8th May 2010, 06:36

Just a few words of praise for the 960. When I bought mine, it had been owned by the owner of a Ford Dealership in up-state New South Wales. He had put 79,000 km on the clock in five years. I bought it because it was a Volvo, and because I thought that I could travel the 950km a week to and from work in safety and comfort. On that basis, I was right to buy it. In two years I had put another 120,000 km on the odometer. It drove like a charm. In those two years I hit a kangaroo with only minimal damage. It was serviced regularly and gave me little problem.

By 200,000km I needed to have work done on the rubber hoses that fed air into the fuel injectors. My mechanic came up with an ingenious yet inexpensive solution, and it has given me no further problem in that area.

At 250,000 the plastic sleeve cracked and the radiator had to be replaced at $440AUD. It happened again at 350,000km, but for a very dramatic set of circumstances. The cooling fan seized, causing the water in the cooling system to overheat. The day after the fan had seized, the radiator sleeve snapped off, Fortunately I was close to home and no serious damage was done.

There is one little problem that distresses me. A 'small' crack in the engine block that means that I need to top up the coolant reservoir every 50km. My ingenious mechanic has a solution that should see it survive until I retire.

My seats are in excellent condition, The lumber support still provides proper support, the air conditioning is good, my door handles work, my brakes need replacing around the 150,000km mark. I have had to replace the windscreen because of all the tiny pock marks from tiny stones kicked up by big trucks on country roads. I drive taxis in Sydney and I have learnt to brake gently. I get around 80,000 km from my tyres. (I'm using English/Australian spelling!!)

I still like the look of the car. It has grace and elegance. My wife finds the seats more comfortable that her newer Peugeot. I'll be sorry to have to sell it when it comes time for me to stop driving taxis. I'm 69! (2010).

Would I buy another one. You bet!!!