JamesIS220

When I was 11 my Grandparents who I lived with bought a remote cottage in Herefordshire in 1990. It had no water, electricity and was on a common with a mile long track. Grandparents took a risk buying as apparently no vehicle access, even though track in use by farmers with sheep on common/hillside. Had grant for extension/bathroom. Waited a year for electricity! 8k. Using 14kva lister generator that was unreliable! Ran it on red diesel, local farmer let us use his tank at yard. Got generator up hill with 3x 4wd vehicles. First a Subaru brat pickup chained to a Daihatsu 4 track, behind that a Hilux with ivor williams trailer with genny on, useless as no off road tyres. It had rained for months and took all day to get up the hill the short way but steeper as only access to our garden. Lady of the Manor allowed us to go the short way, which was acrodd 2 field, up through a steep track with 2 90 degree turns and a 1in 2 rise and 4 gates in total. 1 on steepest bit with tree root steps. Water was a borehole. Cost 5k. 273Ft. My Nan when looking for a 4WD looked at a 1970's Land rover and a Jeep Cherokee and hated them. Had a Volvo 244 prior to the move. My Dad bought a Subaru Brat and it sailed up the hill! We then got a MK1 Subaru 1600 (FUJ)for my Nan to use everyday and had a really nice used MK2 1800. (RUH127Y) one for best at bottom of track. In the nearly 4 years we lived there only drive shafts on the MK2 went as serious mud ingestion. MK1 scrapped after 6 months as builders burnt clutch out bringing blocks and sand up the short way, which was very steep and gated. Couldn't afford to replace clutch. Builders Hired a thwaites 4wd dumper. Both exhausts would blow/ripped off as scraped on humps in middle of ruts. You could feel floorpan scrape/move when ground frozen. Would fit a lifting kit now, but none left! Always started. Had to use first/reverse to free the car as wheels had frozen to the mud! Really liked it as a kid as free to wander the common, hill fort, Fishpool Valley and not see anyone in hours! We are still in contact and visit the new owners since we sold in late 1994 and they have 3 Landrovers! The most reliable is their 96 County 90! I liked Subaru and the school kids called our MK1 the mean machine as had rear wheels sticking past wheel arches, bull bars, 4 spots, rally lights in an ark and always a loud/popping exhaust and dripping in mud and water as bottom of track flooded so arrived for school bus with wipers on, mud/water running off car and exhaust popping/growling! Used to get local Garage to MOT it and repair/weld up exhaust. They would spend 1 hour jet-washing it as banned from local jetwash! James.👍

Looks fantastically clean. Egg grate grill too. I would love to find a top CD spec one but not many around. Getting rare now as last 940 was 1998. Trim specs can be all over the place from poverty spec or all bits used up on last of the line. James👍

Thanks.👍 Think what would I replace it with if damaged/written off and always think I'd buy another 940. Seems to be rising price wise. It still puts a smile on my face driving it. It's got character! Volvo got the Auto AW70 gearbox and low pressure turbo just right. Virtually no turbo lag! Very modifiable by adding a Manual boost controller to make it into a HPT model. 135BHP to 165HP. If you fit bigger exhaust, chips, turbo 250HP. James👍

No Lexus after the IS220D, but have a 2015 Toyota Auris as daily and 1996 Volvo 940 2.3 petrol lpt auto estate. My old fleet of 3 cars. 1989 Volvo 240GLT I sold a few years ago. Was daily for 8 years. Owned for 10 years. Bought for £350 sold for £500! Lexus scrapped as HG went at 187,000. Far right silver Volvo 940. Current works van for 5 years. Bought for £250. Now on 205,000. James.👍

Sorry to hear that. Mine was ultra reliable. 1989 240 GLT Auto estate. B230E. Bought late 2009 with 160k and sold 10 years later with 234,000 miles. I tend to once bought budget 1k to bring it up to a standard of service items like new brakes all round, tyres, cambelt, water pump, oil/filter. cooling hoses, ignition components. New rad and auto gearbox pipes around 180k. Corroded to rad and pipes holed as allu pipe/steel clips corrosion. Nissens rad £65 and genuine Volvo ATF pipes £100 the pair. Fitting around £100 Gearbox pipes went again, as numpty garage cable tied them to sharp remains of pipe bracket and shafed through at our holiday Cottage on the West Coast of Ireland! Saw lots of fluid on drive! Fitted new set on drive and bought through Volvo's classic parts again! Car less for a few days and no cable ties! £100 again, labour by me and top up of ATF New alternator at 191k Still got me home 20 miles with dash lit up. Next day started fine and made it to garage 8 miles away. £191 supplied and fitted. Worst repair was rear tail output bearing on AW 70 auto gearbox went at 198k. Cost me £500 to fix as fitted a used tail output part of the gearbox and fitted a used gearbox crossmember as bent and new gearbox mount, plus used prop centre mount and new engine mounts. All started when going home and heard a massive banging noise on transmission tunnel. Turned out gearbox was hitting the tunnel. Was leaking gearbox ATF for a while, around a year, but finally needed attention. First and only breakdown in 10 years. Had it recovered to Volvo specialist. Always passed it's MOT with no advisories and always started first time. Liked the B230E mechanical K jet Bosch Injection and AW70 auto gearbox. General service or wear related repairs. Nothing out the ordinary. Basic service, tyres, discs/pads, exhaust, fluids. Biggest issue, rust on outriggers/jacking points. Had nearside welded twice in my ownership. £100. Tailgate wiring looms shortly after buying as splitting and rear items not working. Looms about £30 the pair from Volvo and fitted myself. Fiddly job! Surprising how many parts are available from Sweden under the classic parts ordering. Engine, no issues bar basic servicing and cambelt/tensioner and one water pump. Still all ran great when sold with 234,000 miles. Needed a heater fan, as totally dead, and dash out job! rear arches getting rusty and I used it as my work van for 5 years so needed a good clean! Used to do a few jobs like brakes, cooling hoses, thermostat, waterpump but got Volvo specialist to do the cambelt. Volvo cambelt was £10 and tensioner £37.00. Labour of 2 hours £60 Bought a 1996 Volvo 940 SE LPT auto estate a few years before selling the 240 for £250 5 years ago now, as 940 has ABS, drivers airbag, Electric sunroof and AC fitted but not working. I was concerned going from a basic 240 GLT to a turbo 940 more to go wrong. Thankfully only needed recovering once, for a failed in tank fuel pump which I replaced myself end of last year. The next day it failed it's MOT on lower steering UJ play and track rod end/ball joint. Not bad for a 24 year old car and 204,000 miles No advisories. So I like older Volvo's, not newer. Also have a Toyota Auris Hybrid estate and the 940. In 15 months of owning Auris has had new AC condenser and 12 volt battery. Thankfully AC rad was replaced under warranty. Car now has 34,000miles. James.👍

10 years I would say for a modern car. Or just buy something old that's worthwhile like a Lexus or for me a Volvo 240, 740, 940. 1989 240GLT auto was my daily and only car until 2018. Had 10 years reliable and trouble free miles. Bought at 159,410 for £350 and sold 10 years later with 234,000 and £500. James.

I agree with you on the drivers seat. Really needs a good clean, feed and possibly re-colouring. Wear looks bad for 15k and certainly doesn't look like a brand new car! Mould, cracked drivers seat, worn steering wheel. Glovebox dented or more mould. Carpets need a good clean. Slight corrosion mentioned on MOT in 2012. Tyres perished etc. No mention of why it was taken off the road! Why not MOT it now if it's like a new car!! Interior on Lexus looks not great for a 15k mile car.

Volvo 240 Turbo import, but with AC. Volvo 780 Bertone. 4 cylinder Turbo in red with cream leather. Volvo S90 /XC60. Relative likes them and look nice. S90 his and Wife XC60. Always goes for D5. Toyota Corolla Hybrid estate 1.8 in either Scarlett flare or Denim Blue. Probably TREK spec. Fancy an old LS430, 600h. James👍

On my 1996 Volvo 940 always go for Michelin energy savers. Fitted to previous 1989 Volvo 240 too. Never had any issues or punctures in 15 years. Well wearing and last me years, as Volvo only does 5k a year, plus use winter tyres. Toyota Auris, replaced the 6 year old Conti 6's with Goodyear efficient grip performance 2. Quieter then conti 6, less roar on most tarmac. Hope they don't crack in tread like a set of older efficient grip that came on my Lexus IS220D. Replaced once worn with AVON 7V7's in 205/55/R16. £55 each fitted. Shame as scrapped car 2 months after! Avon were Ok, but got a bit tail happy/ VSC kicked in when did a right and left at a double roundabout in damp conditions. Around 700 miles old when scrapped car. Winter tyres on Volvo only. Goodyear Ultragrip 9's. Simply brilliant. Had them 4 years. Loads of tread left and brilliant in the snow. With Michelin summer tyres and being auto, the slightest incline and going nowhere. Winter tyres changed that. Must remove them and refit summer set. James👍

I think we have. 👍

It was a flat refusal! But I didn't back out as had already put a £500 deposit down as car brought up from Basingstoke, to Staffordshire, as liked the colour and 27,000 miles. Would of lost half my deposit, if backed out. If buying another would travel and view the car, rather than a deposit. Always bought old Volvos and generally always fitted new tyres anyway. Difference is Auris was 13k and 1989 Volvo 240 £350 and current 1996 Volvo 940 £250, so expect to replace budget/ knackered tyres on an old banger. Volvo 940 on Michelin Energy savers. A good tyre. James.

When I bought my 2015 auris Hybrid around 15 months ago, I noticed a little bit of damage on the sidewall with rubber missing on the original continental tyres and cracking to the sidewall on the front nearside tyre, plus MOT advisory. Asked if they would fit a new tyre. No, as not an MOT fail as no cords showing, so no advisory issued, by them as MOT was done pre sale. Accepted it and bought car. Didn't get a penny off. Tried to sell me some mats etc but declined and bought off ebay. I was a cash buyer, so probably no great profit unlike finance deal. Surprise surprise on them doing the MOT a year later, even though asked prior if I should fit new tyres and no, got advisory for nearside front tyre! Not great as looks like I don't inspect my tyres and looks bad in the MOT history search! Have now got them to fit Goodyear efficient grip performance 2's and they are quieter. Cant really complain as got a free AC condenser under warranty. James.👍

Hope it serves you well. I bought a high mileage model with full service history and all MOT's a straight pass and no advisories. Probably paid a bit too much at £1,475.00 for an 06 reg. Initially no issues, liked the build quality, standard radio. Comfort, safety. Colour. Was advised I had bought the wrong car on sign up. They were right in my case. After around 15 months started loosing coolant. Around 0.4 of a litre, every 150 miles. Gradually got worse and vented out the vent hose and bubbling up in header tank. 19 months later I sold for scrap at 187,000 miles. It was a shame, as body ok and just fitted new tyres and had new AC condenser. Just the luck of the draw. There are as said probably thousands running great but only hear of the bad ones on this forum.

Vanilla Sky. Googled it!

I have a 2015 Toyota Auris Hybrid estate and needed new tyres as old tyres were worn and original. Covered 33,500miles. Continental Eco 6's. Looked for and decided on Goodyear efficient grip performance 2 and had a quote from Toyota main dealer. Price £314 for all 4 fitted and tyre size of 205/55/16. Went with dealer as at least if issues with TPMS or fitter damages the alloy, then got comeback. Had them fitted and certainly more quiet and less harsh over bumps/pot holes. A good purchase. See how long they last! James👍

On my 1996 Volvo 940 I have Start Rescue. 2 star cover. Had 2 cars so had Personal cover for around £70. Now have a Toyota with warranty so covered under that. Cost for only Volvo is £52.00 Used them once in 3 years when my Volvo fuel pump died at 203,000miles. recovered the car and me 6 miles back home. James👍

When we lived in Porthleven Cornwal in 1998 we bought a detatched bungalow with a Worcester heatslave oil combi boiler already installed years prior. Needed a new photo cell and water pump and a service. A few months later failed again. Engineer said change the control box. Went to a heating spares place in Helston and bought an updated control box and adapter plate as old one updated. Fitted it myself and it worked great. Heating and hot water worked better than ever. Sold bungalow 11 months later in 1998 to a retired lady. Must of Died around 4 years ago and in property listings listed Worcester heatslave oil combi boiler! So was still working. It was 25 years old when we had it. Best of all around £120 at the time for 1000litres of heating oil! James.

Worst gas boiler we had was a Glow Worm 23CI. back in around 2000. Ours was nothing but trouble always flashing a fault code. Installed by me as CORGI registered at the time. Fitted same boiler in relatives house and theirs was fine. Wocester Bosch combi in other relatives also fault free. Replaced with another Bosch for a condensing version when 15 years old. When we sold the house gave 1k back to put in a Worcester Bosch. Had a few houses with Worcester and all good but less than 2- 3 years old as moved house. Moved to France and went with Villager AHI wood burning boiler stove and multifuel in County Kerry. Nice and reliable. Worst appliance was an Intermarche bought fridge freezer, that was always wet inside even though drain in back was clear. Also the same brand FAR washing machine, just as surveyor asking about the electrics, decided to go bang with a big burst of black acrid smoke as well! I can't stand Dyson. Always cringe when client brings one out. Prefer my henry! Replaced with Bosch and not looked back. In 2010 bought a Bosch frost free fridge freezer when lived in Ireland, prior a dishwasher Classix which was at least 15 years old. New buyers didn't want FF as had a large one, so my Sister had it. Still going perfect today with no repairs ever. James👍

I would check it over to make sure it works, then use some cleaner on door handles, handbrake, window switches, start button etc and anything else that could of be touched. Have the windows down for a bit to let any potential Covid bugs out! Fit a Catloc if not already fitted. Enjoy your car. James👍

Lovely colour and light interior which I prefer. Had an IS 220D in a Red and cream cloth interior. Photo taken for the Ebay Add. Scrapped as head gasket went. Now have a 2015 Auris Hybrid estate. Black interior with white brick effect seats and light headliner. Wish Toyota/Lexus did more interior colour options and light headliner.

What have they been smoking? Or breathing in the smoke out the rear of an IS220D😃

The engine is a big pile of poo! Who thought the gearbox and engine were a good combo! Terrible turbo lag and a 6th gear that's not very usable unless speeding! As you can see I didn't like these things with my IS 220D. Wasn't sad when I scrapped it. Shame really as body/rest of it was good. Liked comfort, safety, build quality but the engine a disaster. Mpg rubbish. 33-36mpg. Scrapped after 19 months as head gasket went. Big miles for a 220D, of 187,000 when scrapped. Like Lexus as a brand, wish they did an estate. Replaced it with a 2015 Auris Hybrid Touring Sport. James.

Sounds like it's been run on a budget. I always change tyres in pairs. Possibly had unrepairable puncture on low miles tyre so just bought one? Rust looks bad. Certainly think at least £100-150 to weld up. My 1989 Volvo 240 needed £90 of welding done in 2015. Clutch change no idea. Driven Autos for 15 years, previous old Volvo manual's never changed the clutch. 5 years ago I bought a 1996 Volvo 940 Turbo auto estate for £250 with no rot issues and still use it as my works van. Now has 205,000 and reliable. Used 80's and 90's cars are going up in value. Always bear in mind a cheap car costs money to bring it up to scratch. You may be better off buying a better bodied one in the first place. If no car DIY skills can become costly. James👍

I think the mid 90's was the best for ease of maintenance. I have a 1996 Volvo 940 2.3 litre petrol automatic. Easy access to service, reliable and when I bought it 5 years ago cheap to buy at £250 then. Now run in at 205,000 miles. Not heard of any red block engines dying at 100k miles. One I know through a rod through the block at 180k and was leaking oil prior. Odd headgasket, as different thermal movement of cast iron block and aluminium head.. I change the oil at around 5k miles. They are agricultural and not stressed. Literally here! traktor racing volvo terror - YouTube

Very Close. A Volvo 780 designed by Bertone! Made from 1986-91. Volvo 700 Series - Wikipedia James👍