I've been looking for a V12 grand tourer and having a difficult time sourcing a DB9 I like. An 05 Bentley GT with just under 60k miles has caught my eye at a nearby dealer. I have done some research on potential problems (window regulator, vacuum hoses) but otherwise I am a complete noob to the brand.

I do have quite a bit of experience with DIY and indie maintenance on massively depreciated European cars (Mercedes AMG, Maserati GT, a couple of Jaguars) so I am not one of those people expecting Accord maintenance for an Accord price. But is Bentley a whole different world here than what I'm used to? What should I go in looking for, and to expect?

 

I was in the same boat a month or so ago, I wanted something different and narrowed it down to a DB9, Lotus Espirit S4S and the GT. I did a lot of research about the common problems of each of the cars (they all have them and are all expensive to fix ) I drove a couple of 2005/2007 DB9s and was pretty disappointed in the state of them, both had only 35,000km on them, full service history etc and everything felt loose and worn. Beautiful cars to look at though, but a harder ride than I expected, and quite noisy on the road. The Lotus I was looking at as was great, and would probably appreciate in value but was not for me, too much boy racer. I test drove the GT was was just blown away, it was just fantastic. It had all the stamps in the book from the local Bentley dealer, and apart from a few stone chips and wear on the drivers seat, was perfect. The SatNav/Infotainment system was very outdated, tyres were old and I took the $6k needed to fix those immediate issues into account when I made an offer straight after the test drive, the owner accepted it, and I went to the bank and an hour later, drove home in the GT.

The known issues of vacuum lines, ( a case of when they will go rather than if they will go I understand) rear window regulator, air suspension, front and rear brake discs any water in the front footwells are the main expensive thing to look out for. Mine had the brakes done, but vacuum pipes are original still, so I have bought a two post lift as I will do all the maintenance myself. The forum has some great information on it, and Johnny keeps the trolls out unlike the Facebook forums with a lot of misinformation and people just giving incorrect advice just for the fun of it.

 

Thanks! Is there any way to check the vacuum lines? I inspected the engine and underside of the car I am looking at today. I could tell the ABS lines were metal, seemed like what would have been vacuum lines were rubber, not the metal replacements? They weren't plastic I know that. Rear rotors needed to be done soon, but as long as I can use a scanner to release the parking brakes, that's pretty easy for me.

Air suspension- is this a case of the ABC in Mercedes that can drop at any time? Or is it something to watch and keep an eye out for over time?

 

Hello @silvertonesx24 ,
I am not sure what you were looking at, but you can not see the vacuum lines in question from under the vehicle, the vacuum lines reside along the firewall behind the steering rack underneath heat shields along the firewall from wheel well to wheel well, and the area of the transmission tunnel, and under the wheel well liner where the vacuum pump resides, again with the belly pan and wheel liner in place I am not sure what rubber you are speaking of, besides the firewall vacuum lines the 2003-2005 have the turbo solenoids and vacuum lines dead center on the top of the transmission, I don't think you could see them either..

As as far as testing for leaks, do a smoke test.

As to the suspension, it is nothing like the Mercedes ABC system, the ABC is a hydraulic oil system operating at a constant 2850psi, when a line or strut blows, it's a mess, oil every where, have had it twice in the past year on my S600 Brabus, on the Bentley it is air ride, show you blow a strut or a line, yes the vehicle will drop, normally just the corner that blows, but most of the time you will have warnings such as the vehicle dropping overnight, whereas in the Mercedes ABC the whole car slams to the ground.

I read your post this morning and thought to wait for my response so I could give some more thought as to the 05 vs maybe 06-07 if that is doable for you.
The 05 has no push button start, no soft close doors, no power open and close trunk lid, no SAT radio, no BT phone, only CD NAV that uses 13 CD's, has the vacuum lines and solenoids over the transmission and more I can fill in later, most people on here with the 06 model year GT whom have worked on their vacuum lines do not have the vacuum lines or solenoids over the transmission just as all 2006 FS never had the lines over the transmission, the 2006 lines and solenoids are under the "B" plastic cover at the rear of the engine up top, so any vacuum line repair was done by way of removing the steering rack.

So, the 06 adds PB start, SC doors, power O&C trunk lid, BT phone, the 07 adds SAT radio, DVD NAV drive.
​​​​more to come.

My vacuum line video.


My rebuild

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...d.php?t=378611

Johnny

 

Not to hijack the post but my 05 came with push button start, DVD Sat Nav and the soft latch boot lid ( without an emergency release inside). No soft close door or power boot lid thought. I have not had a look at where the vacuum solenoids are yet, will get around to that soon and do a smoke test as well when I get the car up on the hoist to refurbish the wheels. Maybe the LHD models have a different production run specs to the normal ones?

 

Hello @Iain 1250 ,
You would be correct, your part of the world gets items before North America does, kind of like how the 2005 W12 6.0 A8l received the facelift and options that the 4.2 V8 A8L did not get until 2006.
So being that @silvertonesx24 is in the USA, I listed our differences.
Our 2005's do not have all the items I listed, nor were they listed as options for us in 05, also our 05's also had soft latch boot without the power lift and close, but in 06 it has power lift and close but no more soft latch mechanism, I was confused when I pulled both the 05 and 06 apart, I was like, it one or the other, I believe it is a cost cutting approach because of the power close lowers the bootlid, so no need for softness...

Johnny

 

So bottom line, there's no way to inspect if the vacuum lines have been done without component removal? I could have the dealer run a smoke test but that would only tell me if there is a problem, not if there is going to be a problem.

05-07 are all around the same price, but the 05 I'm looking at has a gorgeous color combo. The loss of some features doesn't bother me considering this is a 15 year old car to begin with. But knowing that the vacuum lines have been done is important.

 

I wish my 06 had soft close or power open boot lid 😢

 

​​​​​​Hello @silvertonesx24 ,
I understand 100% as to the color combo, that is why I purchased my 05 hurricane sandy GT, I love the 2-tone red interior with the dark-ish silver exterior, so I know how you feel right now 😀

As far as looking at the lines, you may be able to use a telescopic mirror or a camera probe to look at certain areas, but, the most important part on top of the transmission is the connection areas and they are covered by a black plastic shield, so kind of tough to get at, if the seller can not confirm that this well known problem has been resolved with new metal lines, or at least all of the connector points repaired with hose and proper clamps, I would be asking that to be taken into consideration of the selling price, I believe that you are in Chicago, so if you would pinpoint your area, then any members here reading this may have a good shop reference for the job, which I have seen done for between $3500-$4500, so if you can negotiate that into the price and bank it for when needed, that's one way to look at it.

I will say that some members here with 05's have never had an issue with the lines, others have, and my 2005 with only 8840 miles had every connection where the plastic tube meets a ribbed/flared metal or plastic tee, or straight connection at the intake, each piece is split, you can see that in my rebuild thread, and in my video or the firewall vacuum lines runs.

And yes, I agree, the smoke test will just tell you if you have a problem at the moment, not if any upgrade was done.

If you are hands on, they are plenty of us here to guide you.

Here are some pictures of my 8840 mile lines, also you can see the black plastic shield on the engine/trans to the right.


Johnny

...

 

Thanks for the detailed help. That price actually isn't that bad. I was seeing 10-15k prices for vacuum line jobs. I'm not willing to spend that kind of money on a car worth 40k. But I'm comfortable (obviously wouldn't be pleased) but still OK with a 4-5k bill if that's the big potential problem with these cars. Five figure bills are not the field where I want to play.

 

One thing I will say to look for in a older GT is to pay close attention to the headliner. Especially in the back. The glue they used back then sucked!

 

+1.
Mine fell also.

 

Yes the one I am looking at has a small sag. Fortunately it looks like a pretty standard fix.

My Maserati has the same issue. Age plus heat doesn't hold up glue I guess.

 

Mine fell. Had it repaired, NBD.

 

British, did you take it or did Fluid have it done when they had it? If you did, where did you take it and how much?
CJ