Volvo 480 turbo. To buy or not to by, that is the question ???

[Rudeyboy18]

Been on the hunt for a 480turbo for a while. They seem very rare. I want to use it as a project.
One had come up near me with full service history and only 96k on a k reg.

I want to keep it standard except wheels lowered and paint job. I want to make interior as neat as possible too.

Any thing to look out for when getting one of these??

[jamesy12345]

Been on the hunt for a 480turbo for a while. They seem very rare. I want to use it as a project.
One had come up near me with full service history and only 96k on a k reg.

I want to keep it standard except wheels lowered and paint job. I want to make interior as neat as possible too.

Any thing to look out for when getting one of these??

They're not very water proof, arches can rust, so can boot floor, hard to get the idle set right on the turbos but can be done (don't give up :)). Electrical gremlins pretty common but usually not terminal. Electronic dash usually plays up meaning you lose the fuel gauge.....better to rely on the trip meter.

On the plus side not hard to tune up - if you can get hold of an uprated ECU supposed to be easy to get 170-180 hp. I had a 460 turbo auto that did a 16 second quarter mile at York last year.

Volvo 480 Club Europe forum below loads of information on them:

http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/forum/index.php

Buyers guide - what to look (out) for when getting a Volvo 480

First of all congratulations with your wish to buy a 480. The 480 has a good reputation when it comes to road-handling, luxury, style & design and durability. But it's not a good idea to rush the process of purchasing a 480. If a 480 has been ill-treated by its previous owner you better inspect the car thoroughly. Some parts of this car are even famous among other 480 drivers. We will try to give some tips what you should pay attention to when you're looking for a 480.

First of all you have to look at the budget. An older car is often cheaper than a new one, but there are many fine cars to find with a low budget. The first 480's were sold in 1986 and the last cars were build in 1995 in Born (The Netherlands) at the NedCar factory.

There are three engines available in the 480. First there is the 1721 CC engine. The power of these engines varies from 102 Hp to 109 Hp. A few years after the introduction 1721 CC engines with a turbo became available. These engines delivered 120 Hp. And finally a 2.0 liter engine with 110 Hp became available. Some people find the 480 to be underpowered. If you are looking for more boost you can have the turbo chiptuned and increase it's power up to 170 Hp.
In 1994 the more luxurious GT Line and GT-Turbo Line became available. And if you're looking for a very special 480 you might try to get your hands on a 480 Celebration. This is a limited edition of 480 vehicles, they are the last 480's ever build and are very well equipped.

So you have decided what model you want to drive. Then there are several parts of the 480 you have to check or test.
Make sure that the engine of a car you are going to test is warm, so that you can clearly see all it's malfunctions. First of all you have to check all electric parts and make sure they work properly:

Electric windows.
The infocentre next to the speedgauge.
The pop-up headlights should come up synchronised.
Check all other switches and buttons you can find.

If everything works fine you can have a look outside. If you are looking for rust there are several places worth investigating. These are the rear-wheel arches, the corners between roof and windshield and the bottom of the doors. A bit difficult to see but often rusted is a metal strip behind the bumper. You have to decide for yourself wether you are willing to solve these problems yourself, have it done professionally or look for one that is in mint condition.
Also take a look at the car as a whole, don't fall in love with it right away (that's the difficult part) but be sensible. When you take a good look you can often see if a car has been in an accident.

Now it's time for a testdrive. You should now check the clutch-plates, gearbox, steering and listen to annoying sounds from the engine. Also recheck the infocentre, you should now be able to read all sorts of values like oil-temperature, coolant-temperature, fuel-economics.

If you are completely satisfied with the results, then I wish you best of luck with the purchase of your vehicle. Remember that it's often a good idea to bring someone with you when you're checking a used car, and disregard speeches from the car-salesman.

from here http://www.volvo-480-europe.org/volvo480/faq/faqitem.php?article=faq/5/buyersguide

also Honest John loves them http://classics.honestjohn.co.uk/reviews/volvo/480/ :j (that was sarcasm)

edit: just remembered there was no GT Turbo in the UK, all of the GTs were 2.0 litre non-turbo engines

[Rudeyboy18]

Thanks for advice. I will have a read shortly

[jamesy12345]

Good press release here.....not very useful for buying one now but good nostalgia value :)

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/press/pdf/480PressRelease1988.pdf

[T5frankie]

Be aware volvo are not making spares for these anymore

[jamesy12345]

Be aware volvo are not making spares for these anymore

Good point that, lots of stuff has been discontinued so only place to get them is reproductions (e.g. rear light seals from a guy in the Netherlands) or second hand. The 480 forum above is a good source for spares....

....what was left of my parts car (480 turbo) has just been donated to a guy on the forum so some bits and bobs available.

[nottsgreent5]

I loved my 480 turb sadly the rust got to it cheap clutches can be a week point as i found out when upping the power

[classicswede]

Volvo are not making anything for the 300 or 400 series but there are places reproducing parts for these cars and the situation is getting better. The supply of parts will never be as good as for the PV or Amazon but things are getting there.
Engine wise as it is Renault no problems there and service stuff is readily available after market