Seriously?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Othen

I've just noticed eBay has sent me an email saying this motor car failed to sell during its first 28 days of being advertised and so has been re-listed:

... £10,000 for a 29 year old car, I'm not surprised it didn't sell! I think this may be one of those motor cars we see advertised for months or years (like the £8,000 saloon in Wellingborough).

:-)

PS. I notice the ad says the motor car is up for auction on 5 October (Tuesday). If I remember I'll look it up afterwards and see what it made.

PPS. I've found the auction, the estimate is £8-9,000 plus 15.6% fees:

https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/a...3-ada800c8cd59

Well, that £10,000 motor car made £6,800 at auction.

I still think that was too much.

Ho hum

[Moomoo]

Originally Posted by Othen

Well, that £10,000 motor car made £6,800 at auction.

I still think that was too much.

Ho hum

I wonder if there was a reserve above that. No doubt we'll find out.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Moomoo

I wonder if there was a reserve above that. No doubt we'll find out.

The auction site said it was the hammer price - I’m guessing that means it sold?

[Othen]

I saw this lovely 244 for sale on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174965350...kAAOSw~31hW~9A

... it could be the RB's slightly older brother: much the same mileage, same registration year (this one looks like it has an earlier type of headlamp so must be the previous MY), both autos - this one is a DL so it will have the cloth seats, no sunroof, flat paint and no tinted windows.

The MoT history is pretty patchy (but no mention of rust anywhere - just mechanical and electrical neglect and so easier to fix). The only major concern would be a some advisories going back to 2013 and 2014: Exhaust emits blue smoke during acceleration (7.3.A.2c) - I somehow doubt that has been fixed (because it would be an expensive fix and isn't mentioned by the seller) but it isn't mentioned on later tests (maybe the seller has found an 'old car friendly' MoT tester? The most likely cause of the smoke will be worn rings - which a compression test will reveal. My guess is the motor is still the same (it has only covered 1,000 miles or so since then, with no obvious sign that the motor has been out) and that Wee Jimmy down at the MoT garage turns a blind eye to it for the price of a drink.

The price looks about right at £3,750 I should think - if it isn't already it can be registered as an historic vehicle. This does rather vindicate the price guide, if this was a 1985 motor car in about the same condition it would be worth a couple of grand - because it is an historic car its value is 50% to 100% more.

I notice it has the black and silver type registration plates - I'm still not convinced I like them all that much (but that might be the motor car's colour - I'm not a fan of the beige, maybe the RB's metallic green would show better?).

Nice motor car :-)

[Laird Scooby]

Surprisingly there's no apparent sign of rust anywhere on the bodywork, hearing aid beige cars (regardless of manufacturer) seem to breed tinworm profusely for some unknown reason!

Looks like a genuine 40-something old classic Volvo, no frills or spills (except perhaps the black/silver plates which don't look right on it IMHO - again i reiterate what i said about the RB, i think they would suit it) and an "all-round honest car".

Not a desirable colour for most people so likely to take some time to sell but he may take a genuine offer of £3250 (or maybe less) if it hangs around long enough.

That said, some will view it as a desirable retro 70s colour and bite his hand off at that price - who knows!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Surprisingly there's no apparent sign of rust anywhere on the bodywork, hearing aid beige cars (regardless of manufacturer) seem to breed tinworm profusely for some unknown reason!

Looks like a genuine 40-something old classic Volvo, no frills or spills (except perhaps the black/silver plates which don't look right on it IMHO - again i reiterate what i said about the RB, i think they would suit it) and an "all-round honest car".

Not a desirable colour for most people so likely to take some time to sell but he may take a genuine offer of £3250 (or maybe less) if it hangs around long enough.

That said, some will view it as a desirable retro 70s colour and bite his hand off at that price - who knows!

Absolutely Dave - I like that motor car, it is my sort of style.

There has been a bit of neglect of the mechanical and electrical bits over the years, and I rather doubt they have all been fixed, so the new owner might have to budget £500 to get it into good order, but after that I think it would be a nice old bus. The smoky exhaust is probably something one would just live with, the rings are probably getting a bit tired after 41 years - they might free up a bit after some use, but are probably not bad enough to justify changing. Even if the motor did need new rings that would not be an expensive thing.

I noticed that the last change of V5 was this summer, so has just realised it is an historic car and so worth a bit more than he thought :-)

I agree - a plain old girl but a nice motor car for a sensible price.

Alan

PS. I agree on the black and silver plates - they don't suit the beige. I have emailed the Volvo museum archive to see if the RB was screwed together in 1979 - if it was I'll try them on the RB. They may grow on me.

[loki_the_glt]

Originally Posted by Othen

I saw this lovely 244 for sale on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174965350...kAAOSw~31hW~9A

... it could be the RB's slightly older brother: much the same mileage, same registration year (this one looks like it has an earlier type of headlamp so must be the previous MY), both autos - this one is a DL so it will have the cloth seats, no sunroof, flat paint and no tinted windows.

It has the "standard" headlamps for that Model Year; when Volvo re-positioned the windscreen wipers for RHD sweep and rounded off the bootlid they fitted that style of headlamp. Unfortunately no other manufacturer uses them although a set of 7" round lamps will fit, if you could find the earlier surrounds. Speaks the voice of the erstwhile owner of a car with just such a modification.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by loki_the_glt

It has the "standard" headlamps for that Model Year; when Volvo re-positioned the windscreen wipers for RHD sweep and rounded off the bootlid they fitted that style of headlamp. Unfortunately no other manufacturer uses them although a set of 7" round lamps will fit, if you could find the earlier surrounds. Speaks the voice of the erstwhile owner of a car with just such a modification.

Thank you Alf. Your knowledge of motor cars of this era is astounding :-)

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Absolutely Dave - I like that motor car, it is my sort of style.

There has been a bit of neglect of the mechanical and electrical bits over the years, and I rather doubt they have all been fixed, so the new owner might have to budget £500 to get it into good order, but after that I think it would be a nice old bus. The smoky exhaust is probably something one would just live with, the rings are probably getting a bit tired after 41 years - they might free up a bit after some use, but are probably not bad enough to justify changing. Even if the motor did need new rings that would not be an expensive thing.

I noticed that the last change of V5 was this summer, so has just realised it is an historic car and so worth a bit more than he thought :-)

I agree - a plain old girl but a nice motor car for a sensible price.

Alan

PS. I agree on the black and silver plates - they don't suit the beige. I have emailed the Volvo museum archive to see if the RB was screwed together in 1979 - if it was I'll try them on the RB. They may grow on me.

Allegedly it will be serviced before being picked up by the new owner, my suspicion is because it was previously running rich, the oil had become diluted just enough to weep past the valve guide oil seals and/or the piston rings. Assuming it is serviced with a minimum of oil/filter change, that would probably sort that out but if not, another oil/filter change with a known good oil (many garages use what comes cheapest from wherever - could be ECP and the "Triple QX" recycled rubbish!) but when refilling the oil, make the first 0.5L Carlube ATF or NAPA MV ATF to help revive the valve guide seals and free the piston rings which would help enormously on both the blue smoke and the power/economy.

Other than that, the electrical problems seem largely bulbs and the other problems in the MoT history are largely due to either lack of use and/or maintenance so a through going over during a weekend and it should be sorted.

Should be a good car for somebody either way!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Allegedly it will be serviced before being picked up by the new owner, my suspicion is because it was previously running rich, the oil had become diluted just enough to weep past the valve guide oil seals and/or the piston rings. Assuming it is serviced with a minimum of oil/filter change, that would probably sort that out but if not, another oil/filter change with a known good oil (many garages use what comes cheapest from wherever - could be ECP and the "Triple QX" recycled rubbish!) but when refilling the oil, make the first 0.5L Carlube ATF or NAPA MV ATF to help revive the valve guide seals and free the piston rings which would help enormously on both the blue smoke and the power/economy.

Other than that, the electrical problems seem largely bulbs and the other problems in the MoT history are largely due to either lack of use and/or maintenance so a through going over during a weekend and it should be sorted.

Should be a good car for somebody either way!

The chances are that whoever is interested in a motor car like that will be someone like us Dave - and will actually be looking for a few little jobs to do. The chances are it will need the odd bush, brake, tyre or gasket somewhere or other, but on the whole it looks very nice. If I didn't have the RB I'd probably be on my way to Edinburgh on the train to collect it. A 320 mile drive back from Dalkeith would certainly expose any problems!

You may be right about the rings or valve guide seals - as I said above, it might just improve with a bit of driving and maybe an oil change or two. The motor car will probably just need all the bits and pieces I did with the RB in the first year: ATF, steering fluid, belts, carburettor and ignition tune up, coolant... all the usual stuff that will have been a bit neglected.

Nice motor car for the money though.

I wonder whether Andrew would be interested? I think he was looking for a more sorted out car, but this one would take hardly anything (like you say, a couple of weekends) and it could be very nice.

Alan