Volvo 480 Club Europe

At long last, justice has been done to how the car looks



Romsey Car Accident Repair have done a stellar job in recreating the Arctic Blue Metallic paintwork and transforming the way the car looks. The wheels were also refurbished at the same time, while not perfect matches to the centrecaps, it is very good indeed. Most importantly though the car now looks authentic, it is not a complete respray, and the good areas of original paint have been kept, such as on the bonnet.

The door mirrors have also finally been given the correct inserts. But they say a picture is worth a thousand words as we all know, so I will let you lust over some Wedgeograhpy:











My mother was shocked at the £2100 cost of getting it done, but I reckon the car would now be worth around that mark, given it's very good mechanical condition and now good bodywork (The car's not perfect, interior and little things still have issues, but it does at least have a straight MOT )

That looks great, I bet you're so happy to get it home.

Yes, the money certainly flies out but you're chipping away at that neverending to-do list (however much it costs) and that's a positive point....at least that's what I keep telling myself as my bank account drains!

edie_fox wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 2:02 pm

That looks great, I bet you're so happy to get it home.

Yes, the money certainly flies out but you're chipping away at that neverending to-do list (however much it costs) and that's a positive point....at least that's what I keep telling myself as my bank account drains!

Thanks Edie, glad to see I am not alone with that! Though as a daily, I don't get much time to fettle, and without a garage it has to be fettled in the cold

That looks absolutely lovely mate! Really pleased you have it back and can get it used.

Looks phenomenal mate

I won't say it looks better than the quattro, but if they were parked together I'd say they'd look right. Arctic Blue is such an amazing colour, and contrary to the designer's opinion, I quite like the black bumpers (also means I don't have to worry as much with SUVs in tight spots)

Congratulations on paint completion!

Not many F-reg examples looking like that nowadays. A credit to you.

Jay-Kay-Em wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 6:42 pm

Congratulations on paint completion!

Not many F-reg examples looking like that nowadays. A credit to you.

Thank you, early cars suffer a bad rep which in my experience is unjustified but it certainly a really nice looking thing now

MisterH wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:33 pm

Thank you, early cars suffer a bad rep which in my experience is unjustified but it certainly a really nice looking thing now

I'm finding it fascinating seeing the evolution of the cars - R1 & R3, even though very similar in age have their very subtle differences. The later ones suffered from cost cutting exercises which really are mind boggling...

Make sure you get plenty of cavity wax in it now, keep the insides looking as good as the outside!

jifflemon wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 24, 2020 4:51 pm

MisterH wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:33 pm

Thank you, early cars suffer a bad rep which in my experience is unjustified but it certainly a really nice looking thing now

I'm finding it fascinating seeing the evolution of the cars - R1 & R3, even though very similar in age have their very subtle differences. The later ones suffered from cost cutting exercises which really are mind boggling...

Make sure you get plenty of cavity wax in it now, keep the insides looking as good as the outside!

Thank you, the brown oily stuff will do for now, but I think the spray shop did say they did something to help with rust proofing, but will look into cavity waxing. Is it offered as a service? it is something I think I'd prefer to be done professionally

Did you ask them to paint your light pods or were they always done? They always look much better painted IMHO

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 24, 2020 6:00 pm

Did you ask them to paint your light pods or were they always done? They always look much better painted IMHO

They were always done due to its MY, but the offside had a little patch were some thinner had spilt on it. As I'm sure you know, the pods were always coloured on this era of 480 and still retain most of the original paint

MisterH wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:33 pm

Thank you, early cars suffer a bad rep which in my experience is unjustified but it certainly a really nice looking thing now

The only bad rep the early cars have is dodgy electronics, and even that can be sorted out.
The rest is just neglect, early cars are older than the latest.

Yours looks stunning now.

New Year New Plates at last




What do my fellow plate enthusiasts think?

Happy New Year All!

Thank God for that! Please burn narrow font plates!

Happy New Year to you too!

jamescarruthers wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 01, 2021 4:50 pm

Thank God for that! Please burn narrow font plates!

Happy New Year to you too!

Thanks James, glad they get your approval, I take it the blue border is ok, as I have seen them around on period cars

Gets a thumbs up from me - Thanks to our amazing laws, they're technically illegal.

That for me, gives extra kudos, as they're geekily illegal (rather than "Silver on black or Stupid font" illegal)

jifflemon wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 01, 2021 6:08 pm

Gets a thumbs up from me - Thanks to our amazing laws, they're technically illegal.

That for me, gives extra kudos, as they're geekily illegal (rather than "Silver on black or Stupid font" illegal)

Yes, although these plates have all the required legal details (I ticked the box to include them) so technically while I am breaking the law, I am also legal

Looking good

Which company did you use? I keep looking but it's just something that gets pushed to the back of the queue!

I had to just get some quick when I put my plate on!

edie_fox wrote: ↑

Fri Jan 01, 2021 9:41 pm

Looking good

Which company did you use? I keep looking but it's just something that gets pushed to the back of the queue!

I had to just get some quick when I put my plate on!

I used platesforcars they have a range of options and classic fonts, A1 show plates have a good repro Serck font, but in my view, the plate material wasn't very nicr