For sale is my 1989 Volvo 340 1.7 manual. MOT to 16/11/20, 107,600 miles. Has covered under 250 miles since last MOT and been garaged throughout its life accounting for the condition. 4 former keepers on the logbook but the older gentleman who owned it prior to me had owned it for something like 25 years and prior to that it was owned by a friend of his, and prior to that it was her company car from new.
Condition outside is very good with some welding done at the rear end of both sills and more recently around and behind the front valance for MOT. These repairs have been done well and it’s now completely solid with no holes or large patches of rust. There is the odd little bleb that I’ve coated in rust neutralizer so they are not going any further. As mentioned she’s been garaged and not gone on salty roads so it has years left if this regimen is continued and I could easily see this car attaining tax/MOT exempt status in 9 years. The wings are probably the area of bodywork that will require some attention in due course depending on your level of fastidiousness. They aren’t holed anywhere but a rub down, rust treatment and respray would improve their appearance, as it is they look fine though. Overall the body is in great order for an unrestored 31 year old ‘festival of the unexceptional’ contender, certainly not concours but given that so many of these didn’t survive the scrappage scheme or drift racers this one’s doing great. The odd shopping trolley dink here or there just betrays the fact that it’s had over three decades of use as family transport - in fact it’s still my son’s preferred school run car so the mileage may increase. This car attracts a surprising amount of positive attention when parked up!
Interior is remarkably good with no wear showing on the seats as it’s always worn covers, never smoked in, no damp etc - it smells like a proper classic. There are two small holes in the rear plastics through which speaker cables were run by a previous owner but the parcel shelf was never cut thankfully. The original Volvo lipped hard plastic foot mats are in the car as is the original Volvo fire extinguisher although after 31 years you probably shouldn’t bet your life on it working.
This must have been a runout model so it has lots of toys for the era - heated front seats, front electric windows, natty rubber boot spoiler, tilt and slide manual sunroof which still works and doesn’t leak, electric heated mirrors that still work, heated rear window with wash wipe, wipers on the front lights and seatbelts all round (of course). A period ‘GT’ alarm with remote central locking was installed at some point in the distant past and bounces all four door locks effectively from distance, I have two working fobs for this and at least three keys for the car itself. You can disable the system entirely with a turn of the key under the bonnet if preferred. I replaced the non-original and non-functioning Aiwa stereo that was in it when I bought it with a new Bluetooth/memory card/USB/aux unit that works well, doesn’t look too jarring and charges your phone to boot.
Service items in my time with the car include a cambelt and pulleys in August 2019 at 106,974 miles with invoice (no water pump required as this is driven off a separate belt), auxiliary belt, welding as mentioned at the MOT, two new front tyres, and a new rear wiper. I’ve also gone round and cleaned up a lot of earths and wiring to ensure it starts eagerly and set the carb up so it idles better. There is vast paperwork to go with the car including all the original 1989 books and wallets and invoices for every service and pound spent on it since new, and it has the original Tollbar Coventry number plate and tax disc holder - it has been in the Midlands all its life. It was on 103k in 2009 so it’s covered less than 5000 miles in the last 10+ years, with around 1000 of those being in my ownership. I’ve got a service manual and various bits and pieces that belong to the car. The exhaust is fine, the tyres are all good - I would have no hesitation jumping in this car and driving anywhere, and with a five speed gearbox it cruises happily at 70mph.
I bought this car as something of a blast from the past as my family had various 340s when I was growing up, and this even smells just like I remember them (in a good way!) but we are now in the process of selling our house and I have since bought a modern for work and also inherited a rusty old Jag so as it stands I need the garage space more than this lovely old Volvo. I have priced it to reflect what it owes me - purchase price plus the work I’ve done to make it an entirely usable everyday classic. Mileage will rise when the roads aren’t salty, and I am not desperate to sell.
Condition outside is very good with some welding done at the rear end of both sills and more recently around and behind the front valance for MOT. These repairs have been done well and it’s now completely solid with no holes or large patches of rust. There is the odd little bleb that I’ve coated in rust neutralizer so they are not going any further. As mentioned she’s been garaged and not gone on salty roads so it has years left if this regimen is continued and I could easily see this car attaining tax/MOT exempt status in 9 years. The wings are probably the area of bodywork that will require some attention in due course depending on your level of fastidiousness. They aren’t holed anywhere but a rub down, rust treatment and respray would improve their appearance, as it is they look fine though. Overall the body is in great order for an unrestored 31 year old ‘festival of the unexceptional’ contender, certainly not concours but given that so many of these didn’t survive the scrappage scheme or drift racers this one’s doing great. The odd shopping trolley dink here or there just betrays the fact that it’s had over three decades of use as family transport - in fact it’s still my son’s preferred school run car so the mileage may increase. This car attracts a surprising amount of positive attention when parked up!
Interior is remarkably good with no wear showing on the seats as it’s always worn covers, never smoked in, no damp etc - it smells like a proper classic. There are two small holes in the rear plastics through which speaker cables were run by a previous owner but the parcel shelf was never cut thankfully. The original Volvo lipped hard plastic foot mats are in the car as is the original Volvo fire extinguisher although after 31 years you probably shouldn’t bet your life on it working.
This must have been a runout model so it has lots of toys for the era - heated front seats, front electric windows, natty rubber boot spoiler, tilt and slide manual sunroof which still works and doesn’t leak, electric heated mirrors that still work, heated rear window with wash wipe, wipers on the front lights and seatbelts all round (of course). A period ‘GT’ alarm with remote central locking was installed at some point in the distant past and bounces all four door locks effectively from distance, I have two working fobs for this and at least three keys for the car itself. You can disable the system entirely with a turn of the key under the bonnet if preferred. I replaced the non-original and non-functioning Aiwa stereo that was in it when I bought it with a new Bluetooth/memory card/USB/aux unit that works well, doesn’t look too jarring and charges your phone to boot.
Service items in my time with the car include a cambelt and pulleys in August 2019 at 106,974 miles with invoice (no water pump required as this is driven off a separate belt), auxiliary belt, welding as mentioned at the MOT, two new front tyres, and a new rear wiper. I’ve also gone round and cleaned up a lot of earths and wiring to ensure it starts eagerly and set the carb up so it idles better. There is vast paperwork to go with the car including all the original 1989 books and wallets and invoices for every service and pound spent on it since new, and it has the original Tollbar Coventry number plate and tax disc holder - it has been in the Midlands all its life. It was on 103k in 2009 so it’s covered less than 5000 miles in the last 10+ years, with around 1000 of those being in my ownership. I’ve got a service manual and various bits and pieces that belong to the car. The exhaust is fine, the tyres are all good - I would have no hesitation jumping in this car and driving anywhere, and with a five speed gearbox it cruises happily at 70mph.
I bought this car as something of a blast from the past as my family had various 340s when I was growing up, and this even smells just like I remember them (in a good way!) but we are now in the process of selling our house and I have since bought a modern for work and also inherited a rusty old Jag so as it stands I need the garage space more than this lovely old Volvo. I have priced it to reflect what it owes me - purchase price plus the work I’ve done to make it an entirely usable everyday classic. Mileage will rise when the roads aren’t salty, and I am not desperate to sell.
