It was announced at the end of last week, that subject to many Governments approving the deal, Ford will hand over the keys to Volvo and China’s Geely will start building the most comfortably driving experience available to the average man.
Whenever there is a big industry change like this, fans for the brand and opportunists wonder ‘what does it mean?’ With luck, in the long-term, it will mean Volvos become more affordable to the masses (China brings scale and scale reduces profit). But in the meantime, Volvos up to 4 years old will remain pricey. It’s not all bad news though, at 5 years plus they are already surprisingly cheap. Take a look at these three:
Volvo S40
It floats along like a boat. Bad news for sporty drivers, but amazing over pot holes and along motorways. Wonderful cabin design and front seats.
Most economical: 2.0 D
Best used buy: 2.0 P
UsedCarExpert.com fault checks: 18
Used Car Expert magazine guide price: Three year old S40s (2.0 P) will be around £10,000 (half price compared to new) with 34,000 miles but a 5 year old car will be around £7,000 with just 42,000 miles.
Volvo V70
State of the art estate. Plenty of space of course and only now are values starting to drop to truly affordable levels. Very comfy and practical.
Most economical: 2.4 D
Best used buy: 2.4 D
UsedCarExpert.com fault checks: 18
Used Car Expert magazine guide price: Over the first three years, the V70s lose around a quarter of their value, dropping to £15,000. But they lose another 30% over the next two years, taking them to £10,00 with just 70,000 average miles.
Volvo XC90
A Volvo estate with more ground clearance and lot more style. All the 4 x 4 most will need so the demand has been spectacular. Prices remain firm but a sensible way to spend money on a 4 x 4.
Most economical: 2.4 D
Best used buy: 2.4 D
UsedCarExpert.com fault checks: 9
Used Car Expert magazine guide price: After 3 years the prices have only dropped to £23,000 after 5 years however they are below £15,000 and average mileage is only 53,000.