To borrow a phrase from the Friends theme song, so no one told you life was gonna be this way. When you were in high school and college, you just knew you were gonna have a big house with an equally big garage that was stuffed with fancy cars, like a Bentley Continental GT. But now that you’re edging closer to (or even overtaking) middle age, you realize that even though you’ve got it pretty good, that new family SUV in the driveway just doesn’t have the cachet you once imagined for your wheels.
If the situation sounds familiar, we’ve got good news because some of the finest luxury cars in the world are a mere fraction of the cost of a loaded Honda Pilot – as long as you’re willing to buy used. The first-generation Bentley Continental GT coupe and its four-door Flying Spur sibling were once six-figure darlings of the Beverly Hilton valet stand. Today, prices for even the highest-quality pre-owned models have dropped to around $30,000. Compare that to a fully loaded 2026 Pilot, which costs $57,145 in Black Edition AWD trim with premium paint, and the British touring car seems like a bargain. Before you put your family-friendly wheels up for sale, though, you should consider a few things.
How Much Does It Cost To Buy A Used Bentley?
Prices for a pre-owned Bentley can vary significantly depending on year, mileage, and condition, so be careful before you rush out and buy that $10,000 2004 model that’s been sitting in somebody’s driveway on its bump stops for the last half-decade.
If you want maximum bang for your buck, start with a first-generation Continental, which was sold from 2004-2010 as a GT coupe, from 2007-2011 as a GTC convertible, and from 2006-2013 as a Flying Spur sedan. We’d recommend focusing on the tail end of those ranges, ensuring that any running quality changes or recalls have been implemented. That said, year-to-year changes on the first-gen cars were few.
Take a 2010 Continental GT coupe, for example. These cars weren’t usually daily drivers, so a 16-year-old example might have about 80,000 or 90,000 miles. Check the classified ads with those parameters, and you’d find a market-average price of about $32,000, a theoretical savings of $25,000 compared to a brand-new Pilot. A 2011 Continental GTC droptop with fewer miles is predictably more expensive, ringing in at $39,000, but that’s still $18,000 less than the crossover.
Ditto a late-model 2013 Continental Flying Spur, which can be had for about $10,000 less than the Pilot Black Edition. Go a little older or accept a few more miles, and you’ll find that the entire Continental GT lineup, including coupes, convertibles, and sedans, can be had for between $20,000 and $30,000.
A Used Bentley Vs. A New Honda
2010 – 2011 Bentley Continental GT Convertible interiorBentley
2010 Continental GT
2017 Bentayga
2026 Pilot Black Edition
Price
$32,000 (est.)
$54,000 (est.)
$57,145 (incl. destination, optional paint)
Engine
Twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12
Twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter W12
3.5-liter V6
Output
552 hp / 479 lb-ft
600 hp / 664 lb-ft
285 hp / 262 lb-ft
Fuel Economy
10 city / 17 highway / 13 combined
19 city / 25 highway / 21 combined
Seating Capacity
4 passengers
5 passengers
8 passengers
Cargo Volume
13.1 cubic feet
17.1 cubic feet
18.6 / 48.5 / 87.0 cubic feet
For the sake of a slightly fairer argument, let’s look at Bentley’s first SUV. The 2017 Bentayga is substantially more practical than its sedan or coupe siblings, and families of four would probably fit in one about as well as they might in our Honda benchmark. Since the Bentayga likely served as the daily driver for many of its owners, it might have racked up closer to 10,000 miles a year, in which case it’d be worth between $50,000 and $57,000 – right about the same price as the range-topping Pilot.
What Does A Bentley Really Cost To Own, Though?
Side profile of the 2008 – 2010 Bentley Continental GT Speed CoupeBentley
The temptation of depreciation is a common foe among luxury car shoppers. Getting a classy machine that once cost $200,000 for less than 20% of that price today may seem like an incredible bargain. However, there are many hidden costs associated with owning a pre-owned Bentley, especially one that’s no longer covered by a factory or certified warranty. CarBuzz reporting suggests that a nicely kept first-generation Continental GT would still demand about $2,500 in annual care, a high number that stems both from pricey scheduled maintenance, such as $500 oil changes, and the potential for repairs.
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The Real Cost Of Owning A Used Bentley Continental GT
Used Bentleys might sell for cheap, but that doesn’t always mean you’re getting a great deal.
For example, the fancy suspension’s air springs cost between $3,000 and $4,500 per corner if buying OEM parts, and even good-quality reconditioned items are still more than $1,000 each. A single suspension job on a Continental GT could end up costing its owner $5,600 in parts alone, comprising four air spring/damper assemblies and a set of replacement bushings. Labor rates at a Bentley dealer or specialist are going to be pretty steep as well, easily hitting $200 for each of the 10 to 12 hours required.
Add it all up, and you’re looking at an $8,000-plus invoice, then consider the specialized parts and tools needed to work on the Continental family’s W12 engine and related systems. Add in these cars’ sensitivity to deferred maintenance and cascading problems, and your annual repair bill could be anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000 – caveat emptor, Bentley shopper.
Higher maintenance costs are only the beginning. A 40-year-old driver with good credit and no accident history could probably plan to spend at least $3,000 per year to insure a 2010 Continental GT, while a brand-new Pilot has an average annual coverage cost of $2,100. And let’s not forget the thirsty W12 engine’s appetite for fuel, which the EPA estimates at around $4,200 per year at current fuel prices. It drinks a gallon of premium fuel every 13 miles in combined driving.
Is Honda Reliability Worth The Prestige Tradeoff?
2026 Honda Pilot TrailSport interior view of the front cabinHonda
2010 Bentley Continental GT vs. 2026 Honda Pilot Ownership Costs
Bentley Continental GT
Honda Pilot Black Edition
Estimated Purchase Price
$32,000
$57,145
Five-Year Maintenance Costs
$10,000–$50,000
$2,500
Five-Year Insurance Costs
$15,000
$10,500
Five-Year Fuel Costs
$21,000
$10,750
Total Five-Year Ownership (Excl. Depreciation)
$78,000–$118,000
$75,895
*Good 40-year-old driver in Illinois, driving 10,000 miles/year
Compared to a theoretical 2010 Bentley Continental GT, a Pilot looks like a veritable bargain – even considering its much higher purchase price. Insurance is less expensive since your guarantor knows that in the event of an accident, your Pilot’s parts are going to be cheaper than even a 16-year-old Bentley’s. Plus, the V6-powered, all-wheel-drive crossover gets much-improved fuel economy compared to the Bentley, running on regular instead of premium fuel at a rate of 21 miles per gallon combined.
And for a taste of the repair differences, a suspension freshening on a Pilot would cost about $1,500 in OEM parts and $1,000 in labor, resulting in $5,500 in savings compared to the air-sprung Bentley. Unlike the specialized Continental GT, just about any reputable mechanic could work on the Honda SUV. Labor rates would be roughly half as a result. The eminently reliable Pilot’s V6 has been in production in some form for the better part of two decades, while most of the secondary and tertiary systems are as simple as they come for a modern car.
Add it all up, and you can see that, even in the best-case scenario of a very well-maintained Continental GT, a brand-new Pilot is probably going to be cheaper to own in the long run, costing less than $76,000 in total versus a conservative $78,000 for the Flying B. A late-model Honda also enjoys great resale, meaning the depreciation costs of a showroom-new model could still be better than that of an old luxury sports coupe.
Used Luxury Isn’t Always An Automatic Bargain
2005 Bentley Continental GT Gray Side View DrivingBentley
2005 Bentley Continental GT + 2023 Honda Pilot Ownership Costs
Bentley Continental GT
Honda Pilot Elite
Estimated Purchase Price
$16,000
$40,000
Five-Year Maintenance Costs
$5,000
$1,300
Five-Year Insurance Costs
$13,000
$8,000
Five-Year Fuel Costs
$11,500
$5,375
Total Five-Year Ownership (Excl. Depreciation)
$45,500
$54,675
Combined ownership cost
~$100,000
Although the purchase price of 30,000 for a car that once demanded six times that number isn’t exactly a life hack. Real-world expenses can quickly overtake the initial savings, to say nothing of the inconvenience of breaking down in traffic or going without a car for a week or so while it’s being repaired.
Still, a certain kind of enthusiast might enjoy the unique challenges and benefits of keeping an older Bentley on the road. Any well-kept Continental GT, GTC, or Flying Spur is a lovely piece of machinery, with peerless long-distance comfort. The cabin is phenomenally crafted, featuring gorgeous leather upholstery and immaculately hewn wood trim. The novel growl of its W12 engine is unmistakably characterful, and performance follows suit with swift, smooth acceleration and a top speed in excess of 190 miles per hour. Arriving in a Bentley, even one that’s two decades old, is also a nice experience. If your pre-owned Conti’s cosmetics are nicely kept, very few people would assume the vehicle dates back to the Bush or Obama administrations.
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Driven: 2025 Bentley Continental GT Speed – A New Breed of Bentley
Can any car be perfect? Bentley sure seems to think so, because this is an entirely new breed of Bentley.
Of course, car enthusiasts with the mental energy and space to accommodate two vehicles could opt into a secret third solution in the new-Honda-versus-old-Bentley debate. A pre-owned 2023 Pilot would likely cost around $40,000, so an intrepid car shopper could opt for an early Continental GT from 2004 or 2005 because examples with 120,000 miles can easily be found for well under $20,000.
If you choose to view the old Bentley as a disposable item and commit to putting the bare minimum effort into maintenance, you can still have some fun behind the wheel of an imperious 12-cylinder luxury coupe, preserving your reliable Honda for long trips and periods of time when the Continental needs some repairs.
Keeping two vehicles on the road will always be more expensive, but if you’re hellbent on owning a stylish luxury coupe, you could argue that buying a cheap Bentley and running it into the ground will be a more reasonable financial decision than buying and keeping one in great shape. You’d stand to lose less on depreciation, and having a backup car means you’ll never have to bum rides from friends. That’s some automotive math we can get behind.
Sources: Bentley, Honda, CarEdge, Environmental Protection Agency
