Description
Selling my beloved 1995 Volvo 960 - very regrettably - for spares or repair. I hope repair. I'll go through the good and bad of the car below, completely honestly - but worth starting by saying I've driven this car every single day for the last 2 and a bit years, and not once has it not turned on or broken down on me. I've slept in the back of it on the Isle of Mull, we've driven to Sheffield and back without it missing a beat, I took my grans sofa to the charity shop with room to spare. We did a lot.
Sadly, with a new job that needs a modern car, no garage or driveway, and little spare time, I am not able to do the work needed to pass it's MOT. As of last week the car is SORN.
Here are the key things that need done for an MOT:
- Middle exhaust section probably needs welded or replaced. Has rust and a a few holes that make it louder than it should be (although it's genuinely not that bad). The part is £160 online and I believe this can be done on a driveway pretty easily if you're handy.
- Rear off-side door mechanism needs replaced - the plastic inside handle snapped inside which means it won't open. There's a green door on ebay right now for £150 and it's perhaps easier to replace the whole thing?
- The rear near-side light cluster needs the internal seals around the bulb replaced, or the whole cluster replaced. The bulbs go out every few months, I think because the rubber is worn away which protects the filament from heat (was told this by garage).
- I replaced the Speedo in early 2024 as it would sometimes drop to 0 when driving. New speedo is perfect except it needs clocked up. Currently shows about 80k when in reality the car has done 165k. It went through it's last MOT with the lower mileage shown but you might want to clock this pre-MOT and clear the history.
If these things are sorted, I don't see any issue with it getting an MOT - it did so with no advisories last year.
Cosmetically the car looks great inside and out for a 30 year old motor - there is obviously the usual bumper scuffs, a few dents, and some dodgy paint. It's an old volvo, come on. The interior leather is really nice, headlining is great, however there are some little bits of plastic trim that have broken, and the back window sills have some swelling. Very annoyingly - the boot handle stopped working last week. This drove me over the edge and whey I SORN'd it (only half joking). There is some rust underneath but generally not that bad.
Overall though, it's a great car:
- Heater blows hot and cold every time
- Electric sunroof is perfect with NO LEAKS
- All buttons work (except for heated seats)
- Stereo is great (I use a 12v radio-bluetooth adaptor which works perfectly, you can have it with the car)
- Auto gearbox is fantastic
- Engine is strong, no weird noises or ticks, and drives well at high and low speed
- Original handbook with decent amount of history and receipts in it.
Work I've had done:
- Took it on 'pilgrimage' to Ron Sealey Volvo in Cowdenbeath in 2024 and spend £1200 on general preventative maintenance: re-seating a belt, some suspension/ ball joint work, replacing some old wiring, getting the windscreen washers working, oil change etc. 'A decent old motor' said Ron - I very frustratingly don't have the paperwork, as they forgot to put it in the car and never sent it to me after asking many times! Great at cars, bad at admin.
- I've had it serviced it every year, first at Volvomax and then at my brilliant local garage, S&J.
- Got new brake disks, pads and front callipers last year.
- Sorted the speedo issue with donor model that works perfectly. While on the hunt for the issue with the speedo, I did some great 'preventative' maintenance by replacing the speed sensor, the gear sensor, and the driving mode switch. Should have changed the speedo module first..
- I refurbished the original alloys at Alloy Master and they are perfect. They also have yokohama tires on them all (all with tons of treat). Wheels and tires alone must be worth £450!
Comes with the original boot cover and dog guard (if I can find it).
I did loads of other stuff too that I will try to remember. I love this car dearly. I really hope someone can take it on and look after her. Secretly hoping it says near so I can buy it back one day.
No car I have owned has ever got as many comments or smiles, especially after you wash it. I get 'You've kept that in good nic eh' from an old boy basically every day.
Any questions, let me know. It's parked down a quiet lane in the west end and you're welcome to come and see it, sneakily drive it around if you want, I don't mind. I only want £1250 and would prefer not to bargain. I think it's a lot of car for the money. I love this car dearly. I really hope someone can take it on and look after her. Secretly hoping it says near so I can buy it back one day.
I bought it off a lovely guy on the volvo owners forum who had 5 volvos in his driveway. He bought it from a mechanic before. I think it's had about 7 owners. Over the first 12 years or so the original handbook is full of stamps from volvo dealers, then it goes quiet for a while. The previous owner assured me the guy before did all his own servicing as a mechanic (heard that one before) but to be fair it does have very neat stickers under the bonnet saying when the timing belt was changed etc, which was done at 130k.
Thanks, Ross
