Rolls-Royce Phantom Owners

More expensive to own than my 360 spyder. I drive her 2 to 3 times a week. Twice on a 6 hour trip. Great car.

 

Servicing more. Broke drivers headlamp from a road debris and it cost me $4K. Rear view mirror broke the liquid thingie inside, $1200. Brakes cost me $1600 and thats just pads. The chrome Rolls Royce emblem fell off in the center clock, $800. One of the horns went out, $?. New battery from sitting, $?. Service $? So not surprised from the costs but like I said more than my F car. But plus I have spent $4K on tv/dvd upgrade and $8K on wheels/tires. But a wonderful car to drive. Very quite and comfortable. Big but I have no problem parking/driving her. If you can find one you like, jump on it.

 

How many miles was that for the brakes?

 

If you have to think about the cost a set of brake pads on a (when new) 400k car, then maybe you should be looking at a different line of car. 7 series BMW perhaps, S class Benz etc. These are very nice machines, expensive to keep once out of warranty, but no where near the cost of a Phantom.

Don't mean to sound like a dink..they are beautiful cars, but not really worth it when you compare the usefulness of the BMW, or Benz to the Rolls. The Phantom is the pinnacle of conspicuous consumption.

 

You do realize that it was posted in jest - I am the owner of what I think is a very lovely 1995 Silver Dawn.

I have had it 4 years +- now, and about 30,000 miles.

Mai and I are RR
OC members and are going on the fall Colorado tour.

The point is - I cannot imagine how someone could wear out brake pads that quickly.


PS - we also are priviledged to have an early 1986 Testarossa.

James

 

I think that is much better than they used to be...

 

much like a 355, old Rollers are cheap because servicing is so expensive (parts mainly, I don't think they're as labor intensive as Ferraris).

that said I'm kind if surprised by the costs incurred by Ping; I thought the new ones were pretty bulletproof.

 

Was warned time and again by friends who are very familiar with rollers about TCO (total cost of operation). Sure they look cheap used, like certain Fcars... This is why I chose the newer Bentley instead as a daily driver. Well, that and colour me a classic guy where a Roller really should be driven by a chauffeur. TCO on the newer Bentleys is surprisingly low (relative, still more than a Honda or Toyota of course) and the bentley just works and works. Build quality, imho, is better than the new Rollers and this even includes places most owners never will see (i tend to 'take apart' things to see the inner workings).

 

Rolls Royce America told me 80% of their car owners drive themselves as so do I. I have 24K miles now and enjoyed every miles. Yes parts are expensive but the service cost are not much more than my s class ( a piece of turd ) and other bmw's I have had. The brakes wear fast due to soft pads on a heavy car but that is what the designers figured work best for this car. I have 20K miles on my Fcar and changed brakes twice and I am very delicate in my driving. Besides the mad gawking, driving her is a plesaure. Long drives are like butter. Gonna take her to the beach again in 2 weeks.

Oh don't get me wrong. The car works like a well oiled clock. It just costs money to maintain. Yes, $4K for one headlamp is crazy. The rear view mirror breaking its seal and leaking the fluid, well lets just say all my BMW's did that. But the leather is perfect. All the electronics work. I love that the car is so simple. It does evertthing for me. It has a door sensor so it cant open if it is next to a object. The lighting inside is amazing. If you get a chance to drive one jump at it.

 

pingi3,

Thanks for chiming in and yes Rollers are indeed impressive. Perhaps am more the Bentley type than the Roller type. Neither is good nor bad, is it simply a matter of preference. As for the brakes, oh yes these are both (Bentley and Rollers) very heavy cars, and so brakes obviously will wear faster than, say, a Toyota. You are right, certain expenses are simply part of price to bring a bit more joy to our lives. It is great to know they are being driven and not just garage queens or show pieces.

 

They sold more Phantoms last year (est 2600 units) since 2003. So I do not think these will become classics like the past models. So buy and enjoy. I do want a Bentley as my DD.

 

Same with Bentley, they are selling at high double-digit growth so these will not be collectors items at all. As the DD and ONLY car here, the Bentley is highly recommended. Got tired of having multi-cars and moved back to my Patek 'hobby'.