Rolls Royce Silver Spirit Reviews

The car had been stored / little used for many years, and so all the plumbing in the suspension / brakes etc had to be replaced once I started to drive it regularly. As everyone will say, drive it, don't store it. I do 80 ks each weekly outing.

I have a few niggling electrical gremlins to iron out - but that's a work in progress.

Like all older style engines, keep clean quality oil in it. Change it at least every 6 months.

My "Senior Lady" is now 30+ years old, so I treat her with TLC, but drive her as she was designed for. I make her run up hills, and she'll happily cruise at 120 kph all day.

She's a thirsty gal, but at that speed and with a 6.75 litre heart to pump, no wonder.

The quality has sure lasted long after the original price was paid.

After 30 years, it's still a pleasure to enjoy the quality of the hand crafted interior.

2 old sayings in my RR club - "If you can't afford a new one, you can't afford a 2nd hand one either" and "You don't need deep pockets to buy one, but you need them to keep one".

Easy to drive - but you're well aware of the 2+ tonnes of vehicle you are controlling.

General maintenance, including brake pads, hydraulic spheres, spark plugs etc.

Transmission O-ring due to leak (custom made to save costs).

Transmission reconditioned 2 years ago - which in my opinion is premature failure. However age does deteriorate parts.

As an aside, I have had a Volvo 240 with over 300000 kms with the original transmission, and currently a Volvo 850 with 260000 kms with the original tranny - the model is known to have transmission problems. I change all my cars' transmission fluid except my Volkswagen Passat, which has a modern sealed unit; it had to be change by the dealer - make sure you ask for old parts, so they don't rip you off.

The Roller shares a GM tranny, but has an electric column shift - use Dextron 3 fluid for the tranny. Change engine oil every 5000km (do not use magnetic oil; it suits modern engines).

A lovely weekend car. Make sure you buy a car with log books! And that has been maintained as aristocratic car should.

Great mid range power, and very enjoyable to drive.

Aim for fuel injected (UK '87, Aus '86); more reliable, and slight power and economy increase.

Avoid parking in sun, do the basic maintenance yourself - treat it like baby or a hobby, and it will be pleasure to drive; gently of course.

Some parts are expensive, but like all cars, they do share parts from other cars, and the Internet is great way to order.

The car does have its design quirks, as you would expect.

Fuel consumption (premium unleaded), as it's a large car / old design engine, when cruising gently, is reasonable.

My elderly father, a motor mechanic, says the Royce use same fuel consumption as our 2.5 petrol Volkswagen Transporter in heavy traffic.