Help! - Taking the plunge on a used Roller

[LeeJGold]

Hi Guys and Girls

I am new to the forum and hoping I can pick up some useful tips so sorry for all the questions. I have been a life long fan of Rolls Royce and plan to by my first car shortly after nearly 45 years of dreaming. I don't plan to run it on a shoe string but neither can I afford to shell out for major repairs. I have read many forums and other information about the marque and all the horror stories so the things that give me sleepless nights and I need guidance on are:

Blowing a cylinder head gaskets on the Shadow, Spirits and Bentley Turbo Rs

- How can you tell if one is going to go before you buy it?
- How common is it? If I get it inspected by a so called "Expert" are they not all in league with each other?
- How could they tell if its a good car or likely to blow 6 months after I buy it?

I have looked at a few cars from dealers. Now I may be generalising here, but in my opinion they tend to add £4k on the price. Often the cars have had a blow over to improve the look and price. When I have seen some of the cars being prepared in workshops they looked like tired £6-7k examples, the sort of thing you would avoid but after a bit of tarting up are suddenly are fetching £15 to £18k.

- So can I trust buying from a dealer even with a 2 year warranty, is there any advantage?

Dealers often cite a FSH but then go on to say the car has only covered 1500 miles in last 8 years etc so last full service was 8 years ago. They will offer to do a full commissioning service in the price. But I was lead to believe that these cars need 2 x services a minor and major every year without fail and that therefore even with low mileage, there should still be stamps in the book.

- Would it be worth taking a risk if a car had FSH but had stood idle for 5 years?

I believe also there should be a major brake and hydraulic service every 5 years without fail.

- Is this correct and what should be replaced in that?
- If a car has 100k on the clock and is 25 years old, should there not be 5 of these carried out?
- How can I tell if its been done from looking at the service stamp in the book, which service is it?
- If its not been done should I walk away?

I have been a member of the RREC in the past and plan to join in Jan again. But the so called "Advertiser" of RREC cars for sale was a bit of a disappointment as it hardly had any cars in it.

But am I missing something here, is there some secret a place to go for all the great RREC cars for sale?
People often recommend you buy a RREC owned car, but how the heck do you find them?

I don't have a garage so the car will have to be out on the drive way in all weathers. I was planning to try and use it as a daily driver, but there may be times when I will have to store it.

- What is the best outdoor cover to use?
- Will a cover scratch the paint or cause other issues?
- Can I put the cover on a wet and dirty car?
- How can I stop someone nicking it?
- How bad is a shadow or spirit likely to fair outside in all weathers anyone with actual experience of this?
- Are there any steps I could take to prep the car to reduce rust risk? Waxoil seems very expensive and has mixed reviews.

Finally, I plan to budget around £12k for the car with £2k pa on service and maintenance.

- Could I get a good Shadow 2 or Spirit 2/3 private sale for this sort of money?



ETA

Not allowed.

Edited by Big Al. on Saturday 23 December 17:24

[750turbo]

LeeJGold said:

Hi Guys and Girls

I am new to the forum and hoping I can pick up some useful tips so sorry for all the questions. I have been a life long fan of Rolls Royce and plan to by my first car shortly after nearly 45 years of dreaming. I don't plan to run it on a shoe string but neither can I afford to shell out for major repairs. I have read many forums and other information about the marque and all the horror stories so the things that give me sleepless nights and I need guidance on are:

Blowing a cylinder head gaskets on the Shadow, Spirits and Bentley Turbo Rs

- How can you tell if one is going to go before you buy it?
- How common is it? If I get it inspected by a so called "Expert" are they not all in league with each other?
- How could they tell if its a good car or likely to blow 6 months after I buy it?

I have looked at a few cars from dealers. Now I may be generalising here, but in my opinion they tend to add £4k on the price. Often the cars have had a blow over to improve the look and price. When I have seen some of the cars being prepared in workshops they looked like tired £6-7k examples, the sort of thing you would avoid but after a bit of tarting up are suddenly are fetching £15 to £18k.

- So can I trust buying from a dealer even with a 2 year warranty, is there any advantage?

Dealers often cite a FSH but then go on to say the car has only covered 1500 miles in last 8 years etc so last full service was 8 years ago. They will offer to do a full commissioning service in the price. But I was lead to believe that these cars need 2 x services a minor and major every year without fail and that therefore even with low mileage, there should still be stamps in the book.

- Would it be worth taking a risk if a car had FSH but had stood idle for 5 years?

I believe also there should be a major brake and hydraulic service every 5 years without fail.

- Is this correct and what should be replaced in that?
- If a car has 100k on the clock and is 25 years old, should there not be 5 of these carried out?
- How can I tell if its been done from looking at the service stamp in the book, which service is it?
- If its not been done should I walk away?

I have been a member of the RREC in the past and plan to join in Jan again. But the so called "Advertiser" of RREC cars for sale was a bit of a disappointment as it hardly had any cars in it.

But am I missing something here, is there some secret a place to go for all the great RREC cars for sale?
People often recommend you buy a RREC owned car, but how the heck do you find them?

I don't have a garage so the car will have to be out on the drive way in all weathers. I was planning to try and use it as a daily driver, but there may be times when I will have to store it.

- What is the best outdoor cover to use?
- Will a cover scratch the paint or cause other issues?
- Can I put the cover on a wet and dirty car?
- How can I stop someone nicking it?
- How bad is a shadow or spirit likely to fair outside in all weathers anyone with actual experience of this?
- Are there any steps I could take to prep the car to reduce rust risk? Waxoil seems very expensive and has mixed reviews.

Finally, I plan to budget around £12k for the car with £2k pa on service and maintenance.

- Could I get a good Shadow 2 or Spirit 2/3 private sale for this sort of money?

If anyone knows of a good Series 2 Shadow or Spirit in great condition with a full service history in dark colours, please let me know.

This will be good!

[lucido grigio]

TLDR.
Looks to me like you can't afford it.

"Waxoil too expensive"

[jet_noise]

Might sir be better directed here:
PistonHeads » Gassing Station » Other Marques » Rolls Royce & Bentley

Good luck

[LeeJGold]

I got a quote from some place that does it for you pumps it in all the voids etc but it was around 2k. Seemed a bit steep.