An epic fail
Fed up with years of neglect, the 940 flunks its MoT in spectacular fashion
1994 VOLVO 940 SE
The 940 estate gets the least attention of all of my cars, and, for the most part, basically shrugs it all off in the way that old Volvos do. I bought it just over three years ago for a mere £250, so it just gets vital need-to-do jobs. I know, I know, it’s no way to treat an old car – even a tough old Volvo – but the 940’s raison d’être is as a sort of works van; I always press it into service when I need to transport the sort of loads that would flummox my Fiat Panda. However, such ‘occasional’ use has gradually become much more frequent over the last year or so and even solid old Swedish bricks will falter and fail eventually. The car’s recent MoT revealed that both front brakes were binding and the accompanying tyres needed replacing. The exhaust emissions were too high and the wipers weren’t doing their job. The advisories included a cracked headlamp, poor anti-roll bar linkage bushes, weak handbrake and worn rear discs.
Not good, then, and in the case of the tyres, it was really not good. The fronts had worn on their inner edges due to toe-in; the offside one was positively scary because the cords under the rubber had become exposed. I’d noticed a vibration but attributed it to the balance being out of kilter – something I was going to get around to sorting out when I had a moment. The tyre could have easily blown out if I’d left it much longer – rather a chilling thought, given that the car had been scheduled to do a 240-mile round trip to Gatwick Airport before the MoT intervened.
That things had got so bad without me spotting it – I’d just superficially looked at visible areas – highlights the importance of an MoT to me, and the sheer stupidity and danger of the idea of doing away with it for classics over 40 years old.
After a bill of almost £830 – tyres, brake calipers and pads plus new spark plugs, leads and fuel filter to lower the emissions – the Volvo has a ticket for another year. And I’ve got an even greater appreciation of how vital the MoT really is.