[Bentley Boy]

Hi I have only just found out about this forum which looks great.

I have owned a 2000 Bentley Continental R Mulliner for 3 years. I tend to use it for an annual continental bash of about 2500 miles when it is in its element.

I am a total car nut. I have a Maserati Quattroporte as a daily drive and a 1973 BMW2002 which I use for regularity rallying.

I am not a techie but hope to contribute anyway I can

Paul

 

[Stirling]

Great to have you join us Paul, you don't have to be a techie to hang out here but being a car nut certainly helps!

The Quattroporte is a lovely car, how have you found it?

 

[Bentley Boy]

The QP is a terrific car. It has a duo select gear box which means you can potter round town in automatic (its not a true automatic and has no torque converter so its a manual box changed automatically) or for a blast you can use the paddle shift. Best of both worlds.

The car looks stunning in neptune blue.

 

[jeyjey]

Welcome aboard, Paul.

Lovely set of cars. Post some pictures if you get a chance.

Jeff (02 Vanquish, 79 Bentley T2, on the lookout for a Series II or III Land Rover 109)

 

[Bentley Boy]

How do I post pictures please. I had a look and it seem,s I can only post if they are on a public site. I use Google Picassa. Can I do it with this

 

[Bentley Boy]

Manged to crack it with Picassa. This link should get to the album

http://picasaweb.google.com/marshallpr2/Cars02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjuoLiJ4oisRw#

Paul

 

[jeyjey]

Sweet!

(It's a real pity you have to wear a front number plate on the QPort.)

I couldn't find any pictures of my current stable, but my wife did take a picture of one of our cats:

Jeff.

 

[Bentley Boy]

With a cat on a hot tin roof you should have bought a Jaguar.

What are car prices like in Ireland now? The currency has moved about 10% in favour of the UK. Any bargains over there?

 

[Stirling]

Manged to crack it with Picassa. This link should get to the album

http://picasaweb.google.com/marshallpr2/Cars02?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjuoLiJ4oisRw#

Paul

Your 2002 is immaculate. Beautiful.

Yes, I'm wondering about car prices in Ireland too. Are you seeing any impact from the credit crisis?

I'm in Canada but I've been watching prices in the U.K. on Pistonheads for a couple German models. The U.K. seems to be one of the most affordable markets, though not yet at Japan levels.

 

[jeyjey]

Irish number plates have the registration year as the first part of the number, and we're not a terribly car-saavy nation, so we tend to value late-model cars more than interesting ones.

We also have the most brutal car tax scheme imaginable, with a registration tax around 35%, applicable to both new and newly-imported used cars, and very hefty yearly tax on cars with engines larger than 3 litres.

Put all that together with the crash and recent-model-year cars are still very very expensive, as are older economy cars, but there's essentially no market at all for older premium cars. Three years ago an early Vanquish would have been 150% to 200% the cost of one in the UK or US; now it's more like level (it's hard to pin down exactly because the Irish market is so small).

Similarly, I got my 79 Bentley T2 for about the same money one would pay in the UK. (In fact, I had planned to go to the UK for one, but a local one came up that fit the bill and was market-priced.)

Jeff.

New cars are still stupid money. The AM dealer recently brought a Rapide down to the AM owner's club meeting; the sticker on it in Ireland is north of €300,000 (nearly $400,000). I think the UK price is closer to £140,000 (roughly $225,000).

 

[bentleyman22]

You’re a man from my past
I had a 2002 when I past my test my wife wants a Maserati I have a Bentley RT and a Vanquish S
Had some fun with a Mazer coming out of London all the way back to Somerset Lovely Car


http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv296/bentleyman22/014.jpg