rear brake callipers can get a little bit seized...

both mine seized, each one cost £150 to replace.

mine's done 150,000 miles and still drives nicely.

not the cheapest car to keep running, but probably the cheapest volvo.

not-cheap insurance.

they're not massive inside though, if you're tall there isn't much legroom left behind you.

excellent radio 4 reception, the radio also receives LW for the cricket and some french radio...

honda prices are high because they're popular, get something equally japanese, but less hondary. like a mazda 3.

How about the volvo c30?

how did you get from:

Looking at getting a cheap used car

to:

volvo c30?

?

🙂

By not reading the thread entirely 🙂

Having read the keyword

How about a Honda Jazz... uber reliable and quite spacious

I was looking at V40s til I discovered how tiny they are inside, quite disappointing.

If you want a small volvo why not just get a focus instead as they're very much the same car - just cheaper to buy and run.

Had an R plate v40 for 6 years and 110k miles, traded "big vern" in with 150k on him for an Aygo, bit of a difference but with how much it costs to run cars these days it's been a good move. The Volvo was cracking though, best seats anywhere, your body will thank you on a journey of any distance. Reliability was superb save for a few suspension niggles (overly complex design on 96-2000 models) but beware dealer prices, although if you're going for a cheap motor i'd just stick to an independant. Post 2000 cars had a raft of improvements, better ride, quieter suspension, less road noise, tidier interior, better gearbox. They don't have the quite the rep that other Volvo's have but the post 2000 models were as well screwed together as anything out there, as in an '53 plate taxi the other day and it still felt tighter and more solid than a lot of newer cars. Pro's; great seats, great sound system, built like a tank, (mine was) reliable (as was my dad's, still in the family) can handle big mileages, fantastic for long journeys. Con's; not the cheapest to run or maintain but probably comparable with equivalent size cars, not as big as mondeo/vectra/passat etc (still plenty big enough for 3 bikes inside with a bit of witchcraft though), aim for post 2000 models if possible.

I have a 1998 2.0CD V40. Currently on 165,000 miles with no major faults in the 8 years I have owned it. The cars are VERY well built and are based on a joint mitsubishi/ Volvo chassis (the later V50 is Focus based). I do all my own servicing and repair work and can vouch that these cars are VERY well screwed together and use good quality components.
I would echo what has been said that the phase II cars are better (you can tell this as they have a separate reflector for main beam and dipped beam). Though mine is a phase 1 and I am happy with it.
As for not enough space? How much do you need? The wheel arches protrude into the boot, but I have had a 3 seater IKEA sofa in the back of mine so thats enough for me.

I would also avoid the 1.6 engine as its woefully underpowered. Some later models use a mitsubishi GDi petrol engine. These are known to coke up really badly if oil service intervals are skimped on and lots of short journeys and crap fuel are used. However if you get a good GDi then MPG is good.

Spares are not the cheapest, but the quality is great. My car is still on its original exhaust after 13 years. I get major service items from FRF volvo in swansea.

If you want more info then email me or post on here.

Volvo forum good too:
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=17

I had a Volvo V40 and loved every moment spent in it. Im no mechanic so it didnt get much TLC and I drove it like a maniac. Baring that in mind it never let me down. Brilliant car and and cheap to get hold of. Parts aren't so cheap but if you spend a bit more time than i did tinkering then i`m sure it will be fine.

We were very pleased with our R plate V40. Spacious enough for a medium estate and it gobbled up the miles very happily. Independant dealer servicing was OK price wise and we only got rid as the rear suspension had more or less collapsed and the repair bill would exceed the car's value. My only gripe was that the opening for the boot was fairly small so you could get a lot of smaller stuff in but getting big things in could be a faff.

I thought mine was shit. Everything went wrong after 100,000

99 1.6 was very underpowered anyway and noisy above 70mph.

The we had between 100 and 130k:
Head gasket
Multiple Suspension Failings (which finally forced us to get rid)
Starter Motor

Parts are painfully expensive and they're all made by general motors anyway. Buy something cheaper to run.

CHB - Member

As for not enough space? How much do you need? The wheel arches protrude into the boot, but I have had a 3 seater IKEA sofa in the back of mine so thats enough for me.

Point is it has less space than some smaller cars. Compare with a Focus estate frinstance, it's a good few inches longer and a little wider, but the boot space is about 20% smaller, and harder to use to boot with the protruding arches and the high boot lip (which is a total pain IMO, estates shouldn't have boot lips)

Parts are painfully expensive and they're all made by general motors anyway. Buy something cheaper to run.

I've always run European cars, several volvo's and bmws, all old as I'd rather spend my money on bikes
bought my parts from euro parts etc and found them cheap to run not that much went wrong with any of them anyway, we had an old{square shape} bmw 3 series estate that was a bit better than our v40, as in we cooked it and all sorts and never spent a penny if thats the kind of thing you are looking for

boot opening on our v40 was rubbish as was the 3 series

which is a total pain IMO, estates shouldn't have boot lips

agreed, the vectra and mondeo I looked at had cracking boots, that would be my choice