Now that the eight iteration of the Rolls-Royce Phantom is on sale and has been for a while, prices for older Phantom models are starting to drop. For many people, buying anything other than the seventh generation wouldn’t make sense. Therefore, a lot of aspiring gentlemen, looking for the best bang/buck ratio have been patiently waiting for the previous model to drop in value before snatching one up.

But what if you’re interested in buying a pre-owned Rolls-Royce Phantom VII? Is it worth your trouble? Well, apart from the fact that this particular generation still looks modern, and it offers immense levels of luxury and comfort, there are some drawbacks as well, such as the maintenance, in case anything goes wrong.

Nevertheless, the pricing makes them pretty attractive. Compared to the window sticker of a new one, which will get up to 400,000 Euros quite easily, you can snatch an earlier model, from the 2000s for a quarter of that price. Move up into the 2010s and you can get one for 125,000 – 150,000. For that kind of money you get a proper 6.75-liter V12, the Spirit of Ecstasy statuette and the trademark features a Rolls-Royce comes with.

Some reports claim that radiators leaks can occur after around 80,000 kilometers on older pre-2008 models. That’s why it’s good to check for any leaks when inspecting one, and looking at the antifreeze level. If it’s under minimum, it probably has a leak.

That’s not all. The rocker cover gaskets also tend to give up after a while so you might want to check them for oil leaks. If the engine is running poorly and is a bit rougher than it should (these are unstressed V12 engines, mind you, they should be rock solid) you might be dealing with some bad injectors. Replacing 12 of them will not be a cheap fix. Before starting the engine, you might also want to check the batteries (there are two of them in a Phantom) as they could be depleted as these are older cars.

The cloud-like suspension is awesome to have but it can come at a cost. This is heavy car so ball joints are expected to fail at one point, so you should check them out. Furthermore, the air suspension’s bags might leak which will put extra strain on the pumps, leading to failure. Make sure to check the ride height of the Phantom you’re looking at is correct. Last but not least, corrosion is rarely found on these cars but it doesn’t hurt to check. Now that you’re all set, check your budget and you might get yourself a bargain Roller.