Marm Toastsmith

Tell me about the Volvo. I'm in Devon. Edit: seen it... looks nice... will give the ad a proper read in a bit.

so pretty

...must...resist...

Saloon luxury & hatchback practicality. They thought of everything. I'm jealous, obviously.

OK, the boot is leaking. Never mind. On the plus side it was a brilliant car to take the family on holiday in and we clocked up a mileage landmark (33333) in beautiful North Cornwall. Mods: could you move this to the main forum please?

I think we can live without headlight wipers. Thanks for looking though! Re the boot, the car had been stood for some time before we got it and had signs of dampness in the cabin too. Since it’s been in regular use it’s been bone dry as far as I can tell. I’ll keep an eye on the boot but I’m not too concerned, I suspect it’s lack of use as much as anything. I have to say, it’s a superbly well-built car, seems properly solid in an old school Volvo way, but the interior trim, plastics etc. are much slicker and better screwed together than they were in my 940 or other early 90s Volvos I’ve spent time in.

New wiper blades ✔️ Cleaned (and dried) out the boot, checked the spare wheel which is unused but with aged/soft rubber. Seems to have air in it so we'll say it's good enough. ✔️

@Snake Charmer - This is broken (drivers side). I'm not sure whether I really need it, but...

Well, not much to report other than this has been providing very pleasant transport. So far all I've really done is to wipe over the interior with a damp cloth and polish off a few of the giffer marks - both of which have improved it significantly. I've found a local ex-Volvo mechanic (worked at a main dealer when these were current) who now works out of a back street garage. He's quoted a very reasonable figure to do the cam belt and was good to talk to on the phone - he drives an old 940. The car is so relaxing to drive that you really need to turn the stereo up to prevent falling asleep at the wheel. Unfortunately this has caused the original dried out foam surrounds on the front speakers to disintegrate - the previous owner favoured relaxing popular classics (CD changer was packed with the stuff) so Kendrick Lamar must have come as a shock to the speakers. Replaced them today with a pair of Pioneers. I wouldn't say they are a massive upgrade over the Nokia originals but they do the job. I didn't bother swapping the tweeters as the originals are fine and seem well balanced with the Pioneers. Only challenge was the originals were glued in to the original mounting flange. Easily done once I'd worked out what was happening. I was quite pleased with the little adapters I made up which saved me having to chop off the original connectors...

Bosch stuff used to be good. For a while I was loyal to the brand as it seemed a guarantee of no nonsense quality kit. As a family we bought loads of Bosch stuff, and to be fair, some of it was good. But since then I've had a drill, a spark plug, and a cordless vacuum cleaner fail on me prematurely. The spark plug was an absolute pain in the arse. It lasted about 10 miles and because it was new, I tried everything but the spark plug (first) to cure the misfire. Took me ages to solve that one. The drill was just meh. I mean it was an OKish drill, and it lasted like maybe 3 or 4 years of light, occasional use. Not really up to the premium price tag either in terms of performance of longevity. The worst was the vacuum cleaner, which was about £300, and failed well within its two year guarantee period. Stupidly I assumed it was a 1 year guarantee and didn't send it back. When I finally bothered to look at the guarantee terms I realised I was 3 weeks too late. I contacted Bosch, numerous letters and phone calls, it was a case of tough shit. It's obvious really, everything is made in the same Chinese factories, but I had hoped that this premium brand would offer premium customer service and after sales support on their shit vacuum cleaners. They don't. I've concluded that the only premium thing about them is the price. I'm out. So far my Lidl drill is more powerful than the Bosch one it replaced, and the battery lasts longer. It was half the price. Genuinely impressed. The Argos / Bush vacuum cleaner isn't as good as the Bosch one was, but it's OK, and it was about £70. I'll let you know when it breaks. The Beko fridge is good. Nothing to complain about, and it was the cheapest on the market. Today I need some wiper blades, not getting Bosch. Michelin Rain Force? Cheaper than a well known German brand... let's try 'em.

The equipe is really nice. Saw the trabi at Lidls the other day.

YES

Love A2s, enjoyed reading the thread.

Spoiler is back! Looked better without I think. I think someone asked before, is it a manual or auto roof? Never been able to work out why these were so derided compared to other escorts, they always seemed no more or less shit than the mk3 and mk4 to me, just more of the same really…

Looks good to me!

Nice.

is the passat still around?

Whatever it is, dibs.

posh vauxhall vs povvo vw. hmmm... be interested to hear who wins.

No chance, VW have been building similar design flaws into their cars since the late 70s and possibly earlier. Come to think of it even the air cooled VWs I’ve owned have also suffered from water ingress, electronic faults, and failing locks. It’s more irritating on the late 90s-on cars because they are more dependent on electronics. With the earlier cars it’s only really instrumentation that suffers. I think it’s an institutional failing. I have often wondered why though, especially when they get so many other design and engineering aspects so right. Perhaps they send the talented engineers to other (more critical) departments.

I enjoyed driving this so much on the way home I almost couldn't hand the key over to Mrs T. It's made me realise I deserve something a bit nicer than the Micra, especially as currently I'm not commuting daily, so MPG is less of an issue. I wonder if I'd like this: https://www.gumtree.com/p/nissan/nissan-murano-automatic-/1460384359

Thanks for noticing

Actually, this came my way via a PM from absolute top shiter @Jollyfckr I hadn't looked on the Volvo forums. I took it to see the sea.

Home!

Forgot to get a pez shot!