Advice on purchasing a 480 that has been sat for a few years
 

Hi,

Just popped to have a quick look in the dark at a 1989 480 in light blue.
Checked MOT's and its last one was in 2012 which it passed, and looking further down the list of MOT's it's only covered a couple of thousand miles between MOT's and it currently only has 58k!

I'm unsure what spec it is, but from the side of the road the back looked in good condition, might pop there in a couple of days to have a look around the rest of the car.
I'm assuming its owned by an elderly couple hence why it has been dumped and no longer used even though it passed its last MOT back in 2012...

Any advice on what to keep a look out for?
And what 480s usually suffer form problem wise?

Thanks guys!

In a word - rust. The 300 and 400 series cars are I believe a bit more rust-prone than their bigger brothers and sisters. The 480 had quite complex electronics for it's day, so be prepared for glitches with the info centre.

Spares for these cars are I think becoming a bit trickier to source too.

Other things to be aware of are water ingress in the boot, non-popping pop-up headlights, oh and did I mention rust, especially the wheelarches. The rear lights fade and the low-slung front spoiler susceptible to damage.

The 1700cc engine was from Renault, the 2000cc unit from Volvo. Both have their pluses and minuses. You'll find plenty of expert advice on here. A new cambelt would really be essential.

Any car that has been off the road for 4 years could need new tyres, brake cylinder seals, cooling system pipe work etc. Also the fuel tank and lines could feature a fair bit of gunk.

You'll be very lucky indeed if it just fires up and breezes through an MOT, but you never know your luck.

But most of all, be very wary of rust.

Cheers

Jack

The 2000cc engine was also a Renault engine. Being a 1989 car, your prospective purchase will be a 1.7 Injection. It will also likely be a 480 ES, later trims included the S and other special editions. 1989 was two years after the launch, so it is a fairly early car. I second the advice given here - rust and electrics. I'm also hopefully joining the 480 ownership club soon too.

Looks Mint!
 

Popped back today to have a better look at car.
I can't see any rust, wheel arches look mint, the rear tyres look new with loads of tread, however they haven't been used obviously for a while like the rest of the car.
Paintwork also great, one scratch and a small dent, but colour hasn't faded and can't see any paint peeling.

The windows were condensated but no mould on the inside which surprised me.
The inside looks mint, seats, carpets etc.
Even had an original main dealer sticker stuck on the rear window, so may have only have had the one owner from new?
Its a manual 1.7 ES non turbo.

Was told by neighbours it belongs to an elderly man who's occasionally at home.
I did knock etc, but the property is also neglected, I left a quick note on the car and will keep popping back till I can get some sort of a reply.

My brother is a mechanic, he came with me and reckons it wouldn't take much to pass an MOT...

Thanks for the replys.
I wasn't after a second car but can't bare this beauty sat there looking sorry for herself, as I have always liked the look of these cars!

Sounds interesting...!

As has been said if 1989 it will be a 1.7, either ES or Turbo (what does it say on the back?). Edit - sorry just seen you say it's a 1.7ES...

If the rear arches are good that's a definite plus - check up inside them, under the boot floor, and up behind the bumper as far as you can see. Also try to get a good look at the engine sub-frame.

If the paint/bodywork is original there will be a shaped piece of clear plastic stuck on the side below the rubbing strip in front of the rear wheel arches. Often when the arches are repaired/repainted this is not replaced, so if it is missing it is usually a sign the arches have been done, in which case check for metal/filler and examine how well they have been done...

Water is another problem as has been said. Is the car dry under the boot carpet? Are there signs that it has been wet under there? The underside of the carpet is foam and acts as a sponge, so check carefully. Also lift out any mats (front and back) and check that when pressed hard all the carpets are bone dry.

As has been said parts are getting hard to find but the situation isn't yet disastrous, so don't let that put you off.

Electrics - check carefully that everything works. That includes the info centre with all its functions as well as all the electrical items like lights, wipers, indicators etc. All these functions run through a CEM (radical in its day) and those can suffer problems...

Otherwise, you'll need to allow for the usual things when a car has just been sitting for years, as has already been said.

Good luck and keep us posted!

David

These are good fun cars. I ran my Tub' Auto to over 140k miles before selling, as far as I know its still rolling....
So this one should have lots of life in it once 'sorted'.
Yep, as said they are a Renault block.... Volvo and Renault have a lot of 'history' of working together.
These 1.7's are just Renault Blocks with Volvo 'tweaks' & IIRC Mr Porche helped Volvo along the way with them......
They do have a fault code 'gadget' under the bonnet, I set mine off one day somehow. Its really odd. It go's through a sequence of 'tests', something like:

Horn 'parps'
H/lights pop up and down
Windows up and down
Sun roof open shut
& so on.

If you can work out how to do it (google) it may help with testing what works and what doesnt....

Mine leaked, like most of the 1.7s (Volvo sort of improved the later 2.0's) but the boot floor despite the damp remained as clean as a whistle.

In my ownership 100k-140k miles I think the biggest expense's were :
1) Starter Motor replacement (this will be easier on your non turbo, if required)
2) Water Pump replacement
Good luck:thumbs_up:

Replys
 

Thanks for the messages!

Was minding my own business, checked my mobile and I had had a call from the owner, couldn't believe me luck!
The now soggy note I had left was still readable a week or so later!

We popped over this afternoon.
Use to be his wife's car, she died 2 years ago but has been sitting since 2011.
They have owned the car since it was around 18 months old, they were the second owner.
When they parked it up for the last time, everything was working perfectly, including electrics so I was told as I did ask!
He seems like a nice guy, and sold the car to me for £100!
He did charge battery but engine didn't fire up so he reckons may be the starter motor? We shall see.

Rear arches look solid, that shaped bit you said is on each side.
Boot floor is solid however there was some water underneath the carpets, maybe condensation as the rest of the car isn't wet? Will have to investigate.
There is a hole in the top of the rear bumper when you lift the boot up, so that will need patching up, and I think water has been going through that hole and down underneath the rear bumper as the chassis bit there is pretty rusty, so will probably have to make a replacement bit for it.

Also drivers side mat is a little wet I think, not much mould in the car so that's good!
We were wandering about the water pump, might replace that if needs be and give it a good service, oil looked clean though, another plus!

If any of you guys have Instagram, give me a follow for regular updates and I will also be doing some videos of the Volvo once I get it home, my Instagram: @ambz642

Were taking a recovery truck over there tomorrow night to pick it up, will upload some photos onto here soon!

Thanks everyone!

Brilliant!

Sounds like normal things - rear lights are probably in need of resealing , that's the usual water entry point, but holes won't help! Panel behind rear bumper is normally rusty. For £100 I'd guess you got yourself a very nice little project. Enjoy - they're great little cars!

David