1991 Volvo 480 ES review from UK and Ireland
"Infuriating and ingenious in equal measure"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Mainly electrics: Info. centre bulbs went, when I tried to replace them, fuses started blowing.
Electric aerial/radio all went in space of a few weeks, never found out why, and when I tried to replace the radio, all kinds of sparks and smoke started appearing!
Dipped beam headlights stopped working.
Leaks EVERYWHERE!
Other than that, not much :)
General comments?
I realised there were bound to be problems when I bought this 17 year old car with 100k plus miles on the clock, and to be fair it has not disappointed!
Performance wise I'm sure most speed-freaks will tell you it's nothing special, but the 1781cc Renault engine more than did the job for me.
Without doubt the 480's strongest point (apart from the styling) is the level of comfort. Extremely well equipped, it excels at motorway speeds, but unfortunately the very Volvo-like heavy gear-change and clutch make it less pleasurable in towns/cities.
Mechanically I have had very little trouble (so far) with this car, despite having done over 12k miles in 8 months.
The electrics are and always have been the real bugbear with the 480. If you can put up with the niggling problems mentioned above, you can have a really unique looking, nippy and comfortable car for really very little money.
The Volvo 480 Club Europe is a great source of parts/vehicles.
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| An underrated modern classic |
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| Classic that will live long in the memory |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1991 |
| First year of ownership | 2008 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2009 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.7 Manual |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 109000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 121000 miles |
| Previous car | Hyundai Accent |
| Date of Entry | 9th January, 2009 |