Spend Money On Keeping A High-Miler On The Road, Or...?

[ITSv40]

When I was looking for my C70 I thought I wanted a light grey or cream interior until I saw what they all looked like - even low mileage cars looked tired and scruffy. By contrast the black interiors - even high mileage - looked good and just wanted a good clean to make them immaculate. I settled on a black interior and removed the interior when I bought it and deep cleaned everything. Folks often ask if the interior has been re-trimmed.

[S60D5-185]

To some extent I would agree.
When I was looking for an XC90, after viewing several I discounted the cream leather as it always looked tired and scruffy.
The S60 that I owned had cream leather and that was still perfect at 10 year old.
My P2 XC70 had the light interior and even at 182k when I sold it, it was perfect.
The quality of the S60 and XC70 seats far surpassed anything in the XC90.
I ended up with a Willow Green XC90 with black leather interior and that has been acceptable.
I actually think that the P2 S60 and XC70 have an overall better build quality than the 90.

[DaveNP]

Just found another sting in a newer car, the tyres I referred to in my post a week ago were because one of the front tyres got a puncture, this week she got one in a rear tyre. Now the wife's car, a 68 plate KIA Stonic doesn't have a spare as standard which makes a puncture a pain in the proverbial, so I decided to get another wheel. New alloy from the dealer £354 plus the tyre (Michelin XClimate £160) OUCH! thought I'd look for a second hand wheel, a decent one on ebay is near £100 without tyre, (eventually settled on two with good tyres for £260 so not too bad), but there are people on the forum offering wheels for my old V70 for just half of that.

[baggy798]

A quick search suggests a Kia Stonic is a common 4x100 bolt pattern and about 40-50 offset. 54.1 mm centre bore but if a wheel has a smaller one it can always be hogged out, the wheel nuts are tapered so no problem.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...00+space+saver

[DaveNP]

Trouble is I wanted a full sized spare to match the four on the car, but a quick google does bring up sets of four new after market wheels and good tyres for about £1100, half the price of the dealers.
There's been a hiccup with my ebay order as they only sent one wheel, the other is promised for Monday, but the one I have got is in very good condition with the tyre only half worn.

[Laney760]

I wondered what I had written on this thread, just read it, copied below. Still feel the same! I still own my 1997 940 which I bought in 2012 and which I had converted to lpg in 2014. I have now done about 200,000 and am probably spending about £1.5 to £2K per year at my garage on servicing and replacement parts but because she is running on lpg it balances out. A small area of rust has appeared on the tail gate but otherwise she is pretty rust free. Still on the same clutch from pre 2012 which I have done something like £130K on!

Originally Posted by Laney760

I am very happy to keep my high miler on the road with one proviso - once the body starts to go and welding is required then for me it is time to say goodbye but my 1996 940 is still rock solid underneath

I imagine I am one of the many drivers who cannot afford to buy or maintain a newer model but I am very happy to own a thoroughbred Swede pre Ford-input to be honest. Last year, due to being so busy working and clocking up high mileage for my job my 940 needed many repairs which I did not have time to do myself and it was pretty soul destoying paying garage prices on top of a £1300 top end lpg conversion but when I have the time and energy to do repairs myself I am very happy to have an old high miler on the road. I am always proud of her, I love to drive a car that stands out from the crowd!

[Forg]

Originally Posted by Existential Crisis

To the last two posters, ya like what ya like. Not for me and a bugger to keep clean!! A lighter interior in a 'sunday' car is fine, but for one that will be used for an everyday work machine...doesn't compute for me! Each to their own. My lexus had a light interior and I adored that car, but nobody was allowed in it dirty!!

My better-half's car isn't too bad a compromise, the hood-lining (or whatever the appropriate term is for the underside of the roof) and pillar trims are light ('titanium' in GM-speak) but the stuff you sit on & touch is all black & dark grey. The higher-spec (HSV) cars all had black overhead, and I had zero chance of convincing her to get one of those because they feel more closed-in ... being a modern wagon design, looking out the rear window is already like looking through a window at the other end of a tunnel.

On the subject-line topic, there's a thread right next to this at the moment where the poster's got a 2019 <something>90, and has already spent heaps on it. Something new is no guarantee of reduced maintenance costs.