Volvo S40s - what are these worth?

ionapaul

Probably gonna look at a few Volvo S40s over the next few days; any idea of what each of these would probably go for?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3957039

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/S40/1.8-SE-H/32013494583711050/advert?channel=CARS

Supergurrier

Great cars, they made the engines for the Saab Fighter jets, need i say more

Sobanek

ionapaul wrote: »

Probably gonna look at a few Volvo S40s over the next few days; any idea of what each of these would probably go for?

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/3957039

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Volvo/S40/1.8-SE-H/32013494583711050/advert?channel=CARS

Don't get the 1.6 if you really care about driving at all. This car requires at least the 2 litre diesel. It's very heavy, and since I've been driving the V50 2.0D for the past 16 months, you can trust me - it ain't quick at all. The 1.6 Petrol and Diesel are even worse.

And don't believe anyone that says the 1.6D "packs a punch". It doesn't. As simple as that.

(You can always chip the 1.6D to get about 136hp out of it, but the 5 speed gearbox is a downside. This car really is good with 6 gears)

Other than that, these from 2007-2008 fetch anywhere between 7-11k, depending on the mileage, condition, spec and the engine.

bazz26

I had one for 2 years, common problems include soft suspension, they go through control arm bushings very easily. Other issues include a faulty ABS/traction control module which shows up as a "Anti-skid urgent service" message. Alternators fail on most of the petrol models nad electrics can be iffy. Running gear and both engines are from Ford, 1.6 litre only has 100bhp and is sluggish as the S40 is a heavy car despite not being all that big. They are extremely well built though, lots of standard equipment and the leather seats are very comfortable but a little easy wearing.

That gold one could be difficult to sell on as it is either a love it or hate it colour, alot of people would probably all into the hate it category. I could not live with that light coloured fake wood dashboard either. Also the 1.8F is the flex fuel model which can run on bi-ethanol aswell as regular unleaded which is no longer sold in the Republic because the Government did away with the rebate on bio fuels a few years ago. The flex fuel engine is quite thirsty so you would really want to be getting the car very cheap to offset the higher fuel bills.

I'd find a regular 1.8 litre petrol SE model in an easy to like colour that doesn't go out of fashion quickly.

Sobanek

bazz26 wrote: »

I had one for 2 years, common problems include soft suspension, they go through control arm bushings very easily.

Yeah, I think the V50 has a stiffer suspension than the S40, had a chance to drive the 2.4i S40, and found the suspension softer

(just came into my mind that diesel engines are heavier than petrol ones, and that's why it might've been softer on the S40)

On ours, it's got a 135k KMs and still no need to replace anything there for another 25-35k according to the mechanic

Overall these are great machines, and once they're taken care of, they provide really high comfort, and decent reliability. On the V50, after 5 years and 119k KMs the only things that failed were:

- Alternator at 67k
- Rear Wiper Motor (that was due to ice though)
- Body Control Module at 115k

No other issues at all. Engine still runs fine, the suspension is fine, although the leather does wear quicker than in a BMW E90 (3 Series).

Tabnabs

I had a 2005 S40 for 5 years. I would say the opposite of the suspension, it was quite firm, even got comments from passengers.

I had to replace the clutch slave cylinder at about 60K and the alternator at 85K or so. Never had a problem with the control arm bushing or the dreaded anti skid warning problem. After 7 years since build, the leather in mine was very acceptable and not tatty at all. Personally I would hold out for an SE LUX spec model, the spec is very enviable. I miss my S40 very much, it was a great car and a pleasure to be inside. Performance was entirely acceptable (1.8L petrol), but they can be expensive to run if you're coming from a budget brand.

I did once drive a 1.6d V50 and found it vastly uninspiring. 1.8 petrol or 2.0 diesel would be a minimum for me.

It's worth noting that the S40 is no longer made so will become a rarer sight on the roads after this year (probably a bit of a negative for resale IMHO)