Bentley Turbo R - Running Costs (10 - 15 Year time frame)

Bentley Turbo R - Running Costs (10 - 15 Year time frame)

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Penguinracer

Original Poster:

1,693 posts

212 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
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Hi All,
I have a 1988 BMW E32 750iL which has 89,000 miles on the clock & has a FBMWSH from new - it's never left the official BMW Service network. I've owned this car since August 2000 (70,000 miles) & prior to that my brother bought it as an approved used BMW in 1998 at 50,000.

It's not used over the winter & is in top shape - hence I'd be a fool to part with given that it would fetch pennies.

I have a massive hankering for a Turbo R, but tales of massive running costs, corrosion etc have me running scared. I'm used to sizeable bills when the 750 occasionally needs work but the odd £10K annual overhaul is not something to which I'm interested in signing-up! Nor am I one of those people who believes in buying a car I can't afford to run & then flicking it when sizeable bills are looming on the horizon.

What sort of average running costs are we looking at for a Turbo R averaged over a 10 - 15 year time frame?

Tim

POORCARDEALER

8,540 posts

247 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
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First thing is buy a good one to start with.

Averaged out for a car been used as high day holiday car I reckon £2K per year would be about right over that time span.

SilverWraith

463 posts

181 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
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I agree - get the best you can afford and do not do what I did and drive it at least 100 miles every day! Even with the miles I put on mine the most expensive year was £10k in maintenance but I think for a modest use Turbo R you should be alright with around £2k per year.

matt5791

381 posts

132 months

Wednesday 27th November 2013
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Buy one with an excellent body and trim. And make sure you are fully aware of it's mechanical condition.

There are tales of monstrous bills for the Bentley - but then there are very similar stories about the 850. I would say, in the Bentley's favour, it's a simpler car in many ways, it's just the bodywork and paint is very expensive to fix properly, if you need to.

Quentin Willson is known to have owned a lot of Turbo R's (7 I think) - in an article I read in a 2005 edition if classic cars, he said servicing should be averaging at £1000 pa.

Bluebottle911

811 posts

201 months

Thursday 28th November 2013
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Servicing may only be £1K pa, but if you own and use a car like this for 10 / 15 years and believe in keeping your car in good condition, you are likely to have to spend a little bit more than that! I'd be surprised if QW ever owned one for more than a few months.

I have had mine for just over 10 years now, covered 27,000 miles and spent just over £36K on servicing, repairs etc. and even the odd improvement (but not including fuel, road tax and insurance). Highest bill was just over £7K. If (when) you do need parts, they are as expensive as they were when the car was new, if you get my meaning: it may only have cost you £10/15K, but it cost the first owner 10 times that and parts are priced accordingly, e.g. shock absorbers at £3K a pair (even if only one is shot). PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the spreadsheet.

Edited by Bluebottle911 on Thursday 28th November 16:59

matt5791

381 posts

132 months

Thursday 28th November 2013
quotequote all
Bluebottle911 said:
Servicing may only be £1K pa, but if you own and use a car like this for 10 / 15 years and believe in keeping your car in good condition, you are likely to have to spend a little bit more than that! I'd be surprised if QW ever owned one for more than a few months.

I have had mine for just over 10 years now, covered 27,000 miles and spent just over £36K on servicing, repairs etc. and even the odd improvement (but not including fuel, road tax and insurance). Highest bill was just over £7K. If (when) you do need parts, they are as expensive as they were when the car was new, if you get my meaning: it may only have cost you £10/15K, but it cost the first owner 10 times that and parts are priced accordingly, e.g. shock absorbers at £3K a pair (even if only one is shot). PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the spreadsheet.

Edited by Bluebottle911 on Thursday 28th November 16:59
Where do you have it serviced?

Bluebottle911

811 posts

201 months

Friday 29th November 2013
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matt5791 said:
Bluebottle911 said:
Servicing may only be £1K pa, but if you own and use a car like this for 10 / 15 years and believe in keeping your car in good condition, you are likely to have to spend a little bit more than that! I'd be surprised if QW ever owned one for more than a few months.

I have had mine for just over 10 years now, covered 27,000 miles and spent just over £36K on servicing, repairs etc. and even the odd improvement (but not including fuel, road tax and insurance). Highest bill was just over £7K. If (when) you do need parts, they are as expensive as they were when the car was new, if you get my meaning: it may only have cost you £10/15K, but it cost the first owner 10 times that and parts are priced accordingly, e.g. shock absorbers at £3K a pair (even if only one is shot). PM me your e-mail address and I'll send you the spreadsheet.

Edited by Bluebottle911 on Thursday 28th November 16:59
Where do you have it serviced?
Currently with Specialist Cars SW, local RR+B specialist here in Exeter. In the past I have used Phantom (excellent, but 150 miles away) and Bentley Westcountry (now defunct).

matt5791

381 posts

132 months

Saturday 30th November 2013
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Ok, think I have heard of Specialist Cars SW.