Low miles, spec and price

Looking for a comfy cruiser that you can use all yearround? This Volvo made a strong argument for itself

Later cars are a good bet if you want a practical, usable classic. Not everyone who owns or intends to own a classic can afford to keep it in the garage until the weather’s sunny; some want or expect to use it every day. With that comes the questions of reliability, spares support and ease of maintenance and that’s where later cars can, in the case of some models, make the ideal buy. And there are few better exponents of the reliable, well-supported classic than the Volvo 200-, 700- and 900-series. All are tough making them eminently usable, but they’re good to drive, too. And any decent garage can look after one. This 940S was off to a fine start.

This particular example had some decent plus points.

Yes, it was a 900-series but it was a basic 940S and so pretty down on specification. But at 92,000 miles it was barely run-in and it had a manual gearbox. There was very little in the way of history but it was Mot-tested until the end of January.

It was used, but not abused. This 940 came to the sale in good order and clearly hadn’t fallen into the minicab or take-away delivery circuit as the years rolled by. The bodywork was extremely tidy, with first-class panel fit, good paint and sound trim; the bumpers included optional reflective strips while the original aerial was still in place. The fuel filler flap was present but not fitted and the driver’s door mirror glass was absent altogether. All was good interior-wise and the cloth seats and wind-up windows were the order of the day. It looked good, too, with all the trim in good order and very good seat facings and door cards.

Modern saloons offer a lot of classic fun for the money.

As we saw with a Ford Granada Scorpio on this very page just a few weeks ago, these older modern classics offer increasingly fantastic value for money. This 940 had plenty of life left in it and its entry-level specification was actually something to shout about. There may not have been much in the way of paperwork but the very long Mot-test plus its good overall condition made it a cracking buy.