http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Bentl...item43a1351c4f

why so many hand changes in such short mileage?
are these cars not driveable daily?

i mean should be able to put at least 5k a year, right? or am i expecting too much.

Raja

 

As far as I can tell the current owner is only the 2nd owner...right? High-end cars change hands with low miles. If you've got the money, you get to play.

 

Actually 3. The listing says "
Number Of Owners:3"

 

"Since I Purchased The GT, As The Second Owner, It Has Only Been Driven On Beautiful Dry Days and Is Always Stored In A Climate Controlled Garage"
Hmm, the above is the quote from the listing, but the "car fax" says calculated owners = 3...Not adding up. I wonder how the "car fax" calculates owners?

 

Am the third on a 2006 and it had 28k miles on her. She is a daily driver, very reliable and great to drive. Agree with others, some cars (including Lambos, Ferrari, etc) you may find low milage yet many owners. Could be a few lease defaults/expiry, etc as well. Also remember owners of such cars usually have more than one vehicle per person, so they drive various cars depending on various factors. Some people 'wear' cars like suits... whatever is 'fashionable' at the time.

Call the original dealer that imported/first received the car and all subsequent dealers who touched the car and get ALL service records. Carfax is limited in the details while the dealerships have a far better itemized listing of work done. BTW: Have all the records of the 2006 that is here.

PS: Have already done about 3k miles in the past 4 months. She will/has be driven year around, rain or shine and so far a great daily driver on all accounts.

 

Thanks Steven. I just don't want a neglectd car. I was just curious why so little mileage. I would think that they would want to drive around and show off a little. Regardless, what you said is correct - history is important. You have an 06, right? My main concern is are people not driving these cars due to maint. cost or due to having too many other cars. That was my bottom line. I wouldn't want to add this to my stable to collect dust and tell friends i got a Bentley. I would want to drive it and enjoy it. Also, what are the things I should be wary of when looking for these cars. A PPI and history is required. Anything else you can point to that you have found handy when you were looking for them. Pretty much give me your cheat sheet for car buying homework.

Raja

 

Things to look for.... check the scheduled maintenance book that comes with the car for entries of dealer servicing, the dates/milage, etc. Whilst i fully trust my local (Boston) Bentley dealer, am not sure about others though if you are buying through a reputable dealer all should be fine. With a private sale, have them take it to a dealer or of course have a qualified person do a full PPI.

My cheat sheet is get all the records on the car from Bentley dealers that worked on her. Check Carfax for the heck of it. And if you want to really be thorough, send in oil (engine and transmission) to Blackstone Labs (www.blackstone-labs.com) for analysis. Also, check that the gas filter recall has been done, the upper (third) brake light works when wet (known issue on some cars) and see when the last time the spark coils have been changed as VW got a bad batch of those i think around 2006 and they tend to fail (and if not done, have it done and may as well change the spark plug while in there). And if you really really really want to be thorough/retentive, have the dealership change out the oil, tranny and brake fluid plus flush/fill the coolant. Also check the brake pads, you only get about 30k miles per set and changing the rears you'll need VAG-COM if you are a DIY'er.

i could go on and on of course, as am VERY thorough with my vehicles because ONLY A FOOL scrimps out on servicing their car. Even when at the dealership they are nice enough to allow me to look at the car when she in on the lift and i check various hoses, linkage, bushings, etc. (please keep in mind i drove and was assistant engineer on a Formula 2000 car and turned wrenches on the Ferrari, which was also tracked quite a bit).

Of course most of the above might be overkill, yet you said my cheat sheet. The best thing, frankly, is to have a great dealer (like the one in Boston for example) and in knowing you can trust the mechanics. That alone probably eliminates 80% of the above because they KNOW the car well and tell you the truth and take care of the car as she needs it.

Just for the heck of it, below is a UOA (used oil analysis) of the Ferrari after a track weekend if you have never seen what a UOA is. Got the car at around 40k miles and yes, at 70k miles was still tracking her regulary and was fine BECAUSE i believe in taking care of cars and periodic checks such as a UOA. It was also good because in a future UOA we realized Mobil changed their 0W-40 formula and reduced the ZDDP and due to that i changed oil to one with higher ZDDP (German Castrol 0W-30, which is more like a 0W-35 than a 30wt and oil pressure on my data acquisition system said all was fine with this slightly lower viscosity oil).

 

Great information guys, keep it coming! I have been looking around in anticipation of a purchase next spring (after Wisconsin winter months). I have had a good experience with the Minneapolis dealer so far, but would appreciate comments if anyone has experience with them. I am looking mostly at '07 GT's with ~20K miles.

There seems to be a nice, 2 owner, Beluga/Saddle GT with Mulliner Package at Bentley San Fransisco that I have been eyeing. It will likely not be there in March, but I think that is what I'll be looking for when the time comes.

 

Why wait until after winter, as this is a heavy 4WD car with good balanced weight F/R. Just get winter rubber and raise the ride height. In fact just learned am moving from the mountains of New England to much warmer climates. Sad fact is, i JUST got a great set of Bentley rims and had mounted on them new Blizzaks and Bentley TPS sensors (so basically just swap my summer rims/tires for winter rims/tires). Sad thing is, now i have these new rims/tires setup and can't use it so am selling them.

And yes, Blizzaks are awesome for winter as i did iced lake driving in the Ferrari using Blizzaks. Best car control clinic ever this side of the Lime Rock Park (pre-repave) during extremely hard rain.

 

One important thing to remember is if the car was originally a lease and then bought out of its lease by the same guy, car history companies such as CarFax and Experian see that as TWO owners (the bank and then you). Try to call up Bentley and ask them how the car was originally registered.

 

I just bought my wife (literally last Saturday) a 2011 Yukon Denali XL, I drive the Subaru in the winter, AND this is northern Wisconsin! We tend to get feet of snow and the plows are not reliable. Think of Colorado mountain town streets with packed snow/sand on the roads.
I prefer to buy the cars with cash (at least mostly) and I won't have a new stock-pile until I sell the GT-R and save up over the winter months. We'll see what is available next spring. Who knows, with the announcement of the new GT, maybe we'll see a little decline in used GT prices?

 

Looks like they gutted a deer in that interior

 

hate that interior!