Considering Bentley Turbo R purchase

[birdcage]

I have always fancied one of these and this one caught my eye.

www.ghostmotors.co.uk/A9%20DYN.htm

I have done a fair bit of reading and there is a Bentley specialist where I live in Saint John's Wood which is an advantage.

I am under no illusions that the purchase price in no way reflects what maintenance might cost, I had a ferrari 355 that cost me 5k in exhaust and manifolds two weeks after buying it and expect high running costs but I would like to avoid buying a 'lemon' to start with to have a smoother entry into ownership.

I tend to buy cars without test driving with the safety of a PPI or respected dealer and that has served me reasonably well. Jay Leno has a great vid on his site for the Turbo R.

Does anyone have any advice on dealer or model in general that might be useful?

Thanks

[Xtriple129]

Not sure if that model has active ride, if not, wait for a later one - active ride is definitely worth the extra. I think active came out for the 89 or 90 model year so it could have...

But, make sure it all works! I just spent £4.5K on new front suspension (struts over a thousand pounds each absolutely bare!) but it is lovely to have.

But, get one! I hummed and ahhed for years and finally bought one last year, which promptly blew up (very rare occurrence) but I was so besotted with the car I was prepared to buy a new engine for it! In the end, I didn't as the specialist I bought the car from insisted on giving me back my money and all the money I had spent out on it - good specialist are fabulous!

Beware though that even a 'bad' one will drive very nicely, they seem to hide neglect well but EVERYTHING costs many, many pounds and it is easy to spend more than the purchase price very quickly. So, make sure you have it inspected. I didn't with my second one (bought unseen from a different 'specialist;) and suffered....

So, go in with your eyes open about costs, have an inspection by someone that really knows these cars and then enjoy having a very fast, luxurious car.

[buyer&seller]

That's a 1989 model year car which doesn't have active ride suspension, it was introduced on 1990 model year cars and onwards. An easy way to tell if it's an 1990 MY car is to see if it has four "bullseye" air con vents on the dash which was introduced at the same time, instead of the two on this car.

[SRT Hellcat]

They are wonderful cars. Definitely have a pre purchases inspection carried out. I prefer the dash layout of the 1990/91 cars with the column shift. Mirrors on the doors and the individual armrests. Good luck

[birdcage]

Thanks all, very useful!

Does anyone have any PPI recommendations?

[julesGB]

I don't know if they carry out PPI work but Royce Service & Engineering in Betchworth, Surrey are very good and extremely knowledgeable. Speak to Patrick Lloyd-Jacob. He was recommended to me by another Turbo R owner and since purchasing one myself about a year ago they have serviced, maintained and generally brought it back to its full former glory. As has been stated Turbo R's are not cheap to run and can throw up some big bills but they are well worth it

[Crapaud]

I have a nice 1990 Turbo R which has just clocked over 70,000 miles. We are selling up and moving to South West of France so vehicle might be put up for sale. I'm in North Devon at the moment but willing to travel. Vehicle has agreed value of £12k for insurance purposes but I would consider any fair offer.
Interested?

[Modificata]

Looks like a lovely car. I have an Arnage T and use Jack Barclay for servicing. However for non service items I use N Sandall and they are fantastic. Very knowledgeable and very reasonable in price. They picked up a few things on a test drive (which I didnt even realise) and transformed the ride of the car.

If you need a professional opinion I can recommend them.

www.nsandell.com

[9six4]

birdcage said:

I have always fancied one of these and this one caught my eye.

www.ghostmotors.co.uk/A9%20DYN.htm

I have done a fair bit of reading and there is a Bentley specialist where I live in Saint John's Wood which is an advantage.

I am under no illusions that the purchase price in no way reflects what maintenance might cost, I had a ferrari 355 that cost me 5k in exhaust and manifolds two weeks after buying it and expect high running costs but I would like to avoid buying a 'lemon' to start with to have a smoother entry into ownership.

I tend to buy cars without test driving with the safety of a PPI or respected dealer and that has served me reasonably well. Jay Leno has a great vid on his site for the Turbo R.

Does anyone have any advice on dealer or model in general that might be useful?

Thanks

I believe this specific car was long advertised on eBay before being listed with Ghost Motors - it's also been offered at auction, but failed to sale:

http://classiccars.brightwells.com/viewdetails.php...

My own Turbo R, a pre-active ride model, costs around GBP 2,500-3,000 a year to maintain in tip-top condition.

Opinions on the benefit of active ride differ.

Fantastic cars.

Edited by 9six4 on Tuesday 22 March 14:28

[birdcage]

Thanks again everyone, good old Pistonheads!

Crapaud PM sent

[Paul Yorke]

Hi Birdcage,

I would say definitely go for one if you fancy one. They are great value at the moment.

Test drive a few if you can - just to get the feel of them if nothing else.

But do make sure that it is a good one. a PPI is a must imho. I specialise in RR&B's and have seen many people come a cropper on impulse buys.

Usually on a PPI I find enough things wrong to get a reduction in price that covers the cost of an inspection.

Of course it's impossible to guarantee any car this age, but knowing what needs doing when you buy it puts you in a much stronger position.

If it helps at all, I'm doing a PPI for a client on a car at Royce Services soon, Ghost Motors isn't too far from them so could probably do both in a day. At least they both have ramps so it's easier to get a proper view of what's going on.

Advert descriptions and prices are very rarely any indication of what the car is like. Much worse than most cars I find.

In General, the pre-90 cars have a little less on them to go wrong. Some people like the active ride but many find it too firm. Often the active ride is disabled so it is in sports mode all the time.

Good luck, Paul.
EverythingRollsRoyce.com

[jeyjey]

I can recommend Paul.

(Full disclosure: I've never used him for a PPI, but I've bought parts from him and he's done work on my T2. He certainly knows the cars inside and out.)

[Stephen-q7iik]

Go for it.

I think if you find a good independent service agent (I managed to find one in Ipswich) and be prepared to spend a bit of regular service cash each year, the return in terms of pure driving theater and fun will be fully repaid.

Also the main advice I have received is you must drive it regularly (no problem there).

Good luck with your search.

regards,

Steve

Something to keep you motivated

Edited by Stephen-q7iik on Saturday 23 April 18:24

[RB CV8]

I'm no great expert on the cars, but did my homework, spoke to owners, and based on my own judgement bought myself a Turbo R last year. I did go through my thought process on another thread a while back; in my fifties and having known many people that have not even made it to my age, I decided to go for one while I can. We are a long time dead....

My car came from Colbrook Specialists in Stilton, Cambridgeshire. The company was recommended to me and I have found the people there very helpful and pleasant to deal with and would happily recommend the firm myself.

I have a 1996 car, and it is pretty much my preferred specification, as I like the less fussy styling with the smoother wraparound bumpers and shallower grille. It has 17" alloys - during my research I found that proper tyres for earlier 16" wheels were not easy to come by. Spare wheel is in the boot rather than hanging off underneath. It is a standard wheelbase car with the Zytec engine management (about which opinions appear to differ).

It also came with a hefty invoice for having the head gaskets replaced, along with most of the rest of the cooling system, only a few hundred miles before I bought it. This is not an unknown issue; OP - look for similar invoices for any potential purchase and keep an eye on the temperature gauge. My understanding is that the radiators get clogged up leading to overheating.

My own maintenance costs for the year - though I have only covered about 2000 miles - have been in the hundreds of pounds rather than thousands, but I am under no illusion about this being typical!

The comments on here about active ride have made me smile, as the ride quality is perhaps the aspect of the car that has disappointed the most! Having said that, the Autocar road test of a LWB car described the ride as "terrible"! It has not, however, detracted from the pleasure of owning my car, and having admired the model since its' introduction, I still sometimes find it hard to believe I have actually got one.

There is something special about owning and driving such a car. I find it difficult to actually describe the experience, but I am sure that anyone who has one will understand what I mean.

[RR-B fixer]

I cannot stress how important it is to have an independent inspection carried out. It really does save a lot of time and money and stress. I can recommend Frank Dale & Stepsons and N.Sandell who are fairly local to you or Royce Engineering or Phantom Motors who are a little outside London.

[Modificata]

RR-B fixer said:

I cannot stress how important it is to have an independent inspection carried out. It really does save a lot of time and money and stress. I can recommend Frank Dale & Stepsons and N.Sandell who are fairly local to you or Royce Engineering or Phantom Motors who are a little outside London.

I use N Sandell and highly recommend them. Very knowledgeable and reasonable too.

[matt5791]

RB CV8 said:

The comments on here about active ride have made me smile, as the ride quality is perhaps the aspect of the car that has disappointed the most!

Whilst they were never known for having the best, just make absolutely sure the car is set at the correct ride height - by this I don't just mean the active ride on the rear, but that both ends are shimmed to the correct height. If it is wrong, the ride is truly awful, especially at low speed, around town etc.

My own car is a 1996 continental R - but it't pretty much the same underneath as the Turbo R - I recently had it all shimmed to the correct height (we ended up replacing the rear springs as they were beyond shimming) and it makes a huge difference to ride. The handling has more life to it too - if the front end is too low, the front wheels assume too much negative camber and the handling becomes dead and lifeless. I also think they look a lot better aesthetically without visible negative camber and set at the right height.

A lot of these cars have ride height problems, visible to the naked eye - infact is seems most I see are incorrect. The cars are of an age now where these things need looking at if they haven't been already.

[RB CV8]

matt5791 said:

Whilst they were never known for having the best, just make absolutely sure the car is set at the correct ride height - by this I don't just mean the active ride on the rear, but that both ends are shimmed to the correct height. If it is wrong, the ride is truly awful, especially at low speed, around town etc.

My own car is a 1996 continental R - but it't pretty much the same underneath as the Turbo R - I recently had it all shimmed to the correct height (we ended up replacing the rear springs as they were beyond shimming) and it makes a huge difference to ride. The handling has more life to it too - if the front end is too low, the front wheels assume too much negative camber and the handling becomes dead and lifeless. I also think they look a lot better aesthetically without visible negative camber and set at the right height.

A lot of these cars have ride height problems, visible to the naked eye - infact is seems most I see are incorrect. The cars are of an age now where these things need looking at if they haven't been already.

Thanks for your comments.

I wouldn't describe the ride of my car as awful, it just falls below my expectations. The car seems to sit well, with no obvious sagging at either end, so I haven't been concerned that there is anything particularly wrong with it, though I will look into this or get it checked when the car goes in for the next service.

[matt5791]

RB CV8 said:

Thanks for your comments.

I wouldn't describe the ride of my car as awful, it just falls below my expectations. The car seems to sit well, with no obvious sagging at either end, so I haven't been concerned that there is anything particularly wrong with it, though I will look into this or get it checked when the car goes in for the next service.

Part of the problem is expectations are very high when you get into one of these cars!

The ride wasn't too bad vis-a-vis other cars of the time, it just wasn't as good as one was expecting from such an expensive car.

But it is definitely worth checking out the height - there is a procedure detailed by RR for doing this which any specialist will be familiar with.

[bp81]

Lots of really useful advice here, I wondered if anyone had experienced the difference between the turbo r v arnarge maintenance usability enjoyment etc?