Paul Spencer
Joined: 17 Feb 2003
Posts: 1088
Location: Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
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 Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 9:47 am Post subject: Possible purchase of early GT |
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This is from a non-member. Can anyone help?
Im looking for advice about the purchase of an early Bentley GT, usual matters such as spotting a good car or dud, acceptable fuel consumption, weak spots such as electrics suspension etc. In other words an IDIOTS guide, plus I would have to have an adaption for indicators wipers etc.
If you can helpI would be most grateful.
Regards
Tony Allen |
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Theo Williams
Joined: 10 Oct 2016
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:35 pm Post subject: Newbie advice |
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Hi Paul/Tony,
I'm a new owner myself, but to get the ball rolling for you here are a few of the top tips I picked up on my own buying journey.
Lift the bonnet of any early model (2003-2006) and open up and check the plenum chamber - this is a large plastic panel that sits beneath the windscreen wipers and catches rain to siphon it away from the engine bay. The early design was apparently prone to clogging with leaves etc and was a source of corrosion in the very expensive to fix wiring loom that sat beneath it. If you see any evidence of clogged leaves, rust or damp under here or around there, I was advised, you should walk away.
Check all the electrical accessories (especially the windows as replacing or fixing the regulators could be costly; the upper rear brake light as a failed one could require the dismantling of the interior to get to it; and the dashboard screen as when this fails you lose visibility of suspension settings, infotainment, navigation and HVAC control settings, so not just the sat nav).
Check when the tyre pressure sensors were last replaced. Batteries in each one fail over time so they should be replaced each 5 years - if they fail a replacement set is over £1k apparently.
Obviously you need a full service history to be sure the engine has been cared for. I heard that there is no replacement cylinder head gasket available, so if it goes (due to poor care of the car) then you're looking at a new W12 engine.
Finally, I'd ensure you get a detailed factory build spec of the car (this can be downloaded using the VIN from Bentley) - to be sure you know exactly what functions and features your car does and doesn't have. Also check on any modifications. As an example, mine has both the official Bentley (not very good) Bluetooth hands free system and an additional Bury (brilliant) Bluetooth inbuilt system too. But it doesn't have the soft-close door system I had seen on some online videos.
Anyway, hope some of that was useful and the kind of detail you are looking for. |
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John Robison
Joined: 05 Mar 2017
Posts: 14
Location: Springfield, MA, USA
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