Thanks lilo1980. I had already thought about getting a higher milage car in GWO due to the issues possibly being done already and have my eye on a Mulliner car as well. We are both on the same page

 

I've found a car which had the vacuum pipes done but 30,000 miles ago back in 2013, engine/gearbox out, so now I'm thinking would an indi replace the cracked pipes with original parts that are likely to go again or is it standard practice to replace damaged bits with improved parts that will last ?

 

It depends on the Indie, see post #'s 5 & 6 in link were an Indie used OEM plastic, Jason Giannetti of Giannetti performance 516 398-2016 uses coated metal lines that he bends to conform to original shape, you can see his videos on you tube, ALSO a note, Jason made my lines for me to install on my re-build, I will be picking them up soon.


https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...my-engine.html


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I would suggest trying to push your budget and buy the newest model you can buy.

I honest don't see any big issues with these cars and consider all the items said above as wear items. These are 10 year old cars if you were to buy an 06 and things are going to wear out or peel off...

My dads 2014 GT Speed has more mileage then most cars that are much older considering his 100 mile commute roundtrip 5 times a week. Other then basic maintenance and a GPS reset, nothing to worry about.

 

....Mauser....what year and model did you find, and what has been your experience...JimB

 

Jim, I had to back away from the search due to personal issues but about to start looking again. It's going to be a gamble but as I already said in this thread, IMO one worth taking.

 

....back in 2009 I bought a beautiful 2006 St James Red CGT...the car was not for me...(the reason is another story) at that time I had already bought the new 2010 Speed...Even knowing nothing about Bentleys at that time, there was a great difference in equipment between the two. The 2006 did not have the rear TV viewer, soft close door, Nairm Sound etc., etc....I bought it because it was a beautiful Red....luckily I sold the 2006 a few months after I got it...
...Knowing what I know now, I would not advise buying a 04-05-2006...unless it was a very exceptional situation...

 

For financial reasons at the moment I can only go for a GT up to 06 hopefully a Mulliner. I know there's a bunch of things to look out for but the vacuum pipe issues worry me the most. I'm not entirely sure of the early symptoms of this problem, perhaps someone could enlighten me ?

 

....unless you can get proof that the vac lines were already done, why buy the headache...can you do the work yourself.... are you looking for a project car.....the B dealer here in San Francisco will not keep them in inventory...just wholesale them out...that tells you something when dealer with all resources stays away...JimB

 

Definitely don't want a project car, can't do the work myself.

 

The quickest way to check for the leak is to do a comprehensive smoke test. In addition to the video posted previously in this thread, there are a number of youtube videos specific to Bentley available.

To give you some comfort in your quest, I bought a 2005 in 2011. It had 47K miles when I bought it. I have only put 10K on the car in the six years I've had it. Of these, 2.5 K were logged on a trip from Toronto to New England and back. To date, the only issues I have had were a bad cat on bank 2, O2 sensors, some broken wires on my ECU and the shifter gate cover failing. I am most fastidious about maintaining the car properly. I purchased a VAS5054A factory-level diagnostic system in order to retain autonomy from our local Bentley Dealer.

I recently received an unsolicited purchase offer for my car which, if accepted, means the car would only have cost me only repairs, fuel and regular maintenance. In short, no (or very little) capital depreciation. I turned the offer down as I can't find a car I would rather have for the money.

As a side note, I am Canadian and bought the car from the US when our dollar was $1.04 against the US currency. Today, our dollar is $0.75 against the US currency. Consequently, part of my good fortune on recovery cost is a function of exchange rates changing in my favour over the six years.

My research shows that potential buyers would be well advised to avoid BCGTs with odd colour combinations, sketchy service records and ultra low mileage. These cars are meant to be driven. PM me if you wish to learn more about my Bentley ownership experience.

 

pms...apparently you a very experienced in area of auto mechanics and electronics...just fact you bought an expensive VAS5054A factory diagnostics system to avoid dealer puts you in higher knowledge category...most of us here are not that knowledgeable...What did the VAS cost you and do you have to update regularly at added expense...JimB

 

Including military-grade touch-screen laptop, dongle, Bluetooth etc...circa $1000.00 (Cdn) six years ago. Note: I don't have the sensor connections allowing for automatic reading of certain values. In some cases, I must manually measure values and key them into the diagnostic process. No updates have been required as the car didn't change since I acquired the system.

I have recovered most of this expense by renting out the system to various Independents (for either cash or discounts). I am a retired computer system architect and application developer/programmer.

As I mentioned in another thread, this system is not for the inexperienced. This diagnostic system was designed primarily for factory-trained Bentley techs. In addition to the complexity of the system, those of us on this side of the pond have some trouble getting accustomed to British terminology.

 

....surprised to hear British terminology strange to a Canadian...could you give an example...when you say your B does not have certain sensor connections...is that particular to the 2005 B, as against a more recent production...JimB

 

I'm talking about the VAS5054A which can be purchased with the full connection wiring set for more comprehensive/automatic value reading. I believe VAS5054B includes the wiring harness. In my configuration, all on-board data is acquired through the OBD port.

It is nothing to do with my car or its vintage. This is due to the VAS5054A, not the car. My version of VAS5054A really only reads 2004-2011 Bentleys.

The VAS system needs certain values in order to comprehensively troubleshoot. If you don't have (as I don't) the VAS wiring harness, you have to manually measure some values (i.e. volt meter, air flow meter, etc) and give the values to the VAS system. In most cases, manually measuring the required values is trivial.

Simple examples of language differences "wings" = "fenders", "high mounted stop lamp"= "3rd brake light", "Bonnet" = "hood". Canadian terminology is the same as US. Only our spelling is like the Brits.