960 for life!

[TopSkateDog]

On and off, I've had Volvos for some years.

First was a 98 S70 I bought in 2001. I had it for 10 years, drove galactic mileage in it, and loved that car. I also had an 850 estate, and classic V70.

As an S70 owner, I always wanted it's big brother - the 960 or S90, but I guess at the time, it wasn't the right time.

A couple of months back I bought a S60 D5, but also had my head turned by a 96 960 also for sale. I figured "Why not?" so a few weeks later bought the 960, too.

And although quite different from my S60 to drive, I love my 960. There's just something so majestic, robust and refined about it.

My plans are to keep it, and gently improve any minor faults or snags. I always lament having to give up my original S70, I don't intend on making the same mistake with my 960.

[croakey]

Welcome to my gang...

[TopSkateDog]

Welcome to my gang...

Which do you prefer?

Personally cars from tbe 90s are my ideal, and it's nof just because that was when I was first driving, it's because it's the era I think they got things just about right in terms of engineering, quality and technology.

[biggbn]

Majestic, disdainful, imperious, cosseting, .. all great words for 900 series. Look up Volvo 900 in a thesaurus. Honest. ... actually, honest is another great word for them! Well bought, enjoy, I miss mine every day!

[Dirty Rooster]

Repairs are so cheap, you can keep these going for life.

[croakey]

Which do you prefer?

Personally cars from tbe 90s are my ideal, and it's nof just because that was when I was first driving, it's because it's the era I think they got things just about right in terms of engineering, quality and technology.

See it's a tough call.

My d5 was bought purely for commuting, I do around 110miles a day and for that it is genuinely unbeatable. I've also got a 5 year old A4 which my wife now drives and this is far better on the motorway - I'm guessing it's hard sprung and 19's versus the the s60.

But!

I have no genuine need to keep my 940 after finishing our house renovation.

It's still here and I LOVE driving it, I've been off nearly a month on paternity leave and the s60 has barely turned a wheel.

S60 is a newer car. 940 is from the era of proper cars when buttons clunk and did things

[TopSkateDog]

See it's a tough call.

My d5 was bought purely for commuting, I do around 110miles a day and for that it is genuinely unbeatable. I've also got a 5 year old A4 which my wife now drives and this is far better on the motorway - I'm guessing it's hard sprung and 19's versus the the s60.

But!

I have no genuine need to keep my 940 after finishing our house renovation.

It's still here and I LOVE driving it, I've been off nearly a month on paternity leave and the s60 has barely turned a wheel.

S60 is a newer car. 940 is from the era of proper cars when buttons clunk and did things

That's exactly why I biught my S60 a daily comnute of similar distance.And I've been very happy with it.
I got my 960 more just because I'd always wanted one, and saw it before I'd bought my S60. When I decided to buy it, my plan was to commute one day per week, on the basis that a motorway journey a week would be good for it.

Last week I commuted 3 days in it!

[TopSkateDog]

I've found myself using my 960 for more commutes than I planned - which was really intended to be one day a week. This week I've done all 5 days in my 960.

That's just because I find it so nice to drive.

I can directly compare it to my 2002 S60 D5 auto. Things I prefer about my 960 - and some are quite surprising - headlights: on unlit country roads, I find the 960 headlights clearly superior - both cars have had new Osram Nightbreaker (whatever the latest version of the bulbs is called), lenses appear in similar condition, as do reflectors. Transmission: I MUCH prefer the auto in my 960, smoother, more predictable, better behaved. Ride quality again, much prefer the 960. Cruise control - I use a lot on the motorway, about equal - steering wheel controls in the S60 a better idea, but then I'm very used to the stalk controls having previously ownrd an S70 for 10 years. Audio: well the prologic amp and 4 disc in-dash audio in the S60 is nice, but I've put an SC-805 in my 960, so that's non-too-shabby either.

Turning circle is great in the 960, totally rubbish in the S60.

Fuel economy - no question, S60. And performance, although peak power and perf stats suggest parity, the D5 is Grunty McGruntsworth. That said, the 960 is quiet, smooth and refined.

If mileage wasn't a factor, it'd probably be the 960 all the time.

Don't get me wrong, I love my S60. Just I love my 960 more.

[Laird Scooby]

The answer here is simple - sell the modern and keep the 9xx, invest the proceeds of the sale on having your 9xx's converted to LPG for reduced running costs. Average price is 50-54p/L at the moment, super unleaded is about 125p/L round my way - it's simple maths really.

Worried you won't get LPG in your area or at least somewhere on a regular journey (eg shopping, work etc)?

Go to this site, click "LPG Map", enter your location in the search bar and hit Search. It will bring up all your local LPG stations with current (ish) prices :

http://filllpg.co.uk/index.php?page=home.php

While driving to get petrol yesterday a friend asked me if i missed my Jeep (4.0 Cherokee Limited auto on LPG) to which i replied "I miss the cheap running costs!".
Said friend thought this ironic and hilarious in equal measure but illustrates how much cheaper LPG is to run than petrol.

Oh yeah, an added bonus is you can do away with the cat as it's not needed for LPG, more economy and power straight away! ;) :D

[TopSkateDog]

I thought of LPG some years back - was going to buy an LS400 and have it converted.

I looked into it at the time, but a couple of local conversion specialists weren't giving me good vibes on converting an LS400.

It's a consideration for my 960. Availability of LPG isn't a concern, it seems readily available where I live, and if cut short there's always petrol.

I think I'd be more concerned with complexity and issues ongoing with it. Neither car is worth lots in terms of capital costs, and I have both as much fof redundancy as anything else (ie having a comfortable motorway cruiser available even if one is out for repair / servicing. I also have an old petrol Focus as a backup, too - simply because it's been in the family a long time and is worth more to me as a reliable spare than the vanishingly tirivial value it has.

[Laird Scooby]

I know there is at least one person on here that does (or did) LPG conversions and if memory serves correctly he's in Anglesey. I don't know if that's anywhere near you but might be worth the trip for your 960 - think his screen name is Classicswede but not 100% sure.

One thing i do know - you'll hate paying for petrol when you've got an LPG car! ;) :D