Thanks for the PM... yes I have a GTC, I've owned it for about a year.
To answer your points in order and then add a couple of observations.
There are no reliability issues with the Bentley - none reported in Europe that I'm aware of. It's widely reported as being more reliable than a Toyota pick-up. Completely bullet proof, weapons grade, understressed engine.
Jaguars, as a sidebar, have been fabulous cars since Ford's involvement. I've had 3 Jags under Ford and loved them. They are very under-rated cars at the moment, sure the X type is worse than genital warts, but the XK is sublime.
British cars and reliability? Britain is about 16% the size of America and we've produced some incredible cars over the years - Astons, Rolls, Jags, Bentley, Bristol, Alvis, TVR, even the GT40 - it's a long list. The comparative small scale production of these cars and lack of depth in R&D has historically led to some being less than reliable - early Jags were a good example. But it would a shame to damn an entire nations output - particularly one that has contributed so much and has such a rich heritage of work.
What about resale, dependability, problem areas, ease & cost of service... Resale will depend on your local market, over here they (Bentley) are easy to sell given their quality. The GTC is more rare, so would sell moderately quickly. Dependability I've covered, I'd feel more comfortable taking the Bentley to the South of France than the Ford GT for example - and I've taken both cars on 3,000 mile fast trips. The Bentley thunders along without even raising it's pulse. No problem areas that I have found. Ease of service again depends on your geography - here you can wait while it's serviced. The W12 engine is a very well understood engine by Bentley and understressed. You could drive yours the 2 hours to your dealer, do some shopping and drive home. Cost? What's costly to me might be cheap to you - or, indeed, visa versa.
The Bentley is not a 'beautiful' car. It's a large f'ugly brick in my opinion - however it's lovely inside, it has the best cabin in the business in my opinion, hugely reliable, eye-wateringly quick, the convertible adds a new and more exciting dimension than the coupe, completely reliable (I'd be happy to drive through the Sahara in this car with only a small cup of tea for liquid) and reasonably stylish.
It probably does depreciate - I can't give you a view on that as I have no interest in depreciation.
I do hope this is illuminating.
N
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