1996 Volvo V40 2.0 turbo

Summary:

Fast and reliable if you have the money to run it

Faults:

Rear wiper stopped working, fixed myself for £10.

General Comments:

Easy to lock yourself out of the car with keys still inside.

Cruised at 80mph, went 130mph once!

Starts everyday.

Driven hard all around the country.

Cruse control is fabulous!

Expensive insurence and only does 10 miles per gallon!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th April, 2004

1996 Volvo V40 2.0 L 2.0

Summary:

Expensive and Dull

Faults:

Headlamp and rear bulbs would blow on a monthly basis, replaced countless times.

Gears difficult to engage, went back to dealer several times and had many things replaced, but never cured.

Used lots of oil, but reason never found, dealer just suggested we checked it on a weekly basis and topped it up.

Remote Alarm System went crazy and cost £350 to repair.

Airbag safety restraint system warning light came on throughout ownership. Dealer ended up disconnecting bulb as only solution.

Brake judder.

Windscreen washers failed on both windscreen and boot. Dealer fixed them.

Boot lock broke. Never fixed (cost too much!)

First service I had came to £1200 including the various bits they "had" to fix. Most expensive service I've EVER seen.

General Comments:

On the plus side, the car always FELT strong, I always felt that I could have crashed into anything and been OK.

But it was very dull to drive.

Always liked the look of them from the outside though, and the dash had a nice quality feel.

Seats OK, but lacked support.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 15th May, 2003

26th Jun 2004, 20:07

No luck bet you wished you bought a skoda!!

2nd Jun 2015, 23:04

The 2.0 Skodas from around this time burned lots of oil from new. The 1.4 8v engines blow head gaskets and the 1.4 16v has a list of other faults. I won't even mention the gearbox problems on all of the VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat cars from this era. Solid German engineering is a myth.

1996 Volvo V40 CD 2.0

Summary:

Excellent car, let down by after sales service

Faults:

Leaked rainwater into the boot.

General Comments:

Very handy workhorse yet still look very stylish.

Performance is good, but a bit unrefined at higher revs.

Extremely comfortable seats.

Astonishingly bad after sales service from Volvo main agent. This is a shame because it will deter me from buying another.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 4th March, 2001

7th Mar 2001, 08:18

If you have genuinely been badly treated by the main agent then you should write to Volvo UK. If your complaints are justified then I know from experience that they will come down like a tonne of bricks on any dealership that steps out of line.

1996 Volvo V40 CD 2.0 16v injection

Summary:

Good solid workhorse, with loads of refinement

Faults:

Rattling back door since I purchased the car, never really gone away.

The trip computer external heat sensor is stuck at 50 degrees?

Driveshaft needs replacing at 100,000 miles.

Shattered catalytic convertor at 88,000 miles.

General Comments:

The car has just topped 100,000 miles and - given this - I cannot complain. No major mechanical failures - only general wear that would be expected at much lower mileages than the car has travelled. Original exhaust still on the car!

Good tight ride as the car has uprated suspension - definitely an improvement on standard cars driven.

I shall be upgrading to a T4 as the only problem is lack of acceleration onto motorways.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th June, 2000