I can't really afford the Bentley, but am curious if anyone's had experience in both. Don't care about the convertible GT - the regular style looks better to me. Supposed to be awesome, but don't know anyone with one.

Planning to get the 2008 S63 in Feb (when I get to return my BMW750Li, which I plan to drive thru the dealership's garage wall at full speed - last time I took it in there were 21 things wrong with it, all electrical, and only 15 of them were fixed for more than a day). It drives well, but the experience is considerably marred by all the warning lights and sounds constantly going off. God forbid one of them should be a real warning...

Thanks,
Marty

ive driven the bently but not the s63. the bentley drives very nice and it handles sporty for a huge car. it has good acceleration for a boat like itself and had all sorts of weird buttons that i had no idea what they did. the only thing i didnt like was that the clock fell out and its insides fell all over the floor

Bentley is worth more... and costs more... what is in your wallet? as the commercial goes. nothing wrong with the GT at all, it is definitely a nice vehicle. I would look to see what has the better resale value though... or wholesale as it is now been doing. BTW if you do go GT, get rid of the cheap plastic grill in the front... Strut package makes that vehicle for sure

I also test drove a GT, while its a nice car, too heavy, that car weighs in at approx. 5250lbs. Makes that 552hp V12 turbo engine seem like a dog compared to my S600. Also heres what turned me off on the Bentleys when I thought about pulling the trigger, the damn 2yr factory warranty, so I pay almost 200k for a car and the factory warranty is only 2yrs? One of the owners of a Bentley dealership told me "dont buy a Bentley out of warranty, it will kill you on service." Also no extended warranty is available. So I thought to myself, what the hell is the point? Makes no sense why they cant offer at least a 4yr warranty like almost all other car manufacturers.

Dixit

From a tuning side the Bentley is really very interesting. We get roughly 100hp from tuning the ECU in that car! With the 63 we are between 45-55hp. But both are great cars and great engines.

I used to race a friend in my S55 who had a Bentley GT, S55 was quicker, only time he ever got me was when it was wet from a low speed start.

I drove that car, the ride is not upto scratch, the fuel consumption of the Bently is poor , he got 15 mpg day to day (UK Gals) I get 18.7 last 2000 miles in S63 got about same in the S65 too. I liked the seats interior is good if you like old world wood, It is quite a good drive , but tbh a CL63 coupe is a little better probably in most areas.

I am maybe a little biased but I did consider a flying spur, MB's reliabilty has let me down with the S55 and then again with the S65 so if I had found a better car than the new S class I would have bought it, the Bentley is not as good a product as an S63 or an S600, they are just a bit better all round cars, which is why I still have one.

A couple of our clients have traded their Flying Spurs for S65's which we subsequently tuned for 700hp/800 lb ft!

How is there even a question? The Conti is so played out and it looks like a frog. Make the right decision.

A week or two ago I test drove the s63, s550 and GT one right after the other. The MB's really are a lot more refined than the Bentley. They all have more power than one can use, including the 550. I liked the handling of the s63 the best but do think it is a bit noisy...some people like the exhaust note, I am neutral on it. The Bentley is about as noisy as the 63 except at highway speed where the Benz is tighter and nicer at speed. The whole interior finish of the MB is just much higher quality. The seats that come on the 63 are WAY better than anything else I have driven. The ABC creates a tremendous ride, yet the car corners like it is on rails.

Bentley makes 2500 cars a year. There is no way they can deliver what MB can cranking out the volume they do. The 63 is a much better car without regard to price. Over the course of 3 years though, it will cost just as much to own. You can figure a 63 is worth no more that 50% of list in 2 years with low miles. The Bentley will hold up a bit better.

I'm confused. You say you can't afford the Bentley, neither can I right now but I'm working on it. Anyway, why compare those two? The Bentley is considered an exotic so they are different animals.
BTW, if reliabilty has become more important, have you considered the LS460H? I know most of the people around here are Lexus haters but it is a sweet car with everything the others have and something they don't....better reliability.....much better.

All Bentleys in US have 3yr/unlimited mileage warranty.

Thanks to all for the advice - seems the choice is clear, even without the $$$ factor. I suppose the GT has more snob appeal, but at what price, and who cares? Sounds like the benz is better in most cases. S63 is in my future.

Re: Lexus - didn't consider coz just too conservative for me, though my business partner has one and says it's beautiful (haven't been in it yet).

Marty