Dilemma - R reg 940 MOT failure - advice please..
 

The 'Big Aubergine' as we fondly call our dark purple 940 R reg Estate, failed it's MOT earlier this year. It needs approximately £1,700 of work doing - including £250 I've been quoted by a local Volvo specialist for repairing a faulty ABS sensor!

Then we went into lockdown which has meant that I've putting off grappling with the dilemma of what to do....

I can't bear the idea of scrapping it, not least because it will soon (if it isn't already) become a classic car - and in a fairly rare colour.

But my mechanics have pointed out we will probably be living in a 'Clean Air Zone in the next year or so and although it's has a petrol engine it won't meet the Euro 4 standard which is the minimum for petrol cars on a clean air zone, I believe.

They also think that each year it's going to cost more to get through the MOT. Although I do my best to explain 'Bangernomics' - they just look slightly bemused at me.

Posting here as I'm sure I can't be the only person on the forum who's been faced with this situation - advice please!:thinking:

What's going to cost £1700 to repair? seems excessive.

Classic status depends on many factors and age is only a small part of the equation. Rareity, desirability, are further up the chain than age. My 1997 Volvo 850 is over 23 years old but not entitled to Classic Status as far as insurance companies are concerned, yet a 1998 Volvo 850 T5 is and can be insured for less than my GLT. 8 years ago I had a 2001 Jaguar XJ308 and at 12 years old I had no problem obtaining Classic insurance for it.

What jobs does it need doing to it? £1700 as stated seems an awful lot.

Has it a lot of rust? My 1996 940 is very rust free. I find it hard to believe mechanically it needs a lot of money spent on it. Mine was £250 4 years ago and certainly once up to scratch has needed nothing bar servicing in the last few years. I would seek a second opinion. The garage certainly sounds anti old cars.

Birmingham is having it's ULEZ and thankfully, if you avoid going right into the city centre, no charge.

I have bought a Hybrid Toyota estate. The purchase price would probably pay the charge for the next 5 years.

James.

Wow, £1700 to pass the MOT. What needs doing? That's a lot to spend on a 23-year old car. Depending on general condition and mileage you have to wonder if it's worth it. Right now it's an old car with no MoT, if get all this done it'll still be an old car, and you definitely won't have added £1700 to its value. On the other hand, if £1700 will sort it out and give you two or three more years then it's a bargain.

When they say that the ABS sensor is faulty, what do they mean exactly?

If you're minded to keep the car then definitely get a second opinion.

Jack

I replaced a front wheel ABS sensor on my 940 in 2015. Bosch part number 0265001231, only £55.00 from my local Bosch agent and fitted it myself, don’t know how you are being quoted £250.00.
My car is 1992 and the bodywork needs some TLC but I’ve ever had to find repair costs of that magnitude.
What other repairs are necessary?
Forget about whether it will be a “classic” and the possibility of clean air zones in the future, if you like the car, keep it.
How much would a reasonable condition replacement cost?

“Bangernomics”. There was an article in Practical Classics a few months ago. Elderly gentleman quoted £600.00 for repairs for MOT but garage would give him £100.00 for it. Practical Classics bought car from owner for next to nothing. Took it elsewhere for an MOT, slight cheap repairs then MOT passed. The article didn’t mention whether they gave/sold it back to the original owner. Personally, I think that they should have done.

The Bristol proposals are for:

A diesel ban from a small area in the middle of town
A clean air zone in a larger area. The clean air zone only applies to commercial vehicles.

Neither will apply to a petrol 940.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/e...ce%20by%202028.

If the mechanics are that unaware of the proposals, and are that keen for you to get rid, I'd try another garage. Which garage are you using now? I could recommend a couple in Bristol :)

Post up the MOT fail, but £1700 is a hell of a bill!

Post up the MOT failures, if you do decide to get rid of it as long as it isn't completely rotten then I'm up for buying it and doing it up to get it back on the road. I was hoping to do that with my last purchase it it is completely rotten underneath so that didn't work out.

sadly there are garages out there who just do not want to work on older cars . It sounds like they have just given a very high price to do the work to put you off having it done.
I am the other way and only work on older car, I do very little with modern cars as modern cars are just harder to work on for no good reason.

I am certain you could have all the work needed done correctly for much less by a garage that knows these cars rather than a general garage

On an R reg, you can read the codes for the ABS system to determine which sensor is faulty or if indeed it is a sensor. Front sensors are £20 on ebay so that's a big saving over the price quoted as well.

Have you got a reg number and we can look it up on the MoT history - that would be helpful in working out how viable it is and if there are jobs you can do yourself to save a lot of that £1700 which is a lot for any age car!