Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible - a classic car for larger families

The Rolls-Royce Corniche, built between 1971 and 1995, is yet another long runner. Based on the Silver Shaodw that is a good car as well, the Corniche was THE luxury convertible for centuries. The car is quite monumental and really large, but the design covers the size well. It's one of the few five seat convertibles, so often the only possible choice for aristocratic English families with bigger families.
The car has changed only marginally in its 24 years of being built. Bumpers changed and some of the luxury accessories in the interior, but that's probably it. I like them both, the Silver Shadow and the Corniche. And they are great value for the buck! A Silver Shadow in very good condition will decrease your bank account by less than a tenth of what a modern Rolls-Royce Phantom would cost you. The Corniche is probably valued at a fifth of the modern alternative. This is not because they were cheap, they were actually quite expensive comparing to a Volkswagen Golf or any other car. But they haven't kept their value well, especially the limousine. That's good for the buyer! And as Dieter Meier, the frontman of the pop group Yello used to say: If you forget about maintenance cost, fuel consumption and depreciation, it's actually a very economical car to own.