Cheap 960

[Rocinante]

Was just browsing Autotrader as you do.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-sea...02108256648751

And noticed these 960's for sale, 2 of them are around £6.5k, and the other is only £1699. It's got a few more miles, and "drives fine" with an MOT till January. It does state "no service history", but that seems quite a price difference for a car that runs and has an MOT with only a tyre and brake advisory.

I've not intention of buying any of them, or what the going rate is for these.

[capt jack]

How long's a piece of string? The prices for 900-series cars does look to be all over the place, but it's interesting that of those for sale just now, most have been around a long time.

I recently had my 128,000 mile 1997 S90 valued for an agreed value insurance, and was very surprised. Not quite enough to buy the most expensive of these on Autotrader, but not far off. We then had our 220,000-mile 1998 S70 valued, and that came back with a similar figure.

In many ways I can understand that a P80 car, an S or V70 from the late nineties would be valuable. They're still pretty modern, spares are readily available, and not being overly-reliant on space-age technology, they are hugely practical DIY cars, incredibly well-built and engineered.

The 900-series cars are great in their own way, but let's face it, in terms of driving experience well, their design really is essentially late sixties early seventies - and at times it shows. Which is of course fine, but the appeal is always going to be limited to those of us who don't mind aircraft-carrier aerodynamics, rear-wheel drive, and steering that at best tends to be more approximate than precise.

A couple of years ago I gave a lift in the S90 to one of my colleagues at work, who was in fact younger than the car, and who, once settled into the passenger seat gazed around, and then said simply "Wow, so retro....cool!"

Jack

[Laird Scooby]

Somewhere along the line Jack is a balance between the nostalgia of the 900 and the modernity of the S/V90. Makes both worth a similar amount.

I prefer RWD, find it's much safer in terms of handling etc. Always found the steering on any of my Volvos to be precise, except perhaps the old 140 series i had. They were recirculating ball instead of rack and pinion though, if memory serves.

As for your colleague, he doesn't know he's born!

[nemesisthewarlock]

Prices seem to vary from around £2K for a tatty one with MOT to £8k for a mint Japanese import with under 50K on the clock.

Personally I think they are a bargain compared to buying a front wheel drive 850 or V70 from the same era.

There is no dangerous 60's handling in a Mark II and the styling is seen as retro and cool.

Heck I have a 26 year old car that I bought for under £3k that has as many features as most new euro boxes at six times the price.

So what that I don't have built-in sat nag, so what that I don't have parking sensors, I do have heated seats, a great straight six, a car that looks amazing with air con, memory position seats and a whole lot of smiles per mile.

Give me cool and retro anyday .. although that 4.4 V8 S80 for under £5k I found on eBay is tempting me.. get behind me my younger boy racer self .. the 960 is more than enough for me ..

[john.wigley]

Having owned 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9 series before my present late phase 1 V70, I whole-heartedly agree, 'L.S.'. Additionally, while the turning circle of the RWD cars may conveniently be measured between kerbs, that of the V70 is best measured between towns!

Having paid just £550 for a running, MOT'd V70 from a dealer only five years ago, I would be quite happy to simply get my money back if I were to sell it. I did not buy it, nor do I see it, as an investment - merely as a nice old car. I can enjoy driving it without worrying about it while benefitting from the features so well enumerated by 'capt jack'.

Regards, John.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Having owned 1, 2, 3, 7 and 9 series before my present late phase 1 V70, I whole-heartedly agree, 'L.S.'. Additionally, while the turning circle of the RWD cars may conveniently be measured between kerbs, that of the V70 is best measured between towns!

Having paid just £550 for a running, MOT'd V70 from a dealer only five years ago, I would be quite happy to simply get my money back if I were to sell it. I did not buy it, nor do I see it, as an investment - merely as a nice old car. I can enjoy driving it without worrying about it while benefitting from the features so well enumerated by 'capt jack'.

Regards, John.

I've not (nor do i intend to) owned a 9xx John and i've never owned a 240 but driven enough miles in them to know what's what.
The 360GLT i used 30+ years ago daily was a comparitive breath of fresh air against the 140/240, both of which felt antiquated in the handling department - not unsafe, just not up to the standards of the times they were sold in. The Mk1 Cavaliers i owned at a simlar time were all far better handling than the 140s i owned and also the 240s i drove, not quite as regularly as the 360 but while in the same job.
Similar applies to the 740s i've owned, the handling was antiquated but not dangerous, something Volvo addressed with the 9xx series and i have added to my current 760 and transformed it from a wallowy old barge into something that rides better than most "moderns" yet still handles surprsingly well.

I probably paid a lot less for my 760 than most other people have bought their current cars for but in fairness, it needed a lot of brake and suspension work to make it safe and other work to make it reliable. Still waiting on recommissioning the AC system but Rome wasn't built in a day as the saying goes. Working brakes and good tyres take priority over AC sadly.

My other beast is FWD and is probably more akin to an S90 in a comparison but has a turning circle similar to the 760 (maybe a couple of foot bigger but it's a longer and wider car), handles very well (it's also gained a couple of later manufacturer tweaks) and best of all, doesn't suffer torque steer or the inefficiencies of a traditional auto box. In fact, the auto box in it is essentially an electronically controlled, hydraulically shifted manual box with a lock-up torque converter so about as close to being a manual without having to use a clutch as you can get and still have full auto control.

In many respects that and my 760 are chalk'n'cheese but one does things the other can't. Both share 90 degree V6 engine architecture but the other one is 24v with variable length intakes while the Volvo is fixed induction length and only 12v but produces a lot more low-end torque so it's all swings and roundabouts.

Like you neither were bought deliberately as investments but it's nice to know both are worth considerably more than i paid for them - the worrying thing is if anything happened to them what would i replace them with?

[volvo always]

Am very happy with my 1996 940 LPT auto estate for £250 5 years ago.

It's never going to be a minter as a bit battered bodily when bought but suits me well as a good workhorse. I like driving it. Not used it for a while as caring for Grandparents, Gran out of Hospital and tried to start it and battery totally dead. No dash lights/nothing. Have charged battery overnight and refit tomorrow.

The great thing with a 940 is they are easy to work on, reliable and roomy. Good for being self employed. Not needing constant repairs.

I also have a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. I like it's economy, zero tax but not much in the way of character. Nippy enough and averages around 55mpg.
I name my cars and Auris is "HECTOR, the hybrid" Volvo "Pewter, as silver coloured"

If my 940 was stolen, would most probably replace with same, if could find something at a reasonable price. Quite like the Lexus RX300/400.

[baggy798]

There's a cheap tasty purple 960 estate on one of the facebook groups. 120k, 2 owners since new, great condition inside and out. £4500 ono.

[Dippydog]

Bought my '95 MkII saloon about two and a half years ago from a trader 122,000 miles at time I bought it,paid £795.Estates it seems are dearer.Yes mine does have "issues" the rear dampers have been replaced with a standard type rather than Nivomats[so it sits lower at the rear than it should]by a previous owner,all four door cards are wrinkled and the plastic part on the drivers seat[where the seat adjustment buttons are]is broken,but it stands at the side of the road rather than in a garage or even off road when not in use.It had been serviced,M.o.t.'d and had timing belt and water pump changed 5 months before I bought it.

[baggy798]

Got it slightly wrong, it's 105k according to the mot check from last year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1907...39970593188782