What are the best years for Spirits/Spurs?

Oh, lol! I saw the title and thought "Dodge Spirit?" Haha! Well there was that Spirit R/T made in like '91-'92 and that's kind of a cool car, but that's the wrong Spirit.


As for the Spirit you're concerned about, kudos to you for wanting such a magnificent piece of machinery. Once you have owned a Rolls or Bentley, you have reached the pinnacle of the automotive marketplace. You simply cannot go any higher. I don't know much about them, but I know they were pretty simple for what they were (all things considered) and didn't have much change in the ~20 odd years they were made. There's a member on here, his name is Bro-Ham and he's always had a few Rollers and I think some Bentleys. I was very fortunate and got a chance to sit in his '89 Silver Spirit....very, very nice car, on a whole different level than even the top Cadillacs.

My parents had a 1996 Turbo R with 33K original miles. It was a fast and elegant car, but just too quirky for my tastes. Very expensive to maintain, as with all these cars. They sold the Turbo R for $46K in November 2006 and replaced it with a BMW 760Li.




My Dad is currently on the hunt for a 1998 Turbo RT.


Personally I would go for the Bentley Turbo R because of the larger 400+ HP engine and the more driver friendly floor shifter with sport suspension.

The Bentley Brooklands and RR suffered with the 300hp motor, these cars are just too heavy for that.

I am not sure if you knew this or not, but all the later models were turbocharged. The Silver Spur II and Brooklands shared the same V8 Turbo motor that put out 300 hp.

The Turbo R and RT had higher pressure turbos, better suspension, sportier aerodynamics, and larger wheels/brakes.

So.. you will have to worry about the Turbo with all the later model RR/Bentley vehicles.

My parents owned theirs for only 7 months, not sure about all their expenses but the oil & filter service was $145.00

These cars are not cheap, even the older non turbo models are expensive to work on and parts are even more scarce for them. There is a reason why every guy with $20-40K in their pocket doesn't have one of these in the garage... because what would be a $1K repair in a average vehicle, would cost 5 times as much on these cars.

The best thing you can do is find out if you have a local Bentley/RR independent mechanic in your area. We were lucky to have on in Virginia Beach and they knew these vehicles up/down.

Regarding the pheneomenally expensive repair and maintenance costs associated with this class of car (like that $145 oil change, that is unreal!), is there any way you can duck around those super high costs? Like for example, what makes the oil change cost $145? It can't use oil that's too terribly different than what more "pedestrian" cars use. Is it the filter? Or just the labor charges that you're bound to incur when you go into a RR/Bentley dealer? Elias, do you remember what the going labor rate is at the RR/B specialist that you took your cars to? Just as an example, the going rate for labor at a Chevy dealer in my area is in the $110-$120 range. How much could it actually be for a car of that stature?

mharker, just out of curiosity, what drew you to the Rolls Royces? I mean we all admire them and dream about owning them but what made you actually seriously consider purchasing one? I don't mean this in any offensive way of any sort, I'm just curious. God knows I want one and would LOVE to have one at some point, but I can't honestly figure a way to budget it into my life, even in 10-20 years, even if I could find one for $15,000 (which I'd have a hell of a time doing), I think the maintenance and repairs would bury me alive.

Have you ever given thought to an early-mid '80s model? I think those are probably the most affordable ones to get into. Or, have you ever given thought to a Camarague (sp?)? That's a hell of a rare car and all the RR owners would be in envy!


Good luck in your search!

Even the early 1980s models had their share of issues. You have to remember that most of these cars sit for most of their life... meaning when they are affordable most of the seals are all dried out.

Just see how many early late 70s and early 80s models are now running SB Chevy motors (kind of similar to the Jaguars of the same era).

FYI, we had to order the Oil Filter from the Bentley dealership 250 miles away in Maryland, so plus shipping the filter & crush ring cost was $60.00 or so.

The labor rate at the independent RR/Bentley Mechanic in Virginia Beach was a little over ~$100/hour.

This one is very nice despite the small wood cracks:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-0f...22QQihZ009QQcategoryZ6118QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I~LUV~Caddys8792 said:

mharker, just out of curiosity, what drew you to the Rolls Royces? I mean we all admire them and dream about owning them but what made you actually seriously consider purchasing one?

Click to expand...

Let's see. You're really asking for a long post here...

My earliest memories of RR were probably toys. Also in the 70s I distinctly remember a "car card" game where you had to "beat" the other card in a category with HP, price, or whatever. It was british and it had 2 RRs in the set. One was a gold Corniche which was 19,012 pounds and the other was a green Phantom at 30,000 pounds. Regrettably the game was lost, but the pictures and stats are burned in my head. Also I remember buying a red 2dr toy Corniche coupe (Corgi?) when I was a kid.

Mind you, I've always been a big RWD V8 car fan. And with my recent Corvette aquisition I'm realizing that while I like sports cars, they don't excite me as much as luxury cars. Sometimes I ponder why I am drawn to such cars, and all I can think of is that in the early 70s as a young child I must have seen many on the road and liked them. (I very much hope it is not some kind of psychological "overcompensation" that some of my car buddies have suggested!)

I am not in market right at the moment for a RR. I once promised myself I'd get one by age 30... which didn't happen. But getting one by age 40 is looking very possible! I think it would be a nice addition to my growing collection.

Fortunately for me my passion is high-quality, low-maintenance, fully-depreciated luxury RWD V8 cars. So most of the stuff I want is pretty cheap and as long as I can find storage, building a collection is do-able.

Right now I search ads for 1990-1992 5.7L Fleetwoods, mid-80s Regal V8s, Lincoln Mark VIIs, and RR Shadows/Spurs. With a little luck, I can aquire all this for less per year than the payments on our family minivan. And with more luck they will be worth something someday!

Why Rolls-Royces? I like the stately styling and decadent interiors. Also it fascinates me that they sold for so much money new and the depreciated value on sedans is so little. My all-time favs are the early 2000s Corniches and the Cloud dropheads. But those are way beyond what I can afford!

Anyway quite the essay here but that's a great thing about forums. People who make it to the end are actually interested in what you are saying!