Hello! Gen2 Flying Spur V8 vs W12 - what's your real world experience?
 

Hello! I'm new here and thought I'd join because it looked like you would be a good group with some experience. :)

As my Audi A6 very slowly creeps towards death, I've been seriously looking at the Bentley Flying Spur Gen2 since they're finally depreciating to a reasonably affordable level (keeping eventual repairs in mind of course). After reading a lot of reviews and trying to search through forums, I've found there are some questions that don't seem have an answer (or don't get a clear answer), so I thought I'd throw it all into one topic and see what kind of real world driving experience owners have had.

V8:
- How's the reliability of this engine compared to the W12?
- When something does go wrong, are repair costs less than the W12 or similar?
- Do the turbo screens have the same clogging issue as the Audi S8 with the same engine?
- What kind of gas mileage do you tend to get when cruising at highway speeds? About 75% of my driving is on the highway, and it's not clear if the rated 24MPG counts the cylinder deactivation or not. The A6 can often get over 30MPG with all 6 cylinders firing (2012 model - no deactivation).
- What are the chances of it getting to 200,000 miles?

W12:
-How reliable are these engines? I've seen reports of them going over 200,000 miles and others saying they'll be dead before 50,000. My VW Passat VR6 (half a W12 of course) made it to 160,000 before a total cascade failure caused by the variable camshaft going out of sync.
-How are these for smooth highway cruising compared to the V8? I very rarely shift to sport mode since I prefer quiet and relaxing.
-How do these actually do with gas mileage on the highway? Again, the 19MPG rating isn't clear on if that counts cylinder deactivation or not (guessing it doesn't since the 1st gen had near the same rating). It's not that I can't afford the extra gas; I just don't like making as many stops for filling. :)
-I've heard with the Gen3 Spurs that the W12 doesn't handle as well as the V8 for turning and overall control, but what about the Gen2?
- If something goes wrong, can most VW mechanics work on these? I'm guessing the V8 is a "definitely" since it shares more parts with others in the VW group, but I'm not sure about the W12. The nearest Bentley certified shop is over 100 miles away, but the VW/Audi/Porsche shop is within a Segway's ride (which I've done before).

I'm guessing I'm still a couple years off from actually needing a new car, but I figured I might as well check now so that I know later! The A6 has an out-of-spec piston that's burning a quart of oil every few weeks, but since the repair cost is as much as the car's value, the mechanic essentially said to just drive it until it's not worth keeping (and it is still a smooth driving car!).

Thanks!

w12 - dead before 50k? cmon... smb had a bad luck or was a butcher...
every engine requires right maintenance, and will be healthy for hundreds k of miles.

as I know there are no fixing procedures for w12 engine, you need to buy a new main unit... unless smb has other knowledge...
mechanics do not like it, because almost any repairs around engine / accessory elements require engine out procedure

Thanks! Yeah, I figured the comments for them dying at low mileage were bogus, but that's why I came here to see what real owners have to say. :)
Good to know about the W12 repairs though. Since I'm not close to a Bentley service center the V8 might be the safer choice. I tend to drive my cars (and take good care of them!) until they're not worth keeping, so I'd especially like a nice one to last for a long time!

When you are looking at a Bentley, is mileage your greatest concern? Try a high end E

What I said was that I was curious about the actual mileage because there was no clear answer about it, and I like making fewer visits to the gas station. As far as EVs go, they're not quite advanced/developed enough yet for me to consider them as comparable to traditional gas engines (Lucid's close, but still not quite there).