5:22 pm, November 5, 2008
I have a dream. Can I have it? Yes I can. Well, one day, maybe.
Yes, inspired by new US President Barak, I too have heady aims in life. One of them: to own a Bentley Continental GT.
Drove it last week, fell in love with it, know it’s the pipe dream of pipe dreams – but, well, what’s wrong with that?
Particularly as the first thing I did when I got back into the office was to search Bentley Approved. To see what secondhand stuff is in the dealer network. Does the £50k entry-level Bentley actually exist? That would immediately make it £75k more attainable to me. Well, it’s a start.
And, by Jove, it did exist. There were three or four ‘04 cars, with sensible miles, up for below five big ones. This was interesting… it’s still probably half of what my house is (now) worth, but… getting, y’know, closer.
Perked up, I then got in touch with Tim Marlow, of Bridford Motor Finance. Tell me, Tim, I asked him, how much would a £50k Bentley cost me a month? With £5k down, he replied, £450. That’s over three years (let’s just ignore the small issue of the £35k balloon payment at the end).
Know what? That’s surprisingly tempting! Goodness, you could spend that on a Mondeo estate; and this, after all, is a Bentley. A Bentley, for heaven’s sake! For four-fifty notes per month!
Funny thing about this game: it doesn’t half get you thinking. It’s likely to remain a pipe dream for a good while yet. Particularly when you factor in the not-inconsequential issues of fuel, servicing, tyres and other consumables. But, one day, when the GT’s even cheaper – well, you never know. You see, Tim also told me about a dealer mate of his, who got an ’05 Conti GT for just £46k…
RICHARD
