Volvo S40 1.8i

...I went for a Volvo S40, Volvo have always had the reputation of strong well built reliable cars and in the past ten years have been up their competing with the likes of luxry marques like BMW and Mercedes.

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PRICE
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We bought the car used at £7995, a bargain considering that brand new this particular model (the 1.8i) was over £17,000. Yet at seventeen k new, this is still around three k ...
...compared with as saab and volvo are both sweedish firms. I was fair happy to pick up the volvo at what I thought was a low price. It is fair to say that larger cars certainly depreciate more which means you can pick up a bargain, despite this however it also means they will depreicate in the time you own them, after having the car for roughly three years I only got £2500 trade in, and it went on the forecourt at £2995. Thats a big difference compared ... more

I travel to work everyday by car, which means I need a good reliable car, but thats got a bit of an image to it too. I went for a Volvo S40, Volvo have always had the reputation of strong well built reliable cars and in the past ten years have been up their competing with the likes of luxry marques like BMW and Mercedes.

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PRICE
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We bought the car used at £7995, a bargain considering that brand new this particular model (the 1.8i) was over £17,000. Yet at seventeen k new, this is still around three k under the new price of a Mercedes Benz C Class and a BMW 3 series (its main competitors) and at a similiar price to the saab 9-3, the car it is most commonly compared with as saab and volvo are both sweedish firms. I was fair happy to pick up the volvo at what I thought was a low price. It is fair to say that larger cars certainly depreciate more which means you can pick up a bargain, despite this however it also means they will depreicate in the time you own them, after having the car for roughly three years I only got £2500 trade in, and it went on the forecourt at £2995. Thats a big difference compared with what I had paid for it. I wasn't bothered though, all large cars seem to depreciate more as people are less likely to buy them used. But essentially it makes it better for the buyer, especially if you are buying "used" instead of "nearly new." If you can pick up one of these used for £3k like our old one went on the forecourt for then you truly do have a bargain luxury motor!

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RELIABILITY
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This was one feature of the car that was essential, I needed something reliable which would start first thing in a morning, never break down etc etc. I believed as soon as I bought the car that whether the car that this wouldn't really be an issue with volvos, and i have to say it certainly lived up to my expectation. Its true that some of the oldest cars on the roads are volvos....you can't drive a mile without passing one of the 20 year old tanks that are up and about. Another point you may find interesting is that the highest mileage a car has ever done was 700k....and this happened to be a volvo! It says a lot about their reliability.

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COMFORT
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This is a really comfortable car, the interior is well furnished (is that the right term to use!?) and the seats are really comfy. One thing I was a little dissapointed at is the fact that it only had two headrests in the rear as opposed to three which one might expect in a car like a volvo...although thats just me being really picky, I apologise!

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SAFETY AND SECURITY
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One thing that volvos are renown for is their safety. Volvos are built in Sweeden, which as you know is quite a snowy country to say the least, these cars have been made to handle the extreme weathers, and they've been tested endlessly. In the past twenty years or so its been Volvo who have been at the front of new ideas regarding safety, volvo for example where the first company to introduce the little wipers on headlights, which have become popular among other brands now. Also, if you didn't know already, the headlights turn on automatically whenever you start up the car, night or day, no matter what time, the headlights remain on all the time, this is the same with all volvo cars. Some may regard this as a bit extreme but I think its revolutionary in safety, and again you can see the influence of Sweeden here, where throughout most of the year there are very fews hours of daylight. the car comes with other safety features including airbags and came near top in the european safety checks.

As for security, this particular model is quite basic, it has an immobiliser and alarm however it is likely that when buying new there are a wider range of security features available.

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SPACIOUSNESS
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Well to say the least, this is a Big car! Its long and quite wide and is very spacious inside, even the tallest of people wouldn't feel cramped in the rear. Theres plenty of leg room. The boot is also huge, its got a large surface area but its not that high. The S40 is a saloon which means the boot is large but it doesn't open up top like a hatchback, the space behind the rear window isn't part of the boot, like it is in most hatchbacks.

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IMAGE/ DESIGN
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When this first came out in 1996, it was a true beauty, you can imagine how revolutionary the design was against the ford mondeos and citroen zantias of the time! But, as with all cars, the design slowly faded, by 1999 BMW had introduced their new 3 series and even despite the s40s facelift in 2000 it just wasn't as stunning as the latest mercs. The New S40 which replaced this is now on the market and this design is no longer made, however the new design proves also to be succesful. These truly are nice looking cars. Volvo have certainly moved on since their big, ugly estate cars of the seventies and eighties.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE
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Our local Volvo firm, "harrats" where we purchased the vehicle were very helpful. Volvo are a trusted and reputable brand which means they have to keep up to their good image. They use a policy of TQM (Total quality management) where by quality is not just ensured in the product itself, but also in the after care, sales teams and garages. When I bought the car, I only had to return to the garage now and then with minor faults, sometimes as simple as bulbs going in the headlights (thats the con behind having them on all day!) but whenever I did go back the staff were really really helpful. After I bought the car I recieved a survey through the post asking me about the quality of my service, the survey reflected my views of the service I recieved; extremely helpful and polite. Volvo really do deserve 5 stars for customer service. When I first viewed the car I also spotted a small scratch on the boot, and the sales man said he would happily sort it before I drove the car away. It was fully cleaned and valeted before I picked it up.

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FUEL CONSUMPTION
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As I've mentioned already, this is one big car, which perhaps means the fuel consumption is a possible downfall. I found I was often putting up to £30 per week in in fuel, although I do travel a lot and really its what one can expect for a large vehicle like this.

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OVERALL
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Well after three years of owning this delightful car I decided to trade it in. I now commute to work on the train, simply catch the train at my local station in huddersfield, to halifax which means I don't have to worry about parking. This meant that for a good five months or so the car was sat outside being used only at the weekends, and to be quite honest I actually thought it looked sad! After three years of intense usage and travelling with me every day I think it felt a little upset!

I traded it in and got £2500 and it went on the forecourt for £2995, whoever picked it up got a true bargain. They don't make this particularly model anymore, they still make the s40 but in a new refreshed design. This is a lovely car though, its a big, luxury motor which has proved very relaible and comes with excellent service from volvo. Okay, the image isn't as good as when it first came out, but thats expected, at the end of the day its a nice safe, secure luxury motor for which you'll be able to pick up much cheaper than a BMW or a merc. I'd truly recommend this car and I can honestly say I was sad to see it go!

 

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