I purchased my 2014 Flying Spur W12 in June 2022 with 42,000 miles on it. Needless to say, I’ve spent a lot on the maintenance and everything.(My past threads) The car now has about 48,000 miles on it. What else can I expect from this car in the future? At this point, It would be stupid to sell the car as I am in about $130,000 and the car is worth about $60,000. I just plan on keeping it and driving it less than 5k miles per year. All of this work has been done at the dealer (Bentley of Edison) and I plan on switching to an Indy soon. Planning to go to edge motors in NY in the future.

- Complete AC system replaced June - September 2022 -$15,000
- Oil change: November 2022 -$1,200
- Engine ECU’s replaced December 2022 - June 2023 -$12,800
- Front air struts replaced: September 2023 -$4,000
- Tires replaced: October 2023 -$2,000
- Purge valve replaced: November 2023 -$2,300
- Sway bar bushings replaced: March 2024 -$2,080
- Oil change: March 2024 -$1,400
- Lower Control arms: Pending -$3,000 (estimate)
- Bank 2 catalytic converter: pending -$15,000(estimate)

 

First mistake was buying the car, second mistake using the dealer for service...
These cars are maintenance nightmares. I have resolved to get rid of mine after I need some major repair.

 

After some time with the car one thing is obvious - engine and its tight fitment is the issue - whatever you want to touch is the engine-out-case.
But specific to GT we have only vacuum lines as a well known issue which is a headache - especially for those <2006, and potentially turbos issue which is not in other W12 equipped cars, rest can happen to any car with big engine and in an effect the mechanic will tell you that engine must go out.
Ok... one more specific (maybe) thing / which annoys me - to change the front bulb you need to remove bumper, wing etc... crazy.

Having Audi A8 W12 (Johnny is the expert here) or VW Phaeton with W12, one may have the engine-out many times - there is no space to get there and there.
Rest of issues are just Audi/VW situation - infotainment, suspension, fuel system, electronics, steering system. What you get here, audi/vw owners have too.

What you get for this price? Great car which is exotic and is a great tourer - super experience for long distance trips !!!
Talking about GT, not FS - but assume you have super experience in FS too.

Your mistake is servicing the car which is old at official dealer who is super expensive. Only this.

 

Holy mackarel. Over a grand for an oil change, two for sway bar bushings and three for LCA:s.

The local official dealer quoted me €290 for oil (and filter) change a couple of weeks ago, an indie shop would've done it for €250 but I happened to have an hour of spare time and nothing better to do so I changed them myself for a total cost of €170. It would've been €135 had I not paid extra for the fancy Bentley cardboard box the oil filter came in. Even though the bushings/arms on my car have been replaced by the previous owner in 2022 I investigated possibilities for an upgrade and Strongflex full polyurethane bushing kit retails for €981 (front kit is €311.60).

Like tteplitzmd said, using (a wrong) dealer for service is definitely a mistake.

As far as keeping the car is concerned, it all boils down to how much you like it and what you're willing to pay to keep driving it. You can't think about it as an investment or you'll end up throwing good money after bad with no end in sight. A trustworthy independent shop for maintenance and repairs is IMO a prerequisite of driving an out-of-warranty Bentley.

 

I agree with hq: I don't have a reliable, honest local independent shop for maintenance here in the Washington, DC area.
That is my main barrier to enjoying the car, just waiting for the inevitable "engine out" repair.

 

As I have said, I will no longer be using the dealership. When I purchased the car, it was about 7 or 8 years old. Now I feel like I can save a lot of money by going to an Indy. But I don’t think selling it is a good idea as I will have to take over a $70,000 loss. If I take it to a good Indy, and get maintenance I feel like it’s a good car to keep. As Johnny said in another thread, 48,000 miles is nothing for the W12. And I won’t really be using this car more than 5k miles a year, maybe even less. What are your thoughts?

 

I am in the 2,000 miles per year usage club on my 2013 GTC with only 19,000 miles to date.
That shows my level of confidence in frequently using this car, not to mention the vandalism and theft fears.
Sorry to be so negativistic but I think my infrequent usage speaks for itself. I cannot imagine "grand touring"
with this car. It's a work of art to look at but not much more than that.

 

Pretty sure the catalytic converters are warrantied for 10 years or 100,000 miles due to federal emissions standards. Look into that.

 

It seems as if the catalytic converters are warrantied for 8 years. Do you think I can keep the car for a couple more years?(if I get a good Indy)

 

I am also torn between the two evils.. Having my lovely Bentley as a beautiful keepsake in the garage and driveway, or from all of the posts here, almost being afraid to drive it. heh It's really not that bad, but I am afraid that one of these major issues may affect me sooner than later. Especially considering that I don't drive it that often. I've always heard that a vehicle that's mainly just a garage queen, or more for a Sunday cruise, is worse off in the long-end than a regular daily driver.

 

I just bought same car brother ! Reply to my thread if you can.
im just interested in the responses I’m only at 1170 miles so none of the huge stuff yet but has me scared. Let me know if you know how to fix my more minor issues. Thanks and hope we both keep the cars. It gives me anxiety but every time I look and drive it I fall in love again

 

Congrats! How did you find a car with 1,170 miles?! Also if you don’t mind me asking what is the price you paid for the car?

 

Paid $110k. Prob was worth $100k in my mind but extra $10k was for perfect interior and exterior combo. $8k in PPF. We’ll see how much in repairs

 

Got mine for $80k in June 2022 with 42,000 miles. People recommended getting one with over 25k miles because it’s better if the car was driven rather than sitting. I’m not saying that you will have issues for sure but you might have issues with suspension down the line. Now my car is at 48,000 miles and I have currently spent around $45,000 into the car. The main reason I got this car was because it was one of the highest specs with everything on the list and it was the best interior I could find at the time. One thing that is similar with both of our cars is that we can’t sell them anymore 😂. Yours is basically brand new but even with 1k miles it could go for maybe $85k if you were to sell it. In my case, maybe $60k. So we would both have to take a pretty big hit. Some easy things that I did myself on the car include the taillights. Bentley quoted $8k for them. I bought 2 refurbished ones from England for $1200 combined and replaced them in 30 mins. Enjoy the car and congratulations again. Please feel free to ask more about anything regarding the car!