New car

[ironman]

Have been after one of these for a while so decided to treat myself, will be keeping the STi alongside this. Unfortunately, I can't keep the plate!

Details
- 54 plate, 29k miles, triple black, full Jack Barclay service history and all the usual equipment. Added it to my multicar policy yesterday, 26 years old, 3ncb....£732 for the year

 

[ironman]

Is that a subaru impreza sti -> bentley ? that's a uhh..unique upgrade path

lovely looking car

My first two cars were STis and so this is my third car, I've realised that I cannot do boring cars Next one should be interesting

Lovely car. Any interior shots? Has it got that fancy quilted leather?

I'll take some later, unfortunately it's not the Mulliner spec, I specifically wanted the triple black combo but all the Mulliners that had it were quite high mileage. Also there are some disgusting colour combos which make the shopping list quite limited.

Really do love the look of these. Very jealous!

Whereabouts were the pics taken btw?

Cheers mate, Canary Wharf is the location.

Looks fantastic! Plenty of boxes ticked when you have a choice between that and the polar opposite Impreza STi.

I love how different they are, I took the Scooby out this morning and I love the noise, drama and also the power that the Bentley lacks.

 

[ironman]

The Bentley lacks power? Blatant trolling statement right there

Ok well technically it has more power and torque than the Scooby but the sensation and delivery of acceleration is just miles apart, I can't be a hooligan in the Bentley which is I guess what my other car's job is now

 

[ironman]

Looks nice that, fantastic presence and such a great interior.

Good to see you are doing well for yourself Gurdas, I recall you taking some stick on thsee forums when you were younger for the certainty with which you stated you would be owning some flash cars in a few years time (that most would never be able to afford), its good to see you have the means to achieve what you wanted

Thanks mate, I guess I was quite young back then and my perception of what's realistic was different to most and whilst I knew I was gonna get what I wanted, others feel differently which is fair enough.

Some people still joke about "where is your Lambo?", but by the time I'm 30 I'm actually going to have one lol

 

[ironman]

Thing is when you start scraping at the bottom of the barrel with these cars, you get high mileage cars with inconsistent service history. I was looking at a few cars around the £40-45k mark and out of Granturismos, R8s, DB9s etc I favoured the Bentley as it's just that touch more special.

 

[ironman]

I work in sales but I'm considering a move into Private Banking next year so I can earn a bit more.

Edit: I'm also single now so I've got more disposable income than previous years

 

[ironman]

Role by Abacus on Thurs night in this and you will have the Essex girls creaming

Abacus has double yellows out front I prefer Novikov, the valet always puts my car out front

Very nice, that looks very smart indeed

I'd really like to get one, definitely my type of car. As it happens I am in need of swapping my SL for something with 4 seats, these have not escaped my attention

Do it, you'd definitely love it. Also had a mate sit in the back passenger side seat with the seat moved forward slightly and was practical for short journeys.

 

[ironman]

Here are some shots of the interior, got a brand new Mulliner gear knob coming, absolutely love this car!

 

[ironman]

Those pics were taken not far from where I work I'll keep an eye out!

Awesome car - congrats.

We should go for a drink! Email me your number

Like Gurdas, he has set goals in his life and achieved them, props to him. At 26 he has done possibly more then the average 26 year old where I live and it's an inspiration. However if I had £40k to blow it wouldn't be on a bentley. Probably a skyline with overnight parts from japan.

It just goes to show, work hard, work right, and it can all pay off.

Cheers buddy, you just have to find a way to achieve what you want and then just do it.

Very nice car. The spec I'd pick, save the Mulliner upgrades!

Do you notice a different in actual shifting speed in S vs D?

Oh, and GIAC

I do notice a difference, in S mode it shifts later and also allows you to start from 1st gear. In all honesty though I don't really get any enjoyment ragging the arse off it so I just keep it in D.

Bit of an update for those that are interested, I've done one full tank of purely city driving and have averaged 10.6mpg

 

[ironman]

I kinda meant the actual action of it going from say 3rd to 4th. I'm curious because the CGT has a ZF transmission with a lot of variations.

When I go out next I'll report back with more detail.

As for money and disposable income, I only bought this car because it's something extra that I wanted. I've already got a flat and am saving up for an additional house next year, I travel quite a lot and go on holiday pretty much every few months and also have my other car too. I don't think it's wise to spend ALL your money on just a car at the expense of having a good balanced lifestyle.

 

[ironman]

You the one who posts picture of the Scooby next to friends lambo's etc?

That's my colleagues LP640. Quite a few of my friends now have nice cars also, Granturismo, R8, 430 Spider etc. so it actually feels quite embarrassing sometimes just turning up in the Scooby

B) How would one go about getting your job?

I suggest finding out what your best talent is and then finding someone who is willing to give you the opportunity to utilise that and focus on performance related income. My best asset is my sales skills, so unless you are a good sales person then what I do wouldn't help you (also my income would go down if you did work with me)

 

[ironman]

Personal subjective stuff in the main, I am not a fan of big coupes for example. I think a big car has advantages around it's ability to take people places and much of that is removed when you remove some doors. I also don't see this as a sensible high mileage car for me. The running costs would be an annoyance as they were on my RS4 when all I do is drive it a long way, get out, meet some people, get in it and drive it home. For that purpose I don't need the performance or brand values offered by the Bentley and a 530D fits that bill perfectly. I also think that Bentley oversteps the image for me too.

I am a huge advocate for driving whatever you want and people who have an issue with that are simplistic morons, for they most certainly are in my experience. But I do think Bentley is very much an old world brand associated with incredible net worth and frankly I don't have that net worth or seek to give the impression I do and I don't think the car is superior to other cars that are significantly cheaper to own and run so see little point in putting up with the image. If the car was expectational and in the range of cars I like I would care nothing about it's image. As it isn't I therefore perhaps consider the image.

As I said it's very subjective stuff and I don't seek to criticise our OP for his car choice and wish him well with it.

I think this is an interesting post, I guess it depends on what you want out of the car. For me, I guess a lot of it is sense of occasion and how special it feels. I don't do a lot of driving unlike yourself, so when I do I want there to be something about it that makes me smile which both my cars do at the present moment. I'd also like to experience different types of cars in this league so after 2/3 years I'll consider something else to experience.

Richie, this thread is about the car, not myself so feel free to email me personal questions.

 

[ironman]

So my brand new Mulliner shift changer arrived this morning, it's a work of art, leather is soft and has a real nice feel to it, I can see why Bentley charge £800

 

[ironman]

An £800 knob makes me feel a little better about the Mines steering wheel I just bought for the GTR

Is a Bentley something you've always wanted or just fancied trying? 10mpg is pitiful, I thought the 14mpg I get driving during rush hour was bad!

It is something I have always wanted so I'm prepared to sacrifice the fuel economy to have one. To be fair I've been used to the fuel economy of my Impreza STi which is also very bad so as long as I keep my expectations of fuel economy fairly low, it becomes normality rather than a pain in the ass

 

[ironman]

Car looks great Gurdas - would like to see it in the flesh. I live very close to Canary Wharf, mini-meet perhaps?

Definitely, how many of us are in the area? I'm dropping the car off tomorrow to get my wheels refurbed ( gloss black, I know....don't kill me ), but will have the car back sometime next week.

 

[ironman]

Bit of an update, so I got the wheels refurb'd black. I know it won't be to everyone's taste but my car in standard form looks like pretty much everyone elses Bentley in London so I wanted to make it a bit more 'me'. Very happy with the end finish.

Before

After

 

[ironman]

I know the wheels are marmite but it shouldn't cause offence lol. On some GT models, black alloys are standard so the colour is not removing away from the spirit of Bentley in my opinion and now when I park my car in Mayfair, it doesn't look like the other 6 parked next to it

 

[ironman]

So I've really been enjoying the car with the new wheels, definitely glad I went for it. Had a couple of out of town drives and it's nice to see the car actually do 25mpg on the motorway, impressed!

Had a small gathering with some friends yesterday which I thought you guys would appreciate...

 

[ironman]

The plate comes off today and my personal plate goes on which I prefer as it spells my name.

 

[ironman]

Is it wrong that my favourite out of all of that lot is the L405? Amazing collection between you all, though

I had a feeling you would say that! It is an amazing car.

Some serious willy waving there, do you lot even have zips sewn in or just let it all hang out?

Don't be silly, the whole reason we have these cars is to make up for the shortfalls elsewhere!