1993 Volvo 480 ES Limited Edition from UK and Ireland - Comments

The offside day runner bulb didn't work when we bought it in Jan 2003.

The exhaust down-pipe needed replacing. I thought the original Volvo part was excessively expensive, and opted for a pattern part which has been fine.

The anti-roll bar link rods creaked, and were replaced at little cost by an independent specialist here in Hampshire.

The car burnt-out two stereos and was taken to Volvo for remedy, which they achieved easily.

The anti-freeze was renewed, due to a leak in the system.

The car also leaks oil from the back of the engine, which has yet to be rectified.

The "info-centre" sometimes switches off all by itself, maybe because of a loose connection. Very irritating especially when the petrol gauge is contained within it. This is a familiar fault to 480 owners! I will have this checked at the next service.

The seat belt holder, which extends to the driver from the door pillar, catapulted the small plastic bar holding the belt in place into the back seat. I replaced this, but I bet it will be hard to find in years to come and I don't want to lose it.

The car came with virtually no service history, which is probably why there were so many annoying things to be fixed when we bought it. So far it has been very reliable.

There's lots to say here. Generally I really like this car.

So far it has been reliable and turns heads quite often - there aren't too many about on British roads, and I even get the odd flash of the auxiliary lights from other 480 drivers when I see them.

The design has been given a lot of thought regarding safety, with roll bar in the roof behind the front passengers. Many electronic features were also built into the design of the car. (Well, it was released in 1985!)

The back wiper turns on automatically when reverse gear is selected and the front wipers are on, for example. There is a keyhole light in the door lock when the door handle is lifted, too.

The coupe/sports-estate design is well executed, and follows on where the P1800ES of the early 70's left off. It's one of the nicest sports estate/coupes that you could buy.

Mine is the "Limited-Edition" model, made from 1992-1993, which means you get sea-blue and silver paint with leather and cloth seats, plus Turbo style alloys, and a front spoiler. According to some price guides this is worth 5% more than the standard ES model. Look out for the 480GT (250 made) in metallic red with black leather seats and spoked alloys, and the last of the line 1995 Celebration (480 made).

The 480 is really comfortable! Some of the best seats you will find in a car - it's relaxing to drive, well equipped too, and quiet enough for a decent conversation with passengers at speed.

Many electric toys - windows, mirrors, glass sun-roof etc...

Interior plastics look cheap to my mind, and not everyone will like the dashboard, being typically old-school Volvo in design. There's an over-use of grey too. BUT, get to use it and you soon realise the ergonomics are brilliant. Some of the switches feel like they will break easily, too. And the 'info-centre' cannot be read in bright sunlight even with the dash lighting turned up.

Models built after October 1993 are supposed to have the best reliability and equipment - air-conditioning, airbag, and anti-lock brakes were standard from then on.

Beware reliability on early 480's, if you are tempted to buy the cheapest, because the electrics can be a pain, and costly to fix with Volvo.

Buy the Turbo if you want better performance, the 2.0 Renault engine isn't that fast!

I find the steering & handling are really nice (Lotus developed), but what on earth were Volvo thinking with the suspension?! It crashes and bounces, and is rock hard over bumps!! Why did they let it out of the factory like this... it spoils an otherwise good car, sporting intentions or not?

To finish I'd like to say this. How can you go wrong buying a car with only 58,000 miles on it for only £1400?!! In 1993 the list price was a shade under £15,000 here in the UK!!!!!!!!

And watch all those jealous people's noses go up in the air as you drive by, knowing they have spent £8-14k on a dull little hatchback with no character, and you got your immaculate 480ES for peanuts. ;-))

I have just bought my first 480ES, it's a 93 model, absolutely mint with 58000 miles all for a bargain £600.I'm over the moon.

Six-hundred pounds and the same mileage?!! Wow!!! Well, you beat us to an even lower price. Hope you enjoy driving it. There's no more news to report about mine, other than it's still reliable so far... and my sister liked it on a journey to Bridport, Dorset, recently.

Best car in the world for under £1000, can't go wrong.

Fantastic car!! I bought the 1992 1.7es limited edition for £600 with just 60'000 miles on the clock.

The only trouble I've had is a loose nut on the passenger side "flip up" headlight that took about 2 minutes to fix!!

The leather seats are really comfortable and the performance is surprisingly good given the 4 speed auto box and the age of the car.

The insurance and running costs are superb and I would definitely consider another!

Bought my third 480, a 2-litre Limited Edition, last November. It's super, and much better than my first and second ES 1.7s. Nice clean paintwork, a few chips on the drivers seat and one or two electric problems (rear wiper and radio) but otherwise very reliable.

Hi! Have just (September 2005) bought my fourth 480. My first one about ten years ago I wrote off in a motorway accident from which I emerged with a slight nose bleed. Ever since then I've trusted 480s, but luckily had no more need to test them! I find them great to drive, and one of the nicest car designs on the road - still. Hopefully the one I've just bought, a 1993 480S, 2 litre, with 90,000 on the clock, and a regular Volvo service history up to this year, should last me for a few more years before I have to start hunting round for another one.

Hello 480 owners! I first wrote the review about my '93 480 Limited Edition about a year and a half ago. Unfortunately the car has now been written-off in an accident in Forfar, Scotland. Some idiot came out of a side road and ran straight into the side of me causing over £2,000 worth of damage.

My Father and I weren't hurt, but the accident caused us no end of hassle, and a two month wait without a car. To cut a long story short, the insurance firm refused to repair the 480, even though the damage was relatively minor (driver's door dented, and the panel before the rear wheel arch), and the car WAS easily repairable.

Talk about discrimination against older car drivers!! And all because it would cost slightly more to repair than the car was worth! This is like saying..."Well, you can be insured with us and have an older car, as long as you're not involved in an accident. If you are we won't repair it -even if it was not your fault!" Sound familiar to anyone? It completely defeats the object of being insured in the first place.

After a long wait the car was towed away on the back of a car transporter, along with other perfectly decent (but minor accident damaged), & repairable cars. The car was in excellent condition up until the accident in June '05 having covered a mere 79,000 miles, and I am sure it will by now have been crushed and/or stripped for valuable spares.

After wondering what I would replace my special 480ES Ltd Edition with, we luckily came across a '98 Volvo S70 2.5SE at a very good price, with 85,000 miles on the clock, and a full Volvo service history. The 5-cylinder engine is fantastic - smooth and quite economical for the size and weight of car. It seems to be better made than the 480ES, and feels even stronger (!) Let's hope it turns out to be as reliable...

After being involved in the first road traffic accident in 13 years of driving, I am sticking with Volvo for the time being. I don't want to drive a flimsy paper-thin hatchback after seeing the damage a relatively minor road accident inflicted on the 480 (but not me or my Dad). It's food for thought. Drive safely, folks...

I recently bought a blue 2ltr es. I love the fact that you can buy an interesting motor for under a grand, with some prospect of longevity. If the 'rational' or 'logical' or sensible choices may be astra/escortsville, then I hope I remain irrational, illogical and not very sensible for years to come. I feel safe, entertained, and grateful I found this car, if I get 75k out of the old vixen I'll not be too surprised, & although I probably paid a bit over the odds at £995 she's in immaculate nick, and nothing has disabused me of the love at first sight feeling,up to & including the 'mind of it's own' instrument panel, (glad I'm not the only one!)

I can't understand why there aren't more on the road, I can remember them being everywhere when I worked in Germany in 98...they stood out a mile even then.

I have just bought my second 480 after a four year gap from the first. This model is a 1994 480SE in metallic green. The wheels are 5-spoke Volvo alloys, but do not resemble the previous design I had before which were also Volvo manufactured.

This car is in immaculate condition and all the electrics appear to work including the pop-up headlights and info centre... neither did on my last 480! I have also discovered that if you turn the lock to the left on the door with the key inserted for about 5 seconds both the windows and sun roof close automatically!... amazing!

The mileage is just under 80,000 and I paid £800 for the car, but it is a very fine example and even if I paid more than necessary the sheer pleasure of driving this car is more than adequate compensation!

I intend putting 15inch alloys on this car shortly and wonder if anyone has any comments on doing this... also the exhaust gets quite loud when I put the car in reverse gear, but not so in all forward gears!... any thoughts on this problem?

Seriously, the 480ES is a terific car very underrated for both road holding and performance... I also like the 2 litre engine and half leather interior compared to my previous H reg 480.

Bought my first 480ES in September this year. Very Impressed, smooth ride, good acceleration and amazing fuel economy for a 2 litre. Wife hates it, so I intend to keep it!

Just bought my second 480 the first is a 1.7 s my new one a es limited edition it is extremely slow for a 2L can any one help me.

For: "slow for a 2-litre"...

This is hearsay, but I've heard it twice: The engine management computer may be faulty, which means the car is running on the emergency back-up get-you-home computer programme. One owner told me that this happened to him, and there was no warning of it on the dashboard, although he said there should be.

Hi, we got our first 480ES in 1991 - The buyers guide then said don't touch a pre '89 car as they are unreliable (particularly electrics). So we ignored the advice and went for an early 1987 model with low mileage. It was immaculate, but soon proved the buyers guide right - electric windows stopped working, headlights wouldn't come up, or one would!, indicators came on on their own! radio blew up, ignition failed, starter motor failed - The list went on. Fortunately we had a "Volvo approved blue chip warranty" and they spent hundreds fixing it. One other problem was the clutch cable, on a RHD car the cable is very long at put stresses on the bulkhead causing the cable to pull through the bulkhead. - This was a design fault and Volvo produced a repair section after first denying that it was a common issue! Having said all that we have had the car 14 years and apart from the usual maintainance it has been reliable after the initial problems. Now it has succomed to the rust problem in the wheel arches and front section of the roof - a typical 480 trait. we were quoted over £1k to fix it, so have just bought a 1994 480ES 2.0 for £500 its immaculate and better still was owned from new by our neighbour. The local mazda dealer offered him £50 trade in!!! The 480 is one of the best equipped, safest and underrated cars of the last 20 years. go buy one! (but buy carefully -there are some dogs out there!) Incidentally we joined the volvo owners club and got some substantial discounts on genuine parts from volvo dealers, the club also have stainless exhausts at a fraction of the volvo standard prices.

I thought that I would also say what a great car these are! I sold my 480 1.7 Ltd Edition Two-tone when I moved house 2 years ago and have regretted it ever since. I had a good one (K902 RBP) and enjoyed it every time I looked at it. I love the individual looks and good drive. Quick for a 1.7! I had the special Volvo/Momo colour keyed steering wheel and remote CD player in it. Everything worked perfectly and it was rust free! I would buy it back if I could and keep it forever! Everyone should go and buy one! Also, if anyone finds my old one pottering about the UK, let me know!!! leighbedford480@hotmail.com. Cheers. Happy 480'ing everyone!

The search is on... I WANT ONE!!!