Hi All,
Purchased my GT in Nov 2012 ( for my Birthday ).
Firstly I'd like to say thank you to all the members on here who post invaluable info, I used the site a lot for reference prior to my purchase so I thought it was high time to sign up and let everyone know what it's like living with one of these fabulous cars.

 

After scouring the ads and the dealers I settled on a 2006 Silver Tempest, black, black, 20,500 miles. Mulliner wheels, extended veneer inc ski hatch, power boot, blue tooth, nav track, mint condition with great tyres and brakes. Full BSH from the supplying dealer.
Private sale but had 14 months of Bentley Approved Warranty left.

 

Off she goes for a service. Kindly collected by the main dealer who originally supplied the car. A few add on bits, but nothing major and no advisories on the MOT. I've added a pic of the invoice, as when I was looking I found it really hard to calculate ongoing running costs. I'm not in the millionaires club so running costs were a consideration.
I've decided to keep the car in the dealer network for now to see how it goes ( and preserve the remainder of the warranty).
Car comes back, nice and clean. Have now got 22280 on the clock.

 

So...living with the car.

It's nothing short of fabulous..everything I dreamed of and more. Runs like a dream and gets admired everywhere.

Parking is a bit tricky sometimes...trying to find places to park where no one can nudge the car or ding the doors etc.

Sat nav is hopeless(no post code input ), as is the Bluetooth( rsap only ). Glove box is tiny and there is very little storage space for odds and ends. Rear space is tight for passengers...but hey ho....catch the bus instead!

Oh, and I got pulled over by the police for going a little too briskly....it's easy to forget your speed cosseted in all this luxury. Just a warning from the boys in blue so that's okay.

Long journeys are a delight...this car eats the miles. It also likes a drink..14.9mpg on super.

 

A couple of things to report:

Rear high level light doesn't like the rain...should have checked that had been done but forgot.

Front ashtray playing up.

And I can't for the life of me get the rain sensor wipers set in the right position.

Oh..by the way a flat tyre costs £254 inc from quick fit. ( with the "B", and set in Jack mode etc, very important )

 

The vandals have arrived! Now got a nice deep 2" scratch above the rear light. £135 inc from main dealer which I will get done at the next service.

 

Car has been running beautifully...had a lovely trip to France over Christmas.....you think the car gets noticed in the UK....try rural France.

Now got 29,000 on the clock. Time for 8yr 80,000 mile service. This car has had a service every 3625 miles of its life......must be shiny as a new pin on the inside....

I'm wondering if I should ask for the bits they take off as they must still be like brand new? Wipers every year? Plugs? Filters? Then use them when I'm out of the dealer network?

 

Wind back a bit....warranty came up for renewal. I know this has been asked about a fair bit so here goes:

You can get any car on the warranty program up to 10 years old....if it's out of the network they do an inspection service and when everything is fixed up you can apply the warranty like it never left the network.

They do Approved 1, 2 and 3. 3 they are not selling anymore. 2 covers a specific list of items...it's fairly comprehensive but excludes everything not on the list.

Approved 1 covers everything electrical and mechanical save for wear and tear items. Costs are 1 year: £2820 inc. 2year: £5160 inc. 3 year: £7740 inc.

You can add the three year in year 10 giving you warranty up until the car is 13 years old! I think the warranty becomes better value as time passes for obvious reasons...the only caveat to that is that you have to balance the cost against the depreciating car value.

Anyway....I opted for 2 years Approved 1.

 

After reading all this I felt like I too owned the car. Good stuff! Any autobahn time must be reported as I was always curious how these cars do at 120+ mph for extended time. Cheers and happy motoring!

 

Congratulations on the new to you 2006. As you know great car indeed. Don't worry about the third brake light as it was common and an easy fix that should be covered under your warranty

 

Congratulations Don.

Mine spends lots of time in rural France as I have a house there. I know what you mean about the looks it gets. All good.

Les.

 

Welcome to the group. Interesting time lapse form of posting.

How fast were you going when you got your warning? I had the same thing happen to me and honestly I was not really aware of the speed I was traveling. I know there will come a time when I get stopped for speeding on purpose.

 

Thank you for the welcome. I just realised I put Nov 13 as the purchase date, it was Nov 2012.

I was doing around 60 in a 50mph.....then 3 seconds later I was doing..........luckily they were in a side road doing crosswords and not sat with a Gatso!

 

Thank you for the welcomes.

Got the obligatory call from the service department:

Rear high level light: warranty.
OSF headlamp washer: warranty.
Exhaust gas temp sensor: warranty.
Ashtray: maybe warranty, assessor on the way.

Rear pads have 4mm left...£284 inc. I'll leave that one for now.

Rear scratch £135 inc...but may be a challenge blending in as the panel is continued to the roof line. Stone chip on bonnet...same problem with blending but they'll do their best.

All over mop and polish £170 inc. ( have a few light scratches where cats have been dancing when the cover was off )

Air con service, which includes oils and things £140 inc.

I can't remember how much the 8 year service is but I think around £1400. I'll let you all know soon enough.

Two wheels have minor marks...and they are minor....they have two refurbs in stock at £180 each...I'll leave that one for now.

Given that all the extras are optional I'm feeling blessed so far. Fingers crossed into 2014.

I'll post some pics when Mrs B is back from her spa break.

 

High velocity pellet gun in the city or 17hmr where I live will be cheaper insurance.