Advice: Motor Decision

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WhisperJet
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Advice: Motor Decision

Post by WhisperJet »

Gentlemen,

as our Astra Caravan has recently left us - I'm about to choose a cheap family car with loads of space.

There's two cars waiting for final decision, both priced around € 3.000,-, both petrol engined.

After some talks with my wife she (!) suggested to ask for worldwide advice, so here I go...

Nr. 1 is a 1996 Volvo 850 Estate
One owner, only 67.000 km from new, marvellous condition (really like new), well equipped but no air condition

Nr. 2 is a 2001 Fiat Ulysse
One owner, only 104.000km from new, fully equipped with leather seats, auto transmission and all the bells and whistles

What to go for?
The elder swedish rock - or the younger italian glamour?

Your advice is much appreciated, looking forward to all your comments! :)

Cheers,

Nick
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(D. Maltby)

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TSR2
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by TSR2 »

Volvo - Fiat is not a serious option
Ben.:tunes:

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Tako_Kichi
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by Tako_Kichi »

Given the age of the vehicles I would think the Volvo too. Not sure what they are like now but my ex M-I-L had a Volvo 340 in the late 80's and it was built like a tank.
Larry

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speedbird591
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by speedbird591 »

Fiat have such a poor reputation for reliability that having all the bells and whistles means there's more to go wrong :lol:

That's such a low mileage (kilometerage?) for the Volvo it's still got a good few years in it. Shame about the aircon but it's the only downside and it's a small price to pay for trouble-free motoring. It'll be winter soon so you'll have time to work out how the windows open :lol:

Ian :)

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Tako_Kichi
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by Tako_Kichi »

speedbird591 wrote:It'll be winter soon so you'll have time to work out how the windows open :lol:
My ex M-I-L's Volvo had the heated seat option, quite took me by surprise the first time I drove it in the winter and my bum got all toasty and warm!
Larry

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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by SkippyBing »

Volvo, I had a 89 reg 740 a few years ago and it was bomb proof and always started. On the flip side a friend had a Fiat Coupe and that had all kinds of quirks like the radio cutting out when you used the wipers!
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PaulC
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by PaulC »

I drive Volvos at work amongst other things, and when I say drive them, I mean drive them. ;)

Even after 150000 miles of clutch abuse, gearbox battering and squeezing the engine for all it's worth, they still keep going. Not as impressed with the newer diesels but the 850s and original V70s are built to last. If its a T5 just make sure you have your own oil rig.

I once boxed a Fiat (not a Ulysses) in with a Volvo after a pursuit. It looked like a crumpled piece of foil whereas the Volvo had light scuffing! :agree:

Paul

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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by dodger »

What!! one of those Fiats, a "Fix It Again Tomorrow" car, i had one those BL####y things, go for something better i would say like the Volvo,

Just my 2 pennies you understand!! ;)

Roger.
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Jon.M
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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by Jon.M »

Very sound advice from the chaps Nick. :thumbsup:

But on the other hand. Two months ago I hired a Volvo V40 with all the extras, it had red lights on the wing mirrors that lit up when something was in your blind spot. A head up display on the windscreen that lit up red if you were too close to the car in front, a steering wheel shaker that resisted lane changes if you didn't indicate first. It had another head-up warning if the car thought there was a risk of a collision and I believe it was also capable of braking automatically if the risk became great enough.
The full beam headlights dipped automatically when a car came the other way and the wipers came on by themselves when it started raining. There were probably other automatic things for safety reasons that I didn't discover.

I HATED IT. :rant:

It was the Volvo philosophy of safety and reliability to the exclusion of any sort of enjoyment that sucks the pleasure out of driving. I understand that this may make me sound like a dangerous idiot on the road, but I don't think that that's the case. I enjoy driving safely and well. I enjoy concentrating on driving, anticipating what's happening around me and I don't trust a computer to do that for me.

The only other Volvo I've driven was an 80s estate that as Larry said was built like a tank . . . . and drove like one as well. It had plenty of power but you needed it to get the huge mass to accelerate. Is it hilly where you live? ;) It may have been reliable and was probably safe in an accident if you fell asleep from the boredom of driving it.

I know nothing about the Ulysses but some makes of car have an undeserved reputation for unreliability based on what they were like in the 1970s. According to reliabilityindex.com the Ulysses has a much better than average rating for reliability, and the problems it did have were on average cheap to fix. I've owned two Fiats and driven others frequently and one thing in common was a sense of fun to drive them. I wouldn't class them as unreliable but the older ones were a bit prone to rust. But then most cars in the 70s and 80s were.

If you go to http://www.reliabilityindex.com/ and look at the bottom 10 cars for reliability you'll see that they are all prestige cars. Mercedes do particularly badly with BMW, Audi, and Porsche in there too. :-O

I'd advise you to drive both, get them checked by a mechanic if there's no guarantee as they're both pretty old, and then decide which one you like being in and which one you'd like to see parked on your drive. You may like the Volvo (my brother loves them) or you may find that the Fiat is more to your taste.

Jon

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Re: Advice: Motor Decision

Post by Dev One »

I & my wife each had a Volvo 480 - joy of living!!! Hers was an early well worn version, mine was a '92 & went like a bat out of h**l - even the local Volvo garage had to check the engine size & number!!! Pity had to give it away when we moved to France! I know it really only had a Renault engine, but one fixed by Volvo!
Keith

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