Today we check a neat station wagon from Dutch soil.
Needs some love and money now
At half past eight in the morning the phone rings. “It’s Laura, I’m sick! I was so looking forward to it, but I really can’t come. To compress!” Here we are. Reporter, photographer, cameraman, judge Joep Schuurman, and an empty Carrec bridge. Time for Plan B. Can we at least get the car, a Volvo V40, here in Soesterberg so that we can inspect and film and photograph anyway? We will do interviews afterwards. Fortunately, Laura quickly finds a friend and former colleague willing to bring the Volvo so that we can get started with that neat station wagon from Dutch soil. Three cheers for Michel de Kruijf! We will keep Laura Rijnveld informed during the inspection via email and telephone and we can question her further to learn more about the ins and outs of her Volvo.
Tight in the paint
It is immediately noticeable that this is a very neat car. Neatly painted and properly cared for, from bumper to bumper. The Volvo V40 appeared in 1996, at the same time as the S40, its sedan brother. The above-average station wagon rolled off the production line in Born at Nedcar, where the Mitsubishi Carisma also came from at the time. In 2000, the V40 received a major facelift and improved on all fronts. So this is from after the facelift. Laura: “In recent years I have had serious paint damage twice, due to the actions of others. So the car has been largely repainted.” That’s why he’s so shining here. “Oh yes, and my son once scratched his name into the car paint on the side,” adds Laura. What a crook.
Laura’s story plays with many car owners. You can drive around with your own fine cart. You are satisfied, but at the same time you realize that the years are starting to count somewhat. Is it wise to continue driving it? Please note: this Volvo will be twenty next year. In the interior you can not see that old age. The light, beige upholstery is very appealing to us. What a relief, a little light in the interior. Joep’s test drive is a pretty good start to today’s review process. Reasonable, because there are signals of imminent defects. We’ll soon find out if it’s a concern.
Gasoline smell
Laura explains how she sailed with this former Swedish-Dutch topper. “The car has always been repaired and serviced at official Volvo dealers until 2020. Until I drove around for a year with a gasoline smell in the car, which the dealer did not know where it came from. They looked at it twice and sniffed. The conclusion was that I must have left the window open and smelled the exhaust fumes. I was not happy with this conclusion. I once did MTS electronics myself and I’m not crazy. My conclusion was that they just didn’t have the old Volvo know-how.” That suspicion turned out to be correct. “I went to a garage in Driebergen that specializes in older Volvos. When I told them, they immediately knew without looking under the hood which tube to replace. That was great.”
Cost
Laura is sure that Joep will find imperfections. “Yesterday, for example, that new front spring was still creaking. I will contact the garage that replaced it about that.” Until two years ago she never checked her oil level, but she has since changed that. “This only happened at the garage during maintenance. I keep track of it myself now. My oil consumption is now 1 liter per 7,000 kilometers.”
After an extensive inspection on the bridge, Joep has found a nice list of defects. And then it turns out once again that the life of the Dutch motorist is not always easy, even if he or she drives a decent car of Dutch manufacture. Take Laura’s Volvo for example. In principle, her V40 is neat and safe, but there will be the necessary repair costs in the short term. They are all shortcomings that deserve to be tackled in the not too distant future. But what comes next? With a car of this age and mileage, you run a considerable risk of unforeseen costs in the coming years. You may be driving from repair to repair. Do you want that? In short: Laura has some food for thought.
Owner Volvo V40
Name: Laura Rijnveld
Year of your own: 1983
Place of residence: Leersum
Occupation: mammolaborant in training
First car: BMW 1 Series (lease)
Previous car: That same BMW
What would you like to change about your car?: “I wish it had leather upholstery because of children.”
What is your longest journey with this car?: “Every year I drive to my father in France.”
Maintenance history
Laura takes good care of her Volvo and has listed the highlights of the maintenance costs. The booklet is completed and stamped. “It is mainly the standard wear parts that have been replaced, plus the exhaust. The costs for MOT and maintenance together are between €700 and €1,200 each year, depending on minor or major maintenance. Although minor maintenance has also been around €1,000 in recent years. Except for a flat tire, I’ve never parked on the side of the road. Until last January. Then I had extra costs of €800 in addition to maintenance, due to a broken front right spring and new brake pads and discs.” Engine, gearbox and clutch are still original.
What’s wrong with the V40?
Brakes squeal
Headlining is loose
Clutch is unhealthy heavy
Windshield wiper blades are gone
Windshield wiper mechanism worn, too much play
Lots of tire noise partly due to cupping rear tires
Steering pump whines
Springs ‘heavy’ as if it weighs more than 2,500 kg
Drive shaft seal is leaking
Drive shaft boot is secured with a hose clamp
Dust cover steering ball joint front right defective
Stabilizer bar rubbers perish
Rear right brake caliper stuck
Discs and pads have been too hot
The opinion of Carrec Technocenter
“A neat car that drives quite well, but if you go through the list and you want to get everything right, you need to invest seriously. Not everything has to be done at once, but with a car that is almost twenty years old and this mileage, you will drive from repair to repair a bit.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl