Why are old Rolls Royces so cheap?

[montecristo]

There are several good ones for sale under £60k - not as cheap as they used to be, but still seems cheap for that level of quality.

Are they too big for most drivers? Or too ostentatious?

People say the parts are expensive, but the parts are expensive on many other classics that cost 5x more (and which were 5x cheaper than RRs when new).

[craigjm]

You will find they are not as quality as you may have perceived and they have an image problem. Old Roller usually means wedding or has suffered from the links to Jimmy Savile, Jimmy Tarbuck and the likes

[sx187]

I would think because people now know how expensive and labour intensive restoring the things is.Gotten to the point where its just good money after bad,or in other words,pointless.

[Andy 308GTB]

Over the years I have marvelled at the low prices that secondhand Rollers commanded.
But I couldn't own a Rolls Royce - they are too much of a cliche.

I would happily say I drove a Bentley.

[TR4man]

The running costs are crippling.

Repairs, done properly, can exceed the car's value, hence many end up like this:

[TooMany2cvs]

montecristo said:

There are several good ones for sale under £60k

What era are you talking about? Just the modern Phantoms?

Even ignoring the ubiquitous Shadow, there's a lot of VERY lovely looking Royces below that, from just about every era prior to those 'orrible lumps.

How about something like these, for not much over half of your figure?
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C744111
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C783059
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C780592

or a bit more recent, how about...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C782258

or right up to...
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C752673

[Wacky Racer]

You can get a decent looking Silver Shadow for under 10k.

Whether you can afford the upkeep is another matter, but you can strike lucky if you choose carefully.

[Iva Barchetta]

PH member "Slow" bought a basket case Silver Shadow.

Not sure he revealed the purchase price.

Hope it was very cheap, cos it's a mess.

Thread on it somewhere or other.

[TooMany2cvs]

Iva Barchetta said:

PH member "Slow" bought a basket case Silver Shadow.

Not sure he revealed the purchase price.

Hope it was very cheap, cos it's a mess.

Thread on it somewhere or other.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=160...

There's also
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=156...

[Iva Barchetta]

Thanks for the linky Toomany....

[Xtriple129]

I have a Bentley which is... similar! Over the past year I have spent £16000 on maintenance. Granted, it was a bit behind on a load of stuff but it still drove beautifully (apart from a brake problem) and the amount wrong with it astounded me.

The other thing is: the prices. Parts are truly eye watering (3 foot piece of loom with two plastic connectors - £124 + VAT) and down here in the sunny south west, no one will work on it/them except for the specialists. Ordinary garages just refuse/fob you off/make appointments then cancel. Never known a car like it for getting work done. They are complicated, yes, but not THAT complicated!

So, old RR or Bs tend to fall into two separate camps: old sheddy ones that look great but have not been looked after properly, if at all and they are not worth buying. They will bankrupt you to get them up to a decent standard. A lot of the cars in this category are used as 'carriage trade' weddings etc and they are kept going on a strict budget. Avoid like the plague! The second camp is the loved and cherished cars which have been cared for and maintained properly by people who know what they are doing. They are a real delight to own! They tend to be advertised for a lot more money or change hands through the clubs as people in there know each other and what is a good car and what is to be avoided.

When I got my car (my second) it drove 'well' but now, it drives superbly and feels real quality to own and drive. I did not expect to spend this much on it, but it's a 'keeper' so worth doing, but still...

So, buy a good one and you will be delighted, get a bad one and you will tear your hair out in frustration and your wallet will shrivel up and die.

[4rephill]

Why are old Rolls Royce's so cheap?:

1) The 70's & 80's cars rot - Badly!
2) Contrary to popular belief they do go wrong - And they are not cheap to put right.
3) They're a very large car.
4) They drink petrol like Oliver Reed drinking at a free bar!
5) They tend to have a bit of an image problem for a lot of people (Paupers pretending to have money! )

[stuttgartmetal]

Xtriple129 said:

The other thing is: the prices. Parts are truly eye watering (3 foot piece of loom with two plastic connectors - £124 + VAT) .

Get yourself an old Porsche if you want eye watering prices.
Plus, every garage wants to work on your car, and then charge you a fooking fortune

£150 + for handbrake cables
£26 for calliper bolts
Etc etc etc

The trouble with Rollers if there are too many tight fisted owners.
They fall into shedsville
they then look like 98% of the Mk2's around

The Sultan and her Maj have ownership sorted.

[Dr Jekyll]

This has to be the ultimate first world problem.

Image does help to keep the prices down, if it bothers you a Bentley isn't quite so bad.

Someone I know who is on his second Shadow reckons they are actually pretty well made for the period. Not as good as the reputation, but sufficiently good that even a neglected example will still run well until it's completely beyond redemption. So a lot of owners don't keep on top of things.

[Yertis]

sx187 said:

I would think because people now know how expensive and labour intensive restoring the things is.Gotten to the point where its just good money after bad,or in other words,pointless.

That applies to every classic in my experience.

[aeropilot]

Xtriple129 said:

So, old RR or Bs tend to fall into two separate camps: old sheddy ones that look great but have not been looked after properly, if at all and they are not worth buying. They will bankrupt you to get them up to a decent standard. A lot of the cars in this category are used as 'carriage trade' weddings etc and they are kept going on a strict budget. Avoid like the plague! The second camp is the loved and cherished cars which have been cared for and maintained properly by people who know what they are doing. They are a real delight to own!

Some months back while walking down Regent St an old S2 or S3 (didn't get enough of a sight of the front end) came past me with a old lady driving it, and it looked like a 'rat rod' Bentley as the chrome was all rust pitted, the black (or very dark blue) paint was completely flat and with a good few scratches and dents here and there.... it looked a right shed, but, a classy shed.... but, I wouldn't mind betting that it had been in her family ownership for 50 odd years and probably had an unbroken service history with Jack Barclay or HR Owen etc., despite what it looked like.

[Xtriple129]

aeropilot said:

Some months back while walking down Regent St an old S2 or S3 (didn't get enough of a sight of the front end) came past me with a old lady driving it, and it looked like a 'rat rod' Bentley as the chrome was all rust pitted, the black (or very dark blue) paint was completely flat and with a good few scratches and dents here and there.... it looked a right shed, but, a classy shed.... but, I wouldn't mind betting that it had been in her family ownership for 50 odd years and probably had an unbroken service history with Jack Barclay or HR Owen etc., despite what it looked like.

At the specialists I use garage a few months back was a shed of a Bentley Turbo R. It was a 91 registered car and looked an absolute heap with rust on the front wings, rear wheel arches, scuffs and scrapes on the bumpers, she looked a proper sight. I was quite upset (I do get quite protective over these old heaps ) and mentioned to the owner what a state it was in... turns out it's had an interesting life: currently showing a little over 380.000 miles, is left parked outside constantly, rarely used from one month to the next then the owner gets in it and takes it to France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy wherever he has to go or feels like going! It does many thousands of miles in one go and then will sit outside, under a tree, never washed for another month and then it will be started and taken somewhere else on the continent.

I forgave it looking a bit battered. Apparently it still runs beautifully and mechanically is 'spot-on' as the owner keeps up the maintenance, just doesn't worry about the appearance - oh, he's had it since new as well. So, looked after these old things can go a long way without problems.

At the other end of the scale, there's my car: it's being detailed today even though it's spent the last few months in the garage and has done less than 800 miles in a year. Sometimes I think I LIKE wasting money

[SpeckledJim]

Andy 308GTB said:

But I couldn't own a Rolls Royce - they are too much of a cliche.

That's a beautiful red Ferrari you have.

[Andy 308GTB]

SpeckledJim said:

Andy 308GTB said:

But I couldn't own a Rolls Royce - they are too much of a cliche.

That's a beautiful red Ferrari you have.

I should have kept my big mouth shut. I have no answer to that...

All I can say is that I think I look cool in it.
Everyone else, including my wife, thinks I look like an overweight, middle-aged bloke going through a midlife crisis. In fact my wife doesn't just think it, she says it.

[SpeckledJim]

Andy 308GTB said:

SpeckledJim said:

Andy 308GTB said:

But I couldn't own a Rolls Royce - they are too much of a cliche.

That's a beautiful red Ferrari you have.

I should have kept my big mouth shut. I have no answer to that...

All I can say is that I think I look cool in it.
Everyone else, including my wife, thinks I look like an overweight, middle-aged bloke going through a midlife crisis. In fact my wife doesn't just think it, she says it.

Who cares if she says it? Who cares if she's right!?

It's lovely.