I’ve come throughout one thing we’ll seemingly by no means encounter once more: a wrecked 2005 Bentley Continental GT that has been pushed greater than 500,000 miles.
This stunning discover got here to me by means of X person @CrazyWeeMonkey. The haggard Conti is listed on the public sale website Copart, and at first look, it seems to be like a reasonably normal 20-year-old Bentley from Florida: blacked-out rims and tail lights, tremendous darkish tinted home windows and tail lights. There’s nothing terribly spectacular about it till you get into the main points.
You see, Copart says this Continental GT has 514,636 miles on it. Earlier than you go and suppose that that quantity is bullshit, photographs taken of the Conti’s sprint present that it actually does have that many miles on it. That quantity is spectacular. It’s gotta be the highest-mileage Bentley I’ve ever seen. I imply, that’s over half one million miles on a 6.0-liter W12. Are you able to think about the sort of maintenance wanted to maintain this factor operating for that many miles? Not solely is that this a first-generation Continental GT, however this can be a 2005, simply two years into the mannequin’s life.
On-line analysis tells us that these early vehicles had bizarre, costly issues; some homeowners say that 2012+ is the best way to go when you’re going to get a used Continental GT. One Bentley dealership worker on-line mentioned that frequent issues like vacuum strains, O2 sensors, exhaust temp sensors and leaking oil pans can price upwards of $40,000 to repair. Who is aware of what went into holding this automotive on the highway for 20 years?
If none of this is sufficient to scare you off, you’ll be able to head to Copart and bid on the Continental. Even with the miles on it, Copart is estimating its retail worth at $32,840 although they’re taking minimal bids of $1,000. Or when you’re courageous sufficient, you’ll be able to simply purchase the factor outright for $6,500. If I had deeper pockets, I’d purchase it, repair it and preserve driving it to see if I might attain one million miles, however I’m neither courageous nor wealthy sufficient to do one thing like that. If any of you’re, there are presently two days left within the public sale as of this posting.
