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ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 4:31 pm
by MisterH
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volvo-480-ES ... %7Ciid%3A1

Looks very very straight from the pictures, but like the last one, they are asking all the money, a cheap T-Shirt off of 5k seems a bit much for a 480, even in this condition. They will never be expensive or really desirable, and I think they will always be a beacon of just how good you can get without paying too much money

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 5:46 pm
by dcwalker
Hmmm...does look like a nice example, excepting the tape holding the dashboard together(?) and the peeling speedo face. I wonder if the paintwork is original?

I think the question of price is a tricky one. On the one hand we all lament that the value of our cars is not increasing generally, and wonder if they will ever be true "classics", but on the other hand, when they are put up for sale at a higher price, we are all quick to doubt that the figure is realistic...

Always liked the two-tone, I must admit :D

David

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 6:37 pm
by Norm57
It's certainly all the money. Looks very good in the photos but as been said is it as original as it looks? And as an aside how limited is a limited edition ES?

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:04 pm
by dragonflyjewels
The two tone wasn't limited at all, it's a complete misnomer, they are registered as Special Editions but badged as ES
Limited Edition, probably just because Volvo didn't want to buy an unknown quantity of SE badges.
It was only the GT and Celebration that were limited but they aren't badged as such. Makes you wonder if Volvo understood the concept of 'limited' dunnit :lol:

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:12 pm
by jifflemon
They’re located not too far from the start of the meet...

Just wondering how amusing it would be to descend en-maase to view it...

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:11 pm
by Martin Mc
I think it has had work at the back end - the stone chip stickers seem to be absent in front of the rear arches. It does look very nice though, although I'd have to say many of the examples I've seen on mini-meets would give it a run for the money (Rachel's lovely grey car, David's green GT, James' green GT, and so many others).

It would be lovely to see it lined up with a whole bunch of wedgie cars - perhaps the itinerary for the 26th might be adapted? :) :bla:

Martin

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:50 pm
by dragonflyjewels
jifflemon wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:12 pm
They’re located not too far from the start of the meet...

Just wondering how amusing it would be to descend en-maase to view it...
You wont get your 2 platefuls of full English there Jeff....

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 7:15 am
by dcwalker
dragonflyjewels wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:50 pm
jifflemon wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:12 pm
They’re located not too far from the start of the meet...

Just wondering how amusing it would be to descend en-maase to view it...
You wont get your 2 platefuls of full English there Jeff....
Aw, c'mon - that's giving Jeff an unfair conundrum ;)

Mind you, it'd be worth seeing the faces at the garage when a whole load of people who know these cars turned up in their own excellent examples and started giving it a detailed once-over :lol:
dragonflyjewels wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:04 pm
It was only the GT and Celebration that were limited but they aren't badged as such. Makes you wonder if Volvo understood the concept of 'limited' dunnit :lol:
You have a very good point Sylvia! I always understood that the two-tone was originally intended to run out the 1.7 engines (which was what would make it "limited", I guess) but it sold better than expected so they continued production for a while with the 2.0 as well...at that point the concept of "limited" appears to have gone out the window.

That said, Volvo seemed to be adept at making things up as they went along depending on sales and demand: look at how 240 production was continued for years after it was intended to be ended, and V40 classic production continued for about 6 months after the "end date" to meet demand...

David

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 12:48 pm
by 100
A bit high, but not far off the money in my opinion - should it match up to the pictures and description (especially underneath)! If those Pirelli P6000 are new then that's c.£500+ already.

The amount of money and time I have put into my 480 probably totals this amount. For someone that wants a fully functioning, no hassle, 480 then it's perfect! Although it does need key hole surrounds, front DRL lenses, floor mats and, being really picky, an oil sender and a roller cover...

That being said, I wouldn't swap because I know a lot of my age related bits have already been replaced...

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:30 pm
by brinkie
100 wrote:
Tue Oct 15, 2019 12:48 pm
A bit high, but not far off the money in my opinion - should it match up to the pictures and description (especially underneath)! If those Pirelli P6000 are new then that's c.£500+ already.
They are definitely not new, Pirelli P6000 tyres have been discontinued long ago. I remember my 2008 Ford Focus was fitted with them when I bought the car in 2012, they were making noise so got them replaced under warranty. £500 is probably what you pay at a stealer, I had a set of Vredestein Sportrac 5 in 195/55-15 for £340 including VAT, disposal, fitment and alloy rim surcharge.

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 3:00 pm
by travelman
It will probably need a new set of tyres if they are as old as Brinkie says,even if the tread looks good.
I had a slow puncture in one of my Michelins and took it in to the tyre depot.They said that they had been on since 2011 and showed me how the rubber was perishing and cracking on the inner shoulders.In other words both front tyres were scrap,even though the tread looked good.If the ones on this car are even older I would ask for a new set of good tyres on it before buying for safety reasons.At the price they can afford it!
It does look nice though,but I will be staying with my own faithful ES of the last 28 years,warts and all.

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:32 pm
by MisterH
jifflemon wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 8:12 pm
They’re located not too far from the start of the meet...

Just wondering how amusing it would be to descend en-maase to view it...
It would be indeed, I would love to see that, t'would be as if it was judgement day for them!

shame I won't be able to make it though

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2019 9:57 pm
by jifflemon
dragonflyjewels wrote:
Mon Oct 14, 2019 9:50 pm
You wont get your 2 platefuls of full English there Jeff....
A very excellent point....

We’ll approach in waves... I’ll arrive second from last due to breakfast duties, James will be last simply due to his amazing time keeping! :rofl: :rofl:

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:05 pm
by Van
What does "TT" stand for? "Twin Turbo"?

Anyway it's still a car with all that belongs to it, insurance, road tax, maintenance, more maintenance, oh and it is a 480, so add even more maintenance.

30,000 even if it is true it is very low. It is not good for a car to drive only 1,000mls/y.

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:30 pm
by dragonflyjewels
Van wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:05 pm
What does "TT" stand for? "Twin Turbo"?
We don't have the turbo version in the UK. It took me a few minutes to realise TT must be two-tone. Twin turbo would have been so much more exciting !! :cryhard:

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:13 pm
by brinkie
I believe it was only in Germany and France (perhaps Belgium) that the 480 Two Tone was available with Turbo engine. Colloquially they are called 480 TTT :lol:

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:58 am
by dragonflyjewels
We descended on this and had a really good look at it. First impression was of course immaculate, but then you look closer....
I checked the interior and was pleasantly surprised, the driver's bolster was 'as new' - no scuffs, no stretched stitching, no de-lamination around the stitch holes. The surround to the boot/fuel flap pulls was tight with no play at all, so immediately obvious the mileage is genuine. The speedo cluster had quite bad peeling of the black around the odo and trip, but of course that's age rather than use. Still needs replacing before the needle catches on it though. Offside pop up didn't work - at 5k you'd think they would have fixed that.
Jeff's verdict on the tyres was that they hadn't been produced for a very long time so they'll need replacing soon on age alone. He had a crawl around underneath and wasn't impressed with the amount of rust/previous welds. Both rear mudflaps are missing so the back end has been off, and presumably the rust in the flaps had exploded to the point where you throw them away. We both noted that the bottom half had been re-sprayed but even so there were still a few rust bubbles on the offside wheel arch, one on the silver and one just above on the green. Of course inside the wheel arches is more rust. And just to top it off, the silver paint they used is the wrong one - far too blue.
Another group was clustered around the engine bay, I don't know what their verdict was. At a glance it was all very clean so probably had a steam.
Overall, my impression was that yes, it's a very low mileage example but it's been kept outside for a long time and suffered for it. At 5k even we should have trouble finding anything more than the odd stone chip and odometer problems, so it's another overly-ambitious price, like Edie's turbo which was originally priced at £10k. Nice to know dealers agree with us they should be worth more than they are, but then they have a different incentive.

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 1:43 pm
by MisterH
dragonflyjewels wrote:
Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:58 am
We descended on this and had a really good look at it. First impression was of course immaculate, but then you look closer....
I checked the interior and was pleasantly surprised, the driver's bolster was 'as new' - no scuffs, no stretched stitching, no de-lamination around the stitch holes. The surround to the boot/fuel flap pulls was tight with no play at all, so immediately obvious the mileage is genuine. The speedo cluster had quite bad peeling of the black around the odo and trip, but of course that's age rather than use. Still needs replacing before the needle catches on it though. Offside pop up didn't work - at 5k you'd think they would have fixed that.
Jeff's verdict on the tyres was that they hadn't been produced for a very long time so they'll need replacing soon on age alone. He had a crawl around underneath and wasn't impressed with the amount of rust/previous welds. Both rear mudflaps are missing so the back end has been off, and presumably the rust in the flaps had exploded to the point where you throw them away. We both noted that the bottom half had been re-sprayed but even so there were still a few rust bubbles on the offside wheel arch, one on the silver and one just above on the green. Of course inside the wheel arches is more rust. And just to top it off, the silver paint they used is the wrong one - far too blue.
Another group was clustered around the engine bay, I don't know what their verdict was. At a glance it was all very clean so probably had a steam.
Overall, my impression was that yes, it's a very low mileage example but it's been kept outside for a long time and suffered for it. At 5k even we should have trouble finding anything more than the odd stone chip and odometer problems, so it's another overly-ambitious price, like Edie's turbo which was originally priced at £10k. Nice to know dealers agree with us they should be worth more than they are, but then they have a different incentive.
Wow, that must have been a sight to see? what were the dealer staff reaction when an army of 480 enthusiasts came to pass judgement?
talk about a comprehensive evaluation...

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 6:36 pm
by Van
Thanks for this thorough report.

Re: ES TT on the 'bay - Genuine Gem or delusions of grandeur?

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2019 9:25 pm
by jifflemon
MisterH wrote:
Mon Oct 28, 2019 1:43 pm
Wow, that must have been a sight to see? what were the dealer staff reaction when an army of 480 enthusiasts came to pass judgement?
talk about a comprehensive evaluation...
Thankfully there weren’t any salesmen around; just a mechanic who spoke very little English! He did seem bemused by the amount of attention the car got!

Just some further notes....

N/S/R sill looked to have been plated, the inner arches under sealed. Fuel filter (always a good servicing sign) was unchanged and very crusty. Given it was “showroom fresh” things like grubby ventilation knobs do not go down well with me!

It’s not a Bad car, but it’s not a 5k car either.

For me, I’d probably say 1.5k to the right person; there’s still plenty to do on the car.