I have strayed (well, technically only very slightly...)
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 8:45 am
Time to come clean, folks, I have a new addition to the family...
... a 1995 440 ES 2.0.
Way back in the early 1990s, when I had my first 480, I always had 440s or 460s as loan cars when my 480 was in the workshop (which for that car was - or at least seemed - half its life...). I have to admit I liked them and always thought they were a good car, underrated at the time. And the 94 onwards face-lifted models really did bear a close family resemblance to the 850.
A combination of things happened recently:
1 - the V50 we bought turned out, following a "Health Check" by my main dealer friends, to have rather more wrong with it than at first appeared. Nothing I'd have spotted in the fairly good lookover I gave the car on purchase, but a classic case of something appearing a bit too good to be true probably being so
. Anyway, returned it to seller for full refund, without argument (so something tells me they knew...);
2 - the V50 saga did nothing to help the fact I've been struggling quite a lot lately with the old depression for various reasons ;
3 - I decided, after Nora then Nilani, that I was missing having a proper "project car";
4 - I've long thought that the 440/460 are so unloved, compared to our beloved 480s on here, that if we're not careful they'll disappear completely;
5 - then in one of the threads on here Ben started asking about 440 turbos (which I'd love, well, actually, I'd love a 460 turbo and wasn't in a position to buy one when offered one by a friend a while back).
So I thought - there's a 440 at a potentially bargain price on the VOC forum, in Newcastle so not far to go. Went to see it. Worried about the condition - it's spent most of its life near the sea in Sunderland, it didn't want to idle very well etc etc. But I liked the fact it's a lovely metallic blue, ES model so quite well specced, no info centre to worry about, 2.0 engine (green dipstick) which I know my way about and have suitable spares for already, quite good nick inside once cleaned, and has the dinkiest wiper blades on its (fully working) headlamp wiper system
- so I made a cheeky offer and drove off into the sunset! 
And yes, it drives very well, has lots of welly, you just have to remember it she won't tolerate being thrown around bends quite like the 480 will!!
My apologies for being a bit quiet on here recently as I've been "hiding away" with the 440 and generally ignoring the world, but I am trying once again to emerge into society - hence this post.
I'll post a couple of taster photos a bit later on when they're sorted off my phone.
Hopefully the mods on here will consider it sufficiently closely related to a 480 to let me get a project thread running!
All the best
David
... a 1995 440 ES 2.0.
Way back in the early 1990s, when I had my first 480, I always had 440s or 460s as loan cars when my 480 was in the workshop (which for that car was - or at least seemed - half its life...). I have to admit I liked them and always thought they were a good car, underrated at the time. And the 94 onwards face-lifted models really did bear a close family resemblance to the 850.
A combination of things happened recently:
1 - the V50 we bought turned out, following a "Health Check" by my main dealer friends, to have rather more wrong with it than at first appeared. Nothing I'd have spotted in the fairly good lookover I gave the car on purchase, but a classic case of something appearing a bit too good to be true probably being so
. Anyway, returned it to seller for full refund, without argument (so something tells me they knew...);2 - the V50 saga did nothing to help the fact I've been struggling quite a lot lately with the old depression for various reasons
;3 - I decided, after Nora then Nilani, that I was missing having a proper "project car";
4 - I've long thought that the 440/460 are so unloved, compared to our beloved 480s on here, that if we're not careful they'll disappear completely;
5 - then in one of the threads on here Ben started asking about 440 turbos (which I'd love, well, actually, I'd love a 460 turbo and wasn't in a position to buy one when offered one by a friend a while back).
So I thought - there's a 440 at a potentially bargain price on the VOC forum, in Newcastle so not far to go. Went to see it. Worried about the condition - it's spent most of its life near the sea in Sunderland, it didn't want to idle very well etc etc. But I liked the fact it's a lovely metallic blue, ES model so quite well specced, no info centre to worry about, 2.0 engine (green dipstick) which I know my way about and have suitable spares for already, quite good nick inside once cleaned, and has the dinkiest wiper blades on its (fully working) headlamp wiper system
- so I made a cheeky offer and drove off into the sunset! And yes, it drives very well, has lots of welly, you just have to remember it she won't tolerate being thrown around bends quite like the 480 will!!
My apologies for being a bit quiet on here recently as I've been "hiding away" with the 440 and generally ignoring the world, but I am trying once again to emerge into society - hence this post.
I'll post a couple of taster photos a bit later on when they're sorted off my phone.
Hopefully the mods on here will consider it sufficiently closely related to a 480 to let me get a project thread running!
All the best
David
Now you're going back a bit: I remember being intrigued, amused and appalled all at the same time over the synthesised voice they had in the top models of Maestro telling you to do things like fasten your seat belt. Hmmm...am I showing my age now? 
