RE: SOTW: Volvo 480 Turbo

[thewheelman]

gck303 said:

thewheelman said:

Easily one of my least favourite SOTW's, i remember a friend had one in the mid 90's, it was just one of those cars, that if it could go wrong, then it would. He got shot of it for a Honda Prelude, which by chance, i'd say would make a good SOTW.

And this is my MOST favourite, ever.

Thank you for making the SOTW thread such a interesting discussion. Just out of interest, what you your favourite SOTW? I suspect it could well be my least...

The fact it's a Volvo isn't my reason for not being a fan of this particular car. If this was a tidy example, then obviously my opinion would differ.

As i mentioned before, a friend of mine had one many years ago. Yes, his car was a nightmare during his ownership. But credit where it's due, it was a headturner for all the right reasons, the interior was just very different to anything else at the time, & it was a bit of a Q car. Sadly, they were known for their faults. Also, people back then had "that" image of Volvo drivers, which im sure would have scared some people off.

You asked my favourite SOTW, in recent memory, i think the 6 series is the one that stands out in my mind.

[levensnevel]

Drove one during a period of 5 years
check out
http://www.pistonheads.com/members/showcar.asp?car...
for the good and minute amount of not so good
Shame that my daily commute increased to a roundtrip of 170 miles.
Otherwise I would still be driving my beloved cheesewedge

[tommy vercetti]

predding said:

Dont be silly and no - not a car of the future - wasnt even in the present in its day...

Errr...

Top shed though. Love the advert, 900 bhp,999 torque and 0-62 in 1 second lol . See one of these almost every morning on my way to college, grey coloured one, cool cars. The front lights (not the pop up ones)does remind me of a civic ef.

[anonymous-user]

Ah, many happy memories!

"my" 480 turbo had a little boost, courtesy of a 400bhp 16v'er (clio williams) turbo'd and wedged (pun intended) across between the rear wheels.........








;-)

[bencollins]

clonmult said:

sinbaddio said:

thewheelman said:

Damn you all for wasting my morning, & forcing me to look at Volvos!

As i was looking, i found this......

^ I didn't know this existed until just now.......kind of like it when that happens

Wow, that is different, got renault 19esque speed humps on the back - like that...

Shame that they don't really exist, were never a production model - just one or two made for shows, toe in the water, see what the market thought.

Prototype built at coventry motor panels.

[morgrp]

Interesting quirky cars but, and this coming from the worlds biggest Volvo fan, the 480 was/is a dreadful car - each car manufacturer has a model that was/is a total pup - BL had the marina, ford had the mk4/5 escort, vauxhall had the vectra, Ferrari had the mondial and Volvo had the 400 series - badly made for a Volvo and the least rust resistant of the lot - we've looked after several 480s and all have needed electrical overhauls and all the 1.7litre models benefit from having the head gasket replaced. I'd go for the 2.0 version but as already said, the 1.7 is v.tuneable - Save up another grand and buy yourself a Volvo coupe worth owning namely a c70 - I paid a grand for my mint c70 (see readers cars) and it's a million miles from that endy old camel of a 480

[pmjg66]

morgrp said:

Interesting quirky cars but, and this coming from the worlds biggest Volvo fan, the 480 was/is a dreadful car

yes remember the launch day, every one we sold came back with numerous problems,Volvo brought out a so called customer care information pack to all dealers/mechanics that noted about 60 faults that could happen and the repair procedure,the faults were eventually ironed out over about 1 year and the car was then much improved,but the first ones were a dogs dinner.

[rogerhudson]

I always think of these cars as being a Daf with a Volvo badge.

[wicz]

Deserves to be bought from the advert alone, the pop up headlights make it!

[GuinnessMK]

I have many happy memories of my parents 480 turbo's. They has his 'n hers, in black and blue. Thanks to being insured on the company policy I got to drive them both when I was 18.

Great fun with pop up lights, a turbo that came on like a switch!

[will261058]

Like these. Like the ad even more though!

[Ant1980]

I loved these from an early age - as an 8 year old I thought these were the coolest thing in the (admittedly Volvo...) showroom! Then a few years back I needed a shed for a few months, so had the fortune / misfortune of owning one of these 480 Es, if I remember correctly. Looked very cool, in an 80's / futuristic / retro kind of way - black with the red stripe down the side, digital dash and of course the pop up lights (which, I hasten to add could kind of wink - i.e. from time to time only one headlight would 'pop up'...). Unfortunately it did have the odd electrical problem, plus it had a habit of revving highly, too and then cutting out when sat in traffic...

I learnt my lesson - sold it and went out and bought an Alfa Gtv instead...

[Devil2575]

Never liked them. Slow 'out of the box' and ugly.

[keyS14]

My mums friends husband used to work for volvo and remember going in the first 480 auto in the UK. Always wanted one of these and loved the styling. Good shed!

[dbdb]

An amusing advert and an interesting car, but I wouldn't want to own one.

[alfa phil]

had a couple of 240 volvos a few years back.(long time ago actualy) a mate who was a volvo machanic used to service them , i would ask him about the 480 ES as i realy did fancy one , he just kept telling me no,no,no,. regret it a bit , great ad.

[Furyblade_Lee]

A mate of mine had one of these about 10 years back, a mint Turbo. His friends 16 year old son "borrowed" it one night after getting drunk as a skunk with his retarded mates. Total damage was five parked cars written off when he drove down the side of them all, but the Volvo was remarkably relatively repairable. And some community service!

[M@1975]

My old man had 3 of these and loved them, quite a good looking car, certainly got some looks when they were new on the road, he still reminisces about owning them and he's the least enthusiatic person in the world when it comes to cars... he drives a Honda CRV now which should tell you everything you need to know about his lack of petrol headedness...

[Lagerlout]

About ten years ago had two, one with turbo the other without. Paid £50 for the Turbo and £150 for the ES. Did a service on the turbo and it was spot on so kept it. Took the ES to pieces and flogged the parts on Ebay and to the 480 owners club and netted over a grand. Not a bad deal. Unfortunately thanks to the scrappage scheme those days are long past.

My turbo was totally reliable after the service, the only issue was the window regulator which always failed in these cars. Outside of that it was super comfy and very pokey for what it was.

Very good car for the money, but at today's prices I think you'd be better off with something a little newer for a few more pounds.

[addlepated]

Fantastic shed. I am overcome with a wave of nostalgia!! It is 1991. My first car is a battered old land rover with an asthmatic diesel that struggles to achieve much more than 50mph unless it is going down a steep hill. I love my Landy for its rugged go anywhere appeal (just like it's owner, ahem) but I crave speed. Enter the Volvo 480. I have a city dwelling mate who has a brand spanking new 480 ES (in black) and one afternoon we swap car keys. Evidently he's a closet farmer. I ignore the purpose of our gathering (girlfriend's birthday party) instead I spend the following 2 hours in front wheel drive hot hatch heaven and begin teaching myself to drive. I will never forget that day and I have wanted one (esp the turbo) ever since. Brilliant.