Where have they all gone?!

[James_N]

Hi All

I'm a long time out of the volvo owning scene now, but talking to my elderly neighbour over the lockdowns (he loves a volvo too, currently a V50 but hes looking to upgrade after lockdown!), got me into looking at old volvos again.

Usual places like FB, eBay and carandclassic. it seems most are either basket cases, or up there in the 3-4 thousand range. There is even a (very nice looking, admittedly) 740GL estate on car and classic for £8,995!

i notice there aren't many cars for sale on the forum, if at all.

Are they slowly dieing out, or are people just not selling at the moment?

Whilst i think i'd struggle with the fuel bills nowadays now i have a family, i do get a bit down whilst driving my shed Peugeot 106 and long for the glory days of a lovely 740GLE estate (that i paid £100 for! probably need to pay a bit more nowadays!)

Take eBay. There is a well specced 940 on there, but needs a top end rebuild - £1500. I didn't pay that for my Celebration and that was mint when i got it!

Also another nice looking silver late model 940 on the wrong wheels, a supposed "Barn find". The only nice car i can see for reasonable money is this one: https://www.gumtree.com/p/volvo/1989...mot/1394581294

Cheers
Jim

[Clan]

Originally Posted by James_N

Hi All

I'm a long time out of the volvo owning scene now, but talking to my elderly neighbour over the lockdowns (he loves a volvo too, currently a V50 but hes looking to upgrade after lockdown!), got me into looking at old volvos again.

Usual places like FB, eBay and carandclassic. it seems most are either basket cases, or up there in the 3-4 thousand range. There is even a (very nice looking, admittedly) 740GL estate on car and classic for £8,995!

i notice there aren't many cars for sale on the forum, if at all.

Are they slowly dieing out, or are people just not selling at the moment?

Whilst i think i'd struggle with the fuel bills nowadays now i have a family, i do get a bit down whilst driving my shed Peugeot 106 and long for the glory days of a lovely 740GLE estate (that i paid £100 for! probably need to pay a bit more nowadays!)

Take eBay. There is a well specced 940 on there, but needs a top end rebuild - £1500. I didn't pay that for my Celebration and that was mint when i got it!

Also another nice looking silver late model 940 on the wrong wheels, a supposed "Barn find". The only nice car i can see for reasonable money is this one: https://www.gumtree.com/p/volvo/1989...mot/1394581294

Cheers
Jim

where are they ? Banger racing ... around 15 get written off at each race !

[360beast]

https://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk...0/aetv34463630

https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1302077

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133634572232

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114601470670

[JackMichael]

People are realising how good they are compared to modern cars. Prices creeping up, I’m sure that in summer there will be lots for sale at V high prices.

J

[bob12]

Great thread ..... luving it. Yea, let those prices keep rising!!

Bob

[Mkengineering]

Its become a 'in thing' now. Having a calssic or 90s retro car is more popular than ever before.

You'll see the market for German and Jap cars have shot through the roof aswell. I was lucky to get my evo 6 for 7k and if you look at them now poeple are asking double and sometime triple that!

The days of hoping onto ebay or autotrader and finding a cheap bargin is long gone.

I know its not a volvo but recently I was looking at a e36 328i and the seller wanted 3500! Its covered 189k with the interior looking as if someone set a honey badger in their 🤦🏾*♂️

[StrongSpearWorks]

It's the BMW E30 rush all over again!

I remember when you could buy (and there were plenty of them) an e30 touring for £1000 with a sensible spec and one or two owners with a full history. You can't even get a 20 owner box of spanners for that now!

[capt jack]

Our S70 needed a little professional TLC just before Christmas thanks to a car park argument at the golf club. The S70 is Mrs Jack's chariot, whilst I have my old S90.

When the S70 was returned to us the body shop manager asked us if we realised how much the cars were worth. Guessing at perhaps £1000 each, I was totally surprised when he said each of them reach would be five times that, maybe more. The S70 has well over 220,000 miles on, the S90 a mere 125,000, and both are in really excellent condition, considering their combined age of 47 years!

Apparently, as has been said, cars in good condition from the nineteen-nineties are increasing in value because they're recognised as well-engineered, built to last, and far less complicated than modern offerings. They're also very good to drive and, unlike the latest models, don't all look the same.

(What has happened to style and design? Honestly, can you tell the difference between the manufacturers these days without looking at the badge?)

The most modern car I've ever driven was a newish Ford Fiesta, loaned to me for a few days a couple of years ago. And compared with either of our old Volvos it really was dreadful. It felt cheap and tacky, flimsy in the extreme, and with a dashboard the complexity of which wouldn't have been out of place in a video arcade game.

The one older car that seems to be available still at bargain prices is the Saab 9-5. Oddly, the 9-3 (which is a Vectra in a fancy frock) is starting to command higher money, but the 9-5 appears to be relatively unloved.

The message has to be if you've got an older Volvo in good shape then hang on to it. And (as we have done) sort out some additional security as a matter of urgency.

Jack

[TurnipSpeed]

Having bought a v70 diesel 2007 my as a stop-gap while I fixed my 940, I have just scrapped the v70 for £300.
It lasted four months!
Too many fault codes to make it worth keeping, unlike my 940, which seems so easy to keep on the road, is fun to drive and own, and I am proud to own.
Best 20-plus year old cars on the market?

[haymitch]

Out of interest, what additional security are you using capt jack?