It’s always interesting when a celebrity-owned automobile hits the marketplace, and we have featured quite a few of them over the years here at Barn Finds. It’s fun to hear what our readers have to say about how much value, if any, the star-status potentially adds to the bottom line. However, things can get complicated when it’s up to the buyer to determine whether that vehicle was, in fact, undeniably owned by the famous person it’s thought to have belonged to. That seems to be the case with this 1978 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II, located in San Leandro, California. This one is thought to have been previously under the ownership of Joan Rivers, so if you’re a fan of The Queen of the Barbed one-liners or just looking for a seventies Rolls to work on, this one can be spotted here on eBay. So far, the opening bid of $500 hasn’t been placed, or you can buy it now for $6,500.
The seller provides two nuggets about the past ownership for this RR, including a sentence under the vehicle details that reads, “Reportedly previously owned by Joan Rivers.” The second is a black-and-white photograph of a photograph that bears what appears to be the autograph of the famous comedian, though there’s no explanation of its significance as it relates to the sale here. I also didn’t have much luck finding additional information online. Perhaps the best evidence might be hidden in the DNA on the seat coverings, but the material is cracking and will need to be replaced if the buyer chooses to restore the Rolls, so you’d better put the old leather in a bag for safekeeping and hold onto it for future testing.
It’s noted that this Rolls has been sitting and isn’t currently running, with the mechanical condition described as unknown. There are also no photos of the engine or bay area, so how things look inside that compartment remains a mystery. However, the exterior appears to be solid for the most part, with no obvious dents or body corrosion that I could immediately spot anywhere. A few minor paint chips and some clear-coat cracking are reported, but it probably wouldn’t take much effort to prep this one for a respray.
The dash seems like it’s spent enough time in the California sun to have developed a significant amount of brittleness, but the instruments appear to have fared much better, and that beautiful steering wheel has survived exceptionally well. For my own evaluation, I think the possible celebrity association for this one is worth zero, and the unknown mechanical condition makes me envision repairs with dollar signs about as big as Los Angeles County. However, I am digging that the sheet metal appears good and the interior presents well overall. What are your thoughts here?
And…auction ended.
i love to drive one.
Can we talk? At this point, any claimed celebrity connection is moot. This is a RR that doesn’t run and will take lots of money to get back on the road. While I don’t see the dashboard damage stated in the one photo provided, the interior looks pretty nice…as does the body. But who knows what it’s going to cost to fix the drive train ? As is often said, there’s nothing more expensive than a cheap Rolls.
You did it again! You beat me to the nothing more expensive than a,cheap Rolls Royce comment!
And if you can’t afford a good one, you definitely can’t afford a bad one!
That provenance would devalue the car for me.
Maybe if it was Rosie O’donnel’s Prius. .
And she’s back, new face and all.
Well, ahe needed a new face! I thought she wouldn’t come back while Trump was president!? I am sad to hear that she came back. I think she should have stayed away!
Looks like someone changed the steering wheel! It looks much better than the two spoke black spartan OE Rolls wheel! That’s got to add value to the final bid!!!
I can imagine Phyllis Diller and Don Rickles yukking it up about this car now, in the condition it’s in. You’d think there would be a plate or something verifying that the famous comedienne once owned this, but all we get is a photograph of a photograph. One thing you can say about a Rolls though, they are always a head turner no matter what condition they’re in. For this car, all you have to do is mortgage the house to get it back on the road.
If it were Marge Simpson’s Canyonero……
In 1978 , this was a $65,000 car. That’s about $335,000 in adjusted money. Had you put that cash into an S&P 500 index mutual fund back then and didn’t add anything else to it, you would have approximately $16.1 million. This , by contrast , couldn’t secure a $500 opening bid.
resale value of used Rolls have always been laughable.
“This one is thought to have been previously under the ownership of Joan Rivers”
Apparently, nobody cares. :)
I have a Joan rivers sings Christmas carols CD I will send for free to the winning bidder.
500k later you could have quite a nice old Roller.
https://www.roadandtrack.com/reviews/a71281577/quiet-riot-driving-the-halcyon-rolls-royce-corniche-ev/