I received help from people on this forum before I purchased and after I owned my Bentley so thought I'd give something back for anyone looking to get into one. I purchased a 2018 Continental GT (W12) and in eight weeks of ownership it spent nearly half it's time at the dealership with defects like headlamps fogging up, windows not closing reliably, rattles in the head up display (which was replaced after 4 weeks), the vehicle "crabbing" when turning tightly, engine stopping/stalling at around 5mph (which I think was a auto start/stop issue), regular warnings on the dash of the system failures, and a myriad of other problems that were either not reproducible or deemed "normal". To be fair the issues were exacerbated by Bentley in Australia not holding parts for know problems, resulting in weeks of waiting for repairs. After under 3 months of only having only item successfully repaired, I came to realise that I was spending more time arranging repairs than being able to drive the car. I finally sold the vehicle at a loss, which was hard as it had been a life long dream to own a Bentley.

My advice for anyone looking to buy one, they are beautiful vehicles and an absolute pleasure to drive, but there can be a litany of problems that significantly diminish the experience to the point that it's more like 1970's classic than a modern vehicle that is supposedly the best of motoring.

 

Sorry to hear of your awful experience. What part of Australia are you ? Any feedback on the dealer ?

 

I see from your profile, youre in Sydney,

 

Yes, in Sydney and there’s only one dealer here.

 

I tend to buy older cars .Counterintuitively I know but they tend to have had all there bugs de bugged .
Miles mean it’s made it , not worn out .
Since when did anybody ever wear out an engine m that’s had fresh oil annually?
History is king , the thicker the file the better .

Theres a risk a big risk in buying a low miles, thin history filed , young car , with a few in this case 2/3 ? Dealer stamps stubs in a book in the glove box .

As far a repairs depends .....with higher milage well used they merge into gen maintenance.
So new brakes and few power steering pipes , a new radiator , a aircon regass , are done in a timely manor , not actual off the road broken down and additionally not necessarily at a main dealer .

The cash saved is huge , Ok the bills are there , but the net experience regardless of its age is positive as it’s never actually broken down or “failed to proceed “

You just have to cross that mental barrier of wanting new , flash money on display to impress folks .


Take ours skiing ....chuck everything in . Bought with 60 K mikes it’s a launch model 2003 , now has 90;k
PO s have done all the usual...Vac lines , brake light , etc etc .....all I have done is as the name suggest bomb round Europe in it ...Continental GT ...clue is in the name .Owes me nothing .

Another one £13 K for a Cayenne 4.8 .Had the original invoice one owner 7 years old with 60 K .Was list £75 K full spec .
Ran it up to 160 K mikes apart from consumables, it had £2K big engine service - water pump + pipes and a £1K front diff .
Both booked in at out leisure in 5 years of ownership .Never broke down or had any unplanned garage visits .

 

any feedback to share with fellow aussies that could benefit from your experience with them ?

 

I bought a newer car, solely because I wanted it to be reliable and a warranty. My advice for other Oz owners would be to get Bentley UK involved in resolving problems as soon as you don't get joy locally.

 

As far as I knew, Bentley Australia is ran out of Singapore. When I had a roof replaced under warranty in Brisbane, the main dealer here needed Singapore to authorize it.

 

My Maserati, according to the carfax, was constantly in the dealer for service and had something like 3 owners in its first 3-4 years. And then I own it, and not one single non-maintenance issue over 3 years so far.

I think it's a combo of working out the bugs, and people who spend new prices for a car expect perfection so they take it in for every dashboard rattle, every loose door trim, every light that turns on that is actually because of low battery voltage from not being daily driven, etc. Then the dealer does full service, replace everything, and scare everyone away from the car including the owner based on the price of the warranty paid invoice.

It kills the value of the car but that's good for us second hand buyers who arguably get a better sorted car and deal with far less depreciation.

 

Precisely.
As a after thought the dealer principal is under pressure to sell further extended warranties often 1000 s after year 3 or what ever ,
If the product was issue free ( complicated as they are ) then his sales would flunk .There will be a dealer leader board somewhere .

So,it’s in his interest to fan the flames of unreliability with theses new and newIsh car owners .

eg .A mate of mine , retirement present wanted a 911 , got a 2 y old one from a OPC .
cut to the chase ....10 years later ( Porsche sell warranty up Y 15 in the UK ) he’s spent £44 k on the warranties and it has to always have to see a OPC ( official Porsche Centre ) once a year irrespective of the milage currently 2-3 K pa .
The tyres are dated and officially to qualify for the warranty Porsche replace them every 3 years irrespective of tread depth .They insist on doing it you can,t go to quick fit and get the same NO rated tyre for 1/2 the price .

He got a slight water leak from the front scuttle when it was 10 y old after a insurance replacement of a cracked ( stone chip ) front screen .
Rarther than just adjust it try and tighten it up ...he drove it all the way from Switzerland to the N of the U.K. back to the OPC whom have taken £44 K off him for them to use a Philips screw driver to tighten it down .

You or I would be sitting on a £44 K war chest , ran the tyres to the wear bars and had a fiddle with the scuttle .
Its been back for the bonnet to be adjusted because the L+ R panal gaps were not quite symmetrical .Then the front bumper / fender seemed wrong .Looked Ok to my eyes.....How ever the same OPC don’t mind fiddling with removable body panels ....to keep the punter sweet and perpetuating the myth “ you need a warranty sir “ .
The residual value is 30 % of what he bought it for ....being a 911 as soon as drive away they launch the next modal .

 

I would love to upgrade my 2017 Bentayga to the new model, and also purchase a GTC, but my experience so far being new to the Bentley brand really isn't comforting:I've had my 2017 Bentayga W12 for six months now, and have had lots of positive and negative thoughts about it that I'd like to share with y'all. (This is my 21st car across 8 brands, FYI.) I've dreamed of owning a Bentley for 12 years, frankly partly because I've loved browsing all the exterior paint choices. I bought this one with 14K miles from a used car dealer in San Diego. I got it for half off its original MSRP of $290K. Can you say "depreciation"?! It came missing the 4 piece luggage set, event seats, luggage mgt rails, valet key, and cargo cover, but the latter is the only thing I felt needed replacing. It had a week's worth of warranty left, so I had the San Diego dealer give it a once-over and a $530(!) oil change.



The spec is:

Glacier White

Body Colored Lower Bodywork

Beluga leather, no secondary hide or color split

Contrast stitching

Contrast stitching to steering wheel

Front Seat Comfort Spec

Sunshine Spec

Touring Spec

Event Spec

Smoker's Spec

Deep Pile Overmats

Veneered Picnic Tables

Naim Audio

Mulliner 22" Paragon black gloss painted wheels

Carbon Fibre Exterior Spec

Window tint, very dark



Since it gets mostly poor reviews for its body style on the 'net, let's discuss that first. I think it looks fine with this white & black spec. Overall pretty "meh" though. A bit blocky, a few awkward creases on the hood, and the wheel arch trim looks tacky, but it's distinctive and I like the B motif throughout, especially because my last name starts with a B. The unique headlight and taillight designs are unlike anything on the road. I like the muscular style of my GLS63 better than any of the MLBevo platform derivatives such as the Bentayga, Q7, Touareg, Cayenne, etc. It gets plenty of looks, probably because it's so rare in this part of the States, but few comment on its looks compared to my AMGs. I get more compliments on the hefty gas cap from the gas station attendants than I do on the car itself. It'll be interesting if the redesign coming next week helps. The interior is beautifully designed, with the stitching, quilting, knurling, heft, and flow.



Since there was NO record of any service having been done on it, I later took it to Bentley Bellevue for its 3 Year service (even though it only had 17K miles on it), which was amazingly expensive. They printed me the list of recalls and updates that had been performed on it, showing it had been to the dealer plenty of times. Since then I've added Scorpion Winter tires, a Weathertech rubber trunk mat, and OEM rubber floor mats that O'Gara was selling on eBay for a mere $150.



So, how is it to drive? Wonderful! Great engine and transmission flexibility and power. The transmission has only thumped once. The steering is a bit numb and not at all inspiring at triple digits, both with the OEM P Zeros and with Scorpion Winters, but that might change when I get an alignment. The 48V anti-roll suspension is great at keeping body roll controlled. The steering assist function is terrible; it bounces the car around on anything other than almost perfectly straight roads. Very quiet, with lots of sound deadening. You'll never hear a growl from it like I do from my AMGs, but I hear the new Speed adds some auditory excitement.



The thing I like most about it is the Naim audio system. Wow, such clarity, power, and fine tuning of everything including the seat shaking. As one reviewer noted: “This sound system is simply incredible. It can articulate even the most minut sound details that you usually wouldn't pick up on when listening over a conventional stereo system. The vocals are crisp and clear, the bass is incredibly deep without being overbearing, and the high/low range never gets washed out.” Definitely the finest I've experienced.



It has vastly superior infotainment settings and UX compared to pre-MBUX Mercedes. Bentley were ahead of their time in incorporating all kinds of features that weren't in my 2017 S-Class. Bentley weren't afraid to load up the center screen with dense information. Highly configurable, but the stupid analog speedometer and tach take up valuable space. The HUD has more info than my GLS. I especially like that it always shows if the ACC notes a vehicle in front. I love how configurable everything is. Not just how far to pace behind the car in front, but how aggressive to be in keeping that distance. Not just the style of massage, but the intensity in 7 levels. (Speaking of which, the massage is so much better than what MB offer.) Steering wheel and seat heaters have an Auto mode so I don't always have to turn them on with each trip. The seatbelt reminder is a pleasant single chime, then a long pause, then two chimes, then more persuasive; much more polite than MB’s immediate and constant beeps. Headlight auto setting toggles back so stalk stays at the same place. HomeLink garage door opener requires just a quick push, and it will hold down the button for the rolling code for you. The interior lights just require a slight finger brush rather than a physical push. Lots of little niceties like that.



The manual in the Driver's Guide app is nice. Just three typos found (Extraneous ( in PDC. In Audio > Source: iiPod. Clicking Useful Tips > Activating the seat heating > Details: goes to wrong section).



I have a number of problems/complaints with the car, and this is where all my initial enthusiasm wears off:

• The biggest one is that there is a strong oil or rubber burning smell that floods out of the front of the engine compartment and permeates through the cabin after spirited drives. I've had the dealer and an independent shop check for leaks, rubbing, etc, and they've found nothing. So far I've only had to add one qt oil, so it's not consuming an inordinate amount of oil. The dealer said more extensive diagnosis would cost "20K to drop the engine". I'm considering taking it down to Pasadena for them to check it out and give me a third opinion.
• I've had the car in to four dealers for service so far, from LA to Seattle. I come from many Lexus autos, so I am totally spoiled on service perfection, and so far Bentley don't come close. Pasadena is the best Bentley dealer I've visited thus far, but then it goes way downhill from there. When I asked San Diego for a service summary since I was doing the service remotely, they literally said "we took the old oil out and put new oil in", giving me no info on brakes, tires, or any of the other 30 things that my Mercedes dealers check during every service. I'm VERY unimpressed with Bentley Bellevue: a couple old beat up desks, a tattered and filthy rug, cramped service bays, no promise they'd be able to supply me with a loaner while my car was in all day, a wash "if I can find any volunteers", no follow-up on my satisfaction, and crickets when I sent them several emails afterwards. On the sales side I spent 2 hours with the one and only salesperson there, and asked him to let me know when their Hybrid arrived so i could test drive it; they posted on Instagram that it was there four weeks ago but I've received nothing from him a month later. They're the closest dealer to me at 180 miles away, and the next closest is San Francisco at 630 miles away, so that's a big negative for the ownership experience. The local Ferrari dealer say they can do most of the easy services, and I found an independent shop locally that I like, but they only service a Bentley once a month or so. Bentley Scottsdale charged $290 to mount/balance my tires (cf $70 at my local excellent Discount Tire) and didn’t even clean the mounting goop from the wheels afterward; their service cashier is also their new car receptionist, but none of the four employees there even said hi after I had been walking around for 20 minutes. I submitted a web form service appointment to Los Gatos weeks ago and never heard back. Overall a worse service experience than every other brand I've used. You would think a Bentley owner would be coddled and cared for.
• There's a strange beep and series of latching/ticking sounds from the rear of the car with every door closure, and then again 10 to 20 seconds later, and sometimes minutes later.
• The seat control buttons are impossible to see when changing, so I had to memorize all 10 of them.
• The painted wheels have chipped in many places after a mere 20K miles. I touched them up with some black glossy appliance paint, which is okay but not optimal. I do hear a bit of tire thump due to the low profile 40s.
• The seats are not quite as comfortable as an S-Class. The steering wheel is not padded at all, it's just leather-wrapped metal; very firm and uncomfortable to hold, with lots of ridges. It is beautiful though.
• Lots of electrical gremlins. One time, the map in the left display disappeared, and didn’t come back until I stopped and locked/unlocked the car. Another time, the entire left LED display went blank (but the LCD mileage display stayed). Another time all the settings reset to factory default, and I had to program everything all over again. Once in a while the load assist vehicle lowering button in the trunk doesn't work, so I have to lower the car from the infotainment system. Sometimes the left rear door unlocking sensor doesn't work. The system is set to unlock all doors at power off, but it no longer does. Sometimes while the car is parked and locked, with no one inside and nothing disturbing the car, the exterior lights will start flashing as though the alarm is activated, with no audio. I can't lock the suspension while in sand mode. A few times it's complained that the start/stop feature is inoperable, but it always comes back next time.
• There's no indication the interior motion sensor is deactivated when pressing the button, so my dog freaks out when I leave him in the car (yes, only when it's cold out) and it sets off the alarm.
• The easy access trunk kick feature activates when I'm leaning into the cargo hold, so the hatch starts coming down on me often. I have to put the key in the trunk while I'm taking out groceries etc.
• The voice guidance sounds like the woman is talking through a cardboard tube.
• Sometimes when it doesn't see any traffic signs, it shows the map-based speed limit using the European red circle.

I wish:

• Prices were available on the Bentley web site. I have to build a custom car and send the Configuration Code to Sales to get the price.
• There was a temp notice of audio station changes on the nav screen.
• There was a numeric volume level indicator.

I wonder:

• What is the purpose of the single chime about 5 seconds after startup, unaccompanied by any text on the screen?

So how does it compare to my daily driver, the GLS63? It drives wonderfully, but not better. It has most of the same driver safety and assistance systems, but I'm sure glad the stupid steering assist can be turned off. The UX is now on-par with MBUX. The gremlins have me groaning every day.



Bottom Line: Is it worth $130,000 more than a fully loaded Mercedes-AMG GLS63? No way. But I'm sure glad I can check "Own a Bentley" off my bucket list.

 

From the previous nightmare with a bad dealership, you have to be firm and quick to call corporate. For the US they only have two guys unfortunately and John or Jon knew me by voice once I called, because the dealer kept screwing up and was incompetent. It is quite unfortunate how some dealers can ruin your ownership experience, but it seems you got a lemon and to my knowledge Australia has no lemon laws.

 

2014 Flying Spur Mulliner and it's leaving the stable soon. Purchased in 2018 with 40K and only 6K miles accrued since delivery. I'll spare a long winded post and highlight the issues that are unacceptable for a 228K dollar vehicle.
- B-pillar trim fell off.
- Headlight spider/cracking (no impact)
- Clunking in front end when driving
- Electrical gremlins (brake/parking/running lights inop. messages in cluster)
- Exterior door handle trim loose
- Interior materials wear like a KIA
- Glass de-laminating
- Sound system TERRIBLE
- A/C cannot cool cabin if ambient is over 75F

Mercedes and Porsche products owned/own are just highly quality and drive better. ****, I had a 2006 E500 4matic benz with 190K miles that gave me no major trouble. Loved that car.

 

Thank you all for your replies. At least I know it’s not just me! For anyone reading in Australia, I’d suggest really considering whether you *love* the car that much, because you’ll be visiting dealers often, and every repair will take weeks. It’s probably not the experience that you imagine.

 

If only Bentley could produce the cars they do, and have them serviced by the global Mercedes-Benz dealerships, using Lexus customer service processes, you'd have an unbeatable brand.