With the news of Consumer Reports survey concerning vehicle reliability, it is time 6SpeedOnline has a survey concerning the reliability of Bentley vehicles.

Please list year, model, engine type, miles driven and reliability (plus cost to repair). Please do not list the ~$1500 annual service fee.

 

2007, Continental Gt Mulliner edition, W12, I purchased it with 39K and now have 44k and I have not put any money into it other than yearly service. My headliner is starting to sag in the back seat area but I have a quote to repair it for $550. My annual service at the dealer runs approximately $1200 and the every 4year service runs approximately $2700. About 6 months ago my front driver side strut sagged after not being driven for a few weeks while I was out of town so I got a quote to replace it but it never sagged again even after sitting a couple of weeks at a later time. I have yet to replace that strut and the dealer checked it at the last service and said it was fine so who knows what that was about.

 

What did they survey say?

 

You'll need to subscribe to CR to see the report. Basically, the Japanese manufacturers are the most reliable. Lexus, Mazda and Toyota ranked the highest. On a related note, look at resale values of used cars also helps to better understand which cars offer high quality versus those with value that drops off steeply probably due to a lack of build quality/reliability.


For those curious, VW ranked 15th, below 14th ranked GMC. Fiat ranked 28th, no surprise there LOL!

 

Not terribly surprising. Honestly, I've had good luck with all the cars I've owned thus far. Hopefully my experience with Bentley will be a good one

 

most recent high maintenance expense on 04GT was replace keyless entry mechanism-$2500.

 

*2004 CGT
*Purchased in May 2013 with about 49,000km for $57000
*Currently at 73,000km
*Daily Driver in Toronto which has seen heavy snow

Major repairs:
1. Replaced Front Rotors and brake pads

Minor issue:
1. Blown fuse on cigarette lighter. Fixed via changing the fuse.
2. Two-piece wheel was making some weird knocking noise. One of the repair shop fixed it by gluing some pieces together. I'm not too concerned as those are my winter wheels.

Pending issues:
1. Saggy headliner due to window down driving on highway speed (no sag when the car was purchased). Will have a local shop to fix it soon.
2. Intermittent rear third brake light when it rains
3. Intermittent level fault (seems to be more frequent in winter time; only gotten the error 2-3 times this year)
4. Broken keyless entry. I won't be fixing it as it might not be cost effective. I'm content with using the remote.

Enhancements:
1. Replace normal gear **** with Mulliner ****. This upgrade is a must have. I love resting my hand on the Mulliner ****. (~$400)
2. Purchased brand new Speed wheel for my summer tires (~$3500 Bentley Los Gatos via eBay)
3. Replaced front lower black grill with silver grills via eBay
4. Audiovox Mediabridge for iOS streaming capability
5. Leather floormat from one of the vendors on the forum


I don't have the exact figure for running cost but I suspect my total monthly running cost, repairs, and depreciation will be similar to the monthly lease payment of a brand new Mercedes E class. But I'm driving a Bentley

The level of comfort, luxury, and presence cannot be matched by a Merc.

Overall, it has been extremely reliable and never failed to start in 2.5 year of ownership. Even my 2014 Subaru forester failed to start once.

I can't think of any car I want to trade my Bentley for beside the GTC or the new 2012+ gen. I drive this car everywhere including grocery shopping. I even carried few pieces of 8 foot wood from HomeDepot through the ski hole.

 

2003 GT.
Bought on my birthday in 2013. The girls talked me into it!!!!
£31,000 + I traded in my beautiful Jag' XJR. I must have been mad!!!!
53,000m, now 71,000m. Mainly between the UK & France.

Major work.
Front & rear discs & pads. Did them myself.
Vacuum pump. Did that myself. (The Audi A8 is the same pump).
Drivers door touch locking. Main dealer.
Vacuum hose on gearbox. Main dealer.
Paddle shift changed. Main dealer. (Didn't fix the problem).
Mechatronic unit in gearbox. Independent garage. (That fixed the problem).
Driveshaft gaiters front. Independent garage.
Boot touch release. Independent garage.
Cam sensor. Independent garage. (The main dealer wanted to take out the engine to do this. The Indie did it without removing the engine. Go figure!!).
Drivers window regulator replaced. By myself.

Minor work.
New battery. Main dealer.
Front bass speakers. Replaced by myself, plus upgraded.
Front cig' lighter fuse. " " "
Bonnet warning. Faulty switch on one side.

Upgrades. By myself.
BMC air filters.
Audiovox.
Exhaust flap mod.
W12 badges.
Lower front grilles painted silver.
20" V8S alloy wheels & tyres fitted.

All that plus the annual services.
First one by the main dealer.
Next two by the independent garage.

Total spent since purchase = £14,639.03 UK.
That's about $22,397 US.

It's currently running like a dream and is definitely a smile a mile.

Les.

 

exsaf - this is interesting:

Cam sensor. Independent garage. (The main dealer wanted to take out the engine to do this. The Indie did it without removing the engine. Go figure!!).

do you have any procedure for doing that w/o engine removal? any special approach / not official procedure to do the trick or the dealer just wanted mlney

 

I purchased a 2007 GT in August and it has been in the garage for about half the time.

So far:
1. The engine was running rough and I took it to Bentley.
2. After nicking me $660 (3 hrs) they came back with almost $17K in repairs. (NOT!)
3. They wanted to fix the vacuum solenoid on the front of the engine for a mere $600. I fixed it myself with a $16 solenoid (VW part) vice the $90 Bentley part (same part)
4. The car throws a Gross Evap leak code so it is going to Jason as soon as we can get our dance cards in sync ($6K) See #7 below
5. The cigarette lighter needed a new fuse and I could not get the knee panel open. Kept looking for a latch - now know later models just 'pry' down ($180 for 1 hour labor)
6. I have developed a rubbing sound in the front, going to an indie tomorrow to look see if it is a tire bubble, cv, brake pad, or hub. More to follow.
7. Bentley wanted 4K to fix the vacuum lines via the steering rack - I thought that was a good deal, but opting for Jason. Everyone else wants to drop the engine and only Jason is worth the cost (IMO)
8. I plan to upgrade the infotainment myself with either Nav-TV or X-Carlink ($5K or $1K)

My overall experience is that the car is as reliable as any other. The kicker is that it scares people due to its mystique and badging. I consider it to be just a big (overly expensive) Audi with exquisite English interior craftsmanship. That is not a knock it is just that it is a car, not something that one should be in total awe of. Bentley is to VAG as Lexus is to Toyota.

My pre-plan and advice to someone buying an older one is that the car is NOT less reliable it is just that a lot of maintenance is deferred by later (2nd and on owners) who can afford to buy one but not maintain it. I planned on most of my issues before the purchase. I reckoned that there would be 8-10K is 'refurb' costs the first year +/-. The second piece is find a good independent (MB, Audi, VW - specialist and do your homework on parts x ref. See my other post from today.

 

2007 Continental GT

I bought the car a little over 18 months ago. Came with about 30,000 miles on it. I now have about 42,000 miles.

I spent about $1400 getting new brake pads and rotors. I was told that was needed when I bought the car. So far that is the only thing I have had mechanics do. They gave the car a once over and found nothing wrong at that time. No stored error codes.
I bought new trunk struts for about $200
I bought new cabin air filters for about $150
New wiper blades $150

The car is my daily driver and I have never had a problem other than a bunch of weird quirks. Here is my quirk list:
- The car sometimes tells me I left my turn signal on when I park, and sometimes it does not. I am frequently told by coworkers that half my lights are on because the turn stalk was not centered when I shut it off. Other times alarms go off.
- "Tire pressure monitoring system malfunction" warning came and went once.
-"Air suspension Level Issue" warning came and went once.
- Wood panel on driver's door rattles and buzzes to the music.
- Wood roll top cover for the rear storage compartment is falling apart.
- Trunk would not stay open because the struts were bad. Replaced the struts and now it will not close without help.
- If I floor it at 45 Mph or so, it bogs down for a moment. Smashing the gas pedal at speed doesn't always get repaid results. Shop couldn't find anything wrong.
- My car smells a little funny. Smell was swampy until I got new cabin air filters. Now it might be the leather. Maybe the tanning technique or past products used. Not necessarily a bad smell, but odd. I treated the leather and it got better, but still strange.
- Cord on the fancy gas cap broke.
- My tires are 16 years old. Expected and great snow driver. Almost had a heart attack the first time I drove in snow. I think this is tires, and not the car, but I don't know.

My Bentley has been as reliable, or more so, than any other car I have owned. My car is 16 years old and reasonably trouble free. I anticipate that when the troubles come, they will be costly. To me, it seems like a reasonable trade off for getting such a spectacular car for such a reasonable price.

 

Re: A few of your quirky items;

1. I had the same problem when I replaced the trunk struts. The solution, suggested by Johnny, was to lube the struts and hinges and manually open and close it a few times. It worked! IIRC, I used Fluid Film aerosol and never had another problem.
2. The gas cap tether can be replaced. I found a guy on ebay who made them with 3D printing.
3. At 16 years old and even with good tread, your tires probably suffer from dry rot. Look for cracks between the treads. The old tires are not as "grippy' as newer ones because they dry out.
4. An ozone generator like the one below can clear up the odor. Leave the AC fan on high and run it for 45 minutes. Rather than buy the unit, some car washes offer the service. I had my wife's SL550 done for $15 and it made a world of difference.
https://www.amazon.com/Generator-Eliminator-Deodorizer-Ozonator-Purifier/dp/B0BDG2XGL8/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=ozone+machine+odor+removal&qid =1675369177&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

5. You can re-glue the wood pieces on the roll top. Note the woodgrain pattern and keep them in order.

 

Hi,
May I ask what fault you had that resulted in you changing the Mechatronic unit in Gearbox? Thanks

 

I purchased the car with 14,000 Southern California miles. I am the second owner and purchased the car in December, 2020. I needed an extra
key so the dealer got $1200 for two new keys and programming. I then had an upper link wishbone repair from the dealer, who added $650
for a possibly unnecessary front end alignment (or at a minimum an overpriced alignment). Routine service from independents here in the
Washington, DC area. Bank 1 oxygen sensor was a tricky repair from the independent, and I obtained the part from Flying Spares for half
the dealer's price. One of the independent places here won't let me supply my own parts, and he gets parts mostly from the dealer with
minimal trade discount, making repairs almost as onerous as from the dealer. Routine oil changes and other fluids changed no problem.
But I only put on 1000 miles per year.

Two trips to the dealer for the top stopping half mast when putting the top down. Turned out to be bolts needing tightening! Trunk
opening spontaneously, again bolts needing tightening.

Regular curb rash on the passenger side as I simply can't manage to judge the width of the car after driving a Porsche for many years.
Getting tired of annual polishing the sporty wheels in this W12.

Please see my numerous posts about the inevitable convertible top strap and rivet detachment issue. The design of the frame is clearly
defective from the get go, so the only reason I don't have holes (yet) in the convertible top is because I am afraid of using the top too much.
Only the dealer in my area seems to have experience with the over engineered top.

This is supposed to be about my experience with reliability: the car is an over engineered electrical nightmare, and doesn't drive as well as my
Mercedes and certainly more difficult to maintain than my old Porsche 911. The 2013 GTC is essentially a piece of artwork, a heavy S
class type weight with 2 doors and a convertible top, and doesn't handle as well as my several Mercedes.

I have said elsewhere in this forum, the biggest barrier to ownership is lack of capable independent shops and limited access to
overpriced Bentley parts in the Washington, DC area,. The dealership service offends my intelligence. If I lived in LA or Florida I would
have more service options. I will maintain the car for a few more years, but if I face something like having to replace the radiator, I'll do it and get rid of the car. It shows beautifully and will sell itself when the time comes.

Reading this forum is fascinating. When you see all the quirks, electrical and mechanical, one would have to ask why anyone would be these cars. I guess that's my summary on the reliability issue.

 

I couldn't wait to secure one "Red, Umbrian Red, silver-lake. But the more I delved into these massive defective flawed autos , I can see why the Huge depreciation
is well warranted. There's reasons why 2007 is down to under 50k ! It's really too bad, they look great, huge panashe!