Have you ever wondered how much it cost to own a Bentley? How much money does it take to maintain, get repairs and insure over 1,3 or 5 years?
Well, here is a detailed overview of Bentley’s cost of ownership where we have compared the three best Bentley models to get you an overview.
How Much Does it Cost to Purchase a Bentley?
The cost of purchasing a Bentley ranges from $160,000 for a Benteyaga to well over a million for the limited edition Continental GT.
Bentley is a luxury brand and the cars it makes are custom-made as per their customers. This is why these cars always sell way higher than the stock price due to multiple options chosen by the customers.
The Bentley lineup also has multiple trim levels, with some crossing over 8-different trims. Based on this, the price varies a lot.
The 2021 Bentley Continental GT starts at $206,600 for the V8 Coupe and goes all the way up to Mulliner W12 Convertible for $304,600. If you look at the Flying Spur, that’s $198,725 for the base V8 and goes to $219,425 for the V12.
The Bentley Benteyaga, a luxury SUV, is also the most affordable Bentley today. You can get the 2021 Bentayga Hybrid for $166,000, a V8 for $183,425, and the Bentayga Speed for $251, 425.
Other than straight-up paying full and buying the car, Bentley also offers in-house financing and leasing. You can also take a Luxury Car loan or personal loan as well.
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How Much Tax Do You Need to Pay?
The taxes paid on Bentley other than the standard tax like sales tax and fees are import duties.
For every car bought in any state, there is a particular sales tax ranging between 3%-8% averaging at 5.75% for the US. The US also charges 2.75% import duty on all imported automobiles. There is also a registration fee charged by the dealership for writing the Bentley to you. All of which adds up an estimated 10%-15% of the tax at the point of buying. There are also miscellaneous taxes charged by some counties or municipalities as well.
But if we only consider direct tax, including sales, import, title, and registration. The amount you would pay for a stock Bentayaga is $16,000. Around $20,000 for Flying Spur and $25,000 for continental GT at point of purchase.
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How Much is an Annual Bentley Maintenance and Repairs?
The average maintenance charge for Bentley ranges between $2000-$3000 annually. Bentley recommends an annual service or maintenance at 10,000 miles. The maintenance includes oil and oil filter change, fluid refill, and a thorough inspection of the car.
That is if done at a Bentley dealership. The oil change is generally $500 with other services adding between $1000-$2000.
If we look at individual models, the Continental GT has average annual maintenance at around $1500. The cost goes above $2500 every 30,000 miles due to brake pads, spark plug change, etc. On average, you can expect a bill of $1500 for 1 year, $4,000 in 3 years, and $7000 over 5 years.
The Bentayaga fell in the same maintenance range, with the first service costing around $1400, the second at $2400, and the third around $3800. The maintenance is performed every 10,000 miles, with a few new things to check every year. On average the five-year maintenance is calculated around $6,500.
Even the flying spur fell in the same range averaging around $ 1500-$2000 annually and $7000-$8000 over five years.
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How Fast Does a Bentley Depreciate?
Bentley has the same depreciation rate as its competitors. The average depreciation for a Bentley is 45% over 5 years.
The depreciation rate of Bentley is not only on par with its competitors, it’s also very close to family sedans. Bentley’s depreciation rate is only 7% higher than Hondas and 1% lower than Roll Royce. It’s just that the price difference is so high, that 45% depreciation reduces Bentley’s value by $100,000+.
For example, the Continental GT lost $123,606 over 5 years. That is when considering the average purchase cost of the GT to be $272,199. Meaning that on average the Bentley continental GT depreciates at a rate of 9% annually and 27% by end of the third year.
The Bentley Bentayaga has an even higher depreciation rate at an average of 10.7% annually. Considering that the average cost of Bentayaga is $225,944, it loses a total of $121,852 at the end of five years, leaving its value at 68% by the third year and 47% by the fifth.
Superior to both is the Flying Spur depreciation rate at 38% in the first three years, losing around 50% by the fifth. A Flying Spur costing 200,000 would only be worth around $90,000 after 5 years.
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How Much Do You Need to Pay for Bentley’s Insurance?
The average Bentley insurance rate in the US is around $228 a month and $2,736 a year.
Insurance for Bentleys is surely costly. And the rates do vary depending on the level of the option you take. But, generally, Bentley’s insurance does range between $2500-$5000.
The Bentley Bentayaga has an average annual insurance cost of $3,524. Over a period of 3-years is $10,572 and $17,620 for 5-years. Getting such insurance would give you full coverage but need a good driving and credit record. Do not, that the rates and the cost would change depending on the state and provider.
The amount of insurance you would have to pay for the Continental GT is $4,676 annually. This means that throughout 3-years you would pay $14,028 and $23,380 in insurance cost for 5 years.
This amount is closer to Flying Spur’s insurance cost of $14,400 over 5 years. With a base insurance cost of $240 monthly, the Flying Spur costs $2,880 in annual insurance, giving you an average cost of $8,640 over three years.
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How Much Do You Need to Pay for Bentley’s Fuel?
The average fuel cost for a Bentley over 5 years is $13,870 with an annual expense of $2,774 on fuel @ $3.72/gallon.
Bentley’s are big cars with big 8 or 12-cylinder engines. These engines while being refined are not known for being fuel-efficient. For cars like the Continental GT, the average mileage you can expect is between 17 MPG.
Assuming that you drive 12000 miles annually with the fuel costing $3.72 gallons, you would need 705 gallons of fuel or $2625 worth of fuel in a year. That converts to $7,877 in three years and $13,125 in five years for 3,525 gallons of fuel burnt.
For the Bentley Flying Spur at 15 MPG combined, the annual fuel cost amounts to $2,976. With the same logic, you would need 2400 gallons or $8,928 of fuel in three years and $14,880 worth of fuel by the end of 5 years.
The Bentayaga on the other hand with its 16 mpg combined would need you to spend $13,970 in fuel cost over five years. Again that comes down to $2,794 annually and $8,382 over three years.
In Total, How Much Does it Cost to Own a Bentley?
The total cost of ownership including the depreciation for a Bentley costing $160,000 is estimated at around $107,050 over 5 years.
Owning a Bentley obviously would be a lot more expensive as compared to normal cars. Especially when you are financing it rather than straight-up paying full. It is a luxury car that also has higher rates as well. This makes owning a Bentley expensive.
Individually, the Bentley Continental GT with an average cost of $272,000 would cost a total of $167,611 including everything from depreciation to average maintenance cost and fuel cost.
For the Benteyaga with an average selling price of $225,000 the estimated cost of ownership is $159,942 and $147,280 for the Bentley Flying Spur costing $200,000.
Do note that these are estimates considering the average amount but in real-life, with many unaccounted factors, the cost of ownership would be higher.
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How Much Do You Need to Earn to be Able to Afford a Bentley?
Anybody making anywhere between or above, $150,000-300,0000 annually should be able to own a Bentley without hurting their pockets.
Bentley is a luxury car, and they sure do get extremely expensive, that is if you want it to be expensive. But if you make over 150K annually and manage money wisely, you should be good enough to have a Bentley.
You don’t necessarily have to own it, rather you can lease it for anywhere between $2000-$3000 for around 48 months. If you want to own it, there are multiple financing options offered by Bentley and other companies. You can take loans as well. All you need is to have enough cash to pay at least a 20% down payment.
At the end of the day, it’s not the cost price that should be a matter of worry. Rather, can you handle the cost of ownership without hurting your pocket much? If yes, then yeah you can afford it.
Are There Any Cheaper Bentley Alternatives?
Cheaper Alternatives to Bentley are brands like Mercedes, Audi, Aston Martin, Range Rover, Maserati, Infinity, and Genesis.
Bentley has a wide range of competition with Manufacturers offering a similar level of luxury at cheaper prices.
The Bentley Bentayaga for example has competitors like Mercedes AMG G63 @ $156,000, Range Rover Autobiography @ $144,000, Maserati Levante @ $78,290, and Lexus LX @ $86,830.
The Continental GT also has cheaper alternatives like the Mercedes Maybach S-class @185,000, Audi RS7 @ $114,000, BMW 8-series @ $85,000, and even cheaper Genesis G90 @ $80,000.
Even the Bentley Flying Spur has the same alternatives as to the Bentley Continental GT. Cars like the RS7, Maybach S-class are the cheaper options for the Flying Spur.
