£22k Bentley Continental GT - running costs?

[Jasandjules]

sturrick said:

Going to look on Saturday when it comes in but i feel like when i'm behind the wheel it will be hard to say no...oh, dear.

You only live once, and it's far better to regret the things you do than the things you don't.

[Trommel]

CampDavid said:

Kinda thought this would happen on something like a Toyota IQ first, not a Bentley!

In reality, I guess you could probably fab some up using the old ones for a pattern but it still seems mad

Now they're getting into (relative) banger territory, someone will surely commission the necessary bits even if VW don't release them.

[AlexKing]

I don't run a CGT, but i run an XKR which I bought for 21.5K with similar miles to what this Bentley is being offered for.

I'd tend to agree more with 300 than the others on here (though I can't and don't take it to the extremes he talks about). The slush fund that the OP talks about should be plenty. There could always be a catastrophic failure that would screw your life up, but it's a very small chance and I think that if you spend your whole life worrying about unlikely what ifs then you miss out on a lot. I've run the Jag (excluding fuel costs) for a little under £1k this year, just using a trusted independent garage for repairs and servicing. There will be worse years, if I keep it for much longer, but budgeting £6-8k a year for servicing and consumables is mucking fental.

If it's what you want, buy it and enjoy it - you only live once and you can't take it with you.

[M3RMS]

I was chatting to a former CGT owner a few months back...... You really must go and speak with owners on the Bentley forum.

The running costs were eye watering. Genuinely. And take into account I was comparing to running my old 997 - and this chap has owned lots a seriously tasty cars machines. Nothing compared.

His last service was 9k. Pounds. GBP. For the avoidance of doubt, Sterling. Other bills were spectacular.

Don't just shout bullst. Don't just naively whinge about scaremongering. Don't just speculate you can borrow parts from a VW. Go and speak to the owners. And go and do that now before buying a car that has the potential to bum you without blinking.

And fk me, don't touch one without a warranty unless you've got very deep pockets!

You need to research this properly, with people who have actually run them.

[flatline84]

Get a CL600 twin-turbo. Better car for 1/3 of the cost, and that goes for servicing too.

[k-ink]

8 pages and all that needed to be said was; "If you have to ask..."

If you listen to only one person in this thread, let it be the trained Bentley technician.

[Balmoral]

Get it bought.

Use an Indy like Phantom Motor Cars.

They really don't cost that much for regular servicing/maintenance/repairs.

It's just that when you do need that triple thrusted vectromat it'll be an £8K hit, and it'll need new double overhead underhangs to go with it, in a handed pair, at £3K each, that's the kicker.

Keep your fingers crossed and you'll be fine

[ehyouwhat]

btdk5 said:

ehyouwhat said:

I think I would want to budget £6k-£8k a year for servicing, consumables and general W&T repairs...whilst remembering that the odd huge bill could crop up too.

What utter bks. Which hat did you pick that out of?

The hat that I wear when I drive the Bentley Continental GT that I've owned for over two years. As I hinted at earlier, the figures might seem excessive but then so are the repair costs should things go pop, and who would want to find themselves in a position of not being able to make necessary repairs?

My car has less than half of the miles mentioned by the OP and I have had a single £3,900 bill for service, MOT, tyres, clutch work and a few sundries...no significant major repairs. I go through over £1k of tyres a year and the car is not my primary mode of travel. Sure, you could have a 'cheap' year, but I would rather be safe than sorry.

My father also owns a similar model of a similar age (but again with fewer miles) and had a gearbox fault that would have eaten up that budget pretty much all by itself.

Oh, and my figures were excluding fuel costs.

[wormburner]

flatline84 said:

Get a CL600 twin-turbo. Better car for 1/3 of the cost, and that goes for servicing too.

It might be cheaper, but it's certainly not better.

Perhaps if it were better, it might not be so cheap?

[flatline84]

wormburner said:

It might be cheaper, but it's certainly not better.

Perhaps if it were better, it might not be so cheap?

Bentley name and the fact that it is still the current chassis ( well ish) is what makes it keep its residuals so well.
From the contemporary road-tests 5-6 years back the CL600 seemed to be preferred by many.
But I will moderate myself to saying " equally good" if that makes you feel any better.

[Aeroresh]

Like anything in life you are hearing two extremes... Full hit bentley tech who knows his stuff and everything is by the book v 300 with his barnyard approach.

I would suggest that if you are prepared to use compedant indy garages with main dealers used only for diagnostics that cost will be a happy medium in the middle. Not cheap but still doable.

Go for it I reckon, but go in with your eyes open

[NightRunner]

I didn't know there were so many children on PH.

[flatline84]

NightRunner said:

I didn't know there were so many children on PH.

Who did you have in mind?

[whoami]

NightRunner said:

I didn't know there were so many children on PH.

You've been here long enough.

[fozzymandeus]

I've found this thread fascinating: cost of ownership of a CGT seems to be far, far higher than I'd imagined - of the order of 5x the running costs of my SL. Incredible.

Is the CGT the exception or the rule in this segment? I can't help thinking this has to be a more expensive prospect than running a Maserati Granturismo... although that's pure speculation.

My wife has occasionally mentioned the CGT as a future ownership prospect but after reading this, I think not.

[whoami]

fozzymandeus said:

I've found this thread fascinating: cost of ownership of a CGT seems to be far, far higher than I'd imagined - of the order of 5x the running costs of my SL. Incredible.

Is the CGT the exception or the rule in this segment? I can't help thinking this has to be a more expensive prospect than running a Maserati Granturismo... although that's pure speculation.

My wife has occasionally mentioned the CGT as a future ownership prospect but after reading this, I think not.

There's no way that the average CGT owner spends £6-8K pa on maintenance.

[whoami]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'll re-phrase.

There is no way that there is any need for the average CGT owner to spend £6-8K pa.

I'd prefer an Arnage too.

[ehyouwhat]

The average CGT has not covered upwards of 100k either. It should also be noted that there is a difference between how much a car costs to maintain over a year, and how much one should set aside to cover any costs.

[whoami]

ehyouwhat said:

The average CGT has not covered upwards of 100k either. It should also be noted that there is a difference between how much a car costs to maintain over a year, and how much one should set aside to cover any costs.

Yup, well aware of that.

[anonymous-user]

whoami said:

I'll re-phrase.

There is no way that there is any need for the average CGT owner to spend £6-8K pa.

I'd prefer an Arnage too.

You're actually quite right. If the common problems have been kept on top of. I can't find £8k's worth of extras on a well maintained car, even if some negligible items where to fail we're 'only' talking a grand or two (on top of the minimum £700 odd for the most basic service). The issue is where older cars outside warranty seem to have the problems accumulate until one service you're giving a bill of as much as five figures worth of service extras , and that's when they are usually traded in or offered to the public at around the £30k mark and people out 'Ohh, a Bentley for £30k. Bargain. What could possibly go wrong?'.

Personally if I were to buy one of these (someday ) I'd do whatever it took to get a car eligible for an approved 1 warranty. That warranty is amazing. Otherwise go in with your eyes wide open, a few quid stored away safe and take it to somewhere that actually knows what they are doing. All of this 'A car is a car' nonsense and 'its just a bit VW' does make me giggle a tad.