Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:-

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Mon 13 Jun 2011 10:01
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - Paul G1pdc

I've been pondering with this car over the past few weeks.

oh sorry. forgot my manners....Good Morning...

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My trusty (not rusty) volvo estate 2litre has been in my family for 8 of its 11 years, I've taken the old car from 28,000 miles to this week 100,000 with the original exhaust, alternator always yearly serviced and never spent more than £200 on a service) etc etc.

its had a hard life with 2 children (boys now aged 5 and 8) trying there best to wear out the interior with baby seats, and now muddy football boots etc...and lots of short runs for 3 years of its ownership when I used to run to work (literally) then due to a new job took the car back again...last week we covered 780 miles traveling from Oxfordshire around Devon with a roof box and fully loaded and didn't miss a beat...took 1.5hrs to get all the sand out of the car yesterday....

thing is the cars now got the odd knock from the rear suspension, another from the front, 2 of the seats have small 1" splits in the leather (leatherish.!!!!...repaired with glue) and when the cars been left over night i get a strange grooonching noise from the front passenger side of the car when pulling away....

This is the first car I've even kept more than 3 years. all the others (and there have been many!!!) have fallen apart or suffered from vandal damage (Fiesta RS turbo) and even though its a volvo I have a lot of history with the old bus...

question being...should i :-

trade it in for an expected £500-800 as the tax,mot,service. is all due in the next 2 months. and buy a honda civic 2.0 type s, or a skoda fabia vrs, or a hyundai coupe s3 2.0.....

or just spend some money trying to fix this strange noise than only happens when cold for the first 1 or 2 standing starts....its just on the back of my mind that any cash i spend on this car is wasted and might be better put towards something newer. even though i'd also loose money in depreciation on the newer cars compaired to my volvo...

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any ideas on what this pulling away noise could be.....the other items could just be worn bushes, but this is a new one.....could it be a worn clutch release bearing. I thought these just rattled, or a cv joint.....any ideas!!!

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paul......any replys would be nice....

Edited by Paul G1pdc on 13/06/2011 at 10:03

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Mon 13 Jun 2011 19:50
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - madf

We are experts in keeping cars for decades..(last one 17 years).


Why sell for peanuts a car which is good/not worn out and spend £20k on a replacement?

If it runs, don't worry about the odd noise when cold. It could last another 100k miles...

Maintain, look after, but don't spend money unless it is neccessary.

If it's safe, reilable and economic (to you) then you are giving away a perfectly good car for someone to enjoy at nil cost... And if you want it treated, a good inetrior valet and repair of seats etc should cost no more than £500.. Make the old thing look inside newer..

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Mon 13 Jun 2011 21:12
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - WellKnownSid

+1

I had the same dilemma with my FIAT recently... 9 years old, and with only 330,000km on the clock it burns no oil and still pulls like a train over 4,000 revs.

The biggest advantage - it's pre-scratched and dinged - so you never need a car park!

You just abandon it on any busy side street, with absolutely no worries.

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 01:50
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - Duncan112

Grunching noise could be rust on the brake disk catching the pad until the pistons retract fully - if the pistons are a bit sticky an overhaul kit shouldn't be too dear - but if the dust seals have failed and the pistons corroded then prepare yourself for a few more quid expense (or a trip to the breakers for a good caliper and overhaul it before fitting - I can't stress the overhaul it bit enough)

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 09:38
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - Paul G1pdc

thanks for the replys. the interior apart from the 2 small splits is very good. its always hoovered out weekly...(even when its raining) and washed and waxed when required. All the toys work aircon,abs etc. Being a volvo, if you try and change the seats the airbags in the seat bolsters when disconnect, then you wire in the new seats will throw up the airbag warning light....costs £45 for volvo to look at it, and £105 to reset the light...we had this issue with my wifes volvo after childrens junk under the seat knocked the wiring connector (now cable tied and tucked further out of the way) we got our local indie to reset the airbag light!!

brakes. there fine. if you take the handbrake off and roll down the hill then give it some revs and pull away it only makes the noise under load...it due its service so will drop it off the night before so its nice and cold in the morning and see if they can hazard a guess.

think after reading your replies i'll keep the car its a lovely red pearl colour that shines when polished.. and as you said about safety....we had a taxi driver rear end the car, he cracked his front bumper and front grill....we had a scuff in the rear bumper that 30mins with some t-cut metallic sorted out....

thanks...

Paul.

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 10:34
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - Fernando P

You should have a longer way to go with your V40. Someone I know has done 174K so far with the 1.6 version, which still runs efficiently! Seats are not as good as they were but everything else works reasonably well. Of course regular oil changes are a must.

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Tue 14 Jun 2011 10:52
Volvo V40 phase 1, 2.0 Xi - Is it about time I parted company with:- - Bobbin Threadbare

If it's still a decent workhorse, why get rid? Sounds like you've got a cracking car there. We had a Volvo 340 when I was a little'un. It was a tank. Someone crashed into us at some lights and the Volvo didn't have a scratch on it. As a child, we found the hatch in the back seat that let you look into the boot very entertaining, as the dog would try to squeeze through it onto the back seat. My mum and dad only got rid because it had no power steering and it was very heavy for my mum to drive.

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