Just bought 2015 Conti GT for daily driver
Discussion
Having wanted one for many years, I’ve decided to buy a Conti GT as my daily driver and trade up from a 68 plate Range Rover Velar (3.0D). The plan is to keep posting here on a regular basis as a source of info for others thinking of doing the same thing. The car will be used as my primary vehicle and parked outside overnight on my drive in all the British weather can throw at it.
I was originally expecting to buy one of the latest (2017-18) Gen 2 V8Ss (budget £70-80k) but came across a 65 plate V8S (Mulliner Driving Spec, Premier specification and with only 14k miles) at £70k from a Bentley dealer. 2 owners, full Bentley main dealer SH and full Bentley warranty for a year. Colour is Hallmark Silver with a Linen and Beluga interior.
Since picking it up 12 days ago I’ve already done c500 miles at c26mpg which is probably a little better than I was expecting. Insurance was only a third higher than the Velar (£800 v £600) and tax was as expected at £675 so costs seem reasonable so far compared to what I was expecting.
Compared to the Velar, the following are my first impressions:
Tech is a step-back but to be expected on a car that’s three years older and which first came out in 2010. The screen is small and the Sat Nav clunky with additional CDs for overseas use. There’s a DVD/CD player as well as a 6CD interchanger in the glove compartment and one of the old wide i-pod connectors!
Safety features are also limited so no Adaptive Cruise, Auto High Beam, Blind Spot Assistance, Lane assist, Speed limit recognition etc. compared to the Velar.
On the plus side, and of course the main reasons for buying the car, are that it looks beautiful, sounds glorious with the sports exhaust, and is exceptionally fast (0-60 in 4.3s). So far I haven’t put the radio on, preferring to just listen to the engine burbling. The ride I would say is about the same as the Velar but on a motorway cruise the car is uber-comfortable.
Further comments to come as I get more used to the car.
I was originally expecting to buy one of the latest (2017-18) Gen 2 V8Ss (budget £70-80k) but came across a 65 plate V8S (Mulliner Driving Spec, Premier specification and with only 14k miles) at £70k from a Bentley dealer. 2 owners, full Bentley main dealer SH and full Bentley warranty for a year. Colour is Hallmark Silver with a Linen and Beluga interior.
Since picking it up 12 days ago I’ve already done c500 miles at c26mpg which is probably a little better than I was expecting. Insurance was only a third higher than the Velar (£800 v £600) and tax was as expected at £675 so costs seem reasonable so far compared to what I was expecting.
Compared to the Velar, the following are my first impressions:
Tech is a step-back but to be expected on a car that’s three years older and which first came out in 2010. The screen is small and the Sat Nav clunky with additional CDs for overseas use. There’s a DVD/CD player as well as a 6CD interchanger in the glove compartment and one of the old wide i-pod connectors!
Safety features are also limited so no Adaptive Cruise, Auto High Beam, Blind Spot Assistance, Lane assist, Speed limit recognition etc. compared to the Velar.
On the plus side, and of course the main reasons for buying the car, are that it looks beautiful, sounds glorious with the sports exhaust, and is exceptionally fast (0-60 in 4.3s). So far I haven’t put the radio on, preferring to just listen to the engine burbling. The ride I would say is about the same as the Velar but on a motorway cruise the car is uber-comfortable.
Further comments to come as I get more used to the car.
Now approaching the 3 month anniversary of purchase and have already covered around 3,500 miles.
Absolutely no problems to report, fuel economy has stabilised at around 25.5 mpg, motorway trips around 28mpg, A-roads 30mpg and town probably around 12-15mpg.
I've had a chance to play around with the settings now - there are 4 suspension settings from comfort to sport and I'm tending to leave it in full comfort mode, slightly more "floaty" but handling still as good as I need it to be. Tyre pressures are also set to comfort mode which are indicated as suitable up to 125mph.
SatNav is still the most frustrating part of any journey (where I need it) but I'm learning to live with it.
Attention on the road is fairly minimal, although I have had a couple of people that I've overtaken on motorways pull out behind me and then follow me at my faster speeds. At events and petrol stations I've had a few people ask me about the car and all attention had been positive, I'm less worried about parking it in public car parks than I used to be.
Hope helpful and I'm more than willing to answer any specific questions people have.
Will post updates at regular intervals.
Cheese,
Jon
Absolutely no problems to report, fuel economy has stabilised at around 25.5 mpg, motorway trips around 28mpg, A-roads 30mpg and town probably around 12-15mpg.
I've had a chance to play around with the settings now - there are 4 suspension settings from comfort to sport and I'm tending to leave it in full comfort mode, slightly more "floaty" but handling still as good as I need it to be. Tyre pressures are also set to comfort mode which are indicated as suitable up to 125mph.
SatNav is still the most frustrating part of any journey (where I need it) but I'm learning to live with it.
Attention on the road is fairly minimal, although I have had a couple of people that I've overtaken on motorways pull out behind me and then follow me at my faster speeds. At events and petrol stations I've had a few people ask me about the car and all attention had been positive, I'm less worried about parking it in public car parks than I used to be.
Hope helpful and I'm more than willing to answer any specific questions people have.
Will post updates at regular intervals.
Cheese,
Jon
Quick update on the car as I've now owned it for 9 months and covered 9,500 miles (23000 in total).
Driving wise, absolutely no issues, although I was surprised that the oil warning light came on 6k miles after purchase - can't remember the last time I actually had to check oil in a car but a couple of litres of Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 brought it back up to level. Fuel consumption remains solidly at 25mpg and on the recommendation of the dealer I'm filling it with regular 95RON most of the time with a 99RON Shell V-Performance fill-up every 4th refuel.
One non-driving issue that has arisen is that I now have absolutely no sound, either music or SatNav audio, so that's on the list for the service.
Talking of service.....it's now due a 6-Year service, the low mileage having resulted in only 5 previous services (at 12/16, 10/18, 6/20, 8/21, 2/23), even though the car is now 8 years old. For those interested, the usual basic ("A") service is every year or 10k miles, adding a "B" service (brake fliid, air filter etc.) every 2 years or 20k miles, a "C" service (spark plugs) every 3 years or 30k miles, and a "D" service (fuel filter, coolant) every 5 years or 50k miles. So the 6-Year service is A+B+C, a biggie. I was expecting around the £2k mark, but Cambridge Bentley have quoted £2,649 and will be collecting this week, leaving me a "sporty" Audi A3 while it's away. They did offer me a new model for an extended test-drive if I was interested in buying but I couldn't bring myself to fib so an A3 it is! The wife quite fancied a Bentayga for a couple of days though. I'll update once the car's been in.
In the meantime, a couple of pics, as requested by a previous poster.
Driving wise, absolutely no issues, although I was surprised that the oil warning light came on 6k miles after purchase - can't remember the last time I actually had to check oil in a car but a couple of litres of Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 brought it back up to level. Fuel consumption remains solidly at 25mpg and on the recommendation of the dealer I'm filling it with regular 95RON most of the time with a 99RON Shell V-Performance fill-up every 4th refuel.
One non-driving issue that has arisen is that I now have absolutely no sound, either music or SatNav audio, so that's on the list for the service.
Talking of service.....it's now due a 6-Year service, the low mileage having resulted in only 5 previous services (at 12/16, 10/18, 6/20, 8/21, 2/23), even though the car is now 8 years old. For those interested, the usual basic ("A") service is every year or 10k miles, adding a "B" service (brake fliid, air filter etc.) every 2 years or 20k miles, a "C" service (spark plugs) every 3 years or 30k miles, and a "D" service (fuel filter, coolant) every 5 years or 50k miles. So the 6-Year service is A+B+C, a biggie. I was expecting around the £2k mark, but Cambridge Bentley have quoted £2,649 and will be collecting this week, leaving me a "sporty" Audi A3 while it's away. They did offer me a new model for an extended test-drive if I was interested in buying but I couldn't bring myself to fib so an A3 it is! The wife quite fancied a Bentayga for a couple of days though. I'll update once the car's been in.
In the meantime, a couple of pics, as requested by a previous poster.
Geoffrey_Plantagenet said:
Quick update on the car as I've now owned it for 9 months and covered 9,500 miles (23000 in total).
Driving wise, absolutely no issues, although I was surprised that the oil warning light came on 6k miles after purchase - can't remember the last time I actually had to check oil in a car but a couple of litres of Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 brought it back up to level. Fuel consumption remains solidly at 25mpg and on the recommendation of the dealer I'm filling it with regular 95RON most of the time with a 99RON Shell V-Performance fill-up every 4th refuel.
One non-driving issue that has arisen is that I now have absolutely no sound, either music or SatNav audio, so that's on the list for the service.
Talking of service.....it's now due a 6-Year service, the low mileage having resulted in only 5 previous services (at 12/16, 10/18, 6/20, 8/21, 2/23), even though the car is now 8 years old. For those interested, the usual basic ("A") service is every year or 10k miles, adding a "B" service (brake fliid, air filter etc.) every 2 years or 20k miles, a "C" service (spark plugs) every 3 years or 30k miles, and a "D" service (fuel filter, coolant) every 5 years or 50k miles. So the 6-Year service is A+B+C, a biggie. I was expecting around the £2k mark, but Cambridge Bentley have quoted £2,649 and will be collecting this week, leaving me a "sporty" Audi A3 while it's away. They did offer me a new model for an extended test-drive if I was interested in buying but I couldn't bring myself to fib so an A3 it is! The wife quite fancied a Bentayga for a couple of days though. I'll update once the car's been in.
In the meantime, a couple of pics, as requested by a previous poster.
I have a W12 convertible and nearly bought a V8 coupe to go with it, because they are quite different cars. Lighter and more sprightly than the W12.Driving wise, absolutely no issues, although I was surprised that the oil warning light came on 6k miles after purchase - can't remember the last time I actually had to check oil in a car but a couple of litres of Mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 brought it back up to level. Fuel consumption remains solidly at 25mpg and on the recommendation of the dealer I'm filling it with regular 95RON most of the time with a 99RON Shell V-Performance fill-up every 4th refuel.
One non-driving issue that has arisen is that I now have absolutely no sound, either music or SatNav audio, so that's on the list for the service.
Talking of service.....it's now due a 6-Year service, the low mileage having resulted in only 5 previous services (at 12/16, 10/18, 6/20, 8/21, 2/23), even though the car is now 8 years old. For those interested, the usual basic ("A") service is every year or 10k miles, adding a "B" service (brake fliid, air filter etc.) every 2 years or 20k miles, a "C" service (spark plugs) every 3 years or 30k miles, and a "D" service (fuel filter, coolant) every 5 years or 50k miles. So the 6-Year service is A+B+C, a biggie. I was expecting around the £2k mark, but Cambridge Bentley have quoted £2,649 and will be collecting this week, leaving me a "sporty" Audi A3 while it's away. They did offer me a new model for an extended test-drive if I was interested in buying but I couldn't bring myself to fib so an A3 it is! The wife quite fancied a Bentayga for a couple of days though. I'll update once the car's been in.
In the meantime, a couple of pics, as requested by a previous poster.
So, an update on the service now the car is back from Bentley.
Cost of the service was £2,649 and the MOT £55.
The lack of audio was traced to the NAIM amplifier being defective and a new one was fitted under warranty (retail cost £3,114). Tyres were all fine but I was advised that a new Pirelli 275/35R21 retails at £402.
For anyone interested in the individual service items, here they are (inc VAT):
Spark plugs £264 (set of 8)
Oil filter £37
Dust/Pollen filter £70
Air filter £65
Wiper blade £64
I enquired about extending the warranty once my first year of ownership is up in May and was advised £2,760 for 1-year and £4,650 for 2 years.
Summary of all costs to date:
Purchase price (May 2023): £69,352, mileage 14173
Est. trade-in now: £52,000, mileage 23762
Depreciation: £17,352
Service £2,649
MOT £55
Misc items (2 litres oil): £30
Total cost £20.086 over 9,589 miles = £2.09 pm (exc fuel).
As always, happy to answer specific questions.
Cheers,
Jon
Cost of the service was £2,649 and the MOT £55.
The lack of audio was traced to the NAIM amplifier being defective and a new one was fitted under warranty (retail cost £3,114). Tyres were all fine but I was advised that a new Pirelli 275/35R21 retails at £402.
For anyone interested in the individual service items, here they are (inc VAT):
Spark plugs £264 (set of 8)
Oil filter £37
Dust/Pollen filter £70
Air filter £65
Wiper blade £64
I enquired about extending the warranty once my first year of ownership is up in May and was advised £2,760 for 1-year and £4,650 for 2 years.
Summary of all costs to date:
Purchase price (May 2023): £69,352, mileage 14173
Est. trade-in now: £52,000, mileage 23762
Depreciation: £17,352
Service £2,649
MOT £55
Misc items (2 litres oil): £30
Total cost £20.086 over 9,589 miles = £2.09 pm (exc fuel).
As always, happy to answer specific questions.
Cheers,
Jon
Had mine for a year and, although I didn't quite gel with it (steering and gearbox mainly), it was pretty faultless mechanically!
Passenger seat's massage function stopped working and it got repaired under warranty, but other than that it didn't put a foot wrong, was relatively cheap to run on long trips thanks to the cylinder deactivation, and not crazy to insure either.
And what a sound!
PS: Don't want to piss on your chips but I think your estimated trade-in is a bit high! I part-exed mine with similar mileage but full BSH and one year warranty left (which yours doesn't have) and most I was offered was £45k!
Passenger seat's massage function stopped working and it got repaired under warranty, but other than that it didn't put a foot wrong, was relatively cheap to run on long trips thanks to the cylinder deactivation, and not crazy to insure either.
And what a sound!
PS: Don't want to piss on your chips but I think your estimated trade-in is a bit high! I part-exed mine with similar mileage but full BSH and one year warranty left (which yours doesn't have) and most I was offered was £45k!
Edited by matrignano on Wednesday 14th February 13:03
matrignano said:
Had mine for a year and, although I didn't quite gel with it (steering and gearbox mainly), it was pretty faultless mechanically!
Passenger seat's massage function stopped working and it got repaired under warranty, but other than that it didn't put a foot wrong, was relatively cheap to run on long trips thanks to the cylinder deactivation, and not crazy to insure either.
And what a sound!
PS: Don't want to piss on your chips but I think your estimated trade-in is a bit high! I part-exed mine with similar mileage but full BSH and one year warranty left (which yours doesn't have) and most I was offered was £45k!
The sound is indeed amazing, so much so that I didn't particularly mind not having audio for 6 weeks!!Passenger seat's massage function stopped working and it got repaired under warranty, but other than that it didn't put a foot wrong, was relatively cheap to run on long trips thanks to the cylinder deactivation, and not crazy to insure either.
And what a sound!
PS: Don't want to piss on your chips but I think your estimated trade-in is a bit high! I part-exed mine with similar mileage but full BSH and one year warranty left (which yours doesn't have) and most I was offered was £45k!
Edited by matrignano on Wednesday 14th February 13:03
Re the trade-in, that's very interesting and I did suspect it may be a tad optimistic although I did try and base it on what I could see online. My current WeBuyAnyCar value is £45k as a reference. If you don't mind me asking, how much depreciation did you suffer in a year?
I do have a decision to make on whether or not to keep the car beyond May when the warranty runs out. I'm hedging my bets and have a new Range Rover on order but I don't even have a build date for that yet!
Geoffrey_Plantagenet said:
The sound is indeed amazing, so much so that I didn't particularly mind not having audio for 6 weeks!!
Re the trade-in, that's very interesting and I did suspect it may be a tad optimistic although I did try and base it on what I could see online. My current WeBuyAnyCar value is £45k as a reference. If you don't mind me asking, how much depreciation did you suffer in a year?
I do have a decision to make on whether or not to keep the car beyond May when the warranty runs out. I'm hedging my bets and have a new Range Rover on order but I don't even have a build date for that yet!
I paid £60k (with 2 years warranty thrown in) and traded it in for £50k, only managed to get that price because I got into a newer Conti and the dealer was very very keen to do a deal by end of that month.Re the trade-in, that's very interesting and I did suspect it may be a tad optimistic although I did try and base it on what I could see online. My current WeBuyAnyCar value is £45k as a reference. If you don't mind me asking, how much depreciation did you suffer in a year?
I do have a decision to make on whether or not to keep the car beyond May when the warranty runs out. I'm hedging my bets and have a new Range Rover on order but I don't even have a build date for that yet!
Everyone else offered £45k max
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