What did you do to your x40 today???

[DXMachina]

Regarding value.... I became a V40 owner as I wanted a compact estate - to replace my Mondeo that had just died of extreme old age with a car that was both smaller and more spacious

A V40 represented the best value for money to me in terms of brand value , product quality and cheapness to purchase. In other words, even 3 years ago they were cheap for what they were. Comparable cars in spec/size/image terms (Skoda Octavia Estate, BMW 3-series Touring, Ford Focus Estate, VW Golf Estate, Audi A4 Avant) cost a lot more at the same ages and mileages and werent necessarily any better

I dont complain of the low MV of our cars - its what brought me here.

[dcw]

Originally Posted by DXMachina

Regarding value.... I became a V40 owner as I wanted a compact estate - to replace my Mondeo that had just died of extreme old age with a car that was both smaller and more spacious

A V40 represented the best value for money to me in terms of brand value , product quality and cheapness to purchase. In other words, even 3 years ago they were cheap for what they were. Comparable cars in spec/size/image terms (Skoda Octavia Estate, BMW 3-series Touring, Ford Focus Estate, VW Golf Estate, Audi A4 Avant) cost a lot more at the same ages and mileages and werent necessarily any better

I dont complain of the low MV of our cars - its what brought me here.

Fair way of looking at it.

As usual, it just depends which foot the boot is on: you can get an excellent car for little money if you are buying, but you have an excellent car worth peanuts if you're selling.

The answer must be just to hang on to them if they're good examples!

David

[Alex121]

Dropped mine off at Volvo this morning to get wheels refurbed again - Only done last year but they're pealing already so being completely stripped back and redone FOC and just had a text from Uncle telling me my front tyres are barely legal....Forgot I'm doing a lot more miles and I'm probably going to get through a pair every year now. time to order some more Rainsports!

Got a new V40 T2 for the week - Jeez its sluggish!

EDIT: Tyres worn out are my 4 month old Rainsport 3s! Sh*t. time to stop the wheel spinning I think, only done maybe 4-5k on those! Hahaha!

Damn T4 traction issues!

[kieran40]

I paid a fair chunk for mine but it was nearly new only 3 years old at the time, I bought mine based on reviews they were one of the best cars on the road at that time for reliability ok maybe not looks but deffo reliability. It hasn't failed in that sense. Comming from a very unreliable k series derived rover all I wanted was a car that wouldn't let me down every other day. I grew too like the car so much that I don't see the point in selling just keep it until it dies of old age it may get tatty but mechanically it will go on and continue to be a friend.

[dcw]

Originally Posted by Alex121

Dropped mine off at Volvo this morning to get wheels refurbed again - Only done last year but they're pealing already so being completely stripped back and redone FOC and just had a text from Uncle telling me my front tyres are barely legal....Forgot I'm doing a lot more miles and I'm probably going to get through a pair every year now. time to order some more Rainsports!

Got a new V40 T2 for the week - Jeez its sluggish!

EDIT: Tyres worn out are my 4 month old Rainsport 3s! Sh*t. time to stop the wheel spinning I think, only done maybe 4-5k on those! Hahaha!

Damn T4 traction issues!

Ouch!!!

David

[baldmosher]

LOL, I'll keep you informed as to how long my Rainsport 3s last on the diesel

Fitted this morning, only got laser alignment / tracking done as apparently there's no camber setting on the V40 anyway, so that saved me £50 for nothing.

Already feels much neater and "truer" and straighter and it's definitely less wobbly over potholes/manholes, so presumably the unevenly worn inside shoulder on the last tyre was causing most of the "pull".

I'm still not convinced it's 100% straight with the steering wheel dead straight, and it's still occasionally trying to go right a bit, but that could easily be road surface uneven/camber rather than alignment issues as I'm no longer fighting to keep it straight on the road as I was before. All round I'm 90% happy with that.

Also I think the move from 205/50 to 205/55 on the 16" wheels was a good move - the ride feels noticeably less bumpy on rough roads now. Haven't tested the speedo underread to see if it's accurate yet but I understand that can be reprogrammed with VIDA?

I'll give it a good blast later on to check that the new tyres have fixed the wobbly wheel issues (probably from imbalanced wheel) and see how it feels on the motorway, and then take it around a car park to see how it is on a flat surface.

[baldmosher]

As you can tell from my signature, I deliberately picked a cheap high miler in excellent cosmetic condition with full service history. Cost me £1000, I've spent maybe £300 on servicing and urgent repairs since I bought it a year ago, and I can't imagine I'd get more than £500 for it when I sell it, if I'm lucky, so I'm not planning to sell it.

I don't really understand why people buy new mid-spec cars, and don't just aim for top-spec 11 year old motors that have all their known issues outlined and "how to" guides available online.

The decision gets a bit woolier when you move too far from year 2000 because of variations in tax/emissions standards and general standards of build quality. I loved my M reg Golf at the time, as it cost me nowt and gave us 3 years solid motoring, but then I drove a P reg GTi after having the V40 for 3 years, it was immaculate inside, but it felt like a tin can on wheels.

I couldn't rave about the first 2 or 3 Focuses either (1998-2012?) but the new one is really solid built, not much hard plastic on the interior, and deathly quiet even at mid speed.

It also gets wooly when you look at "prestigious" mfrs as I find BMW/Merc are overpriced (but can be sold for more). Volvo is well under the radar -- no reason to pay more than £2000 for a solid Volvo of any description. I saw an immaculate 850R for sale for £1200 quite recently (high mileage but FVSH) and was very tempted.

[DXMachina]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

I saw an immaculate 850R for sale for £1200 quite recently (high mileage but FVSH) and was very tempted.

I dont think I could have resisted that

[baldmosher]

Keep an eye on SLR motors Autotrader page then

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/services...4/sort/default

He only buys direct from Volvo and I've never seen a car that I didn't think was for sale unbelievably cheap.

Recommendation originally from Wire_Tim on here. I've never bought from him as he doesn't usually bother with the V40 diesels.

[kieran40]

Originally Posted by baldmosher

Keep an eye on SLR motors Autotrader page then

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/services...4/sort/default

He only buys direct from Volvo and I've never seen a car that I didn't think was for sale unbelievably cheap.

Recommendation originally from Wire_Tim on here. I've never bought from him as he doesn't usually bother with the V40 diesels.

Aren't volvo's popular up in Manchester Tom, I was talking too a manc I know youre from Salford lol but he said saabs and volvo's are popular, interesting site