Hmm. Looking at the pictures of the gold 965 it's not possible to be 100% sure, but the reg number looks to be N468TTT.
According to the DVLA website the MoT history for N468TT (a gold Volvo 965) would suggest that a previous owner's TLC might have been a little less than lavish. It's failed 9 times since 2006, although none of the fails have been serious. But do loving owners and attentive main dealers really let a prized car consistently fail the MoT over tyres, brakes and light bulbs?
N468TTT has covered generally very few miles between test dates, except for the 2020 test, where the miles had gone up by around 13,000. At the last test in February the mileage stood at around 135,000. Which is the one thing at odds with the car being advertised, as the mileage in the ad is stated very specifically to be 121,789 miles. Of course that 135,000 figure could be a tester's mistake - it does happen.
For £10,000 the buyer of a 24-yr-old car would reasonably expect nigh-on perfection, and the ad write up suggests a totally doting previous owner. I wonder though, would such a fastidious previous owner really care for the car that well, but let the offside front headlamp wiper jam against the bumper, and the nearside one sit at 180 degrees to its proper parked position?
And looking at the photos in close detail you can also see what appears to be fairly significant wrinkling of the top of the NSF doorcard.
This could of course be a totally amazing car, and the vendor more than willing to address any issues. It's also perfectly possible that it has something in its provenance that adds to the value. And in terms of quality, when you think about it, £10k wouldn't buy you even a five or six year old "modern" Ford Focus, let alone anything to compare with the space and grace of a well-sorted 965. Added to which, if properly cared for, this 965 will probably still be on the road in ten years time, which let's face it is unlikely to be true of anything more modern.
Now I'd love to think that this car is worth £10k. Mine can look that good too, and so I'd be well chuffed to think that 900-series cars were hitting this sort of value.
It'll be interesting to see if this car as advertised does find a buyer. And although £10k is arguably on the high side, it's not long ago that a tidy 240GLT could be had for £500 or less. Now they appear to be fetching considerably more.
I'd say for anyone seriously interested in a 965 then it would be worth a call to the dealer, and possibly a journey to Cambridgeshire to see it first hand. Anyone serioulsy interested would of course do their homework, and then draw their own conclusions about the car's value.
Speaking personally, if it was say £4995, and I could get a similarly "optimistic " value for my 1997 S90, then I'd be tempted.
Jack
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