Second Hand Volvo C30's - why so cheap?

RitaPoon

Hi guys,

Perhaps someone could give me some advice on the Volvo C30. I really like the look of the car and I'm tempted to look at maybe picking up one. The one thing I can't get my head around is why are they so relatively cheap in comparision to other similar cars?

Also, what size engine would people recommend - the 1.8L seems to be the most popular but the 1.6L is also available which would be cheaper to tax? Or are they hard on CO2 emissions which drives up the cost of tax?

Thanks
RP

EPM

Love it or hate it styling and the engines are bigger than what most Irish people want in terms of motor tax.

francis1978

Hi,

I worked with a guy who had the 1.6 l version. Very nice car, very comfortable in the front, looks nice, this one had leather two tone seats. there is not a huge amount of space in the rear seats and the boot is tiny and I mean tiny. They seem to be cheap on cargiant too, take a look here www.cargiant.co.uk.

Leonard Hofstadter

The fact that it is 3 door only doesn't help either.

cjt156

I'd imagine that most people who think "sexy little coupe" don't think Volvo and most people who think Volvo don't think "sexy little coupe". *

* I know Volvo has done this in the past; note I said 'most people'.

Had one as a rental before & quite liked it; bit weird in that it looks exactly like an S40 from the B-pillar forward & as stated it has a boot smaller than some gloveboxes.

EPM

I'd quite like a T5 myself.

Bearcat

Are they a modern day 480es?

EPM

Very similar, especially being a 4 seater and having a glass hatch door.

mailforkev

We have an 07 which I bought a couple of years ago for a steal.

Main reason they are cheaper than some others is limited appeal due to their perceived impracticality, and the fact that the majority of them seem to be petrol which is the fuel of Beelzebub to the average Irish motorist.

There's only me and Mrs Me in our house so the practicality wasn't too important to us but it does have 4 seperate seats and holds 4 adults fairly comfortably (only 2 seats and an armrest in the rear means loads of shoulder room).

The boot is much better than it looks although the opening is very narrow and the lip quite high. So it will hold your groceries or a couple of suitcases no problem but forget about the trip to Ikea.

Avoid the basic spec and they are quite well equiped, we have auto stuff, cruise, parking sensors etc.

So far we've only had one reliability issue (well documented ABS module issue) but it was repaired for free under warranty. Parts/servicing not the cheapest at main dealers but not terrible either.

Bearcat

Re the 480s.....I'd two of them yonks ago......the most unreiable car in the world.....I'm sure the c30s are a fine machine

heate

Prices? A 4 seater 3dr hatch with large(ish) engines... and it's not a golf/focus

Nothing wrong with them per se they are just more of an 'individuals' car!

Lex Luthor

I really like them...not too many on the road so you're not the avg joe
White ones look the business

R.O.R

At launch, you could specify different coloured exterior trim to the body colour - first one I saw in a showroom was off white with brown trim, wasn't the best combo for a showroom model (IMHO).

Essentially a S40 in a pretty frock, so wouldn't pay a big premium over the saloon. Never driven a 1.6i model in the S40/V50, rumour has it that it's pretty wheezy. The 1.8i is a fairly decent all rounder. Probably a few 1.8i FF models knocking around at this stage, due to the 50% VRT rebate on them in 07 they would have been cheaper than the 1.6i. Servicing is every 10k on the FF models as opposed to 20k on the non FF models.

JoeA3

I quite like them too, but their residuals are hopeless for all the reasons already mentioned. Irish buyers are a pretty conservative bunch, so the C30 would be seen as a bit too "out there". I'd imagine the Audi A3 or a fancy Golf would be the much preferred option for people looking for a car in this segment.

Also, Volvo's in general seem to have poor residuals across the board.

Alanstrainor

I think they're a savage looking car would love a T5!

colm_mcm

C30 = 3 door
S40 = 4 door
V50 = 5 door

Pretty simple.

C.D.

Shameless pimp of my car

As all of above said it is ultimately a combination of the conservative car market (couldn't own a boring mobile bog standard Golf/Corolla etc. myself) and anathema to car tax above €300. My car gets complimented wherever I go by friends, strangers and garages- it's very nice to own something out of the ordinary. Be wary that Volvo dealers are few and far between outside of Dublin and although it shares many bits with the Focus, anything specialised could see a long trip on a tow truck as not many garages have experience with them.

You can pick up well equipped models for peanuts compared to competitors- I'd hold out for an R-design model (08 onwards): Bodykit, nicer steering wheel and aluminium accents in the interior, nicer seats, cruise control etc as standard. All 08 onwards models come with a 3.5mm jack for the stereo, 07's don't. Get the non-FF 1.8 petrol if you can, if you manage to find a T5 let me know and I'll buy that and you can have mine Sad to say but a T5 C30 is just waaay too "out there" for the average Irish Joe in his Avensis.

colm_mcm

Lovely colour combo there.

RitaPoon

RitaPoon wrote: »

.................. The one thing I can't get my head around is why are they so relatively cheap in comparision to other similar cars?...............

What are you comparing them to pricewise?

bazz26

Most of the running gear and engines are from the Ford Focus and switchgear from the S40. They are inexpensive second hand because Volvo's just depreciate alot and they don't wear an Audi A3 badge.

The lack of 2 extra doors always limited their appeal too.

unkel

I like them but from the start they were overpriced for what they were so few people bought them. Only the likes of Honda / Audi are able to get away with that, not Volvo.

Second hand bargain C30's? If you like one, get one!

V480

Always liked them up until Volvo decided to give them a 'facelift' recently and wrecked the front of them.

http://www.carsireland.ie/blog/volvo-c30-review/

puppetmaster

V480 wrote: »

Always liked them up until Volvo decided to give them a 'facelift' recently and wrecked the front of them.

http://www.carsireland.ie/blog/volvo-c30-review/

I actually prefer it after the facelift. Think it made it more agressive. Would love if they put the polestar into production though.

mailforkev

I agree that the pre-facelift model is better looking alright. It's like they grafted the front of a big car on a small car, doesn't fit right at all.

R.O.R

puppetmaster wrote: »

I actually prefer it after the facelift. Think it made it more agressive. Would love if they put the polestar into production though.

Little chance of that happening though. I presume they are ceasing production of the C30 this year along with the S40 and V50.

Volvo (the little teasers) have announce the replacement - the V40. Didn't bother putting sound on to watch this though http://www.volvocars.com/ie/explore/all-new-v40/Pages/default.aspx