Thinking of buying a 440, can anyone offer any advice ?
 

Hello,

New to the forum.

I'm considering buying a 440 1.8 SE (petrol), I have not seen the vehicle as yet but I was wondering if there are any common issues with the car that I might want to pay special attention to ?

Also the car is an N reg with 80,000 miles on it and is priced at £750, does this sound like a reasonable price ?

They also seem thin on the ground (or is that just my impression) are finding spares if/when necessary a potential headache ?

Thanks in advance.

CSW.

well im no pro, but a few things u shud look for are the back arches, they generally rust all the time, mine are lol and the back springs also seem to go alot cuz my mudflaps scrape off ramps wen 1 person yes 1 person is in the back lol thats all i cud advise mate good luck and dont get me wrong 440 is a great car jus watch out for those things,

im sure sum1 else on here is gonna tell u more im just speaking frm experience
good luck

As 440anator mentioned the rust on the rear wheel arches is common especially in earlier models. 400's also tend to have a rough idle due to the idle valve clogging. Cleaning that solves the problem. Make sure all the electricals work, and also all the other usual things that you would have to check on any other car. Check for oil leaking from the gearbox (though oil leaking from where the linkage enters the gearbox is common and isn't a serious problem).
Make sure the cooling fan works as well because these engines are sensitive to high temperatures.(Volvo included an electric water pump to circulate the coolant once the engine is turned off because of overheating problems during testing.)
Getting parts is fairly easy but it can be expensive. Some parts can only be obtained through the Volvo dealer: these parts can be expensive.
When buying ask about its service history, otherwise you will need to do a full service on the car (oil(s),filters,timing belt and pulleys, etc.)

I would say that £750 is double what it is really worth,I had to let my diesel go for £550 a few months ago,people have moved on to other cars and 440's have really become an enthusiasts car.
If in really good nick maybe 350-400 ?

Check the front subframe as that can rot quite badly. I speak from experience.

hi

i just bought a 440 1.9 td (renault engine)with 89 k on it dose have a scuff or two but has
very little rust on for a car that is 16 years old

bought it for 450 pounds it has tax till end of november and mot till june next year
hope this helps with the value

cheers kirky

My own car has the Renault engine ( B18U? ) and it's excellent. Would never have thought that Renault were so good tbh. A lot of 440's seem to have been tow cars at some stage, so a saggy rear is worth looking out for. The boot will no doubt leak rainwater, that's pretty standard.

As others have mentioned, electrics are a bit of a law unto themselves. I'm probably lucky that mine is the Xi model with wind-up windows rather than electric, etc. It depends on whether or not you can live without these gizmos ( my fuel gauge has never worked for the past 8 years of ownership, never been a problem - idiot light suffices ).

As a car the space is phenominal with the back seats dropped. It's basically a van when you need one. I've always found with mine that even if they run a bit bad, they tend to run. You won't get sat stranded too easily with a 440, and that counts for a lot. Parts aren't too much of a problem, 'cause they're mostly shared with the 460 / 480 as well. They're not in plentiful supply, but a bit of clever ebaying and stockpiling of parts in advance is to be recommended.

The overheating issue, apart from the cambelt change history, is the most important thing mentioned imho. If the cooling / temp gauge is working properly that's a huge plus, because they do tend to run hot in summer. On balance great car, wouldn't hesitate to buy another. I don't know what N-reg year is ( I'm in Ireland ) but for the money being asked I would expect a 1997 model, the last of them.

Best of luck,

Tony.