The $30k Bentley. NPOCP?

"Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom" (will-alib)
08/30/2017 at 17:52 • Filed to: None

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

12 year old (next month) Bentley with 103k. Never been a huge fan of the Flying Spur (or Bentley for that matter) but how crazy is taking a chance on this car for 30k? First additional purchase should be a warranty, if you can get one on a car that old with over 100k miles. Even if you turned your own wrench parts for this must be scary ‘spensive, yeah?

DISCUSSION (9)

nermal > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/30/2017 at 18:22

Doubtful any warranty company will touch a car that was originally over $200k that’s now 12 yrs old with over 100k miles.

The problem with these is that when something breaks, it can cost more than the actual car is worth to fix. Remember, there are over $200k in parts in there to begin with.

If you want to get into one, make sure you pay cash, give it new fluids (and other maintenance that you can DIY), and hope for the best. Even with the age it’s definitely still miles ahead of a new $30k car in “luxury”.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > nermal
08/30/2017 at 18:25

I don’t think the original MSRP is relevant; moreso its age and mileage. I bet there is a warranty company that will cover it but it won’t be cheap.

ranwhenparked > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/30/2017 at 18:30

If I was going to dump $30k on an old Bentley, no way I’d go for a VW era Continental. You should be able to find a very nice Turbo R for that kind of money.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/30/2017 at 18:45

For some reason I like the Flying Spur, much more so than the Continental GT, probably because of its rather restrained, classically elegant design. Just last night I was poking around on the configurator on Bentley’s website designing my own as I occasionally do. They still don’t have any deep red interior colors, something like a nice oxblood. If I became stupid rich I might just buy one, bespoke and debadged, and cruise around in comfort and relative anonymity since they aren’t that flashy and most people have no clue what they are.

A 12-year old used one though? Like the Phaeton or V-12 7-series, that just has money pit written all over it, especially with the W12. Keeping it properly maintained is probably a losing battle given the depreciation, so as crazy as this sounds for something that costs $30K, it’s probably just best driven until it blows up and then you can do something seriously silly with the remains. LS3 or 6BT swap? Why the hell not. Put the W12 into a dune buggy? Sure, go for it! Slam it and chop and channel it? Hey, I’m not going to stop you...

ciscokidinsf > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/30/2017 at 19:34

Definitely CP - You can get a VW Phaeton of similar vintage (Which is = 80% of this Bentley) for around $10K-$12K (add an extra $2K if you want the W12) and a good Phaeton is priceless.

Both will need an owner’s wallet that doesn’t blink when a repair comes between the $2K-$3K range.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > ciscokidinsf
08/30/2017 at 21:27

The Phaeton has a lower buy-in price, but both cars will be pricey to maintain. Still, the VW doesn’t have the Bentley panache which imho is the only attraction to this car. In this case panache = expensive headache.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/30/2017 at 21:28

You saw the story on the guy swapping in a TT 2JZ into a Phantom the other day, right? Our hero.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
08/30/2017 at 21:32

No, I didn’t see that article, but yes, that’s exactly the kind of wackiness that I have in mind.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing.
08/30/2017 at 23:13

Had to search for it on YouTube, although I swear I saw it on Jalopnik.