Faults:

Gear box (5 speed) collapsed in beginning of June 2008. It is costly to buy from a junk dealer and it's much work to replace it.

Volvo has a good reputation when it comes to quality, and I think my Volvo 460 is well built car in general... but I have driven some Volvos with bad or sluggish gearbox, so maybe it´s one of the few bad components in Volvo. So I suggest to other Volvo buyers to test if the gearbox is shifting smoothly... if not, you should look for another car.

General Comments:

In overall I rate Volvo 460:

Good front seat comfort

Very warm in winter

Good noise isolation at high speed

Reliable in driving, but not exciting

Faults:

Nothing major since I've had the car only this year, the radio chewed a tape and that's it.

The Only needed a tyre for MOT.

General Comments:

This Car is superb I've done 5,000 miles in 3 months and I can say it's a very comfy car. The car starts first time every time on the button.

The car handles great and goes great on long runs, acheving 35MPG and 70MPH.

Overall a superb little car for £500.

Faults:

"Electrics"- cost £50 to replace when car broke down in service station.

A light failure warning signal occurs every time I start the engine, but switches itself off once I've used the foot brake.

General Comments:

This car is great. It's a bit of a tank to manouver as I don't have automatic steering for parking, but this is a small price to pay for all the good attributes- it's big and spacey with a large boot and efficiency of space within the cabin. I bought it because of Volvo's safety track record, but this aspect of my car hasn't yet been put to the test!!

It gives a smooth ride- I drove it between Dundee and Cardiff on a regular basis for several months two years ago and there were no aching shoulders or legs at the end of each journey.

The car offers good visibility with a narrow blind spot between the rear view and wing mirrors.

I've changed the speakers since buying this car as the existing speakers didn't have great base and these were easy to fit (even for a girl!)

Overall, I have no intention of parting with this car until it dies on me- it's a solid, reliable car which gives a smooth ride, doesn't drink too much petrol and comes with a great safety track record- what more would a sane person wish from a car?