A cheap Volvo V40 could it be a money pit

[Vince70]

My father has just been up and got a paper and saw this in the window of the local newsagents and seeing that the current trend is to try and keep hold of our meagre supply of Volvo stocks down in the south of the country he thought he might buy this for his elderly dog (not that the dog can drive lol).

 

 

I just wondered being that autoshite is the place for high mileage Volvo shite is there anything we should look at if he decides to go ahead and buy it, not that he can expect much for the price as long as it starts and stops really.

 

But if someone on here was also looking for a cheap Volvo I think it will be located in the Bexhill area.

 

Also sorry for the side on picture

[Vince70]

He's gone ahead and bought it now over the phone and is picking it up tomorrow..

[Cheggers]

In that case it's the ideal purchase and will provide many years of trouble-free* motoring

 

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

[carlo]

Always thought they were a good looking car but put off slightly by Autocar's lukewarm appraisal of them.  This they are probably very good.

[Lacquer Peel]

Anything can be a money pit.

[rantingYoof]

Its ties to the Mitsubishi Carisma tends to make people wary, and it wasn't SUPPOSEDLY as traditionally Volvo as others.

Still, you can pick up a 200hp T4 for about £600, which is very traditionally Volvo.

[gordonbennet]

As far as i know its the GDi thats the one that 'might' give problems, other than that i reckon they're bloody good motors, would.

[JohnK]

I've had 2 x S40's and a V40.

 

My first S40 was an S reg 1.6. Underpowered but reliable and economical. Took me and the (then) missus all over Europe travelling. Even she would drive it and she was a snob. I liked the car as well and regret selling it. Saw it about recently as well which was nice. 80k when bought with full history.

 

I bought a V40 1.8 (non GDi) as a second car as the then missus Corsa CDTi exploded so she ended up using the S40. The 1.8 was a bit quicker, rough as a badgers arse with 220k on an R plate. I paid around £300 for it (this was 2009) and took it up to around 260k with no issues at all. It was an abused motor as well with no history, tatty as fuck and I think I only did one service on it in 40k but it took the abuse well.

 

Fast forward to 2012 and I took a 52 reg S40 1.8 GDi 'Sport' as a part ex against my Golf V5. Looked nicer than my previous efforts being the facelift and having alloys etc but it didn't feel the same. I think it was just a bad car to be fair but there is a lot of rumblings that the GDi is to be avoided anyway. It's the most diesel sounding petrol engine in the world which tbf being a 'GDi' folk think it's a dizzler anyway.

 

Verdict - would have another one without a second thought. I nearly bought a V40 2.0 Auto for around £400 in January 2014 when I was desperate for a car but it sold before I got there. Ended up with a Zafira instead!

[sierraman]

A few things, being 2002 large auto tax could be expensive. The biggest worry for me would be the 'can carry heavy loads' and recent suspension bollocks says to me it's deputised as a builders van. Saying all that though if it's got some test on might be worth a punt but be prepared to bin it when it wants money spending. Would probably wave £250 under his nose and see what happens chances are he'll take it.

[Vince70]

The car tax on it is £290 for the year but I think it's only getting 6 months put on it as he only wants it as a winter car really as its concrete roads around here and his old BMW will struggle to get up the hills once the weather gets worse.

I just checked online and it's a 1948cc petrol engine so I'm not sure if it's a Mitsubishi lump.

[sierraman]

All I can say is for the money it's ok but definatly wouldn't spend a penny on it until it's proved itself eg passes the test with minimal repairs otherwise it's money down the drain.

[purplebargeken]

I would. Think they are ace looking things. If he gets bored.........

[Sloth in a bowl]

1948cc lump is a Volvo 5 pot with a cylinder knocked off.

 

Owned one for 9 years (60,000 to 150,000miles) and had the following issues:

Rear springs can fail, cheap to fix

Bonnet catch can fail. clean and lube every 6 months to prevent this

Brake calipers can fail, check that none of the brakes are running hot.

Bottom hose clip to rad can rust through and fail dumping all your coolant in 5 seconds. Check the current one is not too rusty and replace if needed.

Keep an eye on oil use, mine was great for 8 years then started drinking a litre every 3,000 miles.

Auto box claims as sealed for life, look at Volvo forums for replacing fluid else the box will die before the rest of the car (I had a manual and that box/clutch was perfect)

ARB location point fail, cheap to fix

The hose that runs past the back top of the engine between air intake and injectors can break up, mine got a lot of patching with aluminium tape and other things.

 

 

Good things

Underbody rustproofing is excellent

Seats are comfy

Heating and air con were always good, never needed a top up

Stereo has good sound quality, may even have tape for bonus shite points 

 

For winter use get a set of halfords snow socks and bung in the boot with a big screwdriver for levering them on. GR10 for driving past stuck people

also the windscreen wash nipples on the bonnet WILL freeze up and annoy you.

 

 

Overall a quality car.

[inconsistant]

Ours has been trouble free over 20k miles/ 5 years, other than rear brake calipers, bonnet catch and a split turbo hose.
Front passenger seat folds forward for long loads, steering/turn in is the biggest let down which stops them being an exciting drive. 2002 would be a late-ish model so might have leather and this and that as standard. There's a couple of review threads on the s/v40 on here if you do a search. They are on the good side of adequate.

[chaseracer]

Will go on forever with maximum abuse and minimal maintenance.  Domestic Management's friend (remember the locked Laguna?) had one...

[nebuchenezer]

The one thing that annoyed me about my old one was the foam in the demisting ducts had perished so demisting was always a bit of a chore - otherwise all good

[Lord Sterling]

He's gone ahead and bought it now over the phone and is picking it up tomorrow..

 

This is good news!

 

Old 'fella_Sterling had one in Belgium which I used to invariably drive whenever I visited him:

 

 

His car was a 1.9 Turbo Diesel or summat. It was good, I certainly wouldn't kick one out of bed.

Collection thread here please.

[Vince70]

I'm afraid it won't be much of a collection thread as its only around the corner and about a five minute walk tops..

But he will most probably take jed along to give it the once over to see if he approves.

But his friend Tia might not be pleased as she likes sitting on the parcel shelf in the BMW.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Parcel shelf in a v40 is part solid, part flappy. Tia may be in for a surprise.

[Vince70]

I've just popped in to see my father on the way home from work and I think in future I will let him find me a car..

I just can't believe motors like this can be found for that kind of money (£350) except for the Laguna II obviously

 

Back in March it had £1500 thrown at it at the main stealer on the suspension and last year it had £850 thrown at it on general servicing and has been maintained regardless of cost on a yearly basis at Volvo in Eastbourne.

 

It's a one owner car with a full Volvo service history and has reams of paperwork and the interior is absolutely mint and is really upmarket with heated leather seats, climate control and little wipers on the headlights etc etc and every gadget works.

The body has no rust whatsoever and only a scratch on the rear wing which I will most probably polish out for him and a really small dent on one of the front wings.

 

The guy who had the car had a stationary company and bought the car new on a lease deal and after the lease finished he decided to keep it and only last week he did a run down to Hereford in the old girl.

 

It's done high mileage at 140000 but looking at it you would think it was nearer 40000.

 

I'm quite pissed off that I travel all over the country when buying a car and he finds a perfect motor on his doorstep without looking lol... so it just goes to show that some real gems can be found on the board in a newsagent rather than eBay and scumtree.

[inconsistant]

Excellent! 

 

Another thing... ours benefits from a yearly pollen filter change otherwise it just won't demise itself. They're about £15 off ebay. Having said that, it's the only car we've ever had with a pollen filter (that's not been a company car) so I don't know if that's the case with all cars or not. Anyway, thought I'd mention it.

 

Also, replacement keys are £200+ and only available from dealers so don't lose them.

 

Also also,  headlight wash/wipe is the sign of a winner. Sounds like your dad should be on here.

[inconsistant]

Also:

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/14888-volvo-v40-review-and-owner-stories/

[Vince70]

He should really he's had a lot of British leylands finest and even a Laguna II and quite a few citroens and when growing up he would change his car it seemed on a weekly basis so I think that's why I now drive old chod lol..

 

I show him the autoshite comments from time to time and he was nearly in tears of laughter when it came to the Laguna lol

[Waderider]

I've had mine for seven years now, very happy. Proof that buying a used car and running it into the ground is the cheapest way to motor!

[New POD]

I HAD A VVT manual sport. The variable valve timing shaft is apparently made of butter. Mine rattled from that shaft but in the end the Renault gearbox imploded after I ignored the getting worse whine. Oh and the rear calipers? Sticking like glue is the design intent.

[Vince70]

I've just been over and had a look at the motor properly as it's the first time I've seen it in the daylight and I didn't realise till I opened the bonnet up to check the oil level and retrieve the lid of the washer bottle from the undertray that it seems to have a turbo bolted to it so I imagine it's quite a nippy old tank..

 

It looks like it might have a little leak from a pipe down the engine bay somewhere as I can see a little caked up oil down in the depths but I'm not up with these modern type of engines so it's all rocket science and which craft to me from where it's coming from..

 

I will give it a good service once I've finished work over the Christmas period but it does looked rather cramped in the engine bay so it's not as assessable as the the old N/A BMW to work on..

 

But it seems every box was ticked on the options list when it was new and what the hell are curtain airbags as I imagine if you did have a crash you would end up suffocating with the amount airbags that would end up going off.

and even though it's a 2 litre turbo petrol with a slush box it's achieving 29 to the gallon around town and seems to be a bargain of the century.

 

And the stereo is brilliant and seems to have speakers everywhere I've never seen a car with a cassette and CD slot built into the facia before.

 

Also it's a really nice blue/green metallic colour and is better condition than I could ever imagine and if the weather gets really bad I'm allowed to borrow it from time to time..

I've just got to learn now not to throw money on it for no apparent reason like I do with most of my cars lol.

Sorry for the crap quality pictures.

[Slartibartfast]

Curtain airbags are for side impact, they stop your head being made into pate by the... Er, chassis? Door holder er bit?

[gordonbennet]

Thats the bargain of the year, well trousered dad.

 

2 litre turbo slush box with a decent known history for pocket money.

 

 

By the way the Legacy has cassette and CD in the OE head unit, daughter and her mate did a booze cruise with it earlier in the year, they were like a couple of little kids so excited to be able to play some old cassettes on it on the journey.

[Sloth in a bowl]

Get some halfords trim spray for the faded exterior bits, but wear a mask while doing it.

Used on mine it bought all the plastic back to a nice deep black and gave me a stinging headache.

 

Also if you want a roof rack mounting kit for the cost of postage, I have one sitting in the garage doing nothing.

It bolts into points on the roof trim, there are 4 little plastic screw out covers hiding the bolt holes.

[Vince70]

Thanks for the offer that's very kind of you, but I doubt he would use a roof rack anyway as it will only get used for doing the odd tip run but its mainly going to be the dogs car.

Jed has already tried the seats out and does prefer it to the BMW for comfort.

 

I find the best plastic cleaner is either a cheap value range peanut butter or a bottle of boiled linseed oil,

I only found out about them from good old Autoshite it really works better than anything else for getting the plastics back to as new condition without the headache.

 

I did have a little play with the car earlier as the oil was just under the minimum so I topped it up to the max with whatever was knocking about in my garage but the previous owner never opened the bonnet himself and I also greased up the bonnet catch as it did look a bit dry.

 

The only time it got looked at was once a year and it's done a few miles since its last service in March when it had £1500 thrown at it and I also gave it a top up with some Train screen wash which is brilliant stuff as it never seems to freeze up.

 

I'm not to worried if it does use the odd litre of oil every few thousand though as at least it will give it a constant oil change but I believe it's been on long life servicing for its oil as the filler cap looked quite caked up with a tar like substance which once resembled oil so when I next service it I might chuck a can of engine flush in the thing.

 

It's obviously had some serious money thrown at it in the past it's even on 4 decent Michelin tyres so no Chinese flip flops for this old beast.. But my father has said he will just run it till March and see then when it's up for its next mot if it's worth spending any money on which makes sense really.

 

And if it fails on anything major then I will take the lovely leather seats out the car and have them for a cheap sofa lol.