Does A Rolls Royce Need A lot Of Maintenance?

When it comes to luxury cars, Rolls-Royce stands alone as the luxury brand. But does all that luxury come with huge maintenance needs?

While the short answer is yes, it is an answer that ignores a lot of the finer details. The actual answer is far more complicated. If you’re thinking of investing in a luxury vehicle, here’s what you should know about Rolls-Royce maintenance, straight from the expert mechanics of Foreign Affairs Motorwerks.

The Complex Nature Of Vintage Luxury Vehicles​​​​​​​

For simplicity, we’ll refer to the pre-BMW as any Rolls-Royce made before 1998. This is when Volkswagen AG bought Bentley and Rolls-Royce and sold the latter to BMW. Rolls-Royce’s from this era have become collector’s items and are adored by their owners for their striking looks, engineering, and the class they seem to ooze.

Unfortunately, the pursuit of the most luxurious cars possible led to some engineering that, while miraculous in the day, has become the bane of their current owner’s existence. As time goes on, replacement and service parts are becoming exceedingly rare or are just not as common as other vehicles.

Fortunately, enthusiast communities do exist, such as Flying Spares, whose sole mission is to source good spares and get them into the hands of enthusiasts. Let’s look at some of the more expensive maintenance jobs.

Common Rolls-Royce Maintenance Jobs

If sheer luxury is what you’re after, there is no other answer than a modern Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has been under the control of BMW AG since 2003, with all modern vehicles sharing their platform and parts with other BMW models.

All the best cars involve a regular maintenance schedule to ensure top performance. An investment like a Rolls-Royce will require a finer eye for detail since it is both a high-performance vehicle as well as a collector’s item.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues you may encounter when you own this luxury vehicle:

High Repair Costs

Let’s compare the most popular Rolls-Royce, the Phantom, to its closest cousin, the BMW 7 Series. The Phantom comes with a larger engine, more advanced suspension, and every electronic accessory you could possibly imagine. That’s before considering the heavier-duty parts that have to be developed to support the luxury add-ons we don’t think about, such as stronger window motors for the double-planned windows.

In short, repairing a Rolls-Royce can be an expensive affair simply because there is more of the car to repair. With all these extras you won’t find on other cars, combined with the fact that many of these parts are made in limited numbers and are only available from Rolls-Royce, repair costs can be exorbitant.

Comparative Maintenance Costs

What is interesting about Rolls-Royce is the fairly reasonable annual repair costs compared to similarly powered vehicles. Compared to the maintenance costs of cars with similar-sized and performance output engines, such as the Mercedes-Benz S65 or a Ferrari 812 Superfast, the maintenance cost begins to look more reasonable. This can be accredited to BMW using OEM manufacturers such as Bosch and Getrag in the drivetrain.

Now, this isn’t to say a Rolls Royce is going to be as affordable as a 3 series to maintain. Once put into perspective, it’s hard to argue with the maintenance bill when you consider the initial cost of purchase.

Mineral Oil Hydraulic System

Introduced in the Silver Shadow, Silver Spirit, and Silver Seraph vehicles, the Mineral oil hydraulic system was used for both suspension and braking. The benefit of mineral oil suspension is that it offered a smoother ride than any coil or spring setup at the time. Instead of having multiple hydraulic systems, Rolls-Royce used the same oil for the brakes.

Mineral oil has the advantage of acting both as a hydraulic fluid and as a lubricant, hence keeping all the complex mechanisms well-lubricated in the system. Unfortunately, mineral oil is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water. This was the inevitable downfall of the mineral oil hydraulic system. It needed to be serviced as often as the engine, and even then, it did not fully contain the rust.

Mineral oil isn’t as popular as its counterpart: DOT4 fluid. Sourcing enough of it to keep your Rolls running is an expensive affair.

Injector Failure

Cars made between 1993 and 1998 have an issue with injectors gunking up and failing. While some owners have had great success cleaning injectors with in-tank additives, the chemicals can be harsh and cause damage to the fueling system. The best repair is to have the injectors removed and cleaned on a bench where a technician can ensure they have the correct flow rate and spray pattern.

Electric Gear Shift Failure

Most Rolls-Royces use an electric gear shift on the steering column. This allows for a smooth transition between the gears, as the shift itself isn’t physically connected to the transmission. What makes this expensive when it fails is finding replacement parts, which is becoming more difficult. Secondly, a lot of labor is required to replace the component, since significant sections of the steering column and dashboard have to be removed.

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