Sensible Secondhand Classics: 1988 Volvo 480 1.7 ES - Lloyd Vehicle Consulting
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2024
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Welcome to Sensible Secondhand Classics, the series where we take a sensible classic car worth between £1000 and £5000 and put it through its paces in a very straightforward manner! This time, as we drive a 1988 Volvo 480 1.7 ES, we deal with some poor quality dash plastic, over exposure, a very strange bag for a load blind, test out some very good handling, enjoy the exhaust note and generally experience little of any consequence at all. Nothing untoward then!
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As an independent vehicle consultant, I take potential buyers through the whole car buying process from choosing a make and model to a vehicle handover and road tax. In addition to information on this service, I also have a selection of written and video reviews of cars that I have owned, hired, borrowed or have somehow come into my possession. Please use the Contact Me page on my website to get in touch, visit my Facebook page for latest updates and share this video if you like it! Thank you for watching.
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So, a couple of things to clarify. While there are around 200 480 Turbos still in existence, general numbers for 480s are closer to the 1000 mark. Special versions make up the bulk of known survivors, as they became desirable sooner. What to pay for a 480 really depends on the condition, but don't pay anything over £4500 for anything that is not absolutely pukka. Nearly all the good cars are in the hands of enthusiasts now, so the best place to find a car or get help recommissioning one is Volvo 480 Club Europe - they were instrumental in getting the featured car back on the road after it was hit by the bin lorry while parked back in January. Mechanically, unless it has been really butchered, they are pretty much bombproof, with most jobs being realistically doable by a moderately competent home mechanic. Their biggest shortfalls are with the electrics, which suffer from the effects of dampness which every 480 has dealt with at some point or another, due to manufacturing deficiencies. Most of the electrical faults and their solutions are now known however, so club involvement is a great idea. It is also worth noting that the interior trim can be hard to source, so make sure all the vitals are accounted for. They are quirky and extremely capable cars; sporty and practical, they beat the system.
Thank you once again, sir! It is interesting how many of these have actually survived, given how badly they suffered from rust (like everything else from the era) and how common electrical and build quality issues were. Most cars these days will have these sorted now, however, as you say. I think that the driving experience, especially the forgiving nature of the major controls and pleasant exhaust note, was a particularly nice surprise.
I own a 1992 480 1.7 es limited edition two tone.
It's a lovely car to drive actually & I find the 1.7 perfectly good enough for every day driving.
Very under appreciated cars, there time will come.
It's strange that these are more common than the 440s and the 460s these days. They have their issues, but I still really enjoyed this one, and the signs are there that they will become "proper" classics very soon, as these are absolutely no longer in No Budget Reviews territory. The two tone cars look wonderful. Thank you ever so much indeed for watching!
Cruise control is a rare and sought after accessory, the funny thing is that only 1988 model year cars feature a CRUISE lamp and even more weird is that neither has been documented in the service manual, not even in the installation manual of the cruise control kit! You need to take the CRUISE warning light cover of a scrap 1988 instrument cluster, retrofit it to a later cluster, put a bulb in and wire the empty position of the connector to the ON switch of the cruise control stalk. I have refurbished Ben's instrument cluster (solder joints go bad after 20-odd years) and sent him a replacement CEM when his went haywire.
Thank you, sir! Ben is clearly in very good hands with such experts looking after his 480. I would love try a turbo and a 2.0 now as well.
I remember when these were launched and I was awestruck. I do also like the 440 and 460 models. Not too expensive to buy.
The 440s and 460s are much rarer than the 480s for some reason, sir... They do seem to be a rather appealing package, don't they?
Well researched video, Mr Lloyd! A few points to make
- The later 2.0 engine while OFFICIALLY making 109hp, actually ended up making around 120hp in reality, effectively making the Turbo engine a fairly pointless option towards the end.
- A proper boot roller cover was a factory option, but fairly rare.
- The 'bulb out' light comes on with the ignition and goes off the first time you tap the brake pedal (unless you DO have a blown bulb of course)
- As for the Info centre measurements, on early cars like this one, it read either metric OR imperial. On later cars it was mixed to cater to the UK's measurements.
- The 'Volvo' blank on the oil pressure gauge is where the turbo boost meter would go.
Yes, the light doesn't go out because the nearside DRL is playing weird at the moment. New bulb makes no difference smh
Thank you, sir! Got to try and find a 2.0 car now, possibly even a facelifted one. Never seen a 480 with the roller blind myself... I felt silly not realising where that turbo boost gauge would go, as it is really obvious!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Ben knows many people with 2.0 and Turbo, his car is one of the few surviving early ones!
I can still remember first seeing one of these in the showroom at a former Volvo Dealership where my parents got their 740 Estates serviced at the time ( circa 1989-90 ). Styling wise, it reminds me of the Honda Civics at that time but just a bit bigger.
Yes, they are very different from the 740s, aren't they? I can see the resemblance between one of these and a contemporary Honda Civic three door/Accord Aerodeck. Thank you ever so much indeed for watching!
Excellent review MR Lloyd, a lovely car indeed. The Philips radio, is the very same one, as fitted to the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, in The Living Daylights, a very very rare and expensive radio nowadays.
Yes, it is indeed! Mr Hooper, who owns the car, and I had a good discussion about that radio afterwards.
Mine might not be worth as much, given it isn't quite working completely happily (plays a tad slow and the screen is a bit sleepy), but then it was a cheap eBay snipe...
@@lloydvehicleconsulting
Very good MR Lloyd, it's a really good radio, I miss the days, when we were excited about such things.
@@paulie-Gualtieri. , it was specially sought out, sir.
Looks nothing like the volvos from the 80's I knew. We certainly didn't get anything like this from Volvo in the eighties. I didn't know this existed, I enjoyed having a look, cheers.
Yes, extremely different from the Swedish built Volvos with absolutely no common parts. They were going to import these to North America, but it never actually happened in the end.
Excellent video, Lloyd! I love these cars a lot, (so much so I have two of them 🙊🙊) and I distinctly remember back in the day people weren't too favourable towards them. Yes they had their problems but, everything did back in the day. Still striking and ahead of its time for when it came out. Still a very cool car in my opinion (albeit biased 😂) 👍🏻
Thank you, sir! We do like 480s, and I would like to try a 2.0 and a Turbo one at some point (although I know those are rare). Volvos are very much in the blood, and now that I finally own one of my own, I intend to only replace the C70 with another Volvo if and when it is sold.
I was a Volvo sales exec in swansea in early 90s the service dept hated these as customers complained so much about poor quality and leaks we took extra care in PDI to ensure any we sold didn’t leak but still had others brought in for warranty bought elsewhere service dept called then goldfish bowls others say ES stood for en-suite sue to eve water leaks despite all this I liked how they looked and drove
Yes, they look lovely and drive very well, but they did have a lot of problems, some of which you can see on this very car! The Swedish built Volvos were a bit better, from what I remember. Thank you ever so much indeed for watching and subscribing!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting great Channel love no budget reviews
@@elvetwilliams9013 , more No Budget Reviews will be filmed later this month.
A very enjoyable review Sir, one of my favourite Volvo's of the era.
Mr Watters, sir, we did very much like this Volvo! Surprisingly nice to drive as well.
I own a white 480 turbo but it’s a matchbox model haha! Friend drove his mums back in the mid 1990s. Rusted badly and was replaced by an Audi a3. Good review JL.
Yes, the Turbos are quite rare now. The rust was quite bad, this one is amazingly corrosion free. Got another one of Ben's cars coming up on the channel soon.
These WERE sold in New Zealand, but were and are rare as hen's teeth! 🙂
Yes, can't have been very common at all.
Thanks for the video! The TV show Flipping Bangers, which had an episode where a 1993 model was restored and sold, brought me here (I studied the repairs to a busted door lock with interest!)! The most un-Volvo of Volvos. Very Japanese in appearance don't you think? Looks like an Isuzu met my old Mazda Astina in season and the Mazda pupped! Happy New Year!
We know Flipping Bangers, sir. I actually filmed an MG Maestro that had been worked on by them in May 2021 once it had been through a couple more owners.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting I thought that Maestro looked familiar!
@@alaricbragg7843 , well done, sir!
I had a matchbox car of this back in the day!
A very distinctive look, sir! Thank you for watching all the way from America.
Coolest handbrake since the Alfa Romeo 75 egg slice!
Did you ever see the one on the Alfa Romeo 90, sir?
@@lloydvehicleconsulting No not yet.
I guess Volvo was hoping the car might become another iconic 1800ES..
Perhaps in may have been with another hero TV series ..but alas.
I quite like piped upholstery...but have to say I wouldn't have thought of running the piping across the seat.. late Friday sales meeting decision I think.
Yes, they didn't manage to get it featured in the limited number of Saint made for television films with Simon Dutton in 1989, which could have given it a limited degree of exposure. The later cars have quite a different interior.
Great video. Always thought of these to be quirky cars and not really sure what category they fitted into, very attractive though
Yes very quirky and rather special Shame it never had the 2.3 red block turbo engine fitted, I guess it would be to big to install.
I don't think that the red block would have fitted, as you say. Don't believe that it ever went into any front wheel drive car, sadly.
Mr Walker, sir! Glad you enjoyed the video.
I remember these new when c.10/11 when dragged to church. Makes me feel old. That was like 33 odd years ago plus. Wild. Car design looks great for age. I’ve had only two in trade.
That's a very stylish way to get to church, sir! As I said in the video, our next door neighbours had a black 480 Turbo on a G registration when I was growing up from 1990 to 2000, so I remember them very well. Not tonnes around any more, but more common than the 440 and 460 for some reason.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting yes BEFORE Xantia folks kept us in a 340 GLE for 10 odd years. D100 LRJ. Plush velour. Smelt Volvo. Solid silver box wheeled . I think all 340/440s scrapped pre scrappage. Or at scrappage incentive. They have gone indeed
@@zzhughesd , those 340s and 360s are also extremely rare now!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting 440's are kinda there once every other months 340 hatches once every year and the saloon 460 well, just no, they aren't seen on the road. The 460 was the 'one' to buy if I remember. The 440 and 340 were everywhere in their day
@@lloydvehicleconsulting WOW WOW WOW Do How Many Left isn't like 8-13 ish of all varients it is 0's and 1's per variant. Only one with '2' is the VOLVO 460 CD TURBO Auto - I think it's like 3-6 or so total 460's. Hence my comment, you don't see them, ever.
I was always slightly confused about what the 480 was/is. A hatchback, coupe, sportscar or perhaps even a shooting brake as a sort of sucessor to the P1800? Not completely sure.
It was actually a successor to the 1800 ES (the P had been dropped from the name by that stage), which was the last evolution of that original P1800 design, and made in the early 1970s. The later C30 was also kind of like this.
Could you please play the Twilight 'Meet me in the Equinox' theme on the stereo? Edward Cullen was a later model Volvo Coupe fancier...🧛♂️
I am afraid not, sir, you know the rules....
huh?
Volvo toyed with the idea of racing this car in Touring Cars back in 1986 or 1987 but the idea never got off the drawing board, probably because of competition from BMW.
Yes, it could have been successful. The 440 would have been a bit easier to adapt, I imagine.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Problem was that the Volvo was FWD when a lot of manufacturers back then were a bit hesitant about racing with such a configuration. Plus the BMW M3 was so powerful and reliable it could win outright over bigger and faster cars. As Alfa Romeo found out at the time, beating such a car was a tall order.
@@alaricbragg7843 , yes, the M3 was very dominant at the time.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting ...and touring car racing was getting very expensive and political around then. The Share Market crash didn't help either.
@@alaricbragg7843 , yes, the financial market crash would not have helped at all.
I had one of these. My first automatic. It was not a success for me. The 4 speed auto box was so bad I swapped the car within 6 months. I loved the info centre of course. One of the quirks was that outside temperature gauge went to tenths of a degree so it was always changing. The sensor must have near the engine as once in the snow, after being parked for an hour, it was 26C.
The pop up lights went wrong, a sensor. So they bounced up and down continuously. Until they got the part they wedged one up so the car appeared to be winking.
And the car I swapped it for…… a mark V Ford Orion……. Oops.
Sir, you swapped a 480 for a Mark III Orion (based on the Mark V pre-facelift Escort)? Not really sure what to say about that.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting I really hated the gearbox. In fact this was what put me off autos for decades.
One could argue it was not my best exchange especially as the Orion liked to run on 3 cylinders. Or not at all. The AA man once heated the spark plugs on the gas to get it going.
The Orion was swapped in less than a year for a Fiat Bravo HLX.
@@colinhicks4174 , for some reason, we now have three out of four cars on the fleet which are automatic, although I am a big believer in keeping at least one manual in the household to keep my hand in, as I drive a lot of manuals elsewhere.
@@lloydvehicleconsulting I prefer manual. But I admit the Baleno has made me lazy, and it has the best manual mode I have come across in an auto.
But four cars? Tivoli, Rover, Volvo and….. ??
Have we missed a collection caper?
@@colinhicks4174 , sir, it's the one we have had the longest out of all of them, actually more than a year prior to the start of the channel, my mother's Mercedes C-Class!
7th
Well done, sir!
@@lloydvehicleconsulting Competition on a weekend is intense. I suppose anything in the top ten is a good achievement, so thank you sir for your kind words of encouragement
@@nickyboy. , yes, Sunday evening tends to be the busiest time for many channels on UA-cam!