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Should You Buy a (13-Year-Old) Bentley Arnage? YES!

This post is a response to the the following Jalopnik article by Doug DeMuro:
If I Buy a 13-Year-Old Bentley Arnage, Will It Destroy My Life?

Dear Doug,

I read your article about avoiding the Bentley Arnage and let me tell you: I accept your challenge. I know you didn’t offer a challenge, but I accept it anyway. I’ve been looking to purchase a Bentley Arnage for a while now and this article was the motivation I needed to pull the trigger. Let me start off by saying I’m not a rich guy who can just purchase a car like this without having to worry about the financial expenses. I have a normal job, normal income, 2.5 kids, and a nervous wife. But I’m willing to bet (and it’s a pretty big gamble) that your theory is wrong and that everybody needs to buy a Bentley Arnage.

These cars cost $250,000 when they were new and that they have suffered a major depreciation hit. It’s my guess that the value of these cars has near-bottomed out. Most of the depreciation has already happened, and future depreciation will be at a slower pace, a MUCH slower pace. After one or two years of ownership, I should be able to sell the car on for close to what I paid.

So far I’ve looked at a few Arnages. There have been three serious candidates. I found the first one on an eBay auction at no reserve; it was located in California. After I paid for and arranged a pre-purchase inspection (PPI), the seller ended up bidding on (and winning) his own auction. Strike one. The second car I considered was located in Minnesota. Instead of a pre-purchase inspection, I decided to look at the car in person (a plane ticket costs as much as a PPI). Unfortunately, it was in bad shape. It was a 2003 with 50,000 miles. The body was beat up, it had paint chips, dents, dings, and a funky smell. It also needed some serious mechanical work. The engine was leaking like a bag of mud. The previous owner had driven this car hard. Strike two. The most recent Bentley that I inspected was the exact opposite. It was a 2004 Bentley Arnage T-24 Mulliner. This car had almost 30,000 miles and was in almost perfect condition. This is the car I am going to buy.

I want to make the point that there’s a lot of bad information about this car and that service makes it unattainable for mere mortals. One of the things I really like about this car is that it is more car than computer. This is a car that you can work on. This is probably one of the last cars that you can work on. It’s a not a dying breed, it’s a dead breed. I can’t imagine the owner of any modern luxury car having the audacity to tackle a check engine light.

So while the horror stories on the internet are out there about the crazy repair costs, I would say they are mostly exaggerated. If you researched almost any product on the internet, you stumble upon a disproportionate amount of horror stories. It’s always the people who’ve had the bad experience that make the most noise. I am guilty of this myself. When I had a horrible experience using Uber, I felt compelled to make my negative experience known. Even though I have used Uber plenty of times in the past without any issues, it was the one bad experience that I spoke up about.

I also find it interesting that actual owners defend this car as reliable, yet few of the horror stories I read are from actual owners. The engine has been around since the 1950s. The transmission is a GM 4-speed found in hundreds of thousands of vehicles (maybe millions). This is a good recipe for reliability.

So what does this mean? What is the next course of action for me? Obviously, I need to buy a Bentley Arnage. I need to buy a 13 year old Bentley Arnage. And I need to let everybody know what a great car it is. I hope I’m right because the risks are high, but so is the potential for reward.

So, in the style of your Aston Martin series, I will purchase an exotic car, the Bentley Arnage, for less than $50,000 and keep it for a year or two and share my experience. When you posted your video requesting which type of car you should consider for your $50,000 purchase, I tweeted that you should purchase the Bentley Arnage. And amazingly, that tweet was liked by almost three people! So clearly, I have my finger on the pulse of what the public wants to see.

This week, I plan to take possession of a 13 year old Bentley Arnage T, and we will see how accurate your doomsday theory is. We will see how practical this vehicle will be. If this ends up being a total fail for me, at least I had fun trying.

Love Always,

Josh

Posted in Cars

6 Comments

  1. Gerald Duran

    Josh,

    This is amazing. I’ve been considering buying a 2004-5 Arnage T. But feeling nervous reading all the warnings. So I can’t wait to hear all about your experiences. YOu give me courage and Hope. 🙂

    Gerald Duran
    Your #1 Fan!

  2. Xavier

    Hi Josh,

    Congratulations, I exactelly know how you feel. Years ago I bought a 12 Cylinder Jaguar and everything went well, although everybody was warning me not to do it. I did it and I would do it again. No regret.

    I will follow your experiences with your fantastic car.
    I m happy for you.

    Thank you for doing all the documentation, it encourages me to think about my hidden favourit Limousine beside my Jags. The Arnage

    Greetings from Germany
    Xavier

  3. SGB-Cinti

    Josh,

    Thanks so much for the info and the YouTube videos. That is a magnificent automobile. Just gorgeous!

    I’m picking up my 2005 Arnage T Mulliner this week. I have the same reservations a you but I haven’t been this excited about a car since I was 18.

    How is the radio / nav? I’m a little concerned that the nav is not up to current standards and I’ll have to find another solution. I hate to modify the look of the car but bluetooth would be really nice to have.

    Keep the info coming. As you know it’s not easy to find detailed info about this car.

    Thanks again.

  4. Josh

    Congrats on your ’05! In terms of sound, the stereo is fantastic! I’m debating adding Bluetooth or an aux input because I don’t want to take away from the car’s originality. Your ’05 will have a different radio than my ’04. Regarding nav, I don’t use it. Even in newer vehicles, I don’t use the nav. I always use my phone for nav because it is always up-to-date and has additional useful information such as traffic conditions.

    Stay in touch. I’d love to see some photos when you pick it up!

  5. Bob

    I have a 2006 Bentley Arnage R. Do you have any sources for maintenance manuals? Not owners’ manuals. Have you located the location for the pollen filters? If you allow them to get plugged up they could get burned out and it takes about 40 man hours to replace it.

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