Great Golf Magazine Sep/Oct 2017 September October 2017 | Page 61

Bentley.qxp_Layout 1 28.09.2016 13.01 Side 4

Bentley owners have a tendency to remain loyal, serially
purchasing replacement vehicles from the same marque. As such,
it is usual for Neil and his colleagues to have sold the same vehicle
to successive owners over a number of years. “Similar to gold
bullion being hallmarked,” Neil explained, “Only Bentley can
truly hallmark a Pre-Owned vehicle.”
I am 49 and have become increasingly cynical with old age,
hence I did not feel disposed to merely accepting a few sound
bites; I wanted to see evidence of this so-called peace of mind.
Firstly, I wanted to know more about the procurement process
used when selecting vehicles for this programme.
I was escorted outside to look at a 2007 Bentley Continental
GT. The vehicle had arrived from a non-franchised retailer for
repair. I watched with a degree of curiosity as McCallum
proceeded to run the tips of his fingers along the edges of the
doors, bonnet and boot. He also appeared to spend an inordinate
amount of time looking at the front wings, inside the engine bay
and within certain areas of the boot. Thereafter, he pointed out
the various clues that revealed the car had been in one or more
accidents and had not been repaired by an Approved Bentley
bodyshop. “We would not place this vehicle on our forecourt; it
does not meet our standards,” Neil proclaimed.
THE WORKSHOP. Thereafter, I went to the valeting bay. There,
sat resplendently in the corner of the room, was a 2012
Continental GT V8 in Dragon Red. Oh, it was so beautiful, I
began calculating which assets I could dispose of in order to

facilitate acquisition. However, whilst this appeared perfect to my
non-expert eyes, I was informed it was not yet ready for sale. The
car was midway through a three day detailing process.
I watched Rory, a Car Detailer of some nine years, apply
various polishes to the vehicle and painstakingly buff the panels.
His patience was rewarded. I couldn’t find any swirl-like blemishes
on the epidermis of the multi-layered paintwork. Again, Neil’s
discriminating fingers came out to play, pointing out the
originality of the paintwork and the notable absence of any poorly
executed repair damage.
Moving to the workshop, I was introduced to Peter Gentles,
the Retail After Sales Manager and Bentley veteran, with over
45 years of experience. Here, the glossy exterior evident at the
front of house was matched with the operating-theatre sterility
of the workshop. The tiled floor was dry and free of any oil
spillages.
On being introduced to Martin, a Master Technician, I could
not help but notice his fingers. They were free of oil and well
manicured, which left me pondering how the cars were serviced.
Martin explained that while suspension components, brakes and
gearboxes necessitate physical handling, an increasing proportion
of his daily duties centre upon the many electronic systems
found on a Bentley, necessitating the use of a laptop computer.
The Flying Spur model has approximately 40 ECUs responsible
for an array of functions. Martin, clearly a highly trained technician,
began to use terms such as ‘CAN bus electrical systems’ at which
point I became duly bamboozled. Wh ile independent garages have
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