Long time lurker, now potential buyer with some questions. I have read a whole bunch of posts about the early GT's and the things that can go wrong (vacuum lines, shocks, batteries, water coolant feed pipes leaking into the alternator, lights, etc.).
I drive very few miles (I either work from home or I travel - not by car), averaging 5000 miles a year.
There are quite a few GT's available in my region (Netherlands / Belgium ) from 2004-2006. Assuming full service history on all of them and assuming little to no price difference, would you rather:
- buy a 2005 with only 22,000 miles on the clock
or
- buy a 2005 with 50,000 miles
On the one hand i like the low miles (less wear and tear inside and out). On the other hand the 50K car probably had some of the common issues already encountered and repaired, while the 20K mile car might not YET.
Any thoughts, recommendations, etc, welcome.

 

Personally, I worry about low mileage used cars that are fifteen years old. Low mileage=low use. Low use= rubber drying out, gaskets shrinking, wiring cracking and seals leaking. I once bought a Rolls Silver Shadow from an estate. It was 10 years old and only had 2,000 miles on it. It ended up costing a FORTUNE to replace almost everything that had shriveled from lack of use. Cars need to be driven.

Regarding vacuum lines, etc., your probably correct that these issues may have been dealt with on the 50,000 K car. However, NOT ALL of the early cars had these problems. My 2005 which I bought in 2011 with 47,000 miles has not (touch wood) had a vacuum leak, leaking shocks, sagging headrest or any of the other problems commonly encountered with the earlier cars. Maybe it's because I store the car in a heated garage during the winter, warm it up regularly and never leave it in the sun in the summer. It is used for road trips and special occasions only. In spite of all my promises, I may have turned mine into a "Garage Queen". I put about 1,200 to 1,300 KMS (not miles) on it per year.

I realize that these revelations seem to contradict my advice, but I still feel a car that is driven regularly is a better bet than one that languishes. It may be that old cliche: "Do what I say, not what I do".

 

Thank you for your feedback. There is no black and white answer, I understand. I have read people who say that these cars with 60K miles / 100K km will likely develop other expensive issues. But over 15 years that is still only 6500km a year...
I guess the perfect 'goldilocks' car will have medium mileage and extensive/detailed service history, with hopefully some of the issues listed and addressed. That and a thorough PPI from a trusted mechanic is as much assurance as I will likely find.

 

My 2005 also has not had any of the 'scary' problems (at least not yet). Also take note of how few posts you see about engine issues for example. I think these cars are relatively bulletproof.

 

I agree with PMS, I do drive my vehicles and normally do not care as to the higher mileage when purchasing as long as records show some maintenance, as the higher mileage discount of value is what lead me to pick up my 2005 A8L W12 back in Dec 2011, that new cost new over $135,000.00, I picked it up for $21,000.00 with 131k mileage, she had a few issues that would have been major at the dealership, but I fixed for pennies on the dollar, still have her today, the alternator just went last week, so I will fix that also while also installing both new front axles, I also picked up a 2005 S600 Brabus 13 months ago for $9700.00, and I have put about 10K miles on it, that one bit me in the *** a bit, on the drive home from Tenn to NJ I got the check engine light and some trans issues, $2500.00 later for 2 coil racks and 24 spark plugs all was good for a bit, now just blew another ABC hydraulic suspension line, nothing I can not fix, just need some time...

Now on the flip side, I purchased my 2005 Bentley GT as you can see in my rebuild thread purposely because it only had 8840 miles on it, and the interior and body are like they came off the showroom floor, even after the flood, but as to the lines over the transmission you can see below back when I took the picture at 10 + years of age and only 8840 miles, they failed, (cracked), it is a tough call, but if you are good with tools, and the help you can get here, I would be going for the lesser mileage vehicle, just my 2cents.

Johnny

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-pictures.html


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I would never argue with Johnny, but I'm leaning toward the thought that like a previous poster said, these cars need to be driven or things stop working. On mine, which sat at a dealership for four or five months, I had a turbo waste gate controller go bad and a thermostat go bad. Plus a wheel bearing. Oh yeah, and an exhaust flap actuator. These are items I presume simply froze in position from not being worked. Both are tres difficult to change, for the turbo controller the engine had to come out.

What I would NOT do is buy a car with a check engine light on.

Before you buy anything, I would get the Ross-tech software and plug in to the bus to see the stored codes. This might make your decision process very easy.

Away from the logical approach, I'd buy the car that gives you the most joy. I bought a beautiful blue one with a tan interior and I just smile every time I walk up to it. Other colors wouldn't have done that to me, but this blue sings to me. So there's that.

Anyway, I presume that the air suspension parts are better off with regular use versus sitting static, the wheel bearings should get some travel, things like the thermostat should be allowed to open and close, the waste gates should get exercised. I had all sorts of things to sort out after the car had been sitting, but since I've been putting 50 miles a week on it or so, not a single thing has gone wrong. This tells me that this car wants to be driven.

But buy the car that you love, with the expense of owning this thing, you'd be better off buying a used Prius if you just wanted reliable cheap transportation. These cars get atrocious gas mileage.

 

100% agreed @British ,
I must admit that the second reason was the color combo of my GT, that two-tone red interior with the exterior dark silver is stunning !
So my brain was not in full use, just the heart...

 

You are a lucky man. That interior is just stunning.

I found a Ferrari-red Bentley for sale in Ft. Lauderdale when I was shopping, I didn't hop on it fast enough, it sold almost instantly. Some of the unusual paint/interior combinations are something to behold. A guy in my condo building has a nearly identical GT to mine, but his is lighter blue, closer to a robin's egg blue and while I like it, I like mine much more even though they are objectively similar.

Your interior is gorgeous. I went through your rebuild thread and that interior just jumps out.

The other thing that jumped out was that pile of wires, it still gives me nightmares

 

Please have a look at these drivers' seats. The area below the seat pull and to the right of the black seat belt. These dimpled areas, what might cause this? Most cars don't have them but these two do. Signs of airbag deployment? Repair? Water damage?

Seat 1

seat 2

 

I have 1 very small dimple on each seat, I always thought that it came from someone not having the seatbelts retracted all the way as my first picture shows, this my seatbelt the first day I got the vehicle, and I noticed the dimple, I took it as the seatbelt striker was getting wedged between the seat and the door panel, as there was a very light mark on the door panel in the same area.

Johnny

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Thank you both. That does explain it