How Much to FIX a Bentley? - TheSmokingTire

When a neighbor up the road from me passed away and his kids wanted to sell his prized Bentley Turbo R, it was too nice to pass up, at least on the outside. One owner from new and only 20,000 miles seemed like one of the best around. So after four weeks of ownership and one enormous service, lets' take a drive and do some math and see how I did!

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I Bought a Cheap Bentley to Daily Drive for a Year! But What Did it Cost to Fix? - TheSmokingTire
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[nigel.w]

Dear Matt: IMO, this car visually suits you better than all the other cars I've seen you in. An old Bentley is so you! A big congrats!!!

[JGch]

Really cool car. My dad has one of those from 88. He has now driven 350 000 km (over 200 000 miles) with it just doing regular maintenance, no restoration work, no engine rebuild, no gearbox rebuild... he spends about 5k per year in maintenance, mainly small stuff and window motors😂😂 but this car never dies. Only drawbacks for us in Europe are the size (its super long) and the fuel economy which is very poor (we are at 8 usd per gallon in France now). Enjoy the car!

[colewarweg]

The car guy math is spot on for your situation Matt. Paying another 5-10k over a couple years to keep this beast rolling is better than paying money for a lease that you’ll never get back

[wes]

I have a similar car. A year earlier. “Keep ‘em moving” is the key, as you’ve correctly pointed out! Well played, Matt. Well played indeed! My daily is a 2022 S8 Audi. Truth? I spend equal time in the TurboR. I replaced all the “wood” and bright work a couple years ago. Smart investment. New wool too. I paid $25k and put about ~$14k. Money spent well! Still get a front parking spot by all Palm Springs valets! ❤

[DPCcars]

Matt's journey from daily-driving a scooter to showcasing this stunning Bentley is a testament to his evolving automotive passion.

[sarahdell]

$35, 000 all in for an actual sorted Turbo R with really low miles is a spectacular value.

[donsummers]

I like how Matt combine his jacket and car.

[BM-gtry]

I’ve owned a Turbo R for almost 10 years now. It’s one of my favorite cars ever. I love it as much today as the day I bought it if not more. I dumped some coin into it when I initially purchased it. An also fantastic car with great history I’ve never had a problem with it since. FYI - You can get the memory seats fixed for around 400 bucks per side with an aftermarket part. The only difference is you lose the memories seat component as it eliminates the batteries which leak after some time which causes the seats to fail on the first place. Welcome to the family!

[Media]

I do the same "car-guy" math and it's generally cheaper to get the old car, even if big maintenance bills come due. However, two counter arguments to keep in mind: 1) if you don't have any other cars, long periods of down time while the car is being serviced/fixed can turn into a big problem. 2) Safety. Just look at crash test footage of 90s cars. Maybe a Bentley is OK (maybe), but most stuff of that era is seriously dangerous to be driving in a world of EVs and modern everything else out there.

[longbeachcarguy]

Well done. I love to c those old RRs or Bentleys around LA. So much classier than current ones

[ClotEastwood]

What a fantastic choice of colour that old chap had. STUNNING . . . . your a very lucky man.

[peterfritzphoto]

Thanks for this, Matt. Back when I wrote and shot for a handful of car magazines, I photographed a 19-year-old girl slipping out from behind the wheel of a bright red Turbo R at an advanced driving day at Calder Park Raceway (Melbourne, Australia). Thirty-five years later, that car - and that girl - still bring a smile to my face.

[richard]

22:00mins that’s one a that a mechanic who works on the old RRs and Bentleys said the ones parked in a garage and used few times a year when it’s sunny are the ones that suffer reliability issues, if maintained and used as a daily- as intended when they were new keeps them going and keeps them reliable.

[biznatcho]

I’m seeing that you can get a ~2017 LS460 for the same money (including 10% deferred maintenance/reconditioning budget) that probably does everything objectively better than this car except presence/rarity. But this is very on-brand for you, Matt, given your profession and general taste so congratulations on a remarkable find!

[sprezzatura]

These were intended to be lifetime cars. Built to be maintained, serviced, refinished, essentially forever. Modern cars are built to be recycled. Which is the greener choice? Matt is a good man.

[petersluik]

Great review Matt! I always love the question of something cheap-ish/new/boring or something used but interesting/cool. The design on these is so timeless and solid, like it's hewn from a single piece of high quality metal plus you can't beat the analog driving experience of a good early 90's car. I'll be following your journey with the Turbo R with interest.

[jackiegshop]

Matt that barbour jacket kicks ass lol. I like that thing as much as the bentley. Bro's got style.

[djremotion]

Most valuable are the days of our lives. And I would rather spend all of them driving Bentley Turbo R, and none in the Prius, thank you very much. It seems about perfect, including the driving position where I see nothing abnormal or wrong. I would like mine in royal blue, but this is super nice too. This is proper bank vault spec. Drive it often and keep it forever, great find.

[nathanchildress]

She's a stately beast! The story reminds me of how my grandpa kept his 95 Lincoln Town Car, absolutely mint, it was only to take us out to dinner on weekends.

[on-site]

Most people don’t know



the feeling of driving a classic luxury amazing comfortable car and the amazing soft plush carpet & it’s Bentley enjoy