'89 740 SE Auto Saloon for sale

[captain_pugwash_20]

Hello everyone. Sadly due to a recent bereavement, Anna-Frid is available on the market. I do not need to 'cart' such things as wheelchairs and other disability aids around now and am having to source something much smaller. Anna has a new exhaust and a very recent main fuel pump. However, being honest, I have just noticed that the front nearside shocker needs replacing. The offside balljoint needs replacing and is lying in the boot awaiting fitting. Tonight, after dropping off my family after my wife's funeral, she decided to stop running. I think it's the fuel pump relay as there's no tell tale hum from the pump on cranking. Bodily, she's pale metallic blue and in sound condition except that last year, a disenchanted England fan decided to take out his frustration on Anna by jumping onto her bonnet. He slipped and landed on the small piece of fixed body just above the windscreen and in front of the sunroof. There's a small dent in that and of course the bonnet is dented too. When all is well, the engine (144000 miles) starts easily, there's no oil loss and no smoke. The gearbox has given no trouble whatsoever. The only thing is that the kickdown cable siezed and snapped, but I never missed it because if I did need a boost, I only had to press the overdrive cancel button. MOT is up to July as is the Tax. Well that's about it. To start my 'small car' fund, may I ask for around £300? She's well worth doing up and to someone handy, it would be a doddle. If anyone wants her for organ donation, then I think there's a lot in her for the price. I have to be honest, I would have kept her if only I could have afforded the time to put her right, but while nursing my wife, my time was extremely curtailed. Now she's not here, Anna must go to another home as she's served me well until today and coincidentally has failed me right at the moment when she became surplus to my requirements.

[captain_pugwash_20]

Hi again. I've been thinking and come to the conclusion that I was asking too much for Anna. After all, due to my attentions being needed elsewhere for a long time, I have neglected the aforesaid problems and now she's not running. I still think it will be fuel, but tomorrow I will have her battery charged and I'll check for both fuel and spark, er, not together though! I'll post the results. Make me an offer. 200 would be nice.

[capt jack]

Hi there Cap'n P.

Very saddened to read about the circumstances leading up to the sale of your car. It puts things into perspective a bit, and I think I can safely say that all on here will wish you well.

As for the car, unfortunately a 740 that's a non-runner is worth just about scrap value only - probably about £150. And it's crazy because as you say, it probably wouldn't take much for someone a bit handy to get her back on the road.

740s haven't hit 'classic' status yet, and if you look on Ebay or Autotrader etc you'll see any number languishing in the 'for sale' section without too much happening.

The reality is that in order to achieve much of a price for her you'd need to sort out her problems -which would probably not make much financial sense as the likely cost of repairs, although modest, is more than the car's worth.

Another option is to break her yourself. Are you handy with the spanners? If you've the time, space and inclination, and assuming everything's in good order, you'll raise more for the parts than you ever will by selling the car complete. The downside is the amount of messing around you'd need to do, removing parts and selling via Ebay etc.

A third option would be to do enough to get her running and usable again, then give yourself until the MoT expires just to have a think and see how things turn out. You might end up deciding that she's worth keeping after all!

If you're thinking of buying a new(er) car then part-ex is an option. While ever she has an MoT she'll have a part-ex value, and it might be more than you'd expect.

We've got to be realistic - a big, old thirsty non-runner isn't ever going to be worth a fortune, but a photo or two on here, plus perhaps an ad on a couple of the free websites might just do the trick. Then there's always the time when Ebay will do a special 'free-listing' offer.

Whatever you decide to do, I certainly wish you good luck.

Cheers

Jack

[captain_pugwash_20]

Thank you for your valuable input Cap't. I'm going to put her on charge tonight and see what happens tomorrow. I've dropped the price already anyway. The fact is that I live in apartments situated on a busy street and working on her here is impractical. I've also still got a lot on my plate. Aww, I only wish she hald off a little while longer. However I might have tracked down her potential replacement and if all goes well, the current owner looks like he'll give me until Easter to see his. Mind you, I'd be travelling almost the length of the country to see it, so it's going to be a gamble. I think the car and owner is well established on here, so i'm hopeful I'll not be disappointed or he'll have all you (us) Volvo types giving him hell, ha ha! No, I'm sure it will do me well. Sadly and paradoxically, I'll have time to keep on top of this one because my Anna had to take a back seat for a long time for personal reasons. I have to be realistic, if she doesn't move on here, then it's baked bean tins here we come.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Dunno how I missed this thread :O

Sorry to hear of your troubles

On a brighter note, all being well, I will be collecting the car before the end of the month

[captain_pugwash_20]

Your kind comments remind me that I'm amongst like minded friends. It saddened me to have to pull out of a potential purchase of a lovely Wentworth, but extreme circumstances conspired to prevent me from going ahead. Well, at least I let the potential seller know as soon as my predicament became untenable for the purchase. I would be disappointed if my time was wasted for no reason, I only hope that in time, the seller can forgive me for wasting his.

[minesa240x3]

Hey capt don't go to far with the apologies.Yes you let him down but.Things happened out of your control,And I for one think you did your best to let him know,And you were very sincere and apologetic.
He on the otherhand was rude and in my opinion very abrupt and hurtful.
If he wants £400 for his car then I suggest he sells it on ebay as the banger boys have a similare attitude.
Regards Brian.

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Reading between the lines here Bob, I'm assuming you've had problems with the seller of another car?

Well, as said, things happened outside of your control, and lets be honest, family is more important

I buy and sell cars, well, at the minute I just seem to buy them, but anyway, when someone comes to view a car, I say to them, let me know either way, I would think more of someone who comes to me, says they aren't sure and rings me the next day and says no thanks, than some gimp that comes, agrees a price, says they will be back in x number of days and is never seen or heard from.

Last time I had problems like this, they guy had been, looked, drove, agreed a deal, and left a deposit, 2 weeks past, couple of phone calls from me, no answer, finally an answer, oh, I've had family problems. Well, had this guy had been honest from the start, told me as soon as he knew he didn't want the car, he'd had got his deposit back, but the fact he'd kept me hanging for 3 week and not so much as a phone call, I was very annoyed.

Basically, if someone is honest and up front, I will do what I can to help them, someone wants to mess me about, I'll make ther life hell lol. And I'm sure from what contact I've had from you Bob, you done everything you could so as to not waste the sellers time, in my opinion, he can hang on to his car, there's plenty more out there.

Out of interest, are you still looking for a replacement car?