I'm thinking about buying a 96 960 that has only 25k miles on it. My only concern is the cost at the pump. I know volvos will last forever, and the car is in mint condition. I'm considering changing the tires for if/when I purchase the vehicle. I beleive the stock tires are 205/55/r16. Id like to put a smaller rim and a larger tire. What should I expect if I decide to go with something like 245/60/14?

I know im getting ahead of myself, but, just for fun.. I'm exploring my hopefully future options.

 

Buy the car, leave the tires alone and drive and enjoy it. The 960 is a great car and the mpg isn't bad. Keep it maintained and it last almost forever.
I have 242,000 miles on mine and it just goes and goes.

I would replace the timing belt due to it's age, as well as the waterpump and tensioners while there.

 

Huh, I really doubt they make that size tire. Besides that the cost of the wheels and tires will cost you about 8 months worth of gas.

I'm totally with Chrispy .

 

Tire/wheel size will have zero effect on gas mileage unless you got to a narrower tire. Handling will be adversely affected imo. Just drive it like you stole it and enjoy.

 

well, this thread is mainly about new tires rather than MPG. Just looking to make it a little more unique. I'm a big fan of wider tires and exploring my options..

Anyway.. the car has about 20k+ miles on it. Would I still need to change timing and water pump with such low mileage? O.o

 

The timing belt is a 17 year old piece of rubber that's been spinning around at a few 1000 rpm's for its whole life. If it snaps, kiss the motor goodbye.

The parts are cheap, easy to put in and it's great insurance. You change out the waterpump and pulleys at the same time because the belt drives them and there right there while you have it apart. In a year or two, if a pump or pulley fails, it could snap the belt.

It took me about 3.5 hours to do everything and that was following the instructions found here on the forum.

 

+1000. Unless you find verification that the timing belt has recently been swapped...change it. Time in service is just as critical as actual mileage.

 

Fair enough. I would have over looked it fosure, thanks for the advice. Just seems funny to do it with only 20k miles

Btw.. What would you say a fair price is for a Volvo 960 with only 20k miles on it? It's basically brand new eh

 

For a 17 year old car, it's really a matter of what it's worth to you. Kelly Blue Book (which is always high, IMO) has a private party sale range of 4275 in poor condition to 5125 in pristine show room condition. That's assuming it's a sedan. I'm old school and unless a car is a collectible, I shy away from paying that kind of money for that old of a car, regardless of mileage UNLESS it is one owner and I personally know ALL maintenance has been done properly. From a stranger, if cosmetically it was awesome...I'd pay 2500 to 3200 max. I always figure on these cars needing 1000 to 2000 worth of work in the first 12-18 months.

 

Yeah, he's asking 6000. I was going to offer 4500 thinking it WOULDENT need any work in the near future at all. I've never owned a volvo, but I understand theyre very reliable, and 20k miles is hardly broken in. Ofcourse, this is my unprofessional thinking based on no experience with Volvo cars at all..
Perhaps I'm way off lol..

 

Got any pictures or a link to the ad? I'd love to see info on the car.

 

Here is the link to the ad.. A couple pictures aswell.

Volvo 960 1996 mint (Extremly Low Mileage)

 

First I'd make sure the miles are in fact that low. Are there supporting records? Is the Carfax/Autocheck in line with the claimed miles? Even if so, I know how nuts the average person is about low miles, ("like a new car"), but experience shows the obsession with low miles to be unwarranted. In fact lack of use is equal to or even worse than regular, well maintained use. A car that had sat unused for long time can develop many issues... Fluids dry out and coagulate, rubber dries out and cracks, metal rusts, plastic dries out dependent on storage conditions, etc. Additionally, a car that made many short trips, which is the case with a lot of low mileage cars, is in worse condition than a car which has miles which were clocked on regular long runs...
Bottom line, when looking at a car, miles should be one of the many factors considered...

 

I believe I've seen that car on Ebay also, It's been for sale for awhile, Probably because of the price they want.