Can you still buy new rear light clusters for an 850 saloon?

[s1monc]

Although I have two old 1995 T-5R’s and as much as they are nice cars I do prefer newer stuff for everyday stuff. Must admit I don’t worry about depreciation. I bought a 2 year old M3 from Broad Oak BMW just over 3 years ago. Never spent any money on it at apart from petrol as it came with a 5 year service pack that the first owner paid for. It has depreciated by about 5k per year so far but the fun far outweighs the cost for me.

Great story about your V70 though going all over Europe etc, they are really good cruisers and so comfy. Can’t beat Volvo seats!

[stevepcar]

I agree with you Clogs...I was given for free, a 1996 850 T5 7-years ago, with 158k on the clock. It had failed on emissions & the Volvo main dealer in Exeter couldn't tell the owners whether it was the cat or a "sensor" Consequently they didn't want to spend the money on an uncertainty,so moved it on to me as I already had a 10v 850.
Due to my circumstances, lack of time, funds willpower., I did nothing to the car for 7-years. I started it occasionally & ran it round the garden, but that was all. Last year I decided to do something with it as I was retired. I put new tyres all round & Cataclean in the tank & put it in for an MOT. It failed on a anti-roll bar drop link & a dodgy bulb. I was very surprised. But after that it started to go wrong big time. I ended up doing the PCV & putting a second hand auto transmission in. I know I am rambling, but the point I am making is, that it has cost me £1000 so far & it now runs well, the transmission changes beautifully, its a pleasure to drive. These cars are costly to run once they start to go wrong, especially if you have to pay someone to do the repairs, but if you have the nerve & the will to keep them on the road, you have a luxury sports saloon at a relatively low cost. Also it is more green to keep a car going for longer, as you are not using up any new resources.

[Clogs]

I have never understood why depreciation appears to be taken out of the equation when running a car. People just look at garage bills and forget about the thousands lost yearly as the car depreciates. Get a garage bill of £1,000, and claim "it's costing me money, so change the car" is the motor trade getting you on an endless treadmill paying money every month on either contract hire or HP (or a large lump sum) for your new car. Contract hire always has a sting in the tail as scratches and dinks need to be fixed before the car is returned, and a new car every three years means you're always paying out.

There are years when my old car cost just servicing. petrol, road tax and insurance... no big bills; but other years something wore out and needed replacing. One larger expense is tyres because 205/50/R16's aren't the cheapest and I only buy tyres based more on quietness than hard wearing. You need quiet tyres going down the motorways in Europe all day at 80mph on cruise control.

On the point that a newish M3 is fun to drive... I'd say that my old T5 is still fun to drive and will still out accelerate most saloon cars, but so what... you get to an age when always having had a clean licence is more important than beating someone at the lights... besides the only lights where this can be done is London bound on the A2 at the top of Lydden hill where 0-70mph is possible. On the odd occasion this has surprised some coming up next to me in the fast lane ... as they try to zoom off ahead as the lights change but get undertaken when we're up to 40-50mph and left well behind when 70 is reached...even laden with people and luggage on the return from the ferry in Dover. I timed the 0-60 last year and it's still just over 7 seconds, as the engine and turbo still work perfectly and will rev to 6000 without any trouble.

[s1monc]

I’m in the fortunate position where I own the car outright. I’m just an out and out petrol head car enthusiast and love anything to do with cars. The Volvo’s I work on myself as I find it interesting to fix stuff myself plus it keeps the cost down.

Anyway the thread was started about rear lights needed for 850 T-5R saloon and I managed to find what I needed, popped up on eBay yesterday.

Thanks.

Clogs, keep that V70 going, love an old Volvo!