Hi, so i posting this on behalf of my father, who has grown tired of his f650, and he wants something more luxurious. He has always loved the bentley's and since they have dropped in price like crazy he figures he should buy one. Are there any real issues with the 04-05 gt's, what is considered a good price for one, i see them hovering around 100,000 to about 130,000. The other vehicle he is considering is the aston martin vantage... in the end which is the one to go with.
He is still a bit weary of buying english vehicles, since they are horrible at holding their value.

For example, 3 years ago he bought a jaguar s type for 60 grand, after getting an offer for 20 for it he just gave it to me, not a bad deal, but still, nobody wants their car to be worth half its value in a year.

 

Comparing apples to oranges imo, totally different cars. The 100k gts are going to be high mileage and out of warranty so tell your dad to not forgot the maintenance and repairs that might be needed cause they can get pretty expensive. The vantage is a wonderful car and he can get a new one for the price of a used older gt so he should keep that in mind as well.


I would personally go for a brand new vantage for 130k than a 2 year old 20k GT

 

Agree

 

yeah, good point, i think in the end he may do the bentley. Well he has a 360 spyder, so that is his "speed vehicle" now its time for the luxury. Is 17,000 miles considered a lot for a bentley? thats about 6,000 miles per year, arn't the bentleys a "daily driver". I'm just getting some info, because i would hate to talk him into a car, and then him get stuck with a 20,000 dollar bill.

At the same time he wouldn't be buying the cheapest bentley. You have a good point about warranty though. But being a busines school student, i know that cars are the worst investment out there, and astons are notorious for plummiting in value. Think of the vanquish, 5 years ago they were 250,000, now they are 100,000. Warranty is a good thing, but why buy something when you know it will crash in value. At least the bentley prices are already down 40% of the msrp. alwyas buy low.

 

99% of cars will depreciate..if you are that worried about losing the value of a toy then you should look into leasing cheaper cars. Buy a vantage for 130k, put 20k miles on it..sell it two years later for ~70k? Get a GT for 130k, it will be an 06 with already ~20k miles on it..sell it in 2010 with 40k + factor in all the repairs/no-warranty **** you had to pay for and try selling it..I bet you will lose more compared to the vantage. warranty is necessary, especially for a car like a bentley. they will both go down in value..the aston probably a bit more but the gt will cost much more to maintain



the vanquish lost its value cause of the vantage/db9..they stopped making it and started focusing on the newer models, especially the dbs. take the benz amgs for example, 2006 cl65 with an almost 200k msrp are selling for mid 70s with low mileage now.

 

Continental GT is a fantastic car.....
Eats gas like no other though......
I would MUCH rather have one over Vantage, which look/sound great but are slow- Can't compare w wood/luxury of Bentley
Great daily driver, many people I know use them regularly w little to no problems...
Tell him to get the CGT, extremely classy car that is fast, smooth and elegant in one...... drives like no other
I wouldn't be too incredibly worried about repairs- I'd be worried more about depreciation on Vantage!

 

I've had 2 GT's and can say quality is unbelievable but warranty is a must these cars are very very expensive to service outside of warranty. Of my two I have had zero problems and as far a depreciation all new cars will go down but I can tell you at least for me I have lost more money on a BMW than either of my Bentley's which right now I am selling my 07. So good luck to your father. If you buy a used Bentley from a dealer you can get a factory warranty and maybe negotiate it into the price or at least for a minimum. Also you might take into consideration that because of the euro the manufactures are not sending as many cars here to the states to as used inventory dries up your prices may not be as good as they are now this is an opinion of course but something to consider also all the European car makers are raising prices pretty aggressively right now to compensate. Of the friends I've had that owned Aston's they have lots of issues which have led to low resale so watch those as well. All this just food for thought. Good Luck!

 

Buy the Bentley.. the fit and finish is way beyond most cars, especially Aston's.. I love the way Aston's sound, but that is about the only thing I like.. they are slow and drive like an 89 camaro.. not good IMHO.. My only complaint with the GT is the NAV really sucks bad on pre 2007 models..
If you can get a good deal on an 07, get it.

 

thanks for the info. Depreciation is and isnt a big deal, it is big deal because nobody likes to lose money, but it isn't a big deal because this is just a toy, and if you enjoy it then who cares how much you lost. It's just we dont want another jaguar situation (dropped 60% in value in 2 years). My parents took a trip to vegas, and i know my dad was eyeing the one at lamborghini of las vegas. So ill see what they bring back. fingers crossed

 

You'll only have another Jag situation if you buy another Jag

Sounds like the lesson's been learned so have your pops test drive both cars to see which one fits him better. I suspect it'll be the GT. If he doesn't mind slightly used (I don't), he'll get more bang for the buck without the depreciation hit that a new Vantage will incur. Also, I'd be concerned about future support on the V8 now that Ford has divested Aston. And, lastly, there's been no mention of the GT's all-wheel drive. Unless you live in sunny California (or Florida) there's a benefit there that Aston simply can't match.

All points raised on this thread are invaluable. Time to start getting some seat time. Maybe your dad will like the Vantage's two-seater vibe. Maybe he'll hate the wide A pillar with its poor visibility. Maybe he'll dig the GT's manumatic tranny (vs. shifting in rush hour). From a depreciation standpoint, it's a slightly used GT hands-down vs. a new V8; however, that's not the only factor so dig in and enjoy comparing the two.

It's all a matter of preference and priority. Definitely post what you end up getting and why. I'd be quite curious.

DAVID

 

Sorry to bump an old thread ... can you mention any prices that you know of? Thanks in advance.

 

Exoticcardriver, I love your avatar.

The CGT is warranted for 36 months or unlimited miles, making '06 cars potentially out of warranty.

 

That's why the price for the 05 is crazy now. However, I am pretty sure it's going to cost an arm and leg to own an out warranty CGT??

 

I am buying a GT for my wife in the next few months. I think it is a great car for her and my 4 year old twins. My boys fit great back there, going to have DVD and 2 screens put in. I was pretty impressed with the way the car handled since it is so heavy. My shop can work on this car, and my wife only would drive this car 5000 miles a year, she has a BMW too. I've been offered 05's (under 10K on them) for low 80's, they are just not the right color combos, after all this is for the wife, color means more than miles.

 

Actually, I also found several of them are ~75K only..... it's really crazy.

What's the cost of the ownership for a CGT like?