Quote:
Originally Posted by john.wigley
We bought an '87(D) 745 at 11 years old and ran it for another 18 with very little more than routine servicing and renewals. We did have a new heater fitted at one point, but that was about it! The car eventually succumbed to underbody corrosion which caused it to fail an MOT and, for us, was uneconomical to repair.
We looked for some months without success for a late 945, 965 or V90 to replace it. On one visit to a dealer we saw a '00 Phase 1 V70, slightly down at heel, in the corner of his forecourt. After a test drive we both liked the car so I told him I would meet the (modest) screen price if he would put a year's MOT on it as it only had a few months remaining. He declined, but immediately offered me the car at a considerable discount as a trade sale.
We decided to take a chance and shook at that. All that the car needed for it's first MOT in my ownership was welding of the rear exhaust support and attention to the handbrake - both known issues and easy fixes. 7 years on, I'm still driving the car and it continues to serve me well. It was serviced only yesterday and apart from the usual replacements only needed a set of plugs - the first in my ownership. Total cost just over £200.
We've grown to like the car. It is slightly smaller inside than a 7/9 estate but is still a very capable load lugger. About the only downside against the RWD cars is the MASSIVE turning circle - but you do get used to that in time!
An excellent buy, and at the moment being at the bottom of it's depreciation curve, considerably cheaper than most 7/9 series cars currently on offer.
Regards, John.
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Hi John, It's very encouraging to know that despite your long held loyalty to the 745 the V70 has grown on you! Interesting that the turning circle is not so great - I was always really impressed with how good our 940s were and the modest amount of space they needed to turn round, given their length - I haven't actually driven our 'new' V70 yet - as I had the sat nav in the insurance provided hire car, my other half got to drive the V70 back home. A very scary journey given that neither of us had driven on the M25 for decades - and it was pouring with rain all the way home. Hoping that ours will grow on me too as the 940s are getting much harder to find, especially with mileage of 150k or under. Will let you know how we get on with the Siver Machine.. I'm too young to call it a Silver Surfer I've decided!!
