Flying Spur family car?
Discussion
Dear all
Interested in people's views of a Flying Spur as a family car. Not super bothered about an estate, don't like SUVs, or anything that looks like it should be picking me up at Stuttgart airport, and need something I'll look back at when I lock it up at night, as well as make me feel good when in the cockpit.
Have usually driven Italian cars (Alfa 156 TS, 159 V6 Q4, and currently Ghibli S) due to style and value for money 2nd hand. Had a brief diesel aberration when I drove a 330d GT xDrive prior to the Ghibli. Great car, but left me cold. The Ghibli is, however good looking, quick and great sounding the engine, not a great car, and diabolical in Scottish winters. Anyway, I can trade my '16 40k Ghibli for a '14 reg Flying Spur Mulliner (FBSH), also 40k, for an extra £23,000.
Annual mileage is around 5k so fuel not an issue, nor is £2k pa (I'm guessing) on servicing/consumables.
Does anyone drive one of these or have any advice-experience or blind prejudice equally welcome!!
Interested in people's views of a Flying Spur as a family car. Not super bothered about an estate, don't like SUVs, or anything that looks like it should be picking me up at Stuttgart airport, and need something I'll look back at when I lock it up at night, as well as make me feel good when in the cockpit.
Have usually driven Italian cars (Alfa 156 TS, 159 V6 Q4, and currently Ghibli S) due to style and value for money 2nd hand. Had a brief diesel aberration when I drove a 330d GT xDrive prior to the Ghibli. Great car, but left me cold. The Ghibli is, however good looking, quick and great sounding the engine, not a great car, and diabolical in Scottish winters. Anyway, I can trade my '16 40k Ghibli for a '14 reg Flying Spur Mulliner (FBSH), also 40k, for an extra £23,000.
Annual mileage is around 5k so fuel not an issue, nor is £2k pa (I'm guessing) on servicing/consumables.
Does anyone drive one of these or have any advice-experience or blind prejudice equally welcome!!
01WE01 said:
Do it.
Bear in mind, it's quite long, people will think you are a dick and the interior isn't necessarily durable (depends what you mean by family).
But as you only live once, and can afford it and are mentally prepared for the odd bill, do it.
I have often considered the same.
cheers!Bear in mind, it's quite long, people will think you are a dick and the interior isn't necessarily durable (depends what you mean by family).
But as you only live once, and can afford it and are mentally prepared for the odd bill, do it.
I have often considered the same.
Family-no dogs, but 10, 12, 13 yr olds. The dick factor is fine (and probably accurate!). Get plenty nice comments in my Ghibli-probably get spat at in the Bentley! Good point about interior-maybe I'm better going darker.
01WE01 said:
Don't go darker, just be stricter with them!
In my eyes blue exterior, ivory/almond/portland interior is phenomenal. We have two cars in that spec.
What's the spec of the one you have seen?
Quite similar to thatIn my eyes blue exterior, ivory/almond/portland interior is phenomenal. We have two cars in that spec.
What's the spec of the one you have seen?
Dark Sapphire Metallic w/I cream interior and blue secondry hide.
W12 Mulliner FBSH.
akirk said:
What do the kids think?!
you are moving in image terms from something quite sporty looking to CEO limousine - how will they feel being dropped off at school from the Bentley?
I know what you mean. Image-wise it's a leap. you are moving in image terms from something quite sporty looking to CEO limousine - how will they feel being dropped off at school from the Bentley?
Not that I care what the kids think-they walk to school anyway ;-) The young one (a girl) hates anything that is not a pink mini. The two boys would like it as rappers drive them
WorldBoss said:
Imho, if you can't afford one that qualifies for the approved warranty scheme (which iirc, means it has to come from a Bentley retailer) AND the top tier warranty each and every year they will let you extend it, you can't afford to run one, at least "properly".
I know what you mean but its a numbers game. A warranty is essentially insurance, and insurance is always by definition geared to make money for the seller and give peace of mind to the buyer. That is why we all insure our homes against fire. That said, many of us will not buy extended warranties on our fridges or TVs, not because we cannot afford the extra cost, but because we don't see value in the premium, and if we're unlucky and it goes kaput well it's not a big enough hit to lose sleep over. If you buy a Bentley out of warranty and are prepared to hope for the best but not to be bothered emotionally or financially by the worst then you'll be better off more often than not.
01WE01 said:
A Blue/Ivory FFRR p400e AB. Because countryside, innit.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Though I'm pretty certain once I've settled a few things in the next year or two I will be spur-ed on to get one.
A nice thing to waft around in I bet too.Do as I say, not as I do.
Though I'm pretty certain once I've settled a few things in the next year or two I will be spur-ed on to get one.
With my sensible hat on I'd go for a Cayenne plug-in hybrid, but can't get excited about them.
I do like the FF RRs, but the wife would not countenance one. plus we're city dwellers.
01WE01 said:
Mine says "meh" to flying spurs, I just showed her the one you posted to test that was still the response, it was.
Crazy, the lot of them.
LOL!Crazy, the lot of them.
To be fair it is upholstered like my club in London. My wife-was less "meh" more "that's preposterous buy me a Corsa so I don't die of embarrassment when I drive to work"
Thanks for taking the time to write this advice-hugely helpful and plenty of food for thought. I value your insight if there is little for them to make from a warranty then it makes much more sense to go used approved. I've a local dealer who wants my car and has official Maserati and Bentley franchises. They don't have the Spur in the spec I want currently but their prices are certainly reasonable so might be better going though them. Plenty to chew on-and thanks again.
Thanks again-I think going down the Certified Bentley route is wise. I don't see much difference in sticker price, 1 yr Bentley warranty is included, and extendable, and fixed price servicing can be paid up front. Also several fixed price consumable costs are stated for cars over 4 yrs like pads, discs, plugs etc. Then the er simple costs of tax, insurance tyres etc etc. Bargain lol!
anonymous-user said:
As you say, most people avoid the extended warranties on things such as fridge freezers and telly's because worst coming to worst,you can buy a new one for minimal outlay, and even then you can almost guarantee that you will definitely get a year or three worth of usage before any issues.
You can't be certain a 43k mile spur is going to last 3 months without issue, and being your Maserati + £23,000, you're going to be in deep enough to grin and bare the 20+ hour bill (in reality ~40 hours for a good job, but Crewe slashed the book time in half for some reason) for when a blown turbo, duff starter motor or some obscure inaccessible sensor tucked away means the engine and trans have to be dropped. And before any work or parts have been replaced. And engine outs are extremely common, Our retailer had 4 engine beds, and it was a rare occurrence for one to be free.
Given the rather reasonable cost, comprehensive list of covered items (given you choose the "top" tier) and fact that at least when I was working on them, you HAD to purchase through a vehicle Bentley retailer to be able to purchase the scheme, I genuinely suspect the approved warranty scheme may be a loss leader for Bentley. Almost every single claim would outstrip the year's cost...
And I am not one of those "if you can't afford it new, you can't afford to run it" saddos. I run and look after high mileage V12 twin turbo barges for fun with relatively little fear and stress, but after seeing the invoices and doing the work on these cars at the beginning of my career, I wouldn't and couldn't recommend anybody buy one without a proper warranty. Unlike the V12 Mercedes I came to love, they do not lend themselves to being worked on by anybody who doesn't known them extremely well. Many bits require the engine to be dropped and strange issues can take weeks of solid work to diagnose and repair not to mention Crewe only parts...
And I stress, this is before we get to "consumables" like brakes, tyres and suspension arms, which at 5k miles p.a will be every 2/3 years...
It was also the only workshop I've ever seen were efficiency figures were meaningless and in truth the true labour charges never came close to reflecting the man hours that actually went into diagnosing and repairing these cars properly entailed.
*Not sure if this is a V8 or a W12 car. I know much less about V8 specifics as they only started to trickle in as I moved to pastures sliver, but given a lot of the running gear and electronics did not change massively with the "new" model my caviates will still apply to the V8s in terms of running costs.
Thread update-despite ending up buying a Cayenne back in 2022 I've now pulled the trigger on a Flying Spur through the Certified by Bentley scheme having listened to the sage advice on this thread. Also opted to extend the warranty to 3 years for £4k which is good value IMO and less than if you opt to extend later. So insured against most borkage and mainly "just" consumables to worry about. You can't be certain a 43k mile spur is going to last 3 months without issue, and being your Maserati + £23,000, you're going to be in deep enough to grin and bare the 20+ hour bill (in reality ~40 hours for a good job, but Crewe slashed the book time in half for some reason) for when a blown turbo, duff starter motor or some obscure inaccessible sensor tucked away means the engine and trans have to be dropped. And before any work or parts have been replaced. And engine outs are extremely common, Our retailer had 4 engine beds, and it was a rare occurrence for one to be free.
Given the rather reasonable cost, comprehensive list of covered items (given you choose the "top" tier) and fact that at least when I was working on them, you HAD to purchase through a vehicle Bentley retailer to be able to purchase the scheme, I genuinely suspect the approved warranty scheme may be a loss leader for Bentley. Almost every single claim would outstrip the year's cost...
And I am not one of those "if you can't afford it new, you can't afford to run it" saddos. I run and look after high mileage V12 twin turbo barges for fun with relatively little fear and stress, but after seeing the invoices and doing the work on these cars at the beginning of my career, I wouldn't and couldn't recommend anybody buy one without a proper warranty. Unlike the V12 Mercedes I came to love, they do not lend themselves to being worked on by anybody who doesn't known them extremely well. Many bits require the engine to be dropped and strange issues can take weeks of solid work to diagnose and repair not to mention Crewe only parts...
And I stress, this is before we get to "consumables" like brakes, tyres and suspension arms, which at 5k miles p.a will be every 2/3 years...
It was also the only workshop I've ever seen were efficiency figures were meaningless and in truth the true labour charges never came close to reflecting the man hours that actually went into diagnosing and repairing these cars properly entailed.
*Not sure if this is a V8 or a W12 car. I know much less about V8 specifics as they only started to trickle in as I moved to pastures sliver, but given a lot of the running gear and electronics did not change massively with the "new" model my caviates will still apply to the V8s in terms of running costs.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th February 23:35
Now to finds the wife low insurance city car for buzzing round town and the eldest to learn in. Any suggestions on the latter purchase welcome too.
biggbn said:
I find it incredible that cars built and sold as the best in the world seem to have had engineering expertise showered on everything except reliability and longevity. Perceived quality and luxury means sod all when you're broken down in a layby waiting on the AA....again. Why do we collectively put up with what demonstrably must be second grade engineering in these vehicles?
It's often peripheral stuff -the electrics in my Cayenne had a mind of their own but thankfully all sorted under warranty. Likewise, this Flying Spur has slight delamination in one corner of the rear windscreen. I guess most owners would file it under "live with" but they are replacing it.GordonGekko said:
Not a Spur, but a Mulsanne as the daily was absolutely sublime. Without a doubt the best car ever owned - should never have let it go.
Quality is on another level to every other car so I highly recommend a Bentley.
Will be getting another soon…
A beauty-any pics of the exterior?Quality is on another level to every other car so I highly recommend a Bentley.
Will be getting another soon…
biggbn said:
Again, even peripheral stuff at this level should be bullet proof. Early Cayenne had their issue with bore scoring, coolant system etc, inexcusable on a fiesta never mind a prestige car. 911 porsche similar issues but more so, and as you allude to, wonderful cars like these Rolls and Bentleys and various Mercedes etc grinding to a halt because whilst they went to the finest leather and wood workers they used the cheapest wiring and electric motors. Henry Royce wouldn't have allowed his cars to be spoilt by penny pinching...and neither have the likes of Lexus which might lack the big names cache but at least will keep on keepin on....
True but time and again there seems to be no link between cost of car and its reliability.Least reliable always JLR and 'prestigious' German brands. For most reliable invariably from the Land of the Rising Sun.
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