Off to see a shed

[davidsmith1307]

Having a small wobble.

Choice of 2 cars:
XC90 SE with 100k @ £7k
The grey XC90 SE LUX with 138k @ £4.5k

I do 25,000 miles a year so I am wondering whether the mileage of the grey is a problem. Insurance and tax are higher too.

Both excellent cars but I do love the grey!

[volvoid]

Tell us all about the XC70
Will soon sell
Age - miles - condition - spec - faults and above all
£££ Free to a good home like ME

[volvoid]

Originally Posted by davidsmith1307

I do 25,000 miles a year so I am wondering whether the mileage of the grey is a problem. Insurance and tax are higher too.

Neither will be worth a lot in 4 years time, and 200,ooo + miles, how long will you keep it ? How keen are you on mending ageing cars ? I think I'd go for the cheaper one, £2500 pays for a lot of miles.

[davidsmith1307]

61 plate SE D5 AWD, 61,500 miles, full dealer service history, 1 owner before me. Dark leather interior. Dynamic chassis. No faults, no DTCs. Metallic beige type colour (a proper volvo colour).
Nice car. Just want a 90!

[davidsmith1307]

Originally Posted by volvoid

Neither will be worth a lot in 4 years time, and 200,ooo + miles, how long will you keep it ? How keen are you on mending ageing cars ? I think I'd go for the cheaper one, £2500 pays for a lot of miles.

Plan to keep it to death.
One reason to get a 90 is that you CAN fix things, or at least as far as Volvo let you. Not as easy as a Landy though.

[DieselConvert]

Originally Posted by davidsmith1307

Having a small wobble.
Choice of 2 cars:
XC90 SE with 100k @ £7k
The grey XC90 SE LUX with 138k @ £4.5k
I do 25,000 miles a year so I am wondering whether the mileage of the grey is a problem. Insurance and tax are higher too.
Both excellent cars but I do love the grey!

For me, depends on the condition & service history of the 100K SE.

I'd project the known & probable costs on both cars to get them where you want them, and then compare, (and mentally add a £500 - 1k oh s--- contingency fund to both).

Your 25K /pa suggests frequent use so reliability and minimal unexpected off-road time might be v. important.

The 'project' 90 might be fun to play with, but if you end up spending money close to the SE to fully sort it, and the SE has 18months less mileage on, the fun seems expensive.

Then again - if you might want/need to spend a bit on the SE ( ? belts within 3 months, or tyres) , the project 90 eases ahead....

[Tannaton]

I bought a "Project XC90" in the summer. I usually do 2 or 3 "Projects" a year and make a bit of money on them, the last one being a Freelander. The Volvo I plan to keep for 3 years plus though, it's replacing a 300TDi Discovery that I have had for 3 years now.

The advantage with the Volvo is the full diagnostic system (VIDA+DICE) is easy to come by - with Land Rover, Mercedes, etc. you need deeper pockets. They tend to use dedicated devices rather then PC based software so cost more. VIDA is invaluable.

The cars are actually reasonably easy to work on if you know what you are doing and have a diagnostic mind, and there isn't much you can't tackle at home. You may need to top up your tool box though. Many of the components on the XC90 are straight out of the Volvo part bins and used on other models, but given it's age and longevity there aren't that many in breakers yards and getting some parts is either difficult or expensive. Try finding a set of second hand wheels for a reasonable price....

I wouldn't make any money on my car now as I've spent a lot on it but that's because I like it so much and plan to keep it so I've nearly got it to a high standard. I've enjoyed (almost) every minute of working on it and it's been very satisfying to take a neglected, abused, non-runner and make a good car out of it again.

What I would say though is think hard about the bodywork - you said there was some scratches on dents on the gray one - Bodywork (unless you have your own bodyshop) is something you can either do well or cheaply - but not both. You can probably sort the mechanicals for reasonable costs but if half the panels need repairing and painting then you might have a big bill which may put your cost beyond market value.

[davidsmith1307]

Here are some panel pics. Nothing terminal.
SE is ready to roll. Belts done. New tyres on the front. 3 month warranty.
SE LUX is 'as-is'.
Veering to the SE now. I'm sure there will be plenty of things to fix in its lifetime. Pic attached (the green one)

[Tannaton]

I wouldn't say it was that bad - bonnet is probably commensurate with age/mileage, to sort it needs bonnet, rear quarter and 2 arches painting - maybe £400 ish for a cash job at a good bodyshop.

With the "as-is" car there may be the opportunity to add some value to it with time and parts. With the other car you've effectively paid them to do it.

[davidsmith1307]

Not too interested in adding value as I don't really want to get rid.

If only Mrs Vicar had been able to use wing mirrors and touch up paint!