Three Numbers Decide How Much to Rent a Phantom

Our Rolls Royce Phantom rents for $2,995 a day, and 100 miles come with each day. That rate is the first of three numbers that decide how much to rent a Phantom. The second is a $3,000 hold on your card. The third is $10 for every mile past the allowance. The daily rate also falls the longer you keep the car, down to half at 28 days.

The car is a white 2020 Phantom with an orange and white cabin. It's the only Phantom we run, and it's based in Los Angeles. It can meet you at the LAX curb or at a hotel entrance in Beverly Hills. The rear doors are hinged at the back, so you step out facing forward. The people waiting outside never see you climb out of a car. They see you stand up.

What the $2,995 Phantom rental cost covers

The daily rate covers the car and the first 100 miles of each day. Insurance isn't in it, and we don't sell insurance. Delivery isn't in it either, because delivery is quoted by address. Here is what the car itself brings to the booking.

• 2020 Phantom, standard wheelbase, white with an orange and white cabin
• 6.75 liter twin-turbo V12, 563 hp, 664 lb-ft of torque
• 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, top speed 155 mph
• 5 seats, 4 doors, rear-wheel drive with rear steer
• 5.76 meters long

None of those numbers is the reason people book it. The torque shows up from barely above idle, so the car pulls away with no sound of effort. Rolls Royce tunes the pedals for a chauffeur's foot. When you ease away from a valet stand in Beverly Hills, nobody on the steps hears the engine. They only watch a long white car begin to leave.

Why the Phantom rental deposit is $3,000

The hold on the Phantom is three times the hold on our Flying Spur. It's also $1,000 more than the hold on either of our Ghosts. A hold isn't a charge. The hold is released after the car comes back the way it left.

The hold covers small things, like a curbed wheel. Your own insurance covers real damage, subject to your deductible. The handoff photos are the record of how the car looked when you got it.

A curbed wheel is easier than it sounds on a car this long. The Phantom is longer than anything else we run. Rear steer helps it turn tighter than the wheel suggests it should. Even so, a tight valet lane outside a dinner in Newport Beach takes patience. Take it slowly, and let the valet wave you in.

How much to rent a Phantom for three days, two weeks, or a month

The rate drops on its own as the booking gets longer. The discount comes from the length of the rental, not from a phone call. Days 1 and 2 are at the full rate. Three to 4 days take 10% off, 5 to 6 days take 15%, and 7 to 13 days take 20%. From day 14 it's 30% off, from day 21 it's 40%, and from day 28 it's 50%. Here is what that does to the Phantom.

• 1 day, $2,995
• 3 days, $8,086.50, about $2,696 a day
• 5 days, $12,728.75, about $2,546 a day
• 14 days, $29,351, about $2,097 a day
• 28 days, $41,930, about $1,498 a day

Look at the last line. At 28 days, you pay half the posted rate for the same car. The miles pool across the booking too, so a month gives you 2,800 miles to spend.

A month also changes what the car is for. In the first week it's an entrance. Later it's simply how you get to lunch in Pasadena on a Tuesday. On Saturday you might ride in the back for a wedding. Chauffeur service is available on request. The car is the same white Phantom on both days. Only your seat changes.

The $10 mile

Every day includes 100 miles, and a longer rental pools them. A 3 day booking gives you 300 miles to use however you like. Past that, the Phantom bills $10 a mile. That's the highest overage rate of the four cars in this post. The Flying Spur, our 2018 Ghost, and the M5 each bill $4 a mile.

So 50 extra miles in the Phantom cost $500. The same 50 miles in the Flying Spur cost $200. If you know the trip runs long, say so at booking. We price the miles in ahead of time, so they aren't billed after.

Most Phantom days don't come close to the limit. The car's job is short and formal. It meets you at LAX, takes you to the ceremony, and carries you to dinner in Beverly Hills. The ride home is the last few miles. On the freeway the long wheelbase settles into a slow, even wave, and the back seat barely moves.

Phantom rental price next to a Ghost

One day in the Phantom costs about the same as three days in our 2018 Ghost. That Ghost is $995 a day, and three days at that rate come to $2,985. Our 2023 Ghost is $1,195 a day. Both Ghosts carry a $2,000 hold.

The two cars share a twin-turbo V12 and the same 563 hp. The Phantom's engine is 6.75 liters, and the Ghost's is 6.6. The Phantom also makes 664 lb-ft of torque, while the Ghost makes 575. The Ghost is shorter and easier to park, and its steering is light enough to guide with two fingers.

The Phantom is built around the back seat. Its rear seats sit angled slightly inward, so two passengers can talk without turning their heads. Paparazzi mirrors are set into the pillars beside them. A glass panel called the Gallery runs the width of the dashboard and holds a piece of commissioned art. You pay the extra $2,000 a day for that cabin and for the length people see before the door opens.

Our 2018 Ghost is based in Palm Springs. It can be waiting outside baggage claim at Palm Springs Airport when you land, with the mountains behind it. If you plan to drive yourself, the Ghost is the better buy. If someone else will drive and you'll ride in back, book the Phantom.

Two cheaper ways into the back seat

The Bentley Flying Spur is $795 a day, with a $1,000 hold and $4 a mile. Ours is a white 2022 V8 with a red interior. Its rear sill sits low, and that matters when someone in the back is wearing a gown. It's a 5.3 meter sedan, but rear-wheel steering lets it turn like a smaller car. When it stops outside a wedding in Pasadena, the open rear door shows off the red seats for the photographer.

The BMW M5 Competition is the step down at $595 a day, with a $1,000 hold. Ours is black with a brown interior, and its twin-turbo V8 makes 617 hp. It gets to 60 in 3.1 seconds. Five days in the M5 come to $2,528.75 after the 15% discount. That's less than a single day in the Phantom.

The M5 looks like an ordinary executive sedan, and that's its point. Nobody in a Newport Beach parking lot will look at it twice. Your passengers will notice the moment the light turns green.

The insurance call comes first

Your own policy has to cover the car before any of these numbers matter. Your auto policy must extend comprehensive and collision coverage to a rental car that isn't on your policy. That's called non-owner vehicle coverage. It can't carry an exotic exclusion or a cap that rules the car out.

Our Phantom had a sticker price of $460,000. Most credit card rental benefits exclude cars worth more than $50k to $75k. That means card coverage almost never applies to this car. Before every rental, we call your carrier with an agent on a recorded line and confirm the coverage.

You also need to be 18 or older, with a valid license and full coverage insurance in your own name. A larger deposit may apply under 25. We keep one Phantom, and wedding Saturdays go first. Call your carrier before you picture yourself stepping out of that back door.

The Phantom's rate holds for the first two days, and after that it only goes down. Keep it a month and you pay half for the same car, the same doors, and the same quiet pull away from the valet.