Seriously?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by jasons

I thought the 2 door was quite a rare car?

As a slightly rough car I wouldn't see it at much more if it was in Europe/LHD country, but minted then I could see it fetching 15k euro? But could cost 9k to make mint tho.

I do like the 2 door, if it was a couple of grand I'd buy it.

Not exactly rare because Volvo made quite a few 2 doors back in the day, but they were not imported to the UK. This motor car came from Sweden - hence being LHD.

As we discussed above, is is a bit rough around the edges. If it was back in Sweden it wouldn't particularly be worth bringing back to mint condition. I'd disagree with your assessment of costs: I think in Europe it would cost €15,000 to make it a motor car worth €9,000.

Being a 2 door makes the motor car a bit of a novelty here in the UK, but no more than that. The market for this one will be tiny, I suppose there might be the odd hipster somewhere that wants something really quirky to take down to the café where he spends £8 on a jam jar full of herbal tea, but it that is about it.

This thread is all about monitoring the market for the Volvo 240 motor cars we all like. I don't think there will be any running and riding historic vehicles (pre 1980) for a couple of grand any more (the RB was probably the last of those) - my gut feeling is that £4,300 was a little more than the motor car was really worth, and if the seller has turned it down that was an unwise move.

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

Another second or third time around sale:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133939690...sAAOSwokxhfQBr

... I think the 'original seat covers' must be original to Halfords :-)

If I hadn't seen the asking price I'd have said this was a £3,000 motor car: quite nice but no provenance and some bodywork damage. I rather suspect this one will be around for a while.

So this one didn't find a buyer at £4,250 and now had been re-advertised at £3,900 or offers:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133949423...m=133949423002

I still think it is a £3,000 motor car - it is only about 30 years old and so won't have an historic vehicle premium for another decade, it seems to be in good order but doesn't have much provenance. 10 years ago this motor car would have been considered a banger.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Not exactly rare because Volvo made quite a few 2 doors back in the day, but they were not imported to the UK. This motor car came from Sweden - hence being LHD.

As we discussed above, is is a bit rough around the edges. If it was back in Sweden it wouldn't particularly be worth bringing back to mint condition. I'd disagree with your assessment of costs: I think in Europe it would cost €15,000 to make it a motor car worth €9,000.

Being a 2 door makes the motor car a bit of a novelty here in the UK, but no more than that. The market for this one will be tiny, I suppose there might be the odd hipster somewhere that wants something really quirky to take down to the café where he spends £8 on a jam jar full of herbal tea, but it that is about it.

This thread is all about monitoring the market for the Volvo 240 motor cars we all like. I don't think there will be any running and riding historic vehicles (pre 1980) for a couple of grand any more (the RB was probably the last of those) - my gut feeling is that £4,300 was a little more than the motor car was really worth, and if the seller has turned it down that was an unwise move.

Alan

While i agree with most of what you say there Alan, you've missed two possible markets that could in fact be fairly lucrative. One is the obvious one, someone who does a lot of touring on the continent and wants a car with the handlebars on the wrong side.

Second, not quite so obvious is the person who has a generally reasonably good 1976/7 240 that has suffered from the serious tinworm many from that era had. That would mean almost (if not) all the parts are available to create a RHD 242, possibly with good seat covers on the passenger seat that could easily be transferred to the (current) drivers seat.
As you point out, it's not original as it doesn't have the original engine so that's the "get out of jail free" card in terms of converting to RHD which would be fairly easy to do with all the right parts. It could be argued though that if the prospective purchaser is capable of such a conversion then they should be capable of sorting their existing RHD 240 rather than use it as a spares mule for the 242.

Out of curiosity, i looked on Tradera to see if there were any 242s for sale in Sweden :

https://www.tradera.com/en/search?q=volvo%20242

Some bespoke spares but nothing else really except paperwork and books. Seems they're just as rare there as they are here!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

While i agree with most of what you say there Alan, you've missed two possible markets that could in fact be fairly lucrative. One is the obvious one, someone who does a lot of touring on the continent and wants a car with the handlebars on the wrong side.

Second, not quite so obvious is the person who has a generally reasonably good 1976/7 240 that has suffered from the serious tinworm many from that era had. That would mean almost (if not) all the parts are available to create a RHD 242, possibly with good seat covers on the passenger seat that could easily be transferred to the (current) drivers seat.
As you point out, it's not original as it doesn't have the original engine so that's the "get out of jail free" card in terms of converting to RHD which would be fairly easy to do with all the right parts. It could be argued though that if the prospective purchaser is capable of such a conversion then they should be capable of sorting their existing RHD 240 rather than use it as a spares mule for the 242.

Out of curiosity, i looked on Tradera to see if there were any 242s for sale in Sweden :

https://www.tradera.com/en/search?q=volvo%20242

Some bespoke spares but nothing else really except paperwork and books. Seems they're just as rare there as they are here!

Good morn Dave,

Maybe. I can't help thinking that the potential market for this motor car in the UK is tiny: perhaps 10 people total (a hipster or two, someone wanting to visit his great aunt Hildegard in Osnabrück regularly but is afraid of flying and modern vehicles, and someone else that has a rusty barn find 1975 244 under a tree in his back garden that wants to turn it into a 242).

I thought this auction did really well to attract 17 bids from 10 different bidders and get to £4,300 (but I always get suspicious when the seller hides the bidders behind the 'private listing - bidder identity protected' wall)... it looks to me like all 10 of the interested parties in the UK must have placed at least one bid.

The above is all a bit light hearted Dave. I still think this is a novelty motor car in the Nissan Figaro way that will only appeal to a tiny number of potential buyers. The seller probably disagrees in that he set his reserve above £4,300 - which still seems very optimistic to me.

If the seller hasn't accepted the highest bid (I'm not sure whether eBay will allow him to do that) then I suppose we may see it again soon. If the seller tries eBay again he may well find that the 10 bidders he uncovered the first time are the entire population of interested parties. In that case he may well do better with C&C (or similar) more specialised auctions.

Very interesting discussion.

Alan

PS. I did find this Dutch 242 for sale:

https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/ca...42/1979/240928

... it is getting on for £9,000 but looks original and in pretty good condition. It is difficult to compare it with the eBay motor car.

[jasons]

Originally Posted by Othen

Not exactly rare because Volvo made quite a few 2 doors back in the day, but they were not imported to the UK. This motor car came from Sweden - hence being LHD.

Being a 2 door makes the motor car a bit of a novelty here in the UK, but no more than that. The market for this one will be tiny, I suppose there might be the odd hipster somewhere that wants something really quirky to take down to the café where he spends £8 on a jam jar full of herbal tea, but it that is about it.


Alan

I can't remember the last time I saw a 2-door of that gen, I never liked the later gen 240 coupe that looked like they designed it purely for the American market, whereas this shape is so much more pleasing on the eye.

So far I've not seen one in mainland Europe that I can remember, so maybe their popularity in Sweden never made it to mainland Europe.
I wonder when Sweden joined the EU to make import from Sweden to mainland EU tax free and how many 2-doors were in existence in Sweden by this time

Maybe I fall into the hipster category for liking this model although I don't like herbal tea lol.

Originally Posted by Othen

PS. I did find this Dutch 242 for sale:

https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/ca...42/1979/240928

... it is getting on for £9,000 but looks original and in pretty good condition. It is difficult to compare it with the eBay motor car.

Looks bit scruffy to me, looks like it needs a full paint job at least and a tidy up, then one turns their attention to the mechanical side which could swallow a chunk of cash also.
In fact the more I look at it the more I think its quite a scruffy thing that would swallow a lot of money to make mint.

For me, I'd say if this is typical evidence of what is out there then I wasn't far off with 15k euro for a minter, this certainly isn't that and wants to trade at 9k euro.

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

While i agree with most of what you say there Alan, you've missed two possible markets that could in fact be fairly lucrative. One is the obvious one, someone who does a lot of touring on the continent and wants a car with the handlebars on the wrong side.


Out of curiosity, i looked on Tradera to see if there were any 242s for sale in Sweden :

https://www.tradera.com/en/search?q=volvo%20242

Some bespoke spares but nothing else really except paperwork and books. Seems they're just as rare there as they are here!

I'd certainly like one in LHD, I think its quite a cool car.


On another note:
It may not be original, I know the market is going crazy for original cars even poverty spec originals with dog slow engines.
Gone are the days of upgraded engines, the market will buy this sort of stuff then turn it back to how it left the factory, but...
If its on the money, for example for me with a spare 230FT and auto gearbox laying around doing nothing, I'd happily drop it in a GT for a bit of extra fun keeping the original motor as spare in case I needed to move it on to an anorak, a 200hp GT running on E85 at 70 cents per litre for make a great fun car for touring Europe, I would do that in heartbeat.

[jasons]

Originally Posted by Othen

So this one didn't find a buyer at £4,250 and now had been re-advertised at £3,900 or offers:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133949423...m=133949423002

I still think it is a £3,000 motor car - it is only about 30 years old and so won't have an historic vehicle premium for another decade, it seems to be in good order but doesn't have much provenance. 10 years ago this motor car would have been considered a banger.

Alan

does it read to anyone else like the cambelt was only done after it snapped?
If so, its not saying much for the mechanical condition, assuming the worst, the last owner of 10 years didn't bother to maintain the car, hence perhaps no paperwork was lost, rather it never existed because it was never done?
probably 10 year old tyres - are these now an MOT fail on cars over 10-years old? and maybe 10 year old oil before the knee-jerk cambelt snap and 'oh shyt we'd better get it serviced' moment?

The body is in good condition, but it is the laziest sell ever, why not put the trims on and take a pic or two of the original seat covers so we know its not got a hole in the seat.
for 50 quid a dent man would sort the boot out, but then where do you stop as it also needs a new headlight...

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

PS. I did find this Dutch 242 for sale:

https://www.classic-trader.com/uk/ca...42/1979/240928

... it is getting on for £9,000 but looks original and in pretty good condition. It is difficult to compare it with the eBay motor car.

I'm not surprised it's expensive Alan! It's a limited edition one, remember we saw a 244 GLE some time back with the same wheels and colour scheme? Think it was the Jubilee Edition (Volvos Jubilee, not HM The Queen although same year) by name and interestingly that one you found has an Imperial only speedo - not a hint of a km in sight!
That would be one to cherish and preserve especially as it appears to have the B23E engine (possibly B21E) and if my zoom function is working correctly, the overdrive gearbox too.
Either way much livelier than the B200 engined 242DL not quite sold on ebay!

Originally Posted by jasons

I can't remember the last time I saw a 2-door of that gen, I never liked the later gen 240 coupe that looked like they designed it purely for the American market, whereas this shape is so much more pleasing on the eye.


Maybe I fall into the hipster category for liking this model although I don't like herbal tea lol.


I'd certainly like one in LHD, I think its quite a cool car.


On another note:
It may not be original, I know the market is going crazy for original cars even poverty spec originals with dog slow engines.
Gone are the days of upgraded engines, the market will buy this sort of stuff then turn it back to how it left the factory, but...
If its on the money, for example for me with a spare 230FT and auto gearbox laying around doing nothing, I'd happily drop it in a GT for a bit of extra fun keeping the original motor as spare in case I needed to move it on to an anorak, a 200hp GT running on E85 at 70 cents per litre for make a great fun car for touring Europe, I would do that in heartbeat.

Volvo didn't make a 240 Coupe for any market - are you referring to the 262C that looks like it has a roof chop and always a vinyl roof?

If you don't like herbal tea you can't be a hipster!
Besides, so far you've passed the hamster test too!

A 200bhp B230FT? A lot of people would be glad to have that! Standard is 165bhp, needs a fair bit of overboost to hit 200bhp although thinking about it, running on E85 with modified fueling and ignition maps should be just about possible. Would be an interesting conversion for a 242 of any description.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by jasons

does it read to anyone else like the cambelt was only done after it snapped?
If so, its not saying much for the mechanical condition, assuming the worst, the last owner of 10 years didn't bother to maintain the car, hence perhaps no paperwork was lost, rather it never existed because it was never done?
probably 10 year old tyres - are these now an MOT fail on cars over 10-years old? and maybe 10 year old oil before the knee-jerk cambelt snap and 'oh shyt we'd better get it serviced' moment?

The body is in good condition, but it is the laziest sell ever, why not put the trims on and take a pic or two of the original seat covers so we know its not got a hole in the seat.
for 50 quid a dent man would sort the boot out, but then where do you stop as it also needs a new headlight...

Yes, the timing belt thing does suggest it snapped but also reading between the lines, it seems to be an estate sale and those listing it are assuming the paperwork is lost because they can't find it - as you suggest, it may never have existed to be found!

I suspect the lister/seller doesn't want to get too involved in listing it and therefore has gone for the WYSIWYG approach on the grounds that if something hasn't been mentioned then assume the worst and anything else is a bonus. I may be wrong on this but i don't think tyres 10+years old are an automatic MoT failure, i believe it's done on condition so if a 2 year old tyre is cracking up it fails as would a 10 year old tyre that's cracking up. Conversely tyres in good all round condition (no pun intended) should pass.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I'm not surprised it's expensive Alan! It's a limited edition one, remember we saw a 244 GLE some time back with the same wheels and colour scheme? Think it was the Jubilee Edition (Volvos Jubilee, not HM The Queen although same year) by name and interestingly that one you found has an Imperial only speedo - not a hint of a km in sight!
That would be one to cherish and preserve especially as it appears to have the B23E engine (possibly B21E) and if my zoom function is working correctly, the overdrive gearbox too.
Either way much livelier than the B200 engined 242DL not quite sold on ebay!

Volvo didn't make a 240 Coupe for any market - are you referring to the 262C that looks like it has a roof chop and always a vinyl roof?

If you don't like herbal tea you can't be a hipster!
Besides, so far you've passed the hamster test too!

A 200bhp B230FT? A lot of people would be glad to have that! Standard is 165bhp, needs a fair bit of overboost to hit 200bhp although thinking about it, running on E85 with modified fueling and ignition maps should be just about possible. Would be an interesting conversion for a 242 of any description.

Now you come to mention it Dave, I do remember a Jubilee edition 244 some time back. Actually I quite like those stripes and wheels as well. I thought I'd noticed an einspritzen motor when I looked at the photos again. I can see that the Dutch car is rather nice, but I don't know about nearly £9,000 though - it will be the motor car's originality (right down to the push-button radio) that makes it if the dealer gets that price... as I said, difficult to compare with the eBay motor car that didn't sell.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Yes, the timing belt thing does suggest it snapped but also reading between the lines, it seems to be an estate sale and those listing it are assuming the paperwork is lost because they can't find it - as you suggest, it may never have existed to be found!

I suspect the lister/seller doesn't want to get too involved in listing it and therefore has gone for the WYSIWYG approach on the grounds that if something hasn't been mentioned then assume the worst and anything else is a bonus. I may be wrong on this but i don't think tyres 10+years old are an automatic MoT failure, i believe it's done on condition so if a 2 year old tyre is cracking up it fails as would a 10 year old tyre that's cracking up. Conversely tyres in good all round condition (no pun intended) should pass.

... as I said above, I still think it is a £3,000 motor car.