Rolls-Royce Phantom | High Mile Club

Very few cars seriously compete with the Phantom's regal presence - at less than £40k, none do

By PH Staff / Wednesday, 8 April 2026 / Loading comments

Last summer, devotees might recall seeing the Rolls-Royce Phantom previously owned by Mr Chris Harris in the classifieds— especially after we gestured at it in print. Less for the pleasure of owning something previously warmed by a former employee’s backside, and more for the fact that the Phantom in question combined a manufacturer service record with an asking price of less than £60k. Even with over 90k on the clock, the risk vs reward ratio seemed reasonable enough.

Well, if you felt like that car needed a water-soluble brave pill of roughly toddler dosage, this one could reasonably be said to require a horse syringe filled with liquid courage. If you thought over 90k fairly leggy for a Phantom (many are used frequently, but typically in large cities where journeys are relatively short), then the prospect of one with twice as many miles on the clock ought to have you reaching for the plunger— or possibly a calculator, if you’re inclined to wonder how many tanks of nectar the V12 has gorged itself on in nearly two decades of faithful service.

We assume faithful, because aside from the odd blip, the MOT record suggests the mileage has ticked over with pleasing regularity, this despite the car having changed hands several times. There is no practical reason why it wouldn’t, of course— you’re looking at one of the world’s great long-distance machines— but a quick survey of the other 19 examples for sale suggests that a similar vintage of Phantom would normally be showing 50-60k on its odometer. Only the next cheapest has accrued six figures.

Relative cheapness, as ever, is the yin to this yang. The asking price is currently £37,995. Roughly the amount of new-model money you might otherwise associate with a diesel Skoda Superb, assuming you’re happy with the entry-level spec. Yet here it buys the pomp and circumstance of one of England’s finest ever luxury cars, famous for grille, glasshouse, rear-hinged doors, and a perfectly adequate amount of V12 power.

Granted, the advert makes no mention of a franchise-stamped service book, and the pictures suggest that so many miles have left the occasional mark - but we’ll assume that both factors have been astutely baked into the valuation. The counterweight to any cosmetic evidence of high usage is the spotlessness of its MOT history, it having not suffered even the blemish of an advisory since 2011. The current ticket runs until February next year.

Obviously, you’d be foolish not to wield a Sherlock-sized magnifying glass at the due diligence stage, and be clear-eyed about the running costs even if nothing goes wrong (this is a car that even in the most accommodating conditions only returns 17.8mpg), but that is all part and parcel of buying and owning a Rolls-Royce. The other bit, the pay-off, as Chris discovered and as the selling dealer affirms, is ‘a truly opulent driving experience’. For less than £40k, accept no substitute.

See the original advert