Seeking Wedgie Number 8

[Martin Mc]

Hello folks,

After a long time away from the fold, I'm seriously considering getting back into 480 ownership, to continue my long term love affair with all things wedgie .

My last car, a 1995 Celebration, was typical of cars of that age when I sold her, with the usual symptoms of back end entropy and peculiar electrics, even with relatively low mileage. I'm conscious that a further 3 or 4 years have come and gone since then, and the numbers of cars appearing on eBay / Autotrader has diminished to the merest of trickles, and those cars that do appear are often not in the best of fettle.

However, I live in hope of finding a well maintained, reasonably solid wedgie to take on, and wondered if anyone on the forum might be able to point me towards anything that could potentially be of interest? Happy for any responses to be posted here, so that 'market forces' can prevail should there be a car or two that might be available - I will take my chances, though I do have cash available now to spend. Alternatively I'd be happy to receive a PM from anyone wanting a more discrete exchange.

I do hope to hear from members of the community!

All the best!

Martin

[Martin Mc]

Been looking at a few cars, here and there, including the two currently on fleaBay.

This one (a 1992 Turbo) appears to be low mileage, but the pictures are very poor, so it is difficult to assess the true condition. MOT history looks kind of promising, and it comes with MOT till March 26 so could, in theory, be driven home (not sure I'd want to risk that!)



There is another car on there (a 1989 or 1990 ES) with 137k and no MOT does appear to have decent rear arches, and claims some service history.





It does appear to be suffering from cabin fatigue though, with a saggy headlining and poor condition upholstery, so maybe a world of pain there, particularly as it is listed as needing 'some bulbs' (480 speak for someone has messed with the electrics)...





Passenger door card looks ok

This one, on Gumtree, is asking silly money for a car with clear faults, no MOT and a deadometer.. Even if it is a nice colour with decent looking arches, its an automatic, and is probably hiding a whole load of money-pit worry-worts..




Anyone else seen any cars on your travels, perhaps on a forecourt or car lot?

Martin

[jifflemon]

Am more than happy to give you opinion on any links you want to PM me.
That G plate is an oddball - on the early (and very hard to find) interior, and I’d have thought they’d have swapped by then - Seymour is G plate and sports the later interior and engine.

[WillC9303]

Turbos are very rare, especially early examples. That being said the Arctic Blue one on Gumtree is about £1500 over priced - and that's assuming the arches are in good condition. It could end up needing some serious work all round. A project suited to someone very brave and/or experienced.

The black ES is fairly leggy, which wouldn't normally be an issue on these, but this one doesn't seem to have worn them too well. I'm also not convinced on the reasons why the seller is parting with it.

The black Turbo looks to be the most promising of the three. The photos are poor, and the paint is awful in places but could be an ok starting point, assuming it doesn't sell for much more than the current bid.

you might have more luck putting your feelers out on the VOC UK or Bookface.

[Martin Mc]

Hello Will and Jeff,

Thanks for the comments and advice, I'm speaking to the seller of the black turbo this week, to find out a little more detail behind the listing (e.g. the MOT history points to an oil leak and some indications of corrosion that aren't mentioned in the ad. I have a neighbour who has a paint shop, so am not too worried if there's a bit of lipstick and rouge required. Having been there many times before, I'm well acquainted with the papier mache rear end issues typical of the marque. This one was off the road (apparently in a storage container) for around 14 or 15 years between 2009 and 2023, so it is possible that major rot hasn't set in. However, the rough nearside rear quarter and the absence of pictures of the offside rear are a definite red flag

Will report back once I've had the chat.

I've joined a FB group for Volvo 480 enthusiasts, but my general experience with all things Meta has been very poor, so I'm not going to hold my breath.

At one time Car and Classic was a good source for reasonably priced wedgies, but I think those days are long gone!

All the best!

Martin

[dragonflyjewels]

I wouldn't recommend a car from a storage container. I looked at one for the rescue group and it had been so hot inside the container that the plastic side trims were banana shaped. Don't suppose it did the electrics any good either. Wouldn't surprise me if the plastic sheaths had melted in places.

[Martin Mc]

Hello Sylvia,

Thank you for your kind and insightful observations - I dodged the bullet in any case and the fleabay Turbo went to someone with deeper pockets / better keyboard skills / less experience of the marque than me

I've sent you a PM, in respect of your recent sad loss. I trust you are finding solace in lots of ways, each day that passes.

Best regards

Martin Mc

[Martin Mc]

Bump.

Still looking.

[WillC9303]

There’s a nice 2.0 ES on Car and Classic at the moment

[royhedger]

Sarah Bradley is selling hers, it's a 2.0 ES. Is in very good condition.
She has it on car and classic, and ebay.

Ebay link below:

https://ebay.us/m/IYu3z0

[Martin Mc]

Thanks Will & Roy.

Certainly a very good looking car, although the purists might baulk at the Celebration seating in an otherwise bog standard ES. Me, no - I think the mod works really nicely, and the main thing is the car appears to have a decent shell and pedigree. Looks like the cambelt was done at 52K too, albeit some time between July 2017 and July 2018, so probably due for replacement again.

I'm leaning towards a manual gearbox, so it ticks all those boxes. Just need to come up with a ruse to get me up to Saltburn by the Sea

The 43k mile white automatic also catches the eye - My first 480 was a white ES (1992 J plate 1.7 with oddly enough 43k miles on it when I acquired her).

Who am I kidding? Mrs M would go bananas...

M

[Martin Mc]

Still looking.. in case anyone has a spare 480 down the back of their settee...



Martin

[Martin Mc]

Still still looking

[WillC9303]

Have you looked on the Facebook groups Martin? There was a stunningly good 31k mile Two-Tone that sold there yesterday. Wasn't up for long though.

[Martin Mc]

Hello Will,

Thanks for that - unfortunately I don't do FaceBook (incompatible with work) so might have missed a few I could probably twist my wife's arm, if there was an alert here that something interesting had shown up..

Best!

Martin