Choice of two volvos for a family car, advice please

Hello

After deciding on a volvo as my 'new' car, I have been presented with two
options.

1) S40 1998 with 20,000 on the clock. It has been owned from new by an old
couple and the bodywork is in very good condition.

2) S40 2001 with 22,000 on the clock.

Both are petrol and are manual. There is approx £3,000 difference in the
price of these two cars. Now I tend to keep my cars for a long time, i've
had my trusty fiat for 8 years and the only reason im getting rid of it is
because its starting to show its age and I need something more reliable and
safe with three children.

I would like to buy the cheaper car but fear that im just going from one
'older' car to another.

I've been doing research on the net and discovered that there were a few
faults with older model s40's. Would this be a good enough reason to pay
£3000 more?

Basically, I will keep this car long term and I wont be putting huge miles
in, but apart from putting in oil/water etc, I have no mechanical experience
and will need to have everything fixed at a garage.

Thankyou for any advice/comments

Shirley

 

Hello Shirley

If you are un-decided on which car to purchase then because you have stated
they are the same model S40 then personally i would be tempted to go for the
older version considering it is £3000 less. Looking at the mileage i would
imagine that the newer model has been used as a company car whilst the older
model as you stated as been owned by an older driver (you noticed cars for
sale always seemed to have been owned by an elderly person).

Hope that has helped any

Coop

 

I would go for whichever one is in nicer shape, '98 hardly strikes me as an
"older" car, it's practically new! Did anything even change between those
years on that model? Does one have features you want that the other lacks?
Age is largely irrelevant when it comes to reliability, a car could be 30
years old and very reliable if it was well maintained, I've seen 2 year old
cars that were falling apart simply out of neglect.

 

The S40 Phase II was introduced in 2000 and made a number of improvements to
the S40/V40 not least of all the handling with a wider track and improved
suspension. The Phase II changes also brought a revised interior with more
up-to-date switchgear, a new instrument cluster and also some subtle tweaks
to the exterior.

As I only have a Phase II S40 and have never driven the former revision, I
honestly couldn't tell you whether it's worth an extra £3k but seemingly
there were a lot of negative reviews about the handling and general dynamics
of the initial model so I guess the best thing to do, if possible, is
test-drive both and make your own mind up.

 

Thanks for your advice guys.

Well I did go for the test drive as soon as both cars were in stock. I went
out in the older model, which it turns out had only 19000 miles on it. The
bodywork on it is perfect and it does actually still look like a new car!
We took it on the motorway and it had no trouble getting up to good speeds
and still feeling solid (im used to a little fiat remember!)

The main reason I asked on here for advice is because as a female knowing
nothing about cars, I was worried that the salesman would try and just get
me to sign up for the most expensive car. However, whilst driving back to
the garage, I asked him what did he think of the car and he said that if it
was him, he would go for the cheaper car as its in such good condition and
as a mechanic he was sure that there was no difference in it as both cars
were sound. The newer car did have perks like air con, but was it going to
be worth all the extra money??

So that was that, I didnt even bother test driving the other volvo. I've
got a good quality car and im £3000 better off!

So thanks again for your input, much appreciated

Shirley

 

Very low mileage cars may need maintenance based on time limits (e.g.
"change oil every x,000 miles or y months"). So you may want to compare
the records with the recommendations in the manual.

Also note that very low mileage cars may have been subjected to lots
of short trips or city driving, which is harder on the car than highway
driving. Odometer fraud can also be a concern.