Volvo 480 Club Europe

Hello lovely people, A newbie here looking to get some friendly advice. I have no mechanical experience at all.

I’ve long admired the 480e & have suddenly got the opportunity to purchase one that whilst not perfect, has on the face of it been well loved.

I do have a few concerns though so would appreciate everyone’s thoughts.

There are some niggles which I’m wondering might be dealbreakers.

•There is a screech from the engine on start up but this soon goes quiet. I’m told it’s the clutch release bearings & it’s nothing to worry about?
•Some years ago (2014) when driven in torrential rain, dampness appeared on the carpet in the drivers side rear passenger footwell. No remedial work was undertaken. Could this be the rear window seal failing. Any chance of permanent damage, how could I inspect without lifting the entire rear carpet? Might it have been the sunroof?
•All the electrics work ok but the speedo only works intermittently & the radio cassette has recently failed. Is this a sign of serious issues developing?
There’s rust appearing at the bottom of the doors. I’ve read the 480’s rust from the inside out, is this terminal then?
•It has been garaged overnight its entire life yet if I bought it I wouldn’t even be able to put it undercover, let alone garage it. Is this a recipe for disaster.

It would be my daily driver and I do need to be able to get to work reliably.

Perhaps these questions are impossible to answer but I thought I’d have a try.

Thanks for getting this far!

Cheers, Simon

PS, it’s a 1993 2l Limited Edition. 120,000 miles. Full service history with no advisories on the last MoT.

A fellow Carruthers! What are the odds!?

Rust at the bottom of the doors isn’t very common. What are the wheel arches like? Those are the expensive fix.

Hi Simon from your description it sounds like this isn't too bad

All 480s rust, that is just fact, so just be prepared to get it sorted properly or keep a close eye maintaining it. As James says it is uncommon for the doors to go, but an easy fix compared to the arches, which will be the make or break. As for the dampness that is even more of a 480 fact :

They all do it, that drive in 2014 will not have been the first time and it will happen again. It is often the scuttle drains that need clearing though someone will correct me. I daily drive my 480 and keep it outside uncovered, while it is not the best thing for it it certainly isn't dire, remember they were meant to survive such treatment, I just make sure to wash it every week and tend to it, though it has been a while since I last did some checks.

As to whether it is suited to daily driving it is absolutely suited, and very good too. I have the peppy and torquey 1.7, the 2.0 is even more torquey so will be good for cruising

Great to have you here and I hope this helps

Hello Simon

Welcome to (potential) 480 ownership!

First things first: whichever model it is you are looking at it will be an old car - the youngest will be 26 this year - so expect issues and be ready to tackle them. There is a wealth of experience on this forum and much help to be had here.

Screech on start up - don't think it would be the clutch bearing. More likely to be the idler pulley, which probably wants replacing along with the cambelt. Needs doing whatever, especially if there's no record of a cambelt change, and a complete kit will include changing that pulley. Not a big deal for a competent diy mechanic or a garage.

Dampness - all 480s leak. Rear footwells usually means rear-end. There are several possible sources of water entry. Don't be put off - we can talk you through tracking that down. Drying out will mean lifting the carpet and foam, yes, but as long as the floor plan is red rusty underneath there's no lasting damage.

Speedo - common fault: loose connection or poor solder on PCB. The means to fix that area available through here...

Rust at bottom of doors - not common but fairly easy fix; the key areas to check are the rear wheel arches.

Viable as a daily driver? Definitely!

120,000 miles with full service history? Just run in!

If what you have listed is all that's wrong, it sounds good to me...

Hope that helps a bit! Just ask - we're here to help.

Good luck!

David

Hello!

Not much more to add other than:

Pictures can often tell us more than words (have a look at some of the for sale stuff we've dissected). We'll spot things you may not even know to check. If you're worried about someone swooping in and stealing a potential bargain, feel free to pm me details - the absolute last thing I need in my life is a another 480! 7 in the queue is more than enough!

We're also terribly good at fixing said common faults (have a look at the how too's)

jifflemon wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:13 pm

Hello!

Not much more to add other than:

Pictures can often tell us more than words (have a look at some of the for sale stuff we've dissected). We'll spot things you may not even know to check. If you're worried about someone swooping in and stealing a potential bargain, feel free to pm me details - the absolute last thing I need in my life is a another 480! 7 in the queue is more than enough!

We're also terribly good at fixing said common faults (have a look at the how too's)

I think you need R8 and 9 Jeff

Welcome
Also.... I’m sure if any members were close-ish by to the car/yourself they’d be more than happy to pop and look for you too and let you know if the car is A: Salvageable B: Worth the asking price (you can plough a good few sacks of 50s into a 480 to get it reliable/roadworthy!) and C: What work might definitely need doing/part availability/how much that might cost you.

There are 480s left with varying degrees of condition left out there that, to the untrained eye and the slim of wallet, can become a heavy burden or a quick problem pass-on. As Jeff (Jifflemon) mentioned, if you look at the posts for the rescue cars (search R1 to R7 on the forum) you can see the good the bad the the ugly (the Celebration.... R3?) of what to look out for and what’s fixable.

Good luck Hope it turns out a positive ending!

Hi and hopefully welcome to 480 ownership.
120,000 is nothing, my ES has done 230,000. I've had it 20 years, it was my daily commute for 10 of those and I can count the number of breakdowns on the fingers of one hand. It is the most reliable car I have ever owned and a great drive.
How far the wheel arches have gone is usually a good indication of how much rust to expect elsewhere where you can't see it. The other place you need to check is in the boot. Most leaks make puddles under the thick boot carpet and if that's left wet it can cause problems.
All the mentioned faults are fixable and wouldn't put me off if I was looking for one, but I'm not adding to our fleet of 4 !
Whereabouts are you ? If someone on here is reasonably local you'll probably get an offer of a check over.

Wow, thank you so much for the warm welcome & for the detailed replies, everyone. I’m very enthused now!

Another Carruthers - I’ve only ever met one before! What are the chances, indeed.

So I‘ll try and clear up a few of the queries that have been raised.

• The door rust looks entirely superficial. Probably of little concern.
• The front wheel arches were both replaced eleven years ago, they’re actually bubbling again now but nothing compared to some of the Rescues I’ve looked at on here.
• The rear arches are the worst point on the car. I’ll try and post what photos I have.
• I’ve asked for photos to be taken of the boot area but haven’t received them yet.
• The cambelt was changed at 50k & 101k. It was the servicing garage that advised the owner the screech was the clutch release bearings, of course they may be mistaken.

I’m currently stuck at work in Powys at the moment so I haven’t viewed the car personally but I will be doing so on the 14th or 15th of this month. If anyone was prepared to give it a once of over & tell me if it’s worth the asking money that would be great but it does seem an awful lot for a stranger to ask! The thought of throwing £50’s at a lost cause is certainly something that concerns me. That said, I’m definitely happy to spend money to make a good car even better; for me that’s an entirely different proposition. If it turns out the rust isn’t too bad then I think the car is currently priced right, perhaps a little on the low side but certainly not into bargain territory.

The car is based not for from Headingly. I’ve struck up a bit of a relationship over the phone with the owner & she’s promised to give me first refusal which is very kind of her.

Now, how to post those photos .....

When you say the rear arches are the worst part of the car, yeah you really do need to post us up some pics. These do not bolt on like front wings or doors.

May I ask what is the price? If the rear arches are anything other than showing surface rust (i.e it’s only just starting and you catch it immediately by working on the outside mechanically and chemically and flooding the insides with corrosion preventative compound) I’d either walk away or not pay more than £1000, if at all.

An option to post pictures is to use postimages.org, and copy the image link in between the [img] code text that will be inserted when you press true image putting on the forum editor.

[/img]

That went well!

Perhaps it can’t be done from a phone?

The price is £2500, of course that could be way too much money. The photo I have isn’t great but it looks to me like bad (not severe) bubbling.

Edit: actually, I’ve had a closer look without my rose tinted (potential 480 ownership) spectacles on and there’s definitely some rusty looking holes and cracks there.

Sorry but I’d say they’ve been tarted up badly in the past and the corrosion not dealt with properly so it’s just continued to corrode away under the filler abs new paint. It’s a sub £1000 car in my book that you’ll need to spend to a few grand on to get the rear arches right.

(Click quote in my post and you will see the IMG code and what I pasted inbetween. It’s not the easiest to do to be fair as this forum is based on old tech)

Thanks for the tech help James, much appreciated.

Also, thanks for the car advice, even more appreciated. I’ll buy you a pint at the next family gathering

Well what a shame but a bullet dodged perhaps.

[url=https://postimg.cc/Mv7DjTfb]

This is the other rear arch.

I still haven’t got it right, have I!

The two tone is beautiful so I can see why you are tempted.

This club has bought a few cars for restoration and some will be up for sale soon. They’ve mainly been bought on the condition of their rear arches as everything else is much less intensive abs expensive in comparison. Keep an eye on these when they are ready and any others for sale with decent arches if you want something to use straight away.

I presume your family is originally from Scotland too? I have no memory of Scottish family but that’s where the name is from. We didn’t get too far, just over the border in to north east England, although Cambridgeshire is home for me now.

Simon_Carruthers wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 05, 2021 7:48 pm

[url=https://postimg.cc/Mv7DjTfb]

This is the other rear arch.

I still haven’t got it right, have I!

Bloody hell, that’s not even the right shape. Run away! It’s a £500 car now.

Hi Simon welcome to the forum. You say the car is in Headingley,Leeds? If so I can go and have a look at it for you as I am not to far from there. I if it’s a Leeds car then I am very surprised and totally unaware of its existence. From the pictures you have posted it certainly is not a £2500 car but if you want a live viewing I am happy to oblige.cheers Norman

Norm57 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 05, 2021 8:34 pm

Hi Simon welcome to the forum. You say the car is in Headingley,Leeds? If so I can go and have a look at it for you as I am not to far from there. I if it’s a Leeds car then I am very surprised and totally unaware of its existence. From the pictures you have posted it certainly is not a £2500 car but if you want a live viewing I am happy to oblige.cheers Norman

That’s a very generous offer Norman, thank you very much indeed. I’ll pm you.