Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II Reviews from North America

Aside from some servicing, the car has been great!

Sold my '60 Cloud II and decided to upgrade to a Shadow II (always wanted a Shad, but the Cloud came along first and was priced very right).

I got my Shadow from the proverbial little old lady, who owned it for a very long time, and had it serviced by an RR specialist, however the car had sat for a spell since she quit driving, so some remedial recommissioning work was needed when the car came to me.

I replaced all hoses throughout the braking/hydraulic system, rebuilt the rear calipers, cleaned and flushed the fluid reservoirs out, and got the brakes sorted nicely.

Gave the car a major service (oil, transmission, coolant, air filters, plugs, etc..) and have been racking up the miles basically trouble free.

There are some things left that need sorting on the car -- just little fiddly weekend jobs like freeing up seized door lock solenoids and replacing a duff window lift motor, but otherwise the car is fantastic.

I also have a Bentley Turbo R, and although I'd pin that as my favorite all time car from Crewe, it would be a hard decision if I had to choose to keep only one, as the Shadow is much simpler to work on and very DIY-able. And the agreed-upon dictum of drive, drive, drive is very applicable here. My car came to me with 112K miles on it, and runs and drives beautifully.

I did also have to renew some of the front end bushings, and I'm sure a complete rebuild would transform the car, along with some Bilstein shocks in place of the old, wallowy Boge units, but those will have to wait for another season, as the car is performing nicely for now, and is just so relaxing and enjoyable to drive.

When first purchased, horn was broken. Since purchase, in addition to thorough scheduled and preventative maintenance, the transmission has failed and was rebuilt, as well as several (relatively minor) electrical faults.

The car is fantastic. This era of Rolls-Royce is still an exceptional bargain, given that the quality of construction is unparalleled. Interior trim, for example, still looks brand new after 30 years.

However, be prepared for the servicing costs. The cars are deceptively inexpensive to purchase, but bear in mind that servicing costs correlate to how much the car cost new, not how much it's worth now.

While I love this car, I fear it might be getting on a bit for me, as repairs seem to be becoming more and more frequent. Next up to replace it will be a 1995-1999 Silver Spur.

The car had hardly been used; various problems relating to this needed to be attended to, along with a couple of other age related defects.

Proper 6-monthly maintenance is a prerequisite, regardless of minimal miles used.

Hydraulics leaked; accumulators and valves rebuilt, and system flushed.

Steering rack boots had rotted and were replaced.

Alternator and regulator were replaced due to defective diodes.

Carburetors were rebuilt.

A/C relay burned out and was replaced.

Electrical link to transmission required cleaning.

Gear selector would not select lowest gear; unit replaced.

Radio and clock needed servicing.

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Update 29 March 2009:

This is a follow-up to my previous comments 3 years ago. The car has been a model of complete dependability in this time between 6-month servicing intervals, with some small items needing replacement at these times:

Pressure switch (1)

Solenoid valve rebuild.

New thermostat.

Small radiator hose.

The car is an exquisite, incredibly handsome and superlatively built from the most massive as well as the highest quality materials. (My own particular example is in new condition.)

Now that it is driven regularly, it is completely reliable. These cars drive at their best when in regular service. One should operate all systems from time to time.

It is quiet almost beyond belief; perhaps the most relaxing driving experience imaginable.

Air conditioning system is amazing and powerful, yet never intrusive, despite slightly noisy fans.

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Update 29 March 2009:

Car still looks brand new, inside and out. Driving it is a serene experience that I look forward to every day.

Driving these cars a little, and often, is key to in maintaining reliability, and people often blame an older RR for failing to be dependable, and expensive to maintain - as if the magic name means neglect shouldn't be an issue as it would be on any other car.