I'm buying my first Bentley and have been trying to read up and do my homework and have come up with a few questions. A quick background, I currently own a Ferrari F360 F1 and Maserati QP that I will be trading in. I love my cars, but even without any car notes, I am still paying thousands of dollars every year in maintenance and insurance and often barely use my Ferrari. So I decided to trade both for a Bentley Flying Spur. I'll break down my question by number to make responses easier. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

1) UPKEEP & MAINTENANCE
With my cars, I bought an extended warranty on my Ferrari and QP had factory warranty. Since I kept up with maintenance and also did a little extra preventative maintenance, I basically didn't have any issues with my cars and never renewed the warranties. Based on what I read, I am purchasing a 2008 FS which has the better navigation, Bluetooth, and other improvements. The car has 40k miles with full service history and was a 1 owner car. I have no local Bentley dealership, but there is a shop that has 30+ years working on Bentleys and Rolls Royce and has been recommended by multiple people.
How reliable is the FS when all service has been maintained and it has has NO major issues in its history? I'm trying to decide if its worth it to get an extended warranty, which would be from an aftermarket company.

2) PERFORMANCE
I'm going from pretty fast cars to a small step down, at least from QP to FS, which is my everyday driver. I read that just a small exhaust upgrade and ecu tune will get me in the mid to low 4's for 0-60. I'm not looking to go overboard as its my previous experience that extreme modding leads to more issues. The car is still in Costa Mesa and can have any of the work done there before shipped to me in New Orleans, although I did find a local guy that is listed with GIAC. Also, looking at classified section here, I liked the video for the Fabspeed cat bypass pipes, which gave good improvement, yet doesn't mess with o2 sensor, back pressure issues, and is street legal. Also it keeps stock exhaust, which in a sedan I will use with clients, I don't need a big sounding exhaust. The only issue is I don't see those cat bypass pipes for the FS, just GT and GTC, which I assume is shorter. Is this the ecu tuning and/or an exhaust upgrade the best way to get more power easily? Is GIAC recommended?

3) PreDELIVERY INSPECTION
The car dealership, EuroCars in Cost Mesa, still has the car and will be sending it out next week. While they still have it, is there any common issue I should have them check into. The car has just been serviced with oil change and was just traded in on 24th, so car hasn't been sitting a while, but I did ask salesman to find out if it had 40k service which includes tune up, which he agreed to have done if it has not had it done yet. Any other items to check out?

4) Wheels
The car I purchased has HRE monoblock Aluminum rims, size 22. I had a different FS in Houston I almost purchased and I had them bring to dealership for pre purchase inspection and the dealership said it obviously had larger rims at one time and the extra rough ride had worn out the lower control arm bushings. Is this something I should check or should I consider selling those rims and going back to 20" rims with more tire? I really love the look of white Supersports, so I bought a white car, and will have the spokes on the current rims painted black, and leave the chrome lip unpainted. I also was going to get black bezels for around headlights, and will also paint good grill black! Bottom line, do I stay with lightweight HRE 22's, or do I consider going back to 20"?Anyone see a pic of a White FS with black rims, black grills, etc?



Thanks for any input!

 

I don't think the FS needs any help in the acceleration department if you're coming from a QP. I think an unmolested original FS is already faster than a QP so modding the car really isn't necessary, I don't think. I've been driving Continental GTCs, not Flying Spurs, but I did own a QP in '05 and from what I've read the FS is very fast - 0-60 in around 4.6 secs, even better than a current Maserati GranTurismo.QPs take over 5 secs to 60.

Extended warranties run about $4K/year - at least that's the case on the Bentley Continental - and it might be difficult to buy an extended warranty on a car that has no current warranty. Better to read the fine print for that kind of money.

Good luck with your purchase and safe travels!

 

As far as acceleration, the FS is listed at 4.8 0-60mph on Bentleys website. Not sure what my '06 QP is, but I did a tubi exhaust upgrade and a accelerator input upgrade that changes hpw the drive by wire accelerator responds and adds a little increase. It was from a company called Formula Dynamics and I thing was FWIW or something, they also had a ecu upgrade but didn't do that. Bottom lines think the FS will be about 0.3 to 0.4 slower in 0-60, so was looking to match that at least.


As for extended warranty, my I purchased for my Ferrari a 3 year 36k warranty cost me $4,190 with bumper to bumper coverage. It was from a company called ACSC of Florida. I was thinking a comparable warranty will cost me around the same price.

 

I just picked up an 08 white FS myself. Also have a 430.
I don't anticipate any major maintenance on my FS as compared to the 430.
Both cars very reliable thus far.
I do not believe in warranties. I'd rather save the $ and pay if something goes wrong - but that's just me.
The FS has massive torque and power for a 3 ton car. It's also a luxury sedan, so I just don't see the need to mod it's performance. I'd rather mod my 430 or DBS.
Always wise to get a 3 rd party PPI. Or someone to even lay a critical eye on any wear, especially with 40k miles on it - esp. want to look at the interior, such as driver seat bolster wear, etc. make sure all electricals work. My FS has a small issue of the passenger mirror motor not working so have to fix it. Didn't know til after the car was delivered.
I'm a big fan of wheels and I already purchased a set of Vossens in 22's for the car.

 

A 06 07 08 maserati Q even with a drive by wire from FD won't be nearly as fast as a FS down low. Q's have very little torque.