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

[Chrali]

I'm wasting many happy hours trawling this forums old messages and one thread was about the lack of 940s for sale a year or two ago.

Contrast that to now, where there is a glut of them on Ebay and most of them don't sell and those that do sell for very very low prices (except the one I bought - naturally- sigh).

I thought that there would always be a market for the proper Volvos, but I guess that isn't true anymore.

Shame

Dunno why, you'd think cash strapped families would snap up a well built car, relatively cheap to run, and repair, road tax is the same as all cars over 1.6 up to 1999, sure fuel is worse, but you'd need to do thousands of miles to really feel it.

I got mine for DIY use, to carry worktops, plasterboard, dump trips etc as I'm doing up my house later this year.

I mean whats the alternative, rusting mondeo, or omegas....., doesnt seem like much of an option really.

[rogerthechorister]

Yes, a good B230ET or even B230FT is really nice. My ones however cost a fortune in maintenance and hardly ever bettering 25mpg has a psychological impact.

[Mikeymo]

Yes. I just scrapped a 940 classic. I'd have taken £200 for it just for the sake of karma. But nobody interested.

Admittedly it had a leaking head gasket, but despite the number of people who declare 'that's only a few hours work' none of them actually seemed to want to buy it.

Interestingly scrappers don't seem interested in breaking cars. The one who offered me the highest price (just) claimed to have running BMWs and Mercs that have never had a single item removed.

But you're right about nobody being interested. I think it's psychology over numbers:

Most people think of a mechanical fault, even if it isn't actually a breakdown, as a catastrophe. 'Oh no, the garage says it needs £500 worth of work doing. We're all doomed'.

But the same people will quite happily take out a bank loan where they pay £300-£500 EVERY MONTH FOR 3 YEARS to buy a nearly new car.

On my last 2 cars I've actually kept a spreadsheet on running costs. Just purchase and service costs. And it makes interesting reading. Financially, you can never get past the massive cost of a new car.

The one I've just scrapped cost me 15p per mile, combined purchase and service. And that includes a few expensive service items (ss exhaust etc.).

The one I've got is costing me 34p per mile. But that will drop fast as the mileage increases and the purchase price (a whole £1200) becomes negligible.

But people are frightened of cars and can't think straight about the cost of running them. I'm lucky that I don't live, financially, from hand to mouth. So an unexpected bill of even a couple of grand wouldn't be the end of the world.

The most stupid thing I ever hear uttered is 'I got rid of the car because it needed more spending on it than it's worth'. What?

For a family who want a safe, very comfortable car, with a high spec (if you get a CD/GLE type) that is also fairly repairable at reasonable cost I don't think you can beat a 940. And if you don't do many miles, so the fuel isn't a killer, even more so.

Also a 940 is hardly a target for thieves is it? Well, only really weird thieves.

Though I must admit one of the reasons I run them is that there is a very good Volvo independent in my town, who always seems to have old RWDs up on the ramps whenever I go in.

[barkster1971]

They're getting scrapped because their owners have had a heart attack when they fill them up with petrol and turn to see how much they have to pay!
Apart from putting in £80 every 350 miles I love mine.

[Chrali]

Ok i know why they are scrapped, or not sold but is soooo short sighted. Ebay is full of much more modern cars which are sale/repair with dead engines/blown gearboxes/mysterious electrical faults. I just dont hold with the disposable cars idea, but I can see they don't do the car manufactures any favours, but I was more suprised how few actually sell at any price.

[GrandadRob]

If you are only getting 25mpg from a 940.....Why oh why are you not driving a 24v 3lt. 960 like me. I get 25mpg everywhere and what a dream to drive.

[Mikeymo]

Do you really get 25mpg from a 960?

If so I might look at one. But they are a bit more complicated, and there's no Haynes manual.

[GrandadRob]

YES HONESTLY 25MPG EVERYWHERE. Mine is a 96 P reg estate, with 82k on the clock. Towards the end they came loaded with everything.
Everything still works apart from heated seats, they never did. I have had it since 2002, never failed an MOT, never missed a beat. A real joy to own. Only slight criticism is legroom in the back, if you are a tall driver. But my two dogs love the boot space.

[barkster1971]

I put a 960 seat it my 940 so my heated seat works now!

[sogeha]

I totally agree on the waste of sending good cars to scrap. I hate the disposable bit of modern life. It seems to be everything. My HP printer cost Euro49-99 from Tesco and the refills are Euro55-00. So I bought a new printer and binned the old one while it still under guarantee. A friend's Mondeo, which apart from being a horrible car new, was in good bodily and mechanical condition. The immobiliser developed a fault. Common apparently, so no secondhand parts even searching Ireland, Uk, Poland and Germany. The car was scrapped because a microchip board about 3 inches long was over 700 quid. The price of scrap steel is so high that a car is worth about 200 just as metal. I can't believe that buying a new car every two years isn't more wasteful of resources and damaging to the environment than driving the same car for ten or more years.

Anyway that's my rant for tonight. I can well believe that a 960 is as a 940. It's a heavy old car and I've seen it with my Mercedes. My 2000cc and 3200cc share the same body and on a run the 320 is better, around town they are about the same. 20 ish in town and 37mpg on a run.

If anyone is sending a 700 or 900 to the scrap, please give me first dibs on parts.