So many 940s unsold ........

[Dr. Rog]

Originally Posted by rogerthechorister

I love my B230ET, and my B234F - but they have been SHATTERINGLY costly to run - brake discs every few thousand miles, head gasket after head gasket, clutch after clutch.

But at least most of the parts (anyone got a B234F cam carrier?) can be got out of scrapyards, whereas whiteblocks eat liners and blocks without warning - and don't get me started on the B28/B280 nightmares.

Hilarious

My "old green volvo" was purchased with well worn in brakes and a slightly slippy clutch (well slippy if you accidentally pulled away hard in 3rd)

It lasted another 60,000 miles before I changed the pads (they where corroded) and the clutch is still in it on my drive.

You need to drive more like a Volvo driver (the ones with hats)

[Paddy Wagon]

You need to drive more like a Volvo driver (the ones with hats)

hahaha, thats me out of the count then,,,

[capt jack]

Really interesting thread this.

Early 240s are now hitting 'classic' status, and later ones are begining to see more interest. Good 740s are rarer, junked ones cheap and plentiful. The 940 is in limboland just now, whilst there are quite a few nice-ish 960s to be had on Ebay and elsewhere.

The thing is that older Volvos have an image problem - big, slow, dated, thirsty and a bit elitist - and that's just the owners!

But an older Volvo makes a superb car choice. OK fuel consumption is a bit higher than most, but they make superb LPG conversions, and a carb'd 240 can be 'done' for £850 or thereabouts. This would bring the pence-per-mile fuel cost down from around 25p to something nearer to 13 or 14p.

Even the 850 and early 70-series are pretty reasonable DIY cars, and the 240, 740 and 940 are eminently good for the DIY-er.

Crazy thing is many folk will think nothing of splashing out £400 per month to buy a new Ford/Mazda/Vauxhall etc etc, yet think they're getting a good deal because the thing will do 45mpg. But think about it, have a new car for 36 months at £400 per month is £14,400. Fuel is now £6.20 per gallon, so at 12,000 miles per year, even at 50 mpg, that's 12p per mile, £1440 per year. So over three years your Ford Awful will cost you around £19,000 to buy and fuel, plus at least another £1500 in service, say £20,500 over all.

Alternatively spend say £1500 on a late 1990's Volvo. At 25 mpg your 12,000 miles a year will cost you £2,900 in fuel, just under £9000 over three years.

With careful buying and a bit of DIY, your total servicing, tyres, brakes etc costs won't exceed £1000 in three years. So the total cost of your 3 year Volvo ownership is around £11,500 - just about half that of the Ford Awful.

If the list price of your new Ford was around £18,000 ( a pretty basic Focus or something) then your 36 monthly payments will be pretty much gone in depreciation. At the end of three years of old Volvo ownership you'll still flog the old beast for £500! Or keep it for another three years!

I know that the anti-Volvo brigade bang on about the typical Volvo owners obsession with safety, but it's interesting that pretty much all modern car safety features were found first on old Volvos, years before other manufacturers even thought about it! Seat-belts, side-impact protection, day running lights, etc etc etc.

My 15 year old V70 has leather, alloys, ECC, driver information computer, cruise control, day running lights, a brilliant stock audio system (a radio, CD player and tape deck!), takes five adults and their luggage in space and comfort, costs me 15p per mile to fuel on LPG, and has cost 3p per mile total service and repair costs over 6 years and 180,000 miles since I bought it at 8 years old with 50,000 miles on from a main dealer for £3500 plus a truly knackered 100k-mile Honda Accord). Everything works perfectly, and it still drives and looks absolutely fine!

One final thought, if we're comparing an older Volvo with a new Ford Awful, which one is more likely to take you on your holidays in comfort, and to the tip on a Sunday, and shift that wardrobe or your teenager to Uni?

It's true what they say - there's more to life than a Volvo - that's why I drive one!

Cheers

Jack

PS: I also turned down the option of a company car - Audi A6 / VW Passat / Skoda Superb because my old Volvo is more comfortable and nicer to drive than all those, and costs me a big fat ZERO in Income Tax! I charge the company for the use of my car, which earnt me just over £4000 tax-free last year! - Jack.

[wlad]

Try Frank Pickles for insurance - I'm 32 with full NCB too and they insured my 2.5 960 Estate for £175 on a 3,000 Mile classic policy :-)

Also Peter Best quoted me £208, so there are insurance deals to be had - as long as you have another car that you have in daily use, you should be alright.

Myself and four mates are using the 960 for a mountain biking holiday to Wales - we should be able to comfortably ferry the five of us, all our bikes and all our luggage in total comfort and safety by using that behemoth towing a trailer... and we should see 35-40 MPG on the motorway. Definitely preferable to taking two of our daily cars.

Old Volvos for ever!

Originally Posted by Chesh740R

I have a 940 LPT Turbo saloon that i picked up for £200 that is perfect, just put through mot and it flew through no problems.

I keep it about as a spare car for me or for friends and family should there modern stuff break down and they need a car to borrow on a short term. To keep them running is very cheap as mentioned above, there downside is there thirst for fuel but as people have said above cheaper paying an extra £20 a month in fuel than £250 for finance payments.

The only problem has been though there respective insurance companies have refused to swap there policys over to the 940 as its too fast or powerfull a car!!!!

Both people that have wanted to borrow it had Mondeo TDCi's which are far faster than the 940 is supposedly stock and yet there insurers wouldnt swap across or wanted twice as much as the mondeo to insure it.

I rung up to insure it as a 2nd car for myself and was quoted near £500 for a classic 3000mile policy. i'm 32 with full NCB's. Needless to say it just sits uninsured and unused on the drive.

I'm going to see if my father who's now retired and nearly 59 can insure it as a 2nd car on a classic policy with say saga for very little and if so then sign the car over to him and insure it that way, then i and others can borrow it under the drive any other vehicle not owned by you condition.

[JMallows]

Originally Posted by JMallows

Hi, i got your PM, tried to reply but it doesnt let me until i have 30 posts... Dont really want my e-mail on public display, but, if you PM me your e-mail, then i can e-mail you my e-mail!

Thanks

Hi, got your PM, with the address, and i have sent you my e-mail

Thanks very much

Jeremy

[s.hammond]

it's such ashame these cars aren't being sold i love mine! i hate new cars it's alway interesting when at a drive through to see how many new car drivers have to open there doors to make their order! things aren't made properly anymore!

i only paid £500 for my (was working)air conditioned leather comfort and i'm not saddled £20.000 debt, been there worn the t-shirt and will never do it again really isn't worth it

interestingly my mk6 escort 16.16v only does 22mpg town which isn't far off what i've got now plus it's £10 a month extra to insure and my k reg citroen xm is £20 more to insure than the volvo?!

i've got a back dated pay rise coming i know where that's going but it'll be worth every penny.

[a.l.2810]

Had my lpt almost two years now and other than the dmf it has not gone wrong. First car we ever given a name to. Wish I'd got one sooner, Never expected to get good mpg so never tried to measure it and certainly not going to worry about it. Its paid for so I'm not paying inetrest on a depreciating asset. As for insurance I gave up with the web sites as they all come back with very similar prices(nearly £500 last year). In the end tried NFU Mutual By old fashioned telephone and got it down to £325 with estimated milage no higher than 8000.

[Dr. Rog]

Great posts guys

Interesting that so many have found affordable insurance. I would be happy to have a 940/60 as "family car" on limited mileage "classic" insurance and a smaller car for commuting.

Perhaps its a good time to buy, before the good ones all go!!

[globetrotter]

Interesting thread this, I have a 940 2.3 auto CD lpt estate, and have spent over £1800 on it over the last two years, refurbishing it, every part has been replaced, all sensors, head, turbo, fuel pump, heater matrix, etc, etc, you name it, it will probably have been done, drives superb, I tried to sell it lately, but no one seemed interested, but I will say this, these cars are very easy to work on, you can get an Haynes manual, good wiring diagrams, Vadis for parts, plus tons of technical support on these pages,for this model, and other variants, try that with a modern car, these cars are built to last and will be around long after some modern one's