The Bentley Continental GT: A Rare Trifecta of Approval and a Cautionary Tale

It's easy to see why the Bentley Continental GT has received a rare trifecta of approval from critics, enthusiasts, and rappers alike. With its sleek design, excellent quality materials, and massively powerful drivetrain, it's no wonder this luxury sports car is considered one of the best in its class.

Fourteen years after its initial release, it's possible to pick up a Bentley Continental GT for less than a new well-equipped Honda Accord. But should you consider purchasing one? Perhaps not, but luckily, I'm here to share my experience with the cheapest Bentley Continental GT I bought in the USA, and what I've learned from this wild ride.

I purchased my Bentley Continental GT sight unseen at a wholesale auction for under $28,000. With only 45,000 original miles on it, I was thrilled to find a car that seemed to have been well-maintained. The body and interior were in good condition, with no signs of smoke or major accidents. The Carfax report showed that the car had never been smoked in or been involved in a serious incident, which was music to my ears. However, I soon discovered that the Carfax report wasn't entirely accurate.

The most interesting part of my experience with this Bentley Continental GT is its mysterious past. According to the Carfax report, the car had been sold new in Houston and spent about four years in Texas before being sold at auction in California. It then traveled across the ocean to Finland, where it remained for a decade before mysteriously ending up back in the United States, this time with a clean Florida title. The last leg of its journey took it from Miami to Chicago, where I eventually found myself driving it home.

I'm not sure what kind of adventures this car had during its time abroad, but it's clear that it spent more than one continent under its belt. With only 45,000 miles on it, the car was surprisingly fresh for a vehicle with such a storied past. However, things started to go downhill from there.

The first issue I encountered was the lack of paperwork or service history. There was no maintenance record, and no one seemed to know much about the car's previous life. But that was just the beginning. As soon as I started driving the car, I realized that something was off. The engine idled unevenly, and when I accelerated, it would fall on its face hard, sending vibrations through the entire vehicle. It was like someone had swapped out the motor from a Lada – or at least, that's what the Car Wizard told me.

To make matters worse, the air conditioning was dead, and the trunk and fuel door release wouldn't open. The battery would drain constantly, making it impossible to start the car. But the worst part? The entire engine needed to be dropped out of the car to repair any problems with the transmission or intake manifold. That's right – this car comes out as a unit straight down from the chassis, while the rest of the vehicle stays suspended on the air suspension rack.

Needless to say, I was not thrilled when I discovered that repairs would cost more than $10,000 – a small fortune for a car that was originally sold new for under $100,000. As I sit here writing this article, I'm still trying to figure out what happened to my Bentley Continental GT and how it ended up in such a state.

For those who are considering purchasing a Bentley Continental GT, let this be your warning: they're not as easy to find as you might think. And even when you do stumble upon one, there's no guarantee that it won't come with its own set of problems.

If I had known the true extent of the issues with my car, I probably wouldn't have bought it. But sometimes, life takes unexpected turns, and you just have to roll with the punches. As for me? Well, let's just say this experience has been a wild ride – one that I may not soon forget.

To all the readers out there who are thinking of buying a Bentley Continental GT, I would say: proceed with caution. Research the car thoroughly, check its history carefully, and don't be afraid to walk away if something doesn't feel right. And as for me? Well, I'm still trying to figure out how to get my car back on the road without breaking the bank.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with a parting thought: when it comes to luxury cars like the Bentley Continental GT, it's not always about the quality of the vehicle itself – but about the stories they tell. And mine? Well, let's just say it's been an adventure for the ages.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is a 2004 Bentley Continental GT the car that brought Bentley back from being a rebadged Rolls Royce - low rebadged Volkswagen no really though this is the first car of the modern era to harken back to the days of Bentley being a gentleman's racecar when the Continental was unveiled with its lofty $150,000 MSRP it while critics enthusiasts and rappers alike the rare trifecta of approval and it's easy to see why it has a very real design with excellent quality materials and a massively powerful drivetrain 14 years later you can now pick up one of these for less than a new well equipped Honda Accord but should you probably not but luckily the village idiot of automotive youtubers is going to find out as for only 27700 I bought the cheapest Bentley Continental GT in the USA and for more about my crazy latest purchase click that link below and read my column on autotrader.com slash oversteer first let's go over the positives of my Bentley that I bought totally sight unseen at a wholesale auction it only has 45,000 original miles on us and the body and interior are in nice condition it appears to have never been smoked in or been in a serious accident or use in the backdrop of a music video where one or twerking their badonkadonks and it even has a clean Carfax it's not missing any parts and the air suspensions working as it should and the car runs and drives with no fluid leaks a hell of a deal for under 30 grand right well hang on the CARFAX on this car is the strangest of any card that I've ever owned after being sold new in Houston and sticking around in Texas for about four years it was sold at auction in California then was exported to Finland yes Finland the country famous ring the sauna Nokia brick phones and Angry Birds the country also shares the border with Russia and I suspect it may have been easier to send back to the USSR via Finland I also suspect the car spent time in Mother Russia because after a decade overseas it mysteriously ended up back in the United States being sold by a dealer in Miami with a heavy Russian accent via an auction in Chicago it showed up at my door with a clean florida title and really your guess is as good as mine as to what the real story is so my Khan Anil has probably seen three continents in only forty five thousand miles and may have been owned by a Russian mobster it showed up with missing wheel caps on snow tires which is interesting because the all-wheel drive would have done well in that frigid winter region I only got one beat-up factory key which is obviously a Volkswagen switchblade with some heavy metal Bentley badging glued on and no paperwork or service history or anything about his previous life this wouldn't be so bad if the car didn't run like total garbage they afford right now there we go so like I said before it still runs and drives but not very well originally this w12 was putting out 550 horsepower giving it a 0-60 of about 4.8 seconds and an incredible top speed about 197 points six miles per hour mine sort of feels like the motor got swapped out from a Lada as it has an uneven idle it falls on his face hard during acceleration and also sends vibrations through the entire car as I'm accelerating it's 30 come on baby and as if things couldn't get any worse my air conditioning is dead and my trunk and fuel door release won't open and the battery keeps draining as well so to access the trunk more easily the car wizard removed the rear seats so I certainly have a basket-case on my hands but thankfully the car wizard is ready so while the wizard hasn't figured out all the electronic problems yet he does have a good idea of why the engine is running like Dukey and the news isn't good wizard there's vacuum lines that run right on top of the transmission up here they go to the intake and the only way that they say to get to them is to cool engine transmission as a unit down out of the car so they can be repaired that makes it run rough unchecked air getting into the engine so you're saying the entire thing needs to be dropped all of it that's correct that's what Bentley says Bentley says it comes out as a unit straight down while the car stays up on the rack and you can do all the repairs right there and fix all the lines so it's not gonna be a couple hundred bucks no it's not even gonna be a couple thousand bucks lovely so you all can see why I needed to sell my s600 and why I'm thinking this may have been the biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life and for people who know me that's really saying something for about ten or fifteen thousand dollars more nice example this car are really easy to find so was I better off buying one of those I'm sure you all are thinking better to you than me when it comes to figuring this out and hit that like booking button Wow hit the like button if you think this will finally be the car that causes men and white coats to drag me away and as always thank you for watchingthis is a 2004 Bentley Continental GT the car that brought Bentley back from being a rebadged Rolls Royce - low rebadged Volkswagen no really though this is the first car of the modern era to harken back to the days of Bentley being a gentleman's racecar when the Continental was unveiled with its lofty $150,000 MSRP it while critics enthusiasts and rappers alike the rare trifecta of approval and it's easy to see why it has a very real design with excellent quality materials and a massively powerful drivetrain 14 years later you can now pick up one of these for less than a new well equipped Honda Accord but should you probably not but luckily the village idiot of automotive youtubers is going to find out as for only 27700 I bought the cheapest Bentley Continental GT in the USA and for more about my crazy latest purchase click that link below and read my column on autotrader.com slash oversteer first let's go over the positives of my Bentley that I bought totally sight unseen at a wholesale auction it only has 45,000 original miles on us and the body and interior are in nice condition it appears to have never been smoked in or been in a serious accident or use in the backdrop of a music video where one or twerking their badonkadonks and it even has a clean Carfax it's not missing any parts and the air suspensions working as it should and the car runs and drives with no fluid leaks a hell of a deal for under 30 grand right well hang on the CARFAX on this car is the strangest of any card that I've ever owned after being sold new in Houston and sticking around in Texas for about four years it was sold at auction in California then was exported to Finland yes Finland the country famous ring the sauna Nokia brick phones and Angry Birds the country also shares the border with Russia and I suspect it may have been easier to send back to the USSR via Finland I also suspect the car spent time in Mother Russia because after a decade overseas it mysteriously ended up back in the United States being sold by a dealer in Miami with a heavy Russian accent via an auction in Chicago it showed up at my door with a clean florida title and really your guess is as good as mine as to what the real story is so my Khan Anil has probably seen three continents in only forty five thousand miles and may have been owned by a Russian mobster it showed up with missing wheel caps on snow tires which is interesting because the all-wheel drive would have done well in that frigid winter region I only got one beat-up factory key which is obviously a Volkswagen switchblade with some heavy metal Bentley badging glued on and no paperwork or service history or anything about his previous life this wouldn't be so bad if the car didn't run like total garbage they afford right now there we go so like I said before it still runs and drives but not very well originally this w12 was putting out 550 horsepower giving it a 0-60 of about 4.8 seconds and an incredible top speed about 197 points six miles per hour mine sort of feels like the motor got swapped out from a Lada as it has an uneven idle it falls on his face hard during acceleration and also sends vibrations through the entire car as I'm accelerating it's 30 come on baby and as if things couldn't get any worse my air conditioning is dead and my trunk and fuel door release won't open and the battery keeps draining as well so to access the trunk more easily the car wizard removed the rear seats so I certainly have a basket-case on my hands but thankfully the car wizard is ready so while the wizard hasn't figured out all the electronic problems yet he does have a good idea of why the engine is running like Dukey and the news isn't good wizard there's vacuum lines that run right on top of the transmission up here they go to the intake and the only way that they say to get to them is to cool engine transmission as a unit down out of the car so they can be repaired that makes it run rough unchecked air getting into the engine so you're saying the entire thing needs to be dropped all of it that's correct that's what Bentley says Bentley says it comes out as a unit straight down while the car stays up on the rack and you can do all the repairs right there and fix all the lines so it's not gonna be a couple hundred bucks no it's not even gonna be a couple thousand bucks lovely so you all can see why I needed to sell my s600 and why I'm thinking this may have been the biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life and for people who know me that's really saying something for about ten or fifteen thousand dollars more nice example this car are really easy to find so was I better off buying one of those I'm sure you all are thinking better to you than me when it comes to figuring this out and hit that like booking button Wow hit the like button if you think this will finally be the car that causes men and white coats to drag me away and as always thank you for watching\n"