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Bentley or stick with Mercedes?

post #1 of 43
9/3/11 at 7:30pm
Thread Starter 

Hello all!

 

I have recently been fortunate enough to be given the offer to acquire a beautiful, cobalt blue 2007 Bentley Arnage from a friend who has recently sold the house he keeps it at in the US, and doesn't want to move it overseas. It has around 3000 miles on it, and is in beautiful condition, so rather than give it to me, he wants his money's worth. Now, the Arnage has been (sadly) discontinued and is a wonderful car so I was very happy for the offer, but I'm concerned about the worth of the car. So my general questions were:

 

1. Is it too ostentatious? I already asked one of my friends and they said it was...I don't want something that spits in peoples faces...

 

2. How well does it hold up over time quality wise (suspension, noise cancellation, etc.)

 

 

I am someone who is fortunate enough to have the ability to hire someone to drive for me, so I don't care much about how it feels to drive, (if that is important in the decision, please tell), and I already have an S Class thats ~2 years old, and a BMW 7 HS Series that both serve me quite well. 

 

Also, I spend about half of the year in NYC so seeing as traffic is different there, I was wondering if that made a difference when deciding. 

 

Thanks!

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post #2 of 43
9/4/11 at 4:10am
Not sure if ostentatious is the word I would use, but you will definitely get a lot more attention/comments than when you're in a S class or 7 series. If that makes you uncomfortable then consider that.

Back in the late 90's I did a lot of work for a bentley/rolls dealer and spent a lot of time with the staff. The service guys all said that the hand built nature of the car made their reliability somewhat unpredictable and major repairs are staggeringly expensive (even if you're used to MB/BMW prices). But other reviews say that the VW era seems to have cleaned that up significantly.

But throwing all rational criteria out the window for a sec, I'd rather have an Arnage over either the MB or BMW. They are beautiful cars and more of an experience than a conveyance.
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post #3 of 43
9/4/11 at 6:24am
Stretch prius dude.
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post #4 of 43
9/4/11 at 6:39am
Merc/BMW
Economical
Sensible
Lots of tech
Good insurance prices
Run like clockwork
Prestige super-saloon status
Many driver aids
Predictable service needs


Bentley
Elegance

I'd have the Bentley every single time.
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post #5 of 43
9/4/11 at 9:48am
You will absolutely stand out more in the Bentley so if that is a concern don't make the purchase. I have mine in DC and though I haven't had it long enough to talk about how well it will hold up I don't sense that being a problem.

I have/have had both Mercs and BMWs and none of them have I wanted to keep for life
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post #6 of 43
9/4/11 at 10:21am
Even S-Classes and 7 series can be viewed as ostentatious, depending on where you are in the US.... it depends on where you live and drive I guess, but if a current generation S and 7 aren't getting you many looks, chances are, the Bentley won't really either. They're rare, but not that rare, and the Arnage was out for like 12 years. Average people don't know the difference between most of these cars anyway... and the US has a grossly underpriced car market in general, so people who really know what these cars cost dollar for dollar aren't going to think much either way, if you're in a new S class or a used Arnage. You can get used Arnages on ebay all day for 3-series money.

I live in Asia and any of these cars are fairly common, but the S/7/A8 seem downright utilitarian because of them being company-owned boats usually, always in black or silver. The Flying Spur is the new S-class, so those don't really attract much attention either. Arnages are slightly rarer but wouldn't really turn many heads. The one and only car that really gets everybody's attention anywhere is the Phantom, IMO.
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post #7 of 43
9/4/11 at 10:54am
The problem is, a Bentley is not ostentatious enough.
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post #8 of 43
9/4/11 at 4:40pm
You only live once, get the bently
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post #9 of 43
9/4/11 at 8:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joffrey View Post

You only live once, get the bently
+1. You will have the car in NY with a driver,so I'd get it. It won't seem ostentatious there.
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post #10 of 43
9/6/11 at 3:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by binge View Post

The problem is, a Bentley is not ostentatious enough.

+1, I thought a Bentley's are what you buy because RR is so ostentatious. Especially in the old days, when the only real difference between them was the badging.
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post #11 of 43
9/6/11 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhood View Post

Merc/BMW
Economical
Sensible

Well....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhood View Post

Merc/BMW
Lots of tech
Good insurance prices
Run like clockwork
Prestige super-saloon status
Many driver aids
Predictable service needs
Well... it all depends on which Merc/BMW you're talking about. I assume you mean the big S-Class sedans or the 7 series only. And even then, there were a lot of problems with these cars (especially Mercs) up until recently. There were also a couple of years (also recently) where Merc put a foot wrong in terms of the exterior designs, IMO. It always seems to me that for $100K, there are so many cooler options than an S Class/7 series.
Quote:
Originally Posted by impolyt_one View Post

Even S-Classes and 7 series can be viewed as ostentatious, depending on where you are in the US.... it depends on where you live and drive I guess, but if a current generation S and 7 aren't getting you many looks, chances are, the Bentley won't really either.... You can get used Arnages on ebay all day for 3-series money.

I live in Asia and any of these cars are fairly common.
Wow, I guess things are a bit different here in Toronto, because S Class and 7 series are a dime a dozen but an '07 Arnage is going to get you into a whole different class of party. I assume when you refer to used Arnages on eBay for 3-series money, you're talking about 10 years old +. I think an '07 is going for >$120K, right?
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post #12 of 43
9/6/11 at 4:40pm
I've always considered these questions to be obvious trolling. "I'm smart and resourceful enough to acquire 10 million dollars but am not decisive enough to determine which automobile I should drive".
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post #13 of 43
9/6/11 at 5:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suited View Post

I've always considered these questions to be obvious trolling. "I'm smart and resourceful enough to acquire 10 million dollars but am not decisive enough to determine which automobile I should drive".

+1. It was my first thought, too. Notice the post count and join date.
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post #14 of 43
9/7/11 at 8:27am
I don't know. If I was torn between buying two cars I'd think it'd be fun to see/learn others thoughts on the cars on an internet forum.
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post #15 of 43
9/7/11 at 8:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joffrey View Post

I don't know. If I was torn between buying two cars I'd think it'd be fun to see/learn others thoughts on the cars on an internet forum.

Wouldn't your first instinct be to ask this question on a car forum, though?
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