Are Bentleys Reliable?
Photo by Victor Furtuna on Unsplash
If one car brand screams class, sophistication, and luxury, it has to be Bentley. The British automaker was founded by W.O. Bentley, who had been putting his custom-made aluminum piston heads into the engines of French imports, helping them win races and break speed records. When World War One broke out, he lent his engineering prowess to the war effort, helping design airplane engines made with his unique alloy. Once the war was over, he was able to start his own automobile manufacturer, and Bentley Motors was born in London.
Their original run of designs was built for use on the track as race cars, but with enough comfort and style to be great streetcars. That ethos has stuck around in the century, with Bentley’s current lineup still featuring incredible performance and remarkable handcrafted interiors with fine leather upholstery and premium wood veneers.
The Bentley motor company came to be owned by Rolls Royce (through some secretive, unscrupulous means), and eventually, both were bought by Volkswagen. Still, the commitment to performance and upscale design has remained. But with the history of a brand like Bentley and the quality of a brand like Volkswagen, you might wonder, are Bentleys reliable? In this case, the whole is less than the sum of its parts, as Bentleys have pretty low reliability.
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How Reliable is the Bentley Brand?
When you buy any car, you should expect it to hold up well to the daily wear and tear of driving. When the vehicle in question has a starting price of over a hundred and fifty grand and can easily fetch a quarter of a million dollars, those expectations can be reasonably raised. But that isn’t the case with cars made by Bentley.
Most evaluations of how reliable a car is, how often it needs repairs and how much those repairs cost. Unfortunately for owners of Bentleys, their cars fare poorly in both categories.
According to OSV, ninety-three percent of Bentley owners had to take their car in for unscheduled repairs every year. Those numbers would be entirely unacceptable for any mass-produced car, making it incredibly disappointing for such a premium luxury vehicle. And if the frequency of repairs wasn’t bad enough, they are also costly. In 2015, the average cost of maintaining a Bentley was six hundred and seventy-eight British pounds a year. Accounting for inflation since 2015 and converted into U.S. dollars, you can expect to pay just under a thousand dollars to keep your Bentley up and running.
Some owners have reported costs as high as twenty thousand pounds (over $26,000) for just one repair. However, that is just the average cost. For anyone who can afford a brand new Bentley, this cost might be a setback or an inconvenience, but not devastating. But buying a pre-owned Bentley could be over half the car’s value on one repair.
Due to the high maintenance cost and the common mechanical issues with Bentleys, they can depreciate pretty quickly, resulting in listings under $60,000 used. This might seem tempting, but if you want a reliable luxury vehicle, several similar options, from Lexus, BMW, Audi, etc., are much more reliable and less expensive to maintain.
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What Are Common Bentley Problems?
While many expenses in owning and maintaining a Bentley come from expected, regularly scheduled maintenance, some common issues require unscheduled repairs.
Air Suspension Problems
Handcrafted leather upholstery and premium wood veneers make the interior of all of Bentley’s models incredibly upscale and luxurious. But the surprising feature that puts the experience over the top is the air suspension system. Most cars nowadays have coil springs that use simple physical forces to keep the tires firmly planted to the ground and the body of the car level. Some luxury vehicles, including Bentleys, use electronically controlled hydraulic shocks instead of coil systems.
This provides precise control over the suspension, allowing users to select different driving modes tuned for comfort, performance, or balance. Unfortunately, these air suspension systems are more prone to breaking down. At best, damage to an air suspension may result in a stiffer ride that handles turns a little worse and feels less like floating on a cloud and more like riding a wagon to Oregon.
If one of the struts springs has a leak or gets damaged and has to be repaired, you can expect to pay at least a thousand dollars to replace it. With independent struts on each wheel, problems with the air suspension can be quite costly to deal with.
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Premature Brake Hose Wear
While not the most expensive issue to repair, premature wear and tear on the brake hoses can be a severe issue that frequently comes with Bentleys. The brake tube is the flexible conduit connecting the rigid brake lines to the brake calipers so that a light press of the brake pedal can stop a massive speeding automobile.
Most brake hoses are designed to last six to ten years but might last even longer than a decade, depending on how a car is driven and its environment. But the brake hoses of Bentleys are known to wear out before five years. While not the toughest or most expensive repair, driving with worn-out brake hoses can be dangerous.
Power Window Failure
Engines and transmissions are precise, complex systems, so while problems with these can be expensive and infuriating, it at least makes some sense when something goes wrong. But you would think something as simple as power windows would be a no-brainer. But the windows have tended to be a problem lately with Bentleys.
A slight issue with the power window system can lead to an annoying hissing sound when you try to roll the windows up and down, but they can also fail entirely and get stuck in place. It isn’t the most expensive or challenging issue to address, but it is disappointingly common for cars from such a prestigious, expensive brand.
Bentley Maintenance Cost
Like the majority of ultra-luxury brands, Bentleys are far from reliable. However, most people who can afford a Bentley can also afford its actual cost of ownership, including repairs and maintenance. In reality, as a Bentley owner, you’ll be spending more on unexpected repairs and routine services than the average car owner.
Routine Maintenance Costs
One of the best ways to ensure your Bentley’s longevity is to stick to your scheduled services. Unfortunately, these services planned are costly as well. For routine services of your Bentley, you can expect to pay around $1,200 – $1,500 per year. Therefore, you can spend as much as $14,000 to $17,500 with ten years of ownership. Remember, these are just for routine services and do not include the cost of serious repairs.
For example, Bentleys are recommended for oil and filter change every 10,000 miles. Every visit to the dealer will likely cost you $600 for oil and filter change, but the overall costs may vary by dealership.
Another example is your brake pads. Since Bentleys are performance-oriented vehicles, your brakes need to be in the best condition. Depending on your model, you may spend as much as $1,300 for the front and rear pads.
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