2004 Volvo S60 D5 SE. Captain Slow's cheap Swedish adventure

[Parisien]

Well done, looks a real bargain and for a decent Volvo!

Can you expand on this?


"Insurance is arranged via Chris Knott on a legit full 365/365 EU policy via AXA"

[S10GTA]

Parisien said:

Well done, looks a real bargain and for a decent Volvo!

Can you expand on this?


"Insurance is arranged via Chris Knott on a legit full 365/365 EU policy via AXA"

Looks like 365 days out of 365 abroad. Most policies have limits, 45 days normally.

Good to see you've another volvo, they get under your skin.

[Parisien]

Hence why asking as I've seen endless queries about 365 days EU wide insurance NOT being available, it will interest a lot of people!


P

[EJH]

Being prematurely middle-aged at 36, I'm looking at that and thinking:

Volvo-comfy electric seats

• That* hifi

If it rides nicely, it's the holy trinity of mile-munching. Also a good-looking and pleasingly stealthy car.

[stevep360]

Looks like a nice example. It's a shame that it seems so expensive to run one over there!

I suspect I'm about to buy my second S60 D5 too - my last 2003 model I sold with over 200k miles and it's still going strong with it's current owner, I really miss it's all round ability.

Are you sure it definitely has the speakers behind the grilles? I notice that some cars have the grilles but don't necessarily have the smaller speaker - there's just a blank behind the doorcard and this is more common with S60's than V70. It's pretty bizarre. They were part of the 300W amp upgrade (as opposed to the more common 'High Performance' 200w). It's possible to confirm this with DICE. Mine had the speaker grilles like yours but was fitted with the 'High Performance' system. Which was still bloody awesome anyway.

Edited by stevep360 on Monday 19th September 21:28

[Benton]

Great thread. Must say I'd quite like a Volvo S60 D5 to announce itself on my driveway too

Out of interest, how will you re-MOT it? I guess it will involve a trip back to the UK?

[Hoofy]

EJH said:

Being prematurely middle-aged at 36, I'm looking at that and thinking:

Volvo-comfy electric seats
*That* hifi

If it rides nicely, it's the holy trinity of mile-munching. Also a good-looking and pleasingly stealthy car.

On the motorway, it's a nice enough place to be.

Practical, comfy, ridiculous hifi system...

[JakeT]

I wont lie Alex, this excites me the same or even a little more than the Mustang. What does this mean for the Alfa now, though? I am sure it's taking up garage space that the 'stang is wanting.

[confused_buyer]

All S60's have the "extra" speaker in the door (V70's don't) so you can't tell if it has the upgraded system from looking at it.

Sorry. ;(

[Parisien]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

Just realised ive written Chris Knott in the original post, its actually via Stuart Collins, ill go back and amend it.

Website here:

https://www.stuartcollins.com/

Price wise, its actually cheaper than the dross the comparison website were turning out! The policy is essentially as it sounds. Full and legit FC cover 365/365. They are fully aware that the car is based elsewhere in the EU and is being used to commute abroad too.

Purchased a BT stereo boxamajig tonight, €96 delivered and doubles up as a BT car kit

Re: the speakers... no idea! I shall be jolly disappointed if theres no extra mid-range speakers hiding in there!!

Im away to the UK tomorrow, so the first chance Ill have to have a proper poke around the car is the coming weekend. Sold all my VIDA kit etc, so cant use that. Grrrrr.

Thanks for that, very useful


P

[Hoofy]

£80 for that BT thing? That's pretty good. Link?

Can you just stick a USB stick in?

[Hoofy]

Thanks for the link. That just plugs into the headunit?? Sounds too simple.

[Hoofy]

[Prawo Jazdy]

Pardon my ignorance, but if you never took it back to the UK, would it need VED still?

[Otispunkmeyer]

Nice!

I had exactly the same car, in silver, with a petrol engine.... and about a billion speakers! The stereo was absolutely immense! It seemed to have had about 3 in each door. Something on the dash? and ones in the parcel shelf as well. Heavy car, you can feel it ironing out the ruts in the road.

I didn't have the nice gear shift though, think I had the boggo 5-speeder without any manual shift option. Also I had the multispoke wheels (the ones that are about 21 spoke or something?). I ran into a very deep rut/trench at the side of the rode and buckled two alloys. Suspension held up no problem though! It took a hell of a whack...think the wheels took all of it.

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Saturday 24th September 20:37

Edited by Otispunkmeyer on Saturday 24th September 20:42

[hazzaman]

Quick tip on identifying the stereo having just upgraded a base spec D5 to the full 13 speaker system and acquiring parts over the last couple of months.

Take a look in the boot at the parcel shelf speakers. They will have a either a blue or yellow label on them.

Blue = 9 speaker high performance system with 4x50w under seat amp. The centre speaker is driven by a single 25w amp in the head unit.
Yellow = 13 speaker high performance system with 4x75w under seat amp. Centre speaker as above.

Blue label was standard on the SE spec with yellow as an upgrade.
Yellow was standard on R models.

[Hoofy]

I can't think how loud and bassy the "upgraded" version is, assuming mine is standard.

It's the only standard system I've set the bass at its lowest setting all the way to the left (negative)!

[stevep360]

Great tip - always wondered how to tell without dismantling the front doors!

[Barchettaman]

Kap, is the car insured at your Dutch address or at a UK one?

Thanks in advance. Nice Ovlov, by the way.

[Barchettaman]

Oh, ok. So there has to be a UK address of some description to validate the policy.

Thanks for the clarification - always useful for my random expat knowledge base (I'm based in Frankfurt)

WRT the MoT situation, it is my understanding that you can drive an untaxed and un-MoT'd vehicle to an MoT station of your choosing to undertake a pre-booked MoT test. So theoretically you could combine this with your Xmas trip to the UK. Just ensure you have, for example, a printout of the MoT booking.

Now, should your MoT be booked (say) in Aberdeen, and the police stop you (say) in Kent shortly after exiting the ferry, you might raise some eyebrows, but legally it is OK.

I repeat: this is just my understanding, I'm just a random expat with lots of info from t'internet and not an expert.

Cheers
Simon

Edited by Barchettaman on Wednesday 28th September 07:48