The great Volvo 300 replacement debate

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retrocool73
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Post by retrocool73 » 29 Nov 2007 06:37 pm

I got left a 2000 Nissan Primera 1.8S 16v when a friend of mine emigrated to NZ last month, the idea was to sell it and loosen up some cash. However, as much as don't like 'moderns', it's cavernous bootspace (very useful for moving tons of car parts), decent economy and silly insurance cost (£90 per annum!), for the sake of circa £1200 that it would fetch I think it's staying in the fleet - it's certainly a lot nicer to drive than my dads Laguna, and well specced too....
B mk2 1.4GL 3-door57K xSTOLEN PRESUMED CRUSHEDx
E 360GLT Injection 4-Door Red 45K MINT
E 1.4GL 'Special Edition' 5-Door Met.Blue 72K
F 1.7GLE Ltd Edition 4-door Met.Grey 56K
F 360GLT Injection 5-Door Black 106K
G 1990 1.4 5-Door Dark Grey 108K RESTORED

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Cornholio
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Post by Cornholio » 30 Nov 2007 03:32 pm

Questions are being asked at Cornholio Towers about the future of the Redline. The MOT expires at the end of December. In the past I would have been quite happy to pay a reasonable sum to keep the car on the road, but with parts becoming harder to find I'm not so sure that we'll be investing in it this time around.

www.yarisworld.com here I come ? :oops: ?

p.s. I recently hired a F*cus 1.6 Ghia for a quick jolly around Scotland. It had no soul! I felt like I was driving with my Logitech steering wheel. OK, it went, cornered and stopped reasonable well, but I didn't half miss the Volvo. It's the first time in, oh, umpteen years that I've driven something that wasn't a 340 and I can't say that I was taken by it. If only Volvo were able to honour their 'Lifetime Care' commitment. Plus the F*rd had lousy visibility through the side and rear windows and of course the turning circle can not compare.

Bah.
  • Affie - 1987 340 GL 1.7 - scrapped
  • Sausage - 1990 340 1.4 - banger raced
  • Rory - 1989 340 Image - broken
  • Brian - 1991 940 SE 2.0 Turbo Estate - murdered
  • Geraldine - Kia Venga

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Chris_C
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Post by Chris_C » 30 Nov 2007 03:57 pm

Gavin, you need to sort out your force feedback settings, the logitech wheel should have loads more feel than that :lol: :P :lol:
'89(G) 340 GLE B172k
'03 S60 D5 SE, '91 (J) MX5, 1954 Cyclemaster
Ex:
'89(F) 340 GL F7R (ex B172k) - Fake -> SBKV 300 Runner Up 08, 12; '91(H) 340 GL B14.4E - Kar; '88(F) 360 GLT B200E - Jet -> BKV 300 Runner Up 09; '89(G) 360 GLT B200E - Beast

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Cornholio
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Post by Cornholio » 30 Nov 2007 04:10 pm

:wink: :lol:
  • Affie - 1987 340 GL 1.7 - scrapped
  • Sausage - 1990 340 1.4 - banger raced
  • Rory - 1989 340 Image - broken
  • Brian - 1991 940 SE 2.0 Turbo Estate - murdered
  • Geraldine - Kia Venga

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MJ
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Post by MJ » 30 Nov 2007 06:01 pm

I've not driven many different vehicles, so it's hard to compare, but I'll say this. Compared to a Volvo 850 and Renault Megan, the 340 is clearly the most enjoyable drive on most roads.

The 850 sounds great and accelerates nicely (although not so much at lower revs), and is very practical, but no fun in comparison.

Can't thing of any good points for the Megan, except it's meant to be safe. :P Horribly sensitive brakes, no steering feel, no fun, ugly, wierd handbrake...

Other than safety and boot space, the only disadvantage of the 340 to the 850 is motorway cruising speed. The 340 will cruise as happily at 70 as the 850 will at 95 :P

For an A road journey I'd choose a 340 over an 850 every time :) And not just because insurance is so prohibitive on the 850 that I'm not on the policy :P
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germ
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Post by germ » 30 Nov 2007 06:10 pm

ok i have to admit iam not driving my 300 although i love it too bits and iam never going to get rid of it. its just insurance is crazy £2000

so i fixed the laguna :shock: moted etc and almost died in the process from changing a coil spring but thats another story.

and to be honest it seems faster that the redline :o which really is scary it handels well too but its french and i still think its crap compaired to the redline. but insurance is only 450quid so £850 for a years motering thats including insurance not bad really.

all in all cant wait to drive it over to france and let my dad have it :twisted: and then i can get back to RWD fun 8)


Cheers
will
Volvo 340 Image 1988

germ
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Post by germ » 30 Nov 2007 06:15 pm

MJ wrote:I've not driven many different vehicles, so it's hard to compare, but I'll say this. Compared to a Volvo 850 and Renault Megan, the 340 is clearly the most enjoyable drive on most roads.

The 850 sounds great and accelerates nicely (although not so much at lower revs), and is very practical, but no fun in comparison.

Can't thing of any good points for the Megan, except it's meant to be safe. :P Horribly sensitive brakes, no steering feel, no fun, ugly, wierd handbrake...

Other than safety and boot space, the only disadvantage of the 340 to the 850 is motorway cruising speed. The 340 will cruise as happily at 70 as the 850 will at 95 :P

For an A road journey I'd choose a 340 over an 850 every time :) And not just because insurance is so prohibitive on the 850 that I'm not on the policy :P
btw mine will cruise happily at 95 all day :lol: i agree the 340 is the most fun at of all the fwd cars ive driven :!: volvo for life :!:
Volvo 340 Image 1988

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2 Fast 4 U
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Post by 2 Fast 4 U » 30 Nov 2007 09:32 pm

germ wrote:
MJ wrote:
i agree the 340 is the most fun at of all the fwd cars ive driven
you mean rwd??
Image

Understeer: The front of the car hits the wall,
Oversteer: The rear of the car hits the wall,
Horsepower: How fast the car hits the wall,
Torque: How far the car pushes the wall.

germ
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Post by germ » 01 Dec 2007 12:56 am

nope :D

i mean its better than any fwd car. THAT ive driven :lol:


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will
Volvo 340 Image 1988

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MJ
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Post by MJ » 01 Dec 2007 04:46 am

Hey, that's not my quote! :P

I'm sure they will cruise at that speed, but that's a bit too high revs for me ;) Could really do with a 6th gear, but I guess there'd be no power with that ratio.

All this talk is making me itch to drive again. It's tough being at uni for 3 months with no chance to drive in that time :( Plus, I'm sure I keep picking up bad habits after being out of practice and forgetting stuff :?
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classicswede
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Post by classicswede » 01 Dec 2007 01:42 pm

trabitom99 wrote:If it was me, I probably wouldn't go down the LPG route. I can't fit it myself, and I wouldn't know whether to trust used parts, so a conversion would cost me 2400 Euros over here. Also, Putin's already said he's going to raise gas prices by 60% next year, making heating my house 30% more expensive, and who knows how long the (German) government will keep the tax on LPG as low as it is now?
Wow that is realy expensive. To convert a 300 in the uk you are looking at £750 max (1200 Euro's) max that would even make a trip to the uk worth while for the saving in costs!
I'm glad in the UK LPG prices will stay low and we have a 3 year agreement that the duty on LPG will go up no more than 1p more than petrol per year.
Dai

Please email me directly on dai@classicswede.co.uk

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phone/text 07824887160

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trabitom99
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Post by trabitom99 » 01 Dec 2007 06:46 pm

classicswede wrote:Wow that is realy expensive. To convert a 300 in the uk you are looking at £750 max (1200 Euro's) max that would even make a trip to the uk worth while for the saving in costs!
You're right, maybe that's something to think about in the future if petrol keeps going up! The 2400 Euros are the absolute maximum though, including VAT, and all the bureaucracy involved (new papers, new MOT etc.).

Today for the first time, 91 and 95 RON petrol are being offered for the same price in Germany, it won't be long before they scrap the lower grade petrol alltogether ...

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

classicswede
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Post by classicswede » 02 Dec 2007 01:33 pm

Our petrol is as std 95 ron and super is 97 - 99 depend on where you get it. LPG is around 110 - 115 ron depening on the blend.

In Germany do you use pure lpg or is it mixed with butane?

The UK is one of the few places that runs only pure LPG.
Dai

Please email me directly on dai@classicswede.co.uk

http://www.classicswede.com

phone/text 07824887160

Web shop http://www.classicswede.co.uk/

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trabitom99
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Post by trabitom99 » 02 Dec 2007 05:27 pm

After a quick Google look-up:

LPG in the UK & Germany is of a similar blend - something like 95% propane, 5 % butane.

In the rest of Europe however, the proportion of butane is higher, depending on region and time of year.

Apparently, LPG with a higher butane proportion is cheaper and for reasons which I don't understand, the gas consumption is lower. But this mixture can't be used all the year round due to the higher boiling point of butane (or something).

Tom
343 GL Touring B14.1E CVT (155) 98000kms 1980 (sold)
343 L Junior B14.3E MT4 (155) 229000kms 1981 (scrapped)
343 DLS B19A MT4 (155) 167900kms 1982
360 GL Injection B200F MT5 (231) 348598kms 1988 (scrapped)
360 GLT B200F MT5 (302) 230000kms 1988

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hatch360
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Post by hatch360 » 02 Dec 2007 11:27 pm

Are we not forgetting that gas would make the car slower. My problem with the 360 is that it is not as comfortable compared to the more modern cars (maybe thats only got to do with me not changing the shocks), although at least you can feel the road.

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