Description
1995 Volvo 960 3. 0 24v estate
Welcome to the sale of my dependable old Volvo 960. An unusual spec with no options ticked when new, daily driven retro load lugger that’s as happy on the motorway as it is sitting in a field at a car boot sale while you and everyone around marvels at the sumptuous velour interior.
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• Very original, survivor example of a relatively rare model, in an even rarer specification.
• MOT until May 2027.
• Useable classic car that benefits from regular miles, sympathetic maintenance work and recent welding.
• Unusual mix of desirable large engine and automatic gearbox, with base-spec interior and velour seats.
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I bought this magnificent old lump from a friend at the start of the year. He’d owned it since early 2024 and carried out various repairs and pedantically fixed trivial issues, so I knew it was a dependable old example.
It’s a 1995 facelift Volvo 960 with the sought-after, larger 2. 9/ 3. 0 straight-six engine and four-speed automatic ‘box, and a wonderfully 90s velour interior. The seats are some of the most comfortable I’ve ever sat in, and as an extra bonus are heated. They’re manually adjustable, but there are four electric windows, an electric glass sunroof and electric mirrors to keep yourself entertained. Unusually for a 960, there’s no cruise control or air conditioning fitted. I find that an interesting talking point and, as a bonus, you avoid the frustration of when, where fitted, they inevitably break.
The interior is a lovely place to be. The velour is superb, with only a small area in the driver’s base that has come slightly unstitched, and everything works, including the stereo. The headlining is in lovely condition, but the steering wheel is not, hence the cover. The door cards suffer from the usual 960 crinkling to the vinyl tops.
Since 2024 it’s had a new front screen, battery and tyres, plus lots of electrical fixes for things such as the lambda sensor and wiring, interior lights etc. It’s had regular oil changes, a CV boot and, just before my friend bought it, a gearbox oil change and a neat job of undersealing. It will receive fresh engine oil and filter this week, and in spring this year had the battery tray areas of each side of the engine bay extensively repaired with new metal, then undersealed. It’s the known rot spot for these cars, and this is now a very solid example.
It comes with an original handbook and a folder with loads of old MOTs and receipts for bits such as brake hoses, radiator, inlet manifold gasket, various exhaust sections including cat; basic wear and tear items.
It is MOT’d until May 18th 2027 and currently sits on around 177, 000 miles and counting.
Externally, it’s in generally good shape. The body has various signs of wear and tear with scuffs, scrapes, imperfections and touch-ins, but is only really let down by the extensive lacquer peel on the roof. It still looks good enough to trigger plenty of nostalgia-fuelled conversations with people keen to tell you how well made Volvos used to be.
The engine fires into life first time, gets up to the correct temperature quickly and doesn’t get hot. The gearbox changes gear smoothly. The 960 has just recently completed a near-1000-mile trip to the Scottish Highlands. It covered the miles flawlessly despite being heavily laden with detritus, a family of four and a dog. Talking of which, the boot is equipped with a rare Volvo load liner, plus retractable cover and the hard, swing-down type dog guard. Inside has an original set of hard Volvo floor protectors. It even returned almost 30mpg over the entire trip.
It’s been mostly used by my wife as a daily runabout and for selling at craft fairs and car boot sales, which are the 960’s happy place, but we’re trying to cut down on the number of cars we own.
It’s a great retro estate that can be enjoyed as a daily driver, taken to shows, improved further or all of the above.
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