Why Volvo

[hoj]

Just thought I’d ask What got you wanting a Volvo?
and Why did you buy what you bought?

In my case I just liked the shape and it was a good price V70 D5 SE

[volvo always]

My Grandparents had a few.

Volvo 244. Brown big bumper model. 1986 340 1.4GL. Drove this after passing my test for 2-3 years.

At age 23 in around 2002/3 bought my first car, a 2.3l B230K 1986 740 GLE estate. £425. Needed estate as Moved to Normandy France and doing renovations. Before leaving, fitted Virgo alloys and fitted electric sunroof motor from 940 to convert manual sunroof to electric.

Had new Corolla while there in 2007 and PX Volvo for Corolla. Sold LHD Corolla and bought.

1989 Volvo 240 GLT auto Estate for £350 in November 2009. Had 240 for 10 years and bought 1996 Volvo 940 SE Lpt Auto for £250 around 5 years ago.

Still have the 940. My workhorse/van for my self employed work, 240 prior.

Like it's ease of maintenance, reliability and character.

Have a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid estate. Great on fuel. Free tax.

James

[Laird Scooby]

I bought a Volvo 144DL auto in a hurry after a sideways excursion into the scenery with a Mk3 Cortina - ironically i was driving to the tyre place to get a replacement tyre due to a puncture the previous day and my spare was near-bald and it was that tyre that contributed/caused the scenery inspection!

Had a few Volvos since but then when i needed a car with more load-lugging capability the only real choice was a 745GLE auto. Since the first i've had a couple more and now a 765GLEa which is the one that does what the 745 should do in my opinion.

I don't plan on changing this one, i still need load-lugging ability but i also have my other car (or will have when the Kung Flu lets me get it back from the MoT place!) which is a Rover 827 Sterling - both great cars and both do exactly what i want from each of them.

[Briggo]

Price, equipment, looks, condition of car.

I'd happily have bought an E class or 5 series but the V90 I bought was good for the money.

I'm not brand loyal, that doesn't earn you any brownie points.

[Forg]

I'm as non-brand-loyal as Briggo, I'll go with whatever suits at the time.

"The time" in question was a few months after I went into a huge mortgage on half a house with a mate from school, and I had a 5yo Gen-I Subaru Legacy RS. I was commuting to work via train, this was just after the WRX had become super popular so the used value of my Legacy had gone up since I'd bought it 2 years prior ... and it was nicked & used in a bank-robbery.

Now I'd been doing some after-uni work with a bloke that had an '87 240GL wagon, I'd grown up across the road from them & they'd always had Volvos. Additionally a workmate who was really knowledgeable about modded cars reckoned 240's were a good base due to being cheap & solidly-engineered & commonly available for parts etc.

Anyhoo I wanted a replacement for the Legacy which I could get for a lot less than the ~£17k insurance payout, which was a bit unusual, which wasn't too awful to drive, wasn't going to be stolen, and which wasn't going to be exxy to maintain. I'd forgotten 242GT's even existed 'til a mate brought them up; it only took a quick test-drive before I was convinced, it was a 20yo car which drove like a 10yo car, no self-respecting thief was EVER going to be seen in one, and given so little was different to the super-common 244 & 245 (& even most of a 240) it was going to be reasonable maintenance. In hindsight after test-driving a few, that first one was in amazingly good condition, and it'd definitely had some engine work done 'cos it was smoother & much torquier than any other 240 I drove.

The mate I bought the house with was tooling around in a pretty good nick 1974 Escort 1300GT, but the 242GT was a billionty times better, and he ended-up selling the Escort & buying a 242 & having cash left over (mind you that Escort would prolly be worth an extra £10k over a 242GT in today's market in Straya!).

And then the idea of doing a project came along due to the guy I'd worked with a few years prior ... the lure of something which looked like the 1986 Australian Touring Car Champions and made turbo whoosh noises was a bit hard to resist ... and it took about 4 years to get to the point of it being registered in 2005.

[eternal optimist]

My first was an exceptionally rusty Amazon estate, followed quickly by a 145S. Then I went back to big Citroens for a bit with an XM. since then, I’ve had a 960 3.0, a 240 Torslander, a V40 company car, and following a couple of 9-5 estates, I’m in a P2 XC70.

Why do I like them? I was one of six kids and we were liberally spread out across the back seat and in the boot of a series of Cortina estates. My dad always wanted a DS estate, but never had one.

I like estates, and cars that are well screwed together. Never been worried about having anything new - although I did like the XC90 we rented for three weeks in California a couple of years ago.

The XC70 was owned by an old boy from new until I accidentally bought it about three years ago. It replaced a 9-5 Aero estate on 200k miles. I’d done various bits to it, 305bhp and 440Nm made it go really nicely. The XC70 is a 163bhp D5. I bought it with 120k on it and fsh, now close to 190k. It’s fabulously comfortable, and feels as solid as the old W124 Merc on 250k I had, but nowhere near as much fun as the Saab.

I keep looking at the new V90. If I find one in bronze with ventilated brown leather at the right price, I might be tempted.

[Dippydog]

In the late '80s I had a Viva HC and driving past a breakers yard saw a 144 saloon for sale for £100 a deal was done[They gave me £80 for the Viva that I'd paid £30 for] and I drove home in the Volvo.Just over a year later and I needed more carrying capacity so swapped the 144 and £50 cash for a 245 that was for sale at £375 another year or so no longer needed the capacity so p/x ed the 245 against a BMW 525 that one of my brothers fancied and I took on his Renault 20 TS.That was end of Volvos until 2016 when I bought a V70 for £50[I still have it]to go alongside my Omega saloon.A couple of years ago fancying adding to the "fleet" I scanned the bay of E not knowing what would appeal when I saw a 960 saloon that positively screamed at me to buy it-so I did.If I saw something I fancied more than the 960 I'd get rid of it without regret,the V70 I'd be more reluctant to let go and the Omega definitely staying.

[skippyfox]

Like you I've always like the look of a Volvo. I started off with a 06 plate XC90. Then one day driving past the Volvo dealers in Bury spotted a very tasty looking XC90 R Design on the forecourt. After recovering from the thump off the wife I decided to go for it. A few years later it was replaced with a XC70. Moving on, having a daft moment the 70 was traded in against a V90 R Design D5. If I'm honest I do miss the XC70, just daren't tell the missus. Not fond of hospital food....

[Wagon Sailor]

I needed a car that could do tip runs and the occasional long distance. It had to be inexpensive, ie: priced so that I could get my money back later on if I didn't mess it up. It had to take my mate's mobility scooter and not be too difficult for him to get in and out.

A Volvo 240 Wagon, obviously.

[EssexExile]

I didn't particularly want a Volvo, I wanted a car that carried four good sized people in comfort and was tall enough for me to get my old body in and out of. I tried loads and ended up with this one.