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When I bought my '05 GT, there wasn't a single scratch anywhere on it (probably still true, no dings so far) but the wheels were in weird shape. I think it was time more than anything else, the powder coat started to flake off. It wasn't a particularly expensive fix (compared with other stuff, I guess), I think I spent around $200/wheel to have them dismounted, split (two-piece rims), straightened and power coated back to original quality. I am very pleased with the final result, I don't even know the name of the shop that did it, but if your wheels are starting to flake, this seems like a great solution.
It also ends up that my right front wheel was pretty bent, the car drove much nicer when it came back straightened. I expected them to do the whole, "It's too bad to fix" bit, but nope, they straightened it and they all look brand-new.
I uploaded the pictures in reverse order, the first are the "after", the second are clearly the "before". The car now looks like it just drove off the dealership lot.
When I bought my '05 GT, there wasn't a single scratch anywhere on it (probably still true, no dings so far) but the wheels were in weird shape. I think it was time more than anything else, the powder coat started to flake off. It wasn't a particularly expensive fix (compared with other stuff, I guess), I think I spent around $200/wheel to have them dismounted, split (two-piece rims), straightened and power coated back to original quality. I am very pleased with the final result, I don't even know the name of the shop that did it, but if your wheels are starting to flake, this seems like a great solution.
It also ends up that my right front wheel was pretty bent, the car drove much nicer when it came back straightened. I expected them to do the whole, "It's too bad to fix" bit, but nope, they straightened it and they all look brand-new.
I uploaded the pictures in reverse order, the first are the "after", the second are clearly the "before". The car now looks like it just drove off the dealership lot.
Man that is the color I wanted to buy....lucky son of a gun you!
They look great British!!! I need to get this done also. Is there any way you can find out the shops info? Might as well jack it up for the winter and take them in.
Yes, the shop I take it to for its rather extensive repair work (although to be fair a lot of it is preventative) is "Fluid Motor Union" in Naperville. Last time I was there, the area had a Lamborghini infestation, saw four in the space of a mile. Anyway, I like and trust the folks there, but I don't know if they're better/faster/cheaper than the Bentley dealer, since I've never been there, but presumably they are.
They took the pics for me when the car came out of the shop with the new wheels. The "before" pictures I had taken to find out what a good wheel shop (probably the one that FMU hired out) could do. They weren't any help via email, with this stuff I guess one has to drive there and let them look at it.
One of the wheels was really bent, I didn't know, but on the lift, it was really obvious when it was spun by hand, they straightened that. The tires have some dry rot, they're fine on tread but pretty old, I think the first time one of them gives me trouble, I'll change all four.
I've been using it as a daily driver since the engine came out and the wheel bearing what changed, but "daily" is exaggerating, I probably drive it two or three times per week, I live in the city and if I'm going anywhere with more than one passenger, I take my wife's XT5, since the back seat is really too small for anything other than a little kid.
With the wheel bearing change and the wheel balancing/straightening, it drives like a dream. It used to hunt on a crowned road, if would pull slightly left on the left side, go straight on the top and pull slightly right on the right side, now it just tracks straight, I don't know how this all fits together, but I would imagine that out-of-true wheels, and the slightest wobble in bearings have a huge impact on drive quality. Something to think about for the lurkers who aren't 100% content with the drive quality of their GT.
Although I spent a fortune at the shop, they did also take care of all of the nagging annoyances and didn't charge me for them. They adjusted the driver's sagging door, which worked fine, but just irritated me, it dropped a quarter or half inch when opened. They got the center armrest to work, they replaced the footwell light and even through in an oil change, which isn't cheap, or easy. Obviously, they got the best part of this deal, but I like the small business aspect of them not nickel and diming me.
Only two things left I am unhappy with. I bought what I thought were OEM floor mats from Flying Spares, and the only thing "OEM" about them was the color was a good match. They're thin, get dirty easily and don't even have the hole to meet the rubber mat mount on the carpet. I would have been better off with an aftermarket set, but I have to admit, color matching is nice.
The next one is the scratches on my windshield. FMU had three vendors look at it, all three passed, they wouldn't grind on a Bentley windshield as much as it required. If it was just one guy, I'd be irritated, but I suspect having three say, "no" means I can't simply polish it out.
I found a replacement windshield on Ebay, some Chinese knock-off for half-price and I'm debating buying it, the scratches are really painful in the late afternoon. I don't know whom I trust to put it in, though. Big windshield places won't know how to do the rain sensor (which works fine now).
11-27-2019 | 02:35 PM
