Alright, I thought I’d share my adventure with what could possibly be a big dumb mistake… Or one of the most beautiful marriages of man and machine!
So the back story is… Well, I’ve got a Volvo 360… Or 3. All well and good you say. Which would be true if they didn’t all need work done to them. Original plan was to have one on the road, one as a project car and one for spares… Or further down the track… A race car. And the problem being I don’t have the time to do all that I have planned. So a few weeks ago, I concluded (came to senses), that I needed to do away with all those and just get a sensible, reliable, fast and well handling car (Yes, you can get those). So it was set. Come around Oct/Nov, reorganise my home loan a bit, save a bit and plonk around $20-30k on something decent and do away with the 360s.
But a few weeks ago, I found a Volvo 850 R Estate on Gumtree for $6k. SIX FREAKING THOUSAND? It is unheard of. They usually go for anywhere between 8 and 12k. And in a manual? Few and far between. But 6k… Should I? Shouldn’t I? It’s 1,500km away. Alright. No deal. And that was that…
Well. It wasn’t that. On Thursday, scrawling through Gumtree yet again, come back across the 850R. Still there. And now $5k. I thought to myself… I think I might give the guy a call. So I did. It was listed by a dealer. A dealer who sells other peoples cars, which I thought was odd. Asked my dad about it, who in a past life used to sell cars (he failed as a car salesman - too honest 
) - some do it like that since they don’t have the capital to buy and sell their own cars. Which is fair enough.
Other than that, it looked pretty good. Listed as a few problems. No dramas. Paint on the roof peeling and front and rear bumpers a bit beat up. I can fix that, done it before. Glovebox and a few other things need sorting out. Mechanically it’s fine… Apart from the TRACS and ABS lights do not go out. ‘Could be a fuse or something simple’ I was told by the dealer. I thought, I could fix that too. No dramas. I’ve had an old Mondeo in the past with similar problems… And all I had to do was resolder a board or two, since they do crack and stuff up over time. I actually did a bit of research into the problem, and it is similar to my Mondeo of old. A module just needs resoldering. I thought to myself sweet.
So I offered $4,700 plus delivery. Apparently he had an offer for $4,500 that day and could sell it wholesale for $4,000. All well and good, and I know I can repair the problems, so no dramas. ‘There is one other thing…’ ‘And what would that be?’ ‘There is a dent in the rear tailgate…’. So I got some pictures of the damage, didn’t look that bad but I knew I’ll have to replace the whole thing… And finding one will be hard… But what the hell. ‘Alright, I’ll have to check with the owner and give you a call back’. So 5 minutes later I get a call back. AND I’VE GOT THE CAR! I was actually very excited. Being as rare as they are. And sensible. I know I can make some good of it. So down went the deposit and payment was finalised yesterday. Delivery will be a week or two…
So I’ve purchase a 1996 Volvo 850R Estate for around $5.5k delivered. With a few problems. And so starts my adventure. Pics and details of all the dramas and problems to come and should be a fun little thread. And fingers crossed, ends up all good. Hell, it’s a 1400kg wagon with 184kw and 350Nm of torque on tap, it better be good.
**KNOWN PROBLEMS - **
Body damage
- Roof peeled
- Front bumper bit damaged
- Rear bumper/tailgate damaged due to a revering accident
- Rear wing missing ***Noticed in the pics after purchase
***
***Mechanical
- Warning lights stuck on (TRACS and ABS)
- Rest is apparently good
Interior
- Glove box does not open
WHAT WILL BE DONE -
ALL THE ABOVE WILL BE FIXED! And any other problems that I find along the way. And will keep you guys posted of course.
Full service including changing of all belts, fluids all replaced, etc.
Checking over other consumables (CV boots et all), and replacing what needs replacing
[size=150]And so it begins![/size]
That, and I’m half way to Olympic weight lifting gold! My Volvo 360 has no power steering, and often enough I’m not the only one in the car. A car with shot bushes and cheap tires >_>
So limped it home and had a look to see where it was leaking, and could not find it. Mind you, it was dark and couldn’t see much. So tomorrow! I get fixing.
