Half A Million Bucks of Depreciation: 1993 Bentley Continental R
The Bentley Continental R released in 1991 was the first machine from Bentley to not share a body with a Rolls Royce since the ’65 Series III Continental and it was comically expensive. The gargantuan 2-door sedan sold for something in the range of $272,000 in 1991, which is $519,500 in today’s money. It has now depreciated over $500k in today’s money, so it has likely cost the various owners $500k in depreciation, $80k in maintenance (wag), and $19k in gasoline (85k miles at 10 mpg, $2.25/gal). That adds up to $7 per mile over the last 30 years. Or, more than 3x the cost of uber ($2/mile) and still MORE than double the cost of NYC taxi ($3.50/mile). Only London (£8/mile) has more expensive cab fees than driving a Bentley Continental R. Find this 1993 Bentley Continental R offered for $19,000 in Heber Springs, AR via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
From the seller:
1993 bentley Continental R
VIN: SCBZB03D8PCX42187
condition: good
cylinders: 8 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 84427
paint color: green
size: full-size
title status: rebuilt
transmission: automatic
type: coupe
I bought this “Bentley Green” Continental R thirteen years ago. Like every Proper Motor Car that I have owned, it has been both a source of joy and of exasperation. What are its current problems? The wiring to the facia is a mystery. The tachometer and the speedometer are both malfunctioning. I have added a GPS unit to help with the former. The turbo does not seem to “kick in” properly. The position of the key in the ignition does not correctly indicate what is happening. (The key needs to manually come back two “clicks” after ignition.) The windshield switch may or may not work at any given time. I am not sure the Bentley would pass the emissions test in a “strict” state. The car had been in a wreck before I purchased it (the airbag has been deployed) and considerable repairs have been done to get it properly titled and registered. I have receipts for over $20,000 in repair and service.
Well what’s right with the car? The engine runs smoothly and the AC is cold. The interior is good, if not great. Traditional problems like hydraulics and steering are not there — at least right now. The tires are good and the oversize chrome wheels are handsome – and worth a great deal of money. I have driven the Bentley on long trips with no problems.
An important note to buyers of used Rolls-Royce, Bentleys, Aston-Martins, etc.These cars are outrageously expensive when new, but will drop drastically in resale value within a few years. The Bentley Continental R was the most expensive, and fastest, production sedan in the world in 1993. If five years old when a wreck occurs, insurance companies rarely will pay to have the car repaired but will “total” the car instead because the repairs would be more expensive than the value of the car. The car will then be put on a salvage title, and sold cheaply although the damage to the car could be relatively manageable. Groups like AutoCheck and CarFax follow an algorithm that automatically greatly downgrades any car that has ever been on a salvage title, like the Bentley I have here for sale . Do not let that overly influence your decision about buying a used exotic.
It is a beautiful car, but as with all exotics, expect to encounter expense along with the joy of driving such a machine. There are no guarantees whatsoever, but somehow we still love these unique automobiles.
See a better car for an electric conversion like ZeroLabs? tips@dailyturismo.com
Worth every penny (paid by a previous owner).
This is just slightly more rational than the dormant Quattroporte from a few days ago, but getting it fully sorted is still a fool’s errand.
Money no matter, drive it til it (really) breaks then source a crate big block. I don’t think this car will see significant appreciation in our lifetime, so why not have fun and hot rod it?
But I’d sure love to drive this as-is for a while and be able to gaze at it in my garage. And I’d rather be stuck on the side of the road with this rolling sculpture than sitting in the back of an Uber Prius.
“I have receipts for over $20,000 in repair and service.” – every owner of this car.
The biggest problem with this car is that the motor still runs. When the motor dies it will drop below $10K. Then drop in an LS and enjoy a massively comfortable car for a very long time.
The other thing to factor into the price of this car is if you wrench yourself you are going to find some engineering and production things that will have you scratching your head for hours. I worked for a guy who had a 4 door of the same age and it was constantly in the shop. Over time I got to know the Bentley service guy well enough that he would show me what had actually happened. Multiple times there were things that were supposed to be one way (complete with drawings in the manuals) but in reality someone on the assembly line did it their own way. It caused repair costs to be crazy and frequent, but the service guy loved his job because he was constantly faced with really odd challenges.
I believe it has a GM 4L80-E slushbox, which is supposedly rated to 440ft-lbs of torques from the factory and can be easily mated to all manner of 1990-2009 GM small block V8s. Just a matter of finding your donor Tahoe/Silverado/Suburban etc. I’d consider going for an iron-block LM7 or some such beast so you can easily turbocharge it to keep the same aspiration setup as the Bentley.
Bosch and Lucas a marriage in HELL….OR FIRE !
Side view looks like a 90s Ford that’s been Jaggerized (front and rear clips rounded).
Grill is properly Rolls-Bent-ly.
One of those pieces of automotive sculpture that is beautiful to look at, fun to drive, but horrible to look at while parked at the side of the road during your (possibly) last fun drive.
-Stan (…the *other* Stan…)
All these commenters saying “run till blows and throw a sbc in it” are not getting it. He doesn’t mention engine trouble once. Just all the grouper fish-like items stuck to the engine that fail.