480 - to buy or not to buy??

In news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de, Jerry Atrik decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Don't go there. The Volvo 480 is the car that very nearly annihilated Volvos reputation for reliability. They really are crap.

If you scrap it next June, for that price who cares as long as it is fully roadworthy now, especially if there's plenty of meat on the tyres, shocks and steering etc are OK and the engine oil/inside of filler cap etc is clean (and of course the coolant). You are not risking much here. You can always wizz it in for an early MOT and/or a mechanical check if you are not confident. For that price, again, what do you need the com[uter display for, as long as none of the legal bits are affected of course.

see

No. Faults with the speedo / instruments / computer display are nearly always 99.5% of the time the dash unit itself.

Tim..

Been to see it. It was a mini project car. Rear lights sorted. Problems = Speedo was working, but not rev counter. display on rhs of speedo was unlit - he says it needs a new bulb fitting but no readout of fuel etc could be seen mini rust of the rear wheel arches as per normal on 440 Volvos it seems electrics like lights, indicators, windows, sunroof all work engine seems fine, oil dirty: last changed 6 months ago, engine bay oily on left side, no apparent leak source visible drives o.k. brakes a little soggy but fine. gears o.k. clutch o.k. Not sure when cambelt last changes either altho it is in the pile of paperwork somewhere, so need to check that. Neighbour says don't touch it with a barge pole as it's a £200 car that's not really worth that with the rev counter/speedo problem.

So I'll probably leave it unless it really is a bargain as I don't NEED it but it does seem a nice car......

Agreed.

Get the owner to see it through the MOT - the only big prob. I remember is the cost of sorting out the rear wash/wipe - I don't believe it - but it can cost up to £500

For some reason I quite like those.....

Me too. I've had three.

My advice is if you want a 480, get a 2.0 Non Turbo as late as possible.

1.7s are weak, all pre 92 Facelift cars are prone to serious bugs. CEM II modules suck.

I had a great 2.0 Auto with A/C and a sunroof plus 16" custom made Monzas in white to match the car.

Yes. White.

Richard

Heh. White. Nice.

Still, I can't talk, being the owner of a white 75..... the fridge-freezer ;-)

It was:

White is one of those colours that you either love or hate on a car. White Supras look like crap, for example, but the blue interior doesn't exactly help.

Ever seen a 480 in the UK with aftermarket alloys?

Richard

I did think the 75 was wrong in white, but it's grown on me now. Doesn't stop me wanting an anthracite or black one, though.

Dunno - can't remember the last time I saw 480 at all. Those alloys are quite nice, not sure if they're good on a 480, suppose it's a taste thing.

The computer problem is normally caused by dry-joints on the rear of the speedo cluster. It's fairly straightforward to get to, and shouldn't take more than half an hour to get the whole cluster out the car. I believe there's a guide on the 480 Club Europe's website,

Once the speedo's out, the solder joints on the back of the connectors are the most likely culpriots.

I second this. Get a 12 year old(1993) Volvo 240 instead.

That's easier said than done. In my experience, 240s are very hard to find in the UK. 400 series Volvos are easier to find. And don't forget

- the 240 would be subject to the same MOT inspection that the 400 series Volvo would have to pass.

As an example, looking at motors.ebay.co.uk, there are a whole bunch of

400 series cars for sale, and only three 240s -- and one of those three had an expired MOT.

Nice to look at!

Indeed, I'd never buy one though.

Now, Alfa 166..... they're getting seriously cheap now.

Blimey Steve, don't you listen mate :-)

I don't think we sold one of those that didn't come back.

Besides, they have a fully electronic integrated heater/audio/sat nav system. *When* it goes wrong, it loses the lot, heating radio, everything. They can only be diagnosed by a dealer, and they have to be coded in too - not mention the 4 figure cost of the part.

These also have a fully sealed gearbox, even the dealer cannot strip these, they are assembled with a one piece casing. We did replace a couple of these too.

Ahhh.

Not good.

Even worse.

What _is_ worth having, then?

164 V6 - so long as I avoid the 24v? 155 V6 - don't like the thought of a V6 in that engine bay 155 TS 8v Widebody - tried and failed to find one. 155 TS 16v - pretty much the same issues as the 156, ISTR.

Other than that, I'm left with trying to find a really mint 75 V6.