At $12,500, Is This 1988 Bentley Eight A Class-Spanning Classic?

There are certain things the British do better than almost anyone else on the planet, and being snootily upper-crust is one of those things. Today's Nice Price or No Dice Bentley is an example of classic British upper-classiness. Let's see if its price proves more proletarian.

In the automotive world, the resurrection of a moribund model is rare, but not unheard of. That occurred in 1963 when a posse of Studebaker dealers bought the rights and the tooling to continue production of the Avanti sports car after Studebaker went belly up. After that, the avant-garde Avanti went on to enjoy a decades-long production run. Time will tell whether a similar future awaits the Karma Revero, the reborn version of a car initially sold as the Fisker Karma. 

The 2021 Karma Revero GT we looked at on Monday didn't seem to offer so bright a future at its $42,500 asking price. That was despite it being half what a new one would set you back. Many of you also praised the car's overall good looks in the comments. Unfortunately for the seller, that wasn't compelling enough a combo, as the Revero fell in a 72% 'No Dice' loss.

Yesterday's Revero might be one interpretation of what modern luxury looks like, but in the past, that image was completely different: more upright and starched-suited in many ways. The ultimate realization of that old-school luxury idea was Great Britain's Rolls-Royce. For someone seeking a little sport with their luxury, the company also offered a lineup of Bentley models, which were near-copies but with a little more edge.

That was back in the day. Today, Rolls and Bentley have been split like formerly conjoined twins whisked off to live with different foster families. Rolls-Royce is now part of BMW's holdings, while Bentley leverages Volkswagen's credit line and parts bins. Back when this 1988 Bentley Eight rolled out of the Crewe Works in Cheshire, the two companies were one, and this Bentley, save for the stately grille and badging, is exactly the same as the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit.

The Eight was introduced in 1984 as a lesser-specced and lower-priced alternative to the standard Mulsanne. Initially, it was offered with cloth upholstery, fewer color options, and non-antilock brakes. Both leather and ABS were added mid-way through the model's eight-year production run. 

This car has leather along with handsome walnut veneer on the dashboard and door caps. It also has the expected luxury features, such as automatic climate control and memory seats; however, according to the ad, the A/C is currently blowing warm due to a leak, and the memory seats have forgotten their function. One other issue: the odometer broke at 50,868 miles, with the present owner unaware of how many miles the car has truly done. It should also be noted that this car comes from the unfortunate era before airbags and instead has the crummy automatic shoulder belts that were a pre-airbag alternative for passive safety.

On the plus side, the interior looks to be in very nice condition and comes with a set of four deep-pile Bentley-branded floor mats. There's also a set of unopened WeatherTech protective mats that will come with the car. It's a good-looking car on the outside, too. The stately black paint still pops, and the factory alloys appear uncurbed. There is no word on the tires' age, but they don't look bad in the photos, either.

Per the seller, this Bentley is mechanically sound, save for the A/C and seat memory issues. Those mechanicals include the iconic Rolls-Royce 6.75-liter V8, whose power the company always described simply as "adequate." In truth, the engine makes somewhere around 230 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque in this model year's spec. 

That's backed up by a three-speed automatic sourced from General Motors, which is as simple as a pimple and probably the easiest component on the car to service and maintain. In its favor, this car doesn't suffer from the onerous complication of the more recent VW-birthed Bentleys, making it a bit of a safer bet for a long-term relationship that doesn't break the bank.

Craigslist

More info in the ad: this is one of only 274 Eights built in 1988 out of a total production of just 1,736 in all. It also has what the seller claims is a working mobile phone in the console, but that probably just means it lights up since any network it would have once worked on has long since been shut down.

A clean title and current Arizona registration complete the picture on this Bentley. The seller boasts of the car: "For an enthusiast or collector, you're not going to get a better example for this price." We'll just have to see about that.

The asking price for the Eight is $12,500, and the seller claims that with $4,000 to $8,000 more, the car could easily be worth $30K. That seems like wishful thinking, and aside from the thought of driving a car with nonworking A/C during the upcoming brutal summer heat, there doesn't seem to be any need for such an investment right away.

What do you think? Does this stately saloon present in a manner that makes that $12,500 price tag seem appealing? Or does this once-cheaper Bentley now need a much cheaper price tag owing to its age and flaws?

You decide!

Phoenix, Arizona, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to Don R. for the hookup!

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