# Peeling paint on continental flying spur



## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

I have a Bentley Continental Flying Spur. The paint has been peeling off in various spots. Bentley Motors has told me they wont fix it and to be happy with my car or sue them. Have any of you had similar problems?


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## biggs88 (Mar 6, 2011)

bentleysucks said:


> Bentley Motors has told me they wont fix it and to be happy with my car or sue them.


Yea right.:thumbdown:


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*peeling paint on Continental Flying Spur*

I'm not sure who you are bigga88; someone with time on your hands and little else, but I am the first owner of the car after Bentley Motors, and they have told the dealer not to address the issue. Currently the matter is in litigation. If you live near Tahoe, the car is at the RROC rally where hundreds of fellow RR and Bentley owners have had the opportunity to see how Bentley builds cars these days, and how it treats it's customers. I imagine if you take the time to do a search of current federal district court cases, you'll have little difficulty in finding ours.


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## biggs88 (Mar 6, 2011)

bentleysucks said:


> I'm not sure who you are bigga88; someone with time on your hands and little else, but I am the first owner of the car after Bentley Motors, and they have told the dealer not to address the issue. Currently the matter is in litigation. If you live near Tahoe, the car is at the RROC rally where hundreds of fellow RR and Bentley owners have had the opportunity to see how Bentley builds cars these days, and how it treats it's customers. I imagine if you take the time to do a search of current federal district court cases, you'll have little difficulty in finding ours.


OOO. You right, I did not introduce myself. I am the guy who thinks. The guy who actually looks into what there looking to purchase.


I would think you would have thought out your purchase before buying. Why is it AFTER you buy the car, you do your homework on how many unhappy customers Bentley has?


You gotta pay to play.


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

Actually, I did a great deal of research prior to purchasing the car. I suspect the responses I got were based on the not so distant past (back then) when Bentley used to sell 500 cars a year if they were lucky. Now, their customer service is entirely inconsistent (they replaced my headliner free when it began to fall a bit, and that would have been $$$$$) . Currently we are nearing the end of a 7000 mile drive, and have noticed a few additional (extended) warranty issues. I cant say I'm looking forward to having them addressed. Meanwhile, the paint peeling is accelerating. I guess actually having the car outside for a few weeks in a row is bad for the paint.


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## MoreA4 (Mar 15, 2002)

*WTH?*

Was ready to tune into SNL for a late night laugh... no need! :facepalm:


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## a4 (Oct 28, 2000)

MoreA4 said:


> Was ready to tune into SNL for a late night laugh... no need! :facepalm:


:laugh::laugh::laugh:


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

If this is a real issue, I suggest there is more info on minor paint problems in the VW Phaeton forum. The Bentley Continental Flying Spur was hand-made together with the Phaeton in the Transparent Factory in Dresden for a while, and the carrosseries are built in the same factory, so there is a commonality of solutions.

There is sometimes a small defect at the top of the aluminium door skin, in common with Audi A8, which is easily fixed permanently with treatment and paint. In VW, it's often a warranty repair, depending on the way the customer handles it with the dealership and the Company.

If this is a wind-up thread, forgive me for butting in on the amusement!


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

Thank you for being the first person with a brain to respond. The paint was first peeling in small areas around the top of the bottom piece which snugs up to the front fenders. Then, paint began peeling from the area around the tail lights. Now, the clearcoat is coming off the front bumper. Bentley Motors has failed to remedy the problem, has instructed the dealership (Bentley Bethesda) not to do anything about the problem, including document it, it seems, and has refused to accede to my request to allow my body shop to carefully sand the offending areas to determine the cause of the peeling paint. Frankly, they've been hateful about it, which is unconscionable on any car, much less on a $200,000+ (this was a very high option car) Bentley. 
Recently we attended the RROC rally in Lake Tahoe, where we learned that poor aftercare service from Bentley Motors appears to be the new norm. In 2007 I'm told they sold 10,000 cars, and that the number has now fallen to around 6000 cars. Considering the way they've treated us with the many issues we have with our car, I hope the marque drops dead and gets bought by an entity with ethics.


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## Paximus (Aug 26, 2011)

If you hadn't had the car straight from Bentley/dealer, it would sound like someone resprayed it and didn't do proper prep.

Did you deal with Bentley Motors in Boston, or back to the factory in Crewe? Just interested in who seem to be the bad guys in this.


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

The car was purchased from Bentley Dallas, and had only been owned by Bentley Motors prior to that. It is a 2007 car and we purchased it in 2007. The first aftercare manager was a peckerhead named Paul Heenan. From what I hear, he's been promoted. Amazing. His successor is less obnoxious but equally unhelpful. One excellent Brit, TRIED to help and did contact Crewe for me, and they were equally unhelpful. 
I do agree with your guess, and it may well be that Bentley screwed up on paint prep. Frankly, we could have forgiven many of the issues with the vehicle, had the Bentley folks been decent enough to at least try to make things right somehow. Instead they essentially said "be happy with your car or sue us". We had the car at the Tahoe RROC rally with signs in the windows explaining why the car is a lemon. As many folks flew in to that rally rather than driving, we had the opportunity to drive many RROC members around. Many of them were curious about the car, and several had considered purchasing one new or used. I believe we successfully dissuaded them. If VW/Bentley corporate policy is now "be happy with your car or sue us", no matter how much we like many of their products, we'll shop elsewhere in the future. It's really a shame, as they employ many fine craftsmen and engineers whose livelihoods will be impacted when sales begin crumbling from the top down.


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## Mill12Pass (Oct 28, 2011)

Pics please of the paint.


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## nuts4boosting (Jun 30, 2006)

also curious to see the paint. how many miles are on the car? i take it u live in dallas and drove the car to and from the rally in taho? good luck either way man. :beer:


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## dstackmasta27 (Mar 14, 2010)

I know this is comparing apples to oranges (really really Gucci oranges) but my personal opinion of VW service in general is low (I also question if they even train their technicians). I honestly do not know why I bother going to them for any issues with my GTIs (I bought two from the same dealer a couple weeks apart). Anything that I take either car in for they either don't fix the issue (that I clearly articulate in detail) or tell me they couldn't reproduce the issue (which I doubt more times than not). 

Honestly their service standards and practices are what will keep me from staying a VAG owner for life. They don't care about customer satisfaction, I don't care to give them my money. 

I am sorry to see that they treat their premier customers with the same indifferent attitude, I guess that is what happens when a company becomes a corporate conglomerate. 

Good luck in your struggles, 
Dustin


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

The car has a bit over 30K on it currently. We live in Baltimore and purchased the car in Dallas and drove it home and did, indeed, drive the car to the rally in Tahoe and then home via Yellowstone and many other great places. I'll shoot photos as soon as practical. Usually we take the car out at night, and we've been away a lot, leaving the car covered in secure parking.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

bentleysucks said:


> ...Currently the matter is in litigation. ...if you take the time to do a search of current federal district court cases, you'll have little difficulty in finding ours.





bentleysucks said:


> ...Thank you for being the first person with a brain to respond...





bentleysucks said:


> ...I hope the marque drops dead...





bentleysucks said:


> ...The first aftercare manager was a peckerhead...





bentleysucks said:


> ...We had the car at the Tahoe RROC rally with signs in the windows explaining why the car is a lemon....


Y'know, I just can't understand why the folks at your dealership are not treating you with warmth, courtesy, and co-operation.


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

The selling dealership is not my local dealership. We purchased the vehicle at Bentley Dallas, and they have proven to be cretins in the extreme. 
My local dealership USED to be quite nice. Now the shop manager has changed, and the new guy is.....not so great. Too,it appears Bentley Motors has scared the dealership into not even speaking with me regarding the issues currently in litigation. That way, they wont document my continuing complaints, so, when the case winds its way to trial, there will not be as rich a paper trail of complaints. A rather underhanded trick. It will be a cold day in hell when we purchase another Bentley.





PanEuropean said:


> Y'know, I just can't understand why the folks at your dealership are not treating you with warmth, courtesy, and co-operation.


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## mikehawk (Jul 24, 2009)

Jesus you wine a lot. Why don't you go have it painted. You drive a Bentley for god sakes. If you can't afford a $5k paint job, maybe you need to rethink Bentley ownership :heart:


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## Suspekt (Oct 1, 2006)




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## FULLOFGLI (Mar 12, 2008)

While I feel like the peeling paint is unacceptable, there is an easy solution. Trade cars with me! My Jetta doesn't have peeling paint. 

But honestly, custom paint would be really neat and probably better quality from what you have described.


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## bentleysucks (Aug 16, 2011)

*Peeling paint on 2007 flying spur*

MOST of the paint is more or less perfect. BUT, in places, it's peeling off more and more. Bentley Motors had the vehicle examined by an expert of their choosing, who, I am told, did NOT produce a written report (interesting, as I'd be entitled to that), but did (I am told) opine that the paint prep may have been sub-standard. I am sanguine about the fact that errors occur. It is Bentley Motors' piss-poor intractably poor attitude towards correcting and compensating for the defects in the vehicle that appall us. When I actually have the car out in the sunshine, I sill shoot some photos and post them.


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## slowhatch (Jul 2, 2010)

a lot of thesaurus usage in these posts. 

hope bentley steps up for your sake OP, but if not, less learned. Should of bought a quatrapporte GTS


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## vwcarsarebest591 (Feb 5, 2012)

If the car is not right then you should have it repaired by Bentley. I remember seeing a black soft top continental in Miami, fantastic wheels and a shiny body work. I fell in love that day, and will get one, one day. Good luck in your quest for the repair.


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## The Swami (Oct 16, 2001)

From your description Bentley Motors is playing the 3 year shell game with you! Quite a few luxury car manufacturers utilized the 3 Year Unlimited Mileage warranties, with the option to buy expensive extended coverage. Bentley, Rolls Royce, and all of the Italian Auto Manufacturers are infamous for this practice. Trust me, correctly restoring the paint on a 4 year old Gallardo can run about $15,000US depending on the color. 

By any chance are you having service done in Bethesda? They used to be a great dealership when they were Euro Motorcars but now I've heard horror stories from a few locals in the DC Metro Area. Have you considered driving up to the dealership in Palmyra which is right outside Philadelphia in South Jersey. (Not far from Baltimore) They do excellent work and truly cater to an extremely discerning customer base! 

I'm sorry to hear that Bentley Motors is giving you the run around, but if you need a recommendation for a body-shop in the DMV or South Jersey let me know.

Good luck,

Will aka The Swami 

p.s. My wife drives a Continental GT


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