1995 (N) Volvo 940 GLE 2.3 Estate

[bluesntwos]

Hi,

Just testing the water at this point. Comments/enquiries welcome. Looking like it has head gasket failure.

1995 (N) Volvo 940 2.3 LPT GLE Manual Estate. Maroon. 188k miles. Loads of history and receipts from new to present day. Lots of money spent. May '19 - used steering rack and catalytic converter, new radiator and turbo oil return seal. Within the last couple of years it's had a new genuine Volvo cat back exhaust, 2 x new Kumho Ecowing tyres. Basically if it's needed it, it's got it. Oil and filter every year regardless of mileage. We've owned it for the past nine years and have done 70k miles in it. Two previous owners before us. Grey leather interior in nice condition. Fully loaded with air con and elec sunroof. Air con non functioning at present but complete. MOT till 26/10/20 with no advisories.

Bad bits - It was losing coolant and the system was under pressure even when cold. It's been in to our local Volvo man this week and he has diagnosed head gasket failure. It hasn't overheated, in fact we just did a 140 mile round trip in it last week. Head condition is unknown as the head hasn't been off. It also has a power steering leak which it was also booked in for but wasn't looked at due to the above.

It also has laquer peel on the bonnet and roof but is particularly bad on the front offside wing. It has also had a poor repair on the nearside rear pillar (wife caught a skip!) and I caught the front nearside door on a lower bollard so that has a crease in it.

So what's it worth? We would probably have carried on with it as the quote to do the head (excluding the head itself) was around the £250 mark so not prohibitive. However, with a new addition to the family, we really need a seven seater now.

Car is in Chorley, Lancashire. (J8 M61 or J29 M6).

[Nine40]

What price you wantimg?

[bluesntwos]

I haven't set a price as there's little point. It'll be worth different amounts to different people depending on what they want it for. If it's only worth scrap value I'll stick it in my garage and sort the head out in my own time.

[knuckledragger]

I don’t follow. Is this car actually for sale, or are you just looking for advice on HG repair and whether to keep it?

[bluesntwos]

I'm after an idea of its value. If it's only worth scrap value I'll probably keep it and repair it. If it's worth decent money I'll sell it.

[360beast]

Get the head gasket sorted and buy a 7 seater kit, saves having to buy a silly people carrier which cost god knows how much and will probably give you problems further down the line.

[omc 47]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Get the head gasket sorted and buy a 7 seater kit, saves having to buy a silly people carrier which cost god knows how much and will probably give you problems further down the line.

Absolutely Luke...........Laquer peel? is common on lots of 940's, 7 seats are an easy upgrade,reliabilty is also very common on these models ,it's also a manual with sunroof,whats not to like? get the head done and stick to ordinary blue antifreeze and forget the modern upgrade replacment.
Unfortunately these cars are on the tipping point of value now so one buyer may break and others may repair, unless you fork out a little investment money you will have the tyre kickers round!!! Keep it........ you know you want to.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Get the head gasket sorted and buy a 7 seater kit, saves having to buy a silly people carrier which cost god knows how much and will probably give you problems further down the line.

Sound advice that makes a lot of sense - better the devil you know, and all that!

As to what it is worth at the moment? The short answer is whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.

Having run a serviceable but slightly scruffy V70 for 3+ years which cost me £550, my opinion would be that, without the H.G. problem, your 945 would probably be worth a similar amount, 'bluesntwos'.

Therefore, were I in the market, I would consider an offer of £250 - £300 not unreasonable for yours. Cars that command four-figure sums will generally be in an appreciably better condition than either my own, or - from your own description - yours, are likely to realise.

Regards, John.

[bluesntwos]

Thanks for all of your replies. It's appreciated.

[bluesntwos]

*** NO LONGER FOR SALE ***

UPDATE: A mechanic friend of mine suggested before embarking on any expensive head gasket work, to replace the coolant expansion cap in case the valve inside had failed and was causing the system to retain pressure. Replaced it this morning and it seems to have worked. Whereas before it would spit coolant out, even when the engine was cold, I took the cap off this evening after she had been sat for 20 mins and no pressure when removing it. The Volvo lives on!!