Volvo s40's

snowdog

snowdog

snowdog

Soldato
Joined
27 Oct 2005
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Netherlands
Hello,


I've been looking at prices of various cars recently and noticed these would be very affordable for me, eg. a ''Volvo S40 2.0i Luxury 1997'' with a years worth of MOT is only 1900€. It comes with some toys like climate control, abs etc... Is there any reason these cars are so cheap ? Is something fundamentally wrong with them ?

They aren't too heavy and they would be enough to easily shuttle 4 mates in, I think...

What do you think, would this be an okayish car to own and drive ? In terms of reliability & comfort ?

I know you'll tell me to look at Mondeo's but 2000€ would get me one with about the same mileage and age ( or one or 2 years newer) but with no CC, an engine that produces a little less power, 72kg's heavier ( heavy enough to make it one tax step higher), a bit more insurance, and I personally like the looks of the Volvo much more than of the Mondeo...

So, what are your reasons to get a Mondeo above the Volvo ? Is there any competitor I should also consider ( same class cars, I mainly want a reliable, affordable and comfy ( for 5 people to sit in) car). V40 are actually even (far) cheaper, but usually come with (far) higher mileages and are simply heavier, thus one step higher on the tax chart.
 
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They arent really liked on this forum but they are good cars and very well made(easy to work on and everything is well designed to actually fix), even the rust bug hasnt touched the early cars yet. They are curently about 16th on warranty directs best cars for the least amount of problems. The only thing they really got knocked for was that they arent the most exciting car to drive, they are very comfortable though and will do a lot of miles with ease. The early cars did have some interior trim problems and electrical gremlins so best to avoid those cars, anything from 98 onwards should be ok. They are also a class above the Mondeo and were targeted at the A4, BMW 3 series market so normally come with a good spec.
 
1.6 won't pull you out of bed, 1.8 is ok and the 2.0 is plenty powerful enough for general driving. They are not as highly rated as the V70/S60 and are a little on the small side but still good cars, i'd sooner have one than an equivalent Mondeo. I don't think the V40 is actually that much bigger, i think you just gain height at the back.

Both models use the less highly rated, but less thirsty, 4 cylinder engines and there is a T4 variant which is reasonably quick.
 
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I have been looking at these for ages, that example of yours seems overpriced to me. A '97 can be had for well under £1000 in the UK. Obviously you arent in the UK but still :) Anyway, the three I looked at were solid and they were a similar age.
 
Be wary of the GDI engine, as it tends to coke up due to using low RON petrol and not enough "Italian tune-ups".
 
Mitsubishi Carisma in drag. Dull to drive, not built as per a "volvo" at all, get a proper volvo if you want a volvo.
 
paradigm said:
Mitsubishi Carisma in drag. Dull to drive, not built as per a "volvo" at all, get a proper volvo if you want a volvo.
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That's a load of rubbish. They do platform share but have about as much in common with each other as the new S40 and Ford Focus. The build quality is fantastic as I said even the earliest cars aren't rusting and they are 13+yrs old now with many of them having well over 200k on them. They aren't the most thrilling drive but then is a Mondeo, Passat or A4?
 
it won't be very interesting to drive, but it will go on for ages without too many problems. don't expect it to be economical though.

for €2000 you can't really go wrong. if it is a dog, you can sell it on :)
 
paradigm said:
Mitsubishi Carisma in drag. Dull to drive, not built as per a "volvo" at all, get a proper volvo if you want a volvo.
Click to expand...

I don't want a ''Volvo'' specifically, I want something not too expensive, comfy, easy to fix when needed on my own, okay looking, not too expensive, and okayish sized without being too expensive ( weight is the killer here for tax).

What's wrong with carisma's anyways, it's one of the cars I also considered :) ?





As for the rest, thanks for your replies ! It's really looking like a nice option for me.

I'm still not settled what I should do, but a sporty coupe ish car like a Prelude, buy a comfy saloon/hatchback/station like an S40/V40/Mondy/Xantia/Accord/older 5 series/ e36/etc, buy a fun sporty hatchback like a saxo VTS ( which amazingly is nearly 2x as cheap to tax and insure for me than the most underpowered big saloon) but suffer in terms of comfort and not be able to really load a lot of stuff and mates in it, and the cheapest option: get the cheapest crappiest small hatchback that has just been MOT'd and appears to be working, something like a 300€ fiesta, and pocket the spare cash.

I'm just really undecided how much I'll want to pay on my own car when needed. I don't need my own car just yet, I'm on good terms with my parents so can drive in theirs for now, but I'd want my own one in the next 6-12 months I think.
 
Well, I doubt you guys care but unless the seller is lying about holding it till next week Monday for me, I'm picking up, within a week: a '96 V40 2.0, Full Volvo dealer SH, metallic green, aircon, radio/cd/usb ( so I presume mp3 too, didn't really care about asking too much about the stereo), heated mirrors, Cruise Control, alloys, electric windows and mirrors all round, abs, wipers for the main lights ( why do they have em :p?), DSA traction control, heated seats, rear end lowered a small bit, etc... 1850€

If anyone's interested I'll post pics when I have it, after I take a looong drive of course ( will be my first car...) :D.
 
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Dandle said:
They are also a class above the Mondeo and were targeted at the A4, BMW 3 series market so normally come with a good spec.
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So was the Hyundai XG doesn't make it a good car. If the S40 had succeeded in where it was 'targetted' it wouldnt now cost less than a half decent Mondeo. Fact is with the possible exception of the T4 variant it is a car which does nothing well and is not a 'proper' Volvo, it was a badge engineering excercise in conjunction with Mitsubishi and has more in common with the dire Carisma than the S70's et al.

They do look good, though, which lets face it is how the mass market choses a car anyway.
 
Your talking drivel Fox, i know you dont like them but because you don't doesn't make them rubbish. It did succeed, its been a great seller in lots of countries around the world. The fact they are cheap makes them a bargain in the sector they are now in, historically Volvos have always lost money on the second hand market and the early S/V40s are still on the road in abundance which cant be said for the Mondeos of the same age. I dont get what you mean by does nothing well either, they are a great cruiser and very comfortable if you want power go for the T4. Sure there driver involvement isn the best but it isnt dire and lets face it thats where the mondeo gains points but thats no Lotus Elise is it.
 
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