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I'm looking to purchase a 1992 Volvo 460 gle. I want to know whether this type of car would need any mechanical work on it in the future and if so whether it be expensive or hard to find the parts in New Zealand since it is not a common make?

Thank you

Angela,

From the "Ask Jack" archives - 14 December 2009

Yes. European vehicles on a whole are a more expensive ownership prospect than say a Japanese brand which is more popular in this part of the world.

Repairs on such vehicles can be quite specialised and you'll pay a premium for the knowledge required to remedy any problems, also some less common parts might need to be sourced from Europe.

I'm not aware of any serious issues with this model in particular, in fact Volvo's in general have a reputation of being sturdy, practical and safe vehicles, though be aware we have heard of a lot of premium brands (including Volvos) being imported from Singapore.

It is our experience that many of these Singaporean imports become plagued by expensive electronic faults caused by the moisture in Singapore's atmosphere which permeates the electronic control modules etc and corrosion occurs.