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Bentley Ride and Drive

3K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Tusabes 
#1 ·
We have a 2007 Bentley GT. Nice car !

We did not purchase it from the local dealer but we did purchase a 2nd key from them since we only had 1 key and 2 drivers. That is really the only contact we have had with the local Bentley dealer.

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from the local dealer inviting us to a ride and drive event. I was very suspicious of this invitation. I could envision signing up for it and having to sit through a lengthy sales presentation just to receive a high pressure sales pitch at the end. You know, like a timeshare sales pitch.

I called the lady that had sent the invitation just to see what it was all about. She said they were bringing about 8 or 10 new 2020 Bentley's to a local high end restaurant and we could come down and look them over and drive them if we wanted. I asked for an appointment late in the afternoon so that we could have cocktails at the restaurant after the event. She said she had an appointment open and that she would buy cocktails and appetizers for us. How could I pass that up.

We drove our 2007 Bentley Continental GT to the event. We pulled up in front of the restaurant at our appointed time (the restaurant was actually closed except for the Bentley event) and were met on the drive by 2 reps from the dealership. They asked us to wait just a minute while they moved one of the display cars to make a place in the restaurant's driveway for us to park. They pulled out a big 4 door sedan and we took it's place.

As we got out of the car one of the attendants approached and asked us to come in the restaurant and sign a form before he gave us a tour of the cars. To my surprise, the form only asked for name, address, phone number, e-mail and driver's license number. I filled the form out. No one ever asked to see my license. They just trusted that I actually had one and wrote down the correct number.

The attendant then took us outside and asked us which car we had an interest in. We told him the 2020 Continental GT. He was very courteous, showed us around the car and pointed out the features. Then he opened the door and asked me to get in the drivers seat. He asked me to start the car and then started talking about the new interior features and technology. He interrupted himself and told my wife she should get in the passenger seat so she could be included in the conversation. He opened the passenger door and helped her in. He finished up, closed the door and said "have a nice drive". My wife asked if he wasn't going with us. He said no, he wasn't, enjoy yourselves.

We were gone maybe 45 minutes. When we came back he asked how we liked the car and did we have any questions. Then he told us the girl that had made our reservation was inside and would like to meet us. We met her and she accompanied us to the bar, held a short, pleasant conversation and told us to order drinks and appetizers and enjoy ourselves. We probably spent 45 minutes there on her dime and were never approached by a sales person.

We finished, went outside and thanked the salesman at the door for inviting us to the event. He showed us back to our car and we went home.

I was amazed ! That was the best sales event that I have ever attended. We were made to feel welcome, tossed the keys to a $270,000 Bentley, bought drinks and appetizers and were never approached by a sales person, let alone high pressured to buy anything. I'm not sure we will ever be in the market for a newer Bentley but, if we are, I know where we will go to buy it.
 
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#2 ·
In the sphere in which Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles are sold to first buyers, a hard sell is something you're just not going to see.

Would that something akin to this were more common with marques "we mere mortals" typically buy and drive. I can remember going car shopping for a new car with a friend of mine all the way back in the late 1980s or early 1990s. He eventually settled on a Mazda 323, and made a point of going back to the dealer where the only contact from a sales person when he was in pure shopping mode was to ask if he had any questions, and handing him his card should any come up later. That's what made that sale, and much later.
 
#4 ·
In 1991 I had a Bentley S2. I took it to our then local dealer, EuroMotorcars in Bethesda, MD for service. While it was in service I went to the sales floor where there was a new Turbo R calling my name. That I could never afford id didn't cross my mind. The "salesman" was sitting at his desk as I walked around the car. He never looked up. So I went over and since the car was locked, I asked for the key. He told me he was busy and looked back at his desk. I was upset. Just then, they called my name as my S2 was ready. After paying the service department, I went to the sales manager and complained about the salesman saying that I had my Bentley in for service and was not able to look at the new turbo. AND LEFT. By the time we got home there were three messages on our answering machine apologizing and asking me to call them back. I never went back. RR/B dealers are different today as are most dealers. The public doesn't put up with the old ways anymore.
 
#5 ·
Just an update.

My wife and I decided we liked the 2007 Bentley Continental GT so well that we would consider getting a newer one. The 2007 was a great car but when something needed repaired it took so long to get it fixed. The dealers aren't all that excited to work on an older car and the dealership prices are expensive. There are very few 3rd party repair shops that are qualified to diagnose and repair these cars and their access to tech and parts isn't ideal. Every time we took the 2007 to the repair shop we always thought it took way to long to get it back.

We really wanted a Bentley that we could drive, depend on and get fixed under warranty. We had such a great experience with the local dealer "Ride and Drive" that we went to their dealership to talk to the salesman that we met at their "Ride and Drive" event. I had already configured the car we would like and the salesman went through the order form and helped us make decisions on accessories we weren't sure about. They were open to us driving the 2007 until a new car was delivered and didn't have a problem with us getting offers from dealers for our trade in before they made us an offer after the car new was ready for delivery. We ended up putting a deposit on a new Bentley Continental GT Speed and the salesman forwarded the order to Bentley. The order was approved, put in to the Bentley system in July of 2021 and the order was in the system. All we had to do now was wait until the build was scheduled and decide what we wanted to do with our trade.

We got a call in Feb. 2022 from the salesman telling us the car had arrived at the dealership and we made arrangements to come in and finalize the sale. The dealership offered us more for our trade than we had got from our other attempts and we decided to go though with the deal. The new car looked wonderful, the salesman ran my wife and I through the features of the car, we had the payment wired to the dealership and we drove the new car home.

What a great car, what a great sales experience ! We've had the car about 6 months now, we have driven it just short of 10,000 miles and we have absolutely zero problems with it. We have taken it on several trips and it averages just short of 20mpg gas mileage. I can't say enough about the quality of this car, the professionalism of the sales staff and the attention the dealership has given us after the purchase.

I trust that others on the forum will have positive experiences that we have had with our New 2022 Bentley Continental GT Speed.
 
#6 ·
I’ve attended several Bentley and Rolls-Royce events, and none of them have ever been any pressure to purchase or place an order. They are all held a beautiful locations or private resorts. Food and drinks are complementary.

. If you’d like to place an order, there is a room where you can configure a car, but there’s never any pressure to do so. My finances are currently in the “used Rolls and Bentley” stratosphere, but if I were to buy new, I would probably do so at one of these events.
 
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