PV: Volvo PV544

[Othen]

Hi chaps,

I spend most of my time in the 200 series area (I drive a 1980 244 - the Royal Barge), but just today I've taken a bizarre fancy to a PV544 I saw advertised on eBay (link here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313391007...53.m1438.l2649).

I have never even seen a PV544 up close... would I be certifiably insane to pay £11,000 (or thereabouts) for a car older than I am on a whim?

I probably know the answer to that one, but I'm thinking of doing it anyway.

The question is whether the price is about right (it would be absurd in 244 terms, but maybe PV544 motor cars command a much higher price)?

Alan

PS. Insurance would only be £60.06 PA!

[john.wigley]

I think it is the age and commensurate rarity of these cars that is the main factor at play in setting the price point, Alan. As always, it depends upon how much wants one and how much one is prepared to spend in order to fulfill that desire!

The PV predates the Amazon, itself the forerunner of the 1 - series cars. As such, it is in effect the RB's great-grandfather, and, to the best of my knowledge, was never officially exported to the UK. I believe that the Amazon was the first Volvo to be officially imported to this country. There are examples of the PV on the roads, but I think they will all have been privately imported.

There are usually a few on display at Volvo shows, especially the 'National', and while there may be a few still in use in Sweden, most survivors are highly prized and in preservation in their homeland. There are also examples on display at the Volvo Museum in Goteborg, well worth a visit if you should ever find yourself in the vicinity.

Coming back to the price and your original question. For a car in good condition, given it's rarity and desirability, no, I do not believe that you would be considered certifiably insane were you to contemplate spending such a sum. After all, some people spend much more than £11K on 1950 - 60s bubble cars for much the same reasons - and the PV represents a much more compelling purchase in my view!

Regards, John.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

I think it is the age and commensurate rarity of these cars that is the main factor at play in setting the price point, Alan. As always, it depends upon how much wants one and how much one is prepared to spend in order to fulfill that desire!

The PV predates the Amazon, itself the forerunner of the 1 - series cars. As such, it is in effect the RB's great-grandfather, and, to the best of my knowledge, was never officially exported to the UK. I believe that the Amazon was the first Volvo to be officially imported to this country. There are examples of the PV on the roads, but I think they will all have been privately imported.

There are usually a few on display at Volvo shows, especially the 'National', and while there may be a few still in use in Sweden, most survivors are highly prized and in preservation in their homeland. There are also examples on display at the Volvo Museum in Goteborg, well worth a visit if you should ever find yourself in the vicinity.

Coming back to the price and your original question. For a car in good condition, given it's rarity and desirability, no, I do not believe that you would be considered certifiably insane were you to contemplate spending such a sum. After all, some people spend much more than £11K on 1950 - 60s bubble cars for much the same reasons - and the PV represents a much more compelling purchase in my view!

Regards, John.

Hi John,

Thank you for that. Actually I was on another errand when I found that car - and it was rather cheaper than I'd expected a 1950s car in apparently good condition to cost.

I might mull over it for a couple of days - and maybe canvas Dan's views (my 16 year old son - but he almost disowned me when I bought the RB, which he thought was complete madness). You may be right about it not being officially imported into the UK (I can only find LHD examples) - so spares might be difficult - there is something about it that is inexplicably attractive though :-)

Alan

[arcturus]

It would be a private import.Spares for the most are not to difficult.For that year it would probably have the B16 1.6motor. Will do some more checking for you.It will be 6 volt. I notice a missing wiper arm on Passenger side.You OK with LHD? If you decide to have a look take a photo of the engine bay and post it here.
My 60 544 sport,If you buy one you won't stop smiling behind the wheel

[Army]

The PV544 was produced along side the Amazon for a few years. They share some bits.

Spares-wise I estimate their availability to be equally as good as the Amazon.

Early PV444 cars have harder to find bits of trim.

There are quite a few of us here with PV544s / PV444s on this forum. I'm one of them. My car =>

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=277319

Note these vehicles were never officially brought to the UK by Volvo so were only factory made as LHD examples.

####

Here in Holland the price for a road legal PV544 will start at about 8K (euros) - early PV444s are often more expensive. Nice PV544s (with or with out modifications) go for about 15K to 20K here.

The "one" that people seem to value the most is the PV544 Sport version but as it is easy to change badges and a few engine bits fake versions are easy to stumble across...

[old fart]

PVs are great cars to own and drive,and spares are readily available, though personally I prefer the 1961 onward B18 engined ones as they go better and engine parts are easier to find. I think that one is a bit dear, but then you are giving the dealer a good profit on it.This one is mine ( not far sale).Regards, Andy.

[arcturus]

Also if you go to see it take a photo of the vin plate.It's on the bulkhead in the engine bay,left hand side near the regulator.. we can then check it's originality

[Othen]

Originally Posted by arcturus

It would be a private import.Spares for the most are not to difficult.For that year it would probably have the B16 1.6motor. Will do some more checking for you.It will be 6 volt. I notice a missing wiper arm on Passenger side.You OK with LHD? If you decide to have a look take a photo of the engine bay and post it here.
My 60 544 sport,If you buy one you won't stop smiling behind the wheel

Originally Posted by Army

The PV544 was produced along side the Amazon for a few years. They share some bits.

Spares-wise I estimate their availability to be equally as good as the Amazon.

Early PV444 cars have harder to find bits of trim.

There are quite a few of us here with PV544s / PV444s on this forum. I'm one of them. My car =>

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=277319

Note these vehicles were never officially brought to the UK by Volvo so were only factory made as LHD examples.

####

Here in Holland the price for a road legal PV544 will start at about 8K (euros) - early PV444s are often more expensive. Nice PV544s (with or with out modifications) go for about 15K to 20K here.

The "one" that people seem to value the most is the PV544 Sport version but as it is easy to change badges and a few engine bits fake versions are easy to stumble across...

Originally Posted by old fart

PVs are great cars to own and drive,and spares are readily available, though personally I prefer the 1961 onward B18 engined ones as they go better and engine parts are easier to find. I think that one is a bit dear, but then you are giving the dealer a good profit on it.This one is mine ( not far sale).Regards, Andy.

Originally Posted by arcturus

Also if you go to see it take a photo of the vin plate.It's on the bulkhead in the engine bay,left hand side near the regulator.. we can then check it's originality

Thank you for those comments chaps - that was a really good introduction to the PV544.

The motor car is in Portsmouth - 150 miles each way - but I'll speak to the dealer in the morn and if I think it is worth it maybe drive down on Friday or Saturday (my parents live in Hampshire, perhaps drop in for a cuppa in the garden).

I've just watched a little bit of a Wheeler Dealers episode on the model (You Tube), it looks strangely interesting.

Alan

[john.wigley]

Watching the video clip in the ad., Alan, it struck me that the dealer may not know a great deal about the car. Comments such as 'I think it is a 1.5 or 1.6 engine' do not exactly fill me with confidence, and I would have expected him to have done his homework on the car! Although it looks a nice enough example, if I was seriously interested, I would definitely want to see it in the metal and in the air before entering into any meaningful discussions.

Perhaps a forum member living in the area might be willing to do a preliminary inspection on your behalf for the odd beer token? Assuming their report was favourable, you could then make the trip with some degree of confidence that you would not be wasting your time.

Regards, John.

[old fart]

Originally Posted by Othen

Thank you for those comments chaps - that was a really good introduction to the PV544.

The motor car is in Portsmouth - 150 miles each way - but I'll speak to the dealer in the morn and if I think it is worth it maybe drive down on Friday or Saturday (my parents live in Hampshire, perhaps drop in for a cuppa in the garden).

I've just watched a little bit of a Wheeler Dealers episode on the model (You Tube), it looks strangely interesting.

Alan

The wheeler dealer one was a B18 sport, not a B16.