So far, it’s been about 6 months since I’ve owned the 2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed, and I’ve been enjoying it quite a bit. And yep, that’s the one with Bentley’s iconic 6.0-litre supercharged W12 engine, and it’s certainly a hoot to drive. However, while an old Bentley like this might seem like a bargain on the second-hand market, the day I’ve been dreading has now arrived… Needing to service it. Old Bentleys are notorious for how expensive and complicated they are to maintain, so I’m not really looking forward to them. In hindsight though, it might not be as bad as some might think, at least for now.
Since it was time for the Bentley Continental GT’s regular servicing, I was looking for places to get it spruced up and refreshed. Luckily, I found out that there was a place I could get it serviced at, and they’re not too far away from me, either. They even specialise in Bentleys, too. They’re called The Supercar Rooms, and at first sight, they mainly deal with selling and servicing higher-end cars, just like the Conti GT. As soon as you arrive, the folks over at The Supercar Rooms have a huge variety of drool-worthy poster cars being serviced and sold there… Ferraris, Lambos, Porsches, Maseratis, Aston Martins, you name it.
Having asked around, the Continental GT was booked in for a minor service at The Supercar Rooms. This meant getting an oil change done, swapping out for new windshield wipers, a few filters and a general inspection to make sure the old Bentley was in roadworthy condition and in tip-top shape. That’s all it really needs at this point, as it’s not that old, just yet. If you’ve checked out my overview of Motor Verso’s latest project car, you might recall that I’d just bought the Continental GT late last year. Overall, a service like this, for the Bentley, at The Supercar Rooms, will cost me £700. Not too bad for servicing a Bentley, I guess. But, there’s more that needs doing.
A Few More Things That Needs Fixing
While looking over the car, the folks at The Supercar Rooms made notes of what might need fixing or repairs. A lot of these are relatively minor, which is good news for my wallet, but I do appreciate the attention to detail. It’s thus far left me a good impression of The Supercar Rooms, given that their technicians and mechanics pay really close attention to these smaller things and ensure that every car that passes through their inspection bay is in good order. Since this is my first time getting my car worked on by the folks over at The Supercar Rooms, it may tempt me to visit them again.
In the future though, if there were major issues found on the Continental GT, which needs urgent and expensive repairs, it’s good that I’ve applied for a comprehensive aftermarket warranty with Warrantywise. So, whatever faults that are covered under the warranty policy I got from them ought to help a lot with reducing the overall servicing and repair costs, including parts and labour. It’s not needed for now, but for added peace of mind, it’s nice to have. With that in mind, here are some of the more minor issues that The Supercar Rooms found on my Bentley Continental GT, all very minor:
- One of the O/S windshield washer spindle caps, where it attaches to the car, was missing.
- Both of the front locking lug nut caps for the front wheels were missing.
- Both the outer door chrome trims were slightly damaged.
Not All Problems Are That Simple To Repair
As you might’ve guessed, these are pretty small problems, as a whole. However, as mentioned, I do appreciate that while these might not require urgent actions for now, it’s nice to have them pointed out. Although, when it was being inspected, the technicians at The Supercar Rooms found additional problems that could be worth looking into more closely further down the line, so it is good to have a heads up:
- Severe corrosion on the inner side of the front brakes – They look corroded, but in practice, no real urgent action is needed to be done at this time. From what they and I could tell, they’re still plenty of life in them, but it’s good to know nevertheless, in case it needs to be fixed in the future.
- O/S/R parking brake motor casting beginning to split (due to rear calliper corrosion) – In this case, it relates to the rear actuator for the electric handbrake on the rear of the Conti GT. The plastic housing that encases it has split a tiny bit, just from the rear callipers corroding and expanding. As such, it’s putting a lot of stress and cracking the plastic casing. Thankfully, just like the aforementioned corrosion on the front brakes, I don’t need to take action and fix this just yet. But, it’s definitely worth considering doing in the next service.
- Nail or screw embedded in the N/S/R tyre – This explains the odd ticking noise that I’ve been hearing as I was driving the Continental GT lately. I did have this particular problem sorted out by BMTR, on the way home from The Supercar Rooms, as I was passing by their shop. I’d highly recommend checking them out.
- Undertray fixings had to be ground out and replaced due to heavy corrosion – Here, the screws that held all the undertray pieces and panels together on the bottom of the Conti GT had a lot of corrosion. So, the mechanics at The Supercar Rooms had to grind out all that heavy corrosion, as well as replace them with new ones. A bulk of the servicing time and labour hours went into this.
Just One More Repair Job Before It’s All Done
The folks at The Supercar Rooms found another, more consequential fault, as well. They found that they had to free up the air suspension levers, as these were completely seized on the Continental GT. Had I ignored this or if The Supercar Rooms hadn’t noticed them, those levers could have broken off and caused serious, and costly suspension issues. This here was, by far, the biggest problem with the Conti GT that had to be resolved urgently, right then and there. In essence, the levelling sensors for the Bentley Continental GT’s air suspension system, where all the sensor housings connect to the suspension assembly via a ball joint, had basically seized.
Worse, it seized on all four corners of the car, which normally would have locked itself tight and the plastic arm would snap off. To solve this, the folks at The Supercar Rooms had to unseize them, to prevent further damage. Between the seized-up levelling sensor housings here, and those corroded undertray fixings from earlier, it added another £100 or so on top of the regular servicing cost. This brought the final tally to a smidge over £810.
Top-Notch Customer Service
While the Conti GT was being serviced, I got to experience first-hand, the top-notch customer service from The Supercar Rooms. They even dropped me off at a local coffee shop while they were working on the car, which in total, took about four hours. This was pretty time-efficient, given the amount of work needed. Meanwhile, they also gave me a tour around their showroom to see what sort of cars they had on sale. It’s neat to see just how much variety they had on offer, with the sort of cars enthusiasts and petrolheads like you and I adore, and it wasn’t just the usual allotment of expensive supercars.
For sale there was a cool vintage Porsche 911 3.6 RSR Outlaw from the late 70s, a manual transmission Ferrari 550, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, and even a VW Golf GTI. Just for the sights alone, let alone the great servicing work all around from the technicians and mechanics at The Supercar Rooms, I’d definitely go back there the next time I need servicing done for the Continental GT. Speaking of, The Supercar Rooms have an entire team of certified and qualified Bentley specialists. So, if you have a Bentley, they’d be able to manage everything from regular servicing, major repairs, and even a full engine rebuild.
It is worth noting that The Supercar Rooms only use genuine OEM Bentley spare parts and lubricants, and employs techniques and processes that are certified for Bentley vehicles. Some of the things they could do in regards to servicing Bentley vehicles include re-charging the AC unit, refurbishing alloy wheels, diagnosing error codes, exterior detailing, or even exhaust upgrades. Given what I’ve experienced so far, I’d highly recommend checking out The Supercar Rooms, whether you need urgent servicing work done for your car, or if you want to browse their catalogue.
