Bentley Turbo R total shite! Now, Brooklands 'R' turbo shite....

[Junkman]

To hire a pinstriper isn't that expensive.

[fordperv]

Even if it does need a few things while it's away at least in your heart you know it's 100% when it comes back to you.

[steve_earwig]

Can't you get someone to hold out 3 paintbrushes loaded with the appropriate colour and drive past them very fast?

[Paul Dupart]

Can't you get someone to hold out 3 paintbrushes loaded with the appropriate colour and drive past them very fast?

 

No, 'cos if the front suspension's a bit knackered the stripes could be too low..

[steve_earwig]

If? That's a bit pessimistic. Even so I'm sure it could be levelled out by letting air out of the rear tyres.

 

A steady hand and a very long brush (I'm sure there are vids on youtube). I had to redo the pinstriping on the Matchless, no steady hand me so I masked it up with insulating tape (because masking tape doesn't bend) and then proceeded to paint it with cellulose paint. Which melted the tape. Arse.

[xtriple]

Had a chat with Paul from Specialist cars earlier.

 

Oh dear....

 

Front active ride dampers are very weak (£1000 each plus a load of other bits that need to be replaced at the same time).

Steering rack is leaking and the bellows aren't even attached so you can see it leaking (£500) and it's got a bill for a new one!

Massive front brake imbalance... which I complained about and asked them to look at.

Front pads worn (£250)

Brake pressure spheres (£150) as the pressure in the front is low.

Rear spring pan mount rusty (pounds...)

Boot hinge is broken (pounds) which is why the bugger won't stay up!

Thermostat and all associated sendors and shiz need replacing (pounds)

Headlight washers inop (no idea)

All the jacking points are dented/bent due to idiots jacking it up in the wrong places! (no cost - fuck it!)

 

But, so far they have fixed the central locking ( bad connections in the door) and also sorted out the alarm which was having a serious hissy fit and every time you open the boot, it locks the car! Just a bad sensor on the bootlid.

 

They also want to replace the springs as they are weak, but I don't want to as I like it sitting low, it looks cool! Just scared that if they replace the active ride struts it'll make the bugger sit higher.

 

You can convert the front suspension to non-active ride for a total of about £900 (which is a BIG saving) but I don't want to. It's the suspension on these that makes them 'special' and I don't want to lose that.

 

The wheel bearing is fine, supposed to have a bit of free play.

 

He's not got round to pricing up all the other bits I asked to be looked at....

 

So, this is going to be a VERY EXPENSIVE bill. He hasn't priced it all yet but I reckon it's going to be £7000 ish!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I could just get the obvious bits done (brakes) and sell it and probably come out on top if I sell it now and don't say anything about her problems - the car is worth £18 - 25 thousand in good order and even SPCW said it was a bargain/cheap at £11.5 but then it needed paintwork to make it look nice, which it does now (£1600) so is it worth it?

 

I guess the answer to me at least is 'yes'. I've always wanted one, it's the last of the line and only eleven cars from the total end of production (according to its chassis number) and one of 12 cars ever made to this spec, and most of those were lhd and went abroad! I'm not sure what to do, but I bet I'll end up doing it!

 

The good news is: the engine and gearbox are good!

[steve_earwig]

Good lord, that sounds painfully expensive

 

I've no idea how your finances are but you really shouldn't make yourself poor. It's only a car, and an ageing one at that.

 

If you fix the brakes and try to flip it now it's likely to look suspicious. If you pour all that money into it, what are the chances that something else will go expensively wrong in the not too distant future? Quite high I suspect, and then you'll have put all that money into it so you won't be able to face selling it, which anyway will be difficult if the fault is bad, so you'll end up throwing more of your hard earned into it... Grrrrrrrah!

[purplebargeken]

This is why I have a Rover 214, a Mondeo, soon to have Sierra and an Amazon. All these together are worth about 5500 quid

 

Fuck.

 

If it were me I would be having many kittens now. However, it is your car and you are free to do what you want with it. 

 

Life is too short and you may as well spend your dosh now 'cos you ain't taking it with you. Get it done and enjoy it.

[dollywobbler]

I reckon you could save some dosh by getting the brake spheres regassed. Though that depends on how easy they are to get at. 

 

You can't really avoid the thermostat and rear spring pan though. Neither are good for the health of the car. Have they found why the brakes have an imbalance yet? Are all pads low or has one caliper seized?

[purplebargeken]

Hang on. Any chance of claiming some of this bill back from the dealer given that they have a responsibility to sell a car that is at least fit for purpose.

 

This all sounds horribly familiar.

[gordonbennet]

I know you respect the geezer who's examined it and quoted for the work, but is there anywhere you could get a second opinion/quote from, not ideal location down there of course.

 

Are the brake pads gold plated?  Mintex/Textar/Apec not cross refer a pad to fit? Not that ceramic shit that fast Mercs appear to need in order to empty their owner wallets at high speed too?

I know that's only the tip of the prospective bill, bit i'd be very inclined to see what a competent indy mechanic worthy of the title makes of this car.

 

Can the dampers not be rebuilt?   I'm sure i recall some specialist company able to rework Mercs overpriced active ride dampers, similar thise brake pressure spheres whatever they are...Citroen style??, if so Pleaides (check speeling) at Sawtry are the kiddies for those, and now are able to sort out Landcruiser Amazons with active ride for about a 1/3rd what Toyota charge for the same job.

[panhard65]

Oh dear that doesn't sound good try RH parts in Oxford he is by far the cheapest for parts. Spheres are about £40 each and the rack (if it is still the same as the spirit) was 250. They are a known weak point as it is a very small rack on a very big car. The rear trailing arms can have the cups replaced but why was it not an advisory on the mot if they are bad. One of mine has a patch on it and with a shed load of waxoyl it hasn't got any worse in the last year. I would be very careful as it sounds like they are taking you for a ride. The brakes are expensive on these as they are Rolls ony and 4 calipers on the front. You can get pattern pads to fit but they will probably be noisey. Front pads are 320 for the Bentley with "big brakes" 200 for standard both genuine It shouldn't sit low due to rear springs as the active ride should lift it up, If I leave mine in the garage for a few weeks you can see it doing a citroen when you start it. Dmpers are bloody expensive on these though and as usual Rolls only. Maybe a set of used struts. Mine is bouncy as fuck on the front but gets through the test so can stay like it for now as I only do a few hundred miles a year in it.

[Tickman]

Had a chat with Paul from Specialist cars earlier...... I reckon it's going to be £7000 ish!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I could just get the obvious bits done (brakes) and sell it and probably come out on top if I sell it now and don't say anything about her problems - the car is worth £18 - 25 thousand in good order and even SPCW said it was a bargain/cheap at £11.5 but then it needed paintwork to make it look nice, which it does now (£1600) so is it worth it?

So if my maths is correct you could have just over 20k in it and it is worth between 18 and 25 and it will be sorted as you want it which should put in nearer the top of the price range.

Sounds like a no brainer to me if it is feasible to get it done financially.

Obviously I would be having a meltdown with the news but then I would rather have loads of shit cars rather than one nice one so my opinion is possibly not the most relevant!

 

It's only money and you cannot take it with you..........

[Justin Case]

It might be worth contacting Flying Spares in Market Bosworth, although you probably already know about them. I used to pass them on the way to my mothers, and they always had a few being dismantled for spares; I wouldn't think that it would take much of a knock to write one off leaving plenty of good parts.

[oldcars]

What about the warrenty on this one from the dealer, will they cover some of the work?

[xtriple]

I hear all your comments chaps and concur... It is a SHITLOAD of money to spend on an old heap. I could refuse to have the dampers done and save several thousand, I could refuse to have the spring pan done and just get it welded locally, I could refuse to .... you get the picture.

 

However, if there is something wrong with the car that I know about, it will drive me crazy! I would not be able to sell it with a big fault (honest see!) and I couldn't live with it either. I could bring it home and get a local garage to do the work ( a lot cheaper - even take it to the garage I own 5% of!) but I can't. I want it done right. They know these cars inside out and identified that it had not had replacement engine management relays straight away. Apparently they go and the car stops. Then no one can find out why.... The parts are a tenner!

 

I want the dampers and all the associated bits done, the ride is the 'good bit' and there is play in the top mounts anyway so three quarters of the labour is there changing them. I'm not happy about the rack or the spring pan as they should have failed the mot so something dodgy there which I shall enquire into later with a view to getting some of the cost back... or just cause pain and misery to all involved - misery loves company!

 

The spheres are neither here nor there to be honest: quite cheap, and a safety item so no brainer, and I suspected they were goosed all along. I do like good brakes! This is the model with the big BIG brakes from the Conti R so pads are a right old price, people have looked into getting alternative pads from other sources and had problems making them fit and if they do, they don't work well and make a racket while not working well! So, not really any alternative.

 

They think the reason for the brake imbalance is air in the system - bleeding needed anyway then we will know more.....

 

This is the reason old RR and Bs are cheap: to keep them in good fettle costs a fucking fortune! I knew I was taking a BIG risk buying this car sight unseen, but I expected the dealer to be a little more honest. More fool me! I don't know why I expect people to tell the truth 'cos I know they never do, but I still let myself be fooled over and over. I guess I just wanted the car!

 

And I did want the car.

 

I've always wanted a Turbo R (series two or three) or a Brooklands R (had to be a series four). I don't really want a turbo RT (late car like my Brooklands - series four) as they are stressed pretty highly. I nearly bought one last year from a dodgy sounding dealer in Leicester but he wanted pretty near top end money for it and it hadn't been serviced since 2007! So, I would have bought that and then it would have needed ten grand throwing at it... I talked myself out of that one and it's still for sale!

 

The Brooklands was cheap. Very cheap indeed. But it had 'been out of the country' for a few years. So, if it has or hasn't is something I will never know for sure, I suspect it has as there is a bit of sun damage here and there and I think it was given rudimentary servicing (oil changes etc) but bugger all else. Its service history, is 'patchy' and not as good as described, so it was never going to be a 'top money' car and the posh dealers wouldn't touch it. But, with all these bits done and the servicing brought up to date, that makes the car much more desirable if I ever choose to sell it. There are so many RRandB cars out there with NO servicing done for the last few years as ' the cars only done a few hundred miles' and folk don't spend the money. What they forget is that not using a car is just as bad (worse?) as using it every day!

 

So, you roll the dice and sometimes you win... more often, you lose. This time, I lost. But, I did get a Dyson hoover for a fiver the other day so it all evens out....

[beko1987]

That Dyson Hoover could swallow the same proportion of costs that the Bentley seems to be, just with less 0's at the end!

[alf892]

Nothing knackers a motor like too much standing about! BiL has an S3 that was a 'cherished car' and it drove poorly. Much money spent in first year when things failed in regular use. Now drives, steers and brakes better - even interior rattles have gone.

 

Clearly you have the cash so enjoy it.

 

I remain jealous!

[bub2006]

I agree with alf,my focus did 9k in 3 years and had less than90 k on clock. I Pushed it into service, doing 2000 mile in 2 and a bit weeks and looked what happened. Sorry to hear your woes mate.

[the judge]

I wish you were closer,I would fix that for chippy money if you just bought the parts. Its a car at the end of the day,no a complicated boeing!

[tooSavvy]

Can't you get someone to hold out 3 paintbrushes loaded with the appropriate colour and drive past them very fast?

Ha Ha ... I've tried that with a privet hedge - not wise : bush brown & van white.... Result?

 

Looked like a fuckking flake

 

 

TS

[Junkman]

So, you roll the dice and sometimes you win...

 

When?

[Cheggers]

23 & 37 please ☺

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[richardmorris]

A very good friend of mince works here

 

http://www.nsandell.com

 

But it's a fair way from you.

[anonymous user]

A very good friend of mince works here

 

 

Is that a variation on a friend of Dorothy?

[andrew e]

Get in there Xtriple, I'd have done the same thing at the beginning of ownership (rather than the end), it took quite a few years to learn that though.

[richardmorris]

I'm sure it said mine when I wrote it. Bloody auto correct! iPads are useless for typing.

[dave21478]

Meh, people spend more on X6`s and shit like that and they will all be within Autoshite price territory in ten years. Dont worry about it. I think you would have to be incredibly unlucky to loose money overall in the long term.

 

Mind you, its easy for me to say that when its not my cheque book on the line.

[Pillock]

It might be worth contacting Flying Spares in Market Bosworth, although you probably already know about them. I used to pass them on the way to my mothers, and they always had a few being dismantled for spares; I wouldn't think that it would take much of a knock to write one off leaving plenty of good parts.

If you need anything from this place xtriple, I'm 5 mins down the road and Mrs_P is a scout leader in Bosworth so can collect/store or forward on via autoshite relay.

[richardmorris]

That s600 coupe on the eBay thread has lost £8k a year in depreciation alone, not mentioning running costs and repairs. Makes a Bentley seem like a sensible buy!