car with that sort of mileage, regardless of what it is.
TruePlenty of older aircooled 911s around with higher mileage and high values.
ETA video of the 997
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4jJhjdNTc4
Edited by braddo on Wednesday 24th January 20:09
ChocolateFrog said:
Someone earlier said surely these can't get any lower.
I think they can, VW sold 1000's of them, probably tens of thousand's I haven't actually checked. I see no reason why a knackered high mileage, 20 year old one shouldn't be £4k.
Shared across the Continental GT, Flying Spur, Bentayga & Phaeton platforms.
Now allow that the Continental GT was the in production the longest, and it & the Bentayga were easily the most popular models I reckon there must have been 30k-40k Continental GT made.
Compared to 16700 Aston Martin DB9.
Not horrendously mass produced but nowhere near as exclusive as either manufacturer would want you to think.
The big win in the Bentley’s arsenal is the attrition rate is liable to be horrific.
In 30 years time ‘how many left’ will be interesting.
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