Southern California may be considered a Mecca for car lovers, but the folks who live there sure do make some strange choices with their cars. This morning, I present to you two European near-classics with questionable aesthetics.
Friday’s adventure rigs both went over like lead balloons, it looks like, with the Tercel wagon taking a slight edge in an uncharacteristically low vote count. But once again, I remind you: If you’re looking for actual good advice on finding a practical, reliable used car, you’re in the wrong place. We don’t do that here.
To be fair, I don’t actually want either of those cars myself, but if I had to choose, I’d take the Dodge van. I’ve loved the front-end design of the A100/A108 ever since I was a kid and had a toy version of Bill “Maverick” Golden’s Little Red Wagon. I imagine this one won’t do a wheelie, with the slant six and all, but it still looks unbelievably cool.
Now: Just so you’re forewarned, I have horribly buried the lede on one of these cars, by choosing the top image that I did. One of these cars just has a bad paint job. The other has a cool paint job, but – well, just scroll down to see.
1987 Volvo 740 – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3-liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Odometer reading: 147,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives “perfectly”
Yep. A Volvo ute. The seller says this once was a wagon, but it looks more to me like a sedan that has had the rear window moved forward. You have to admit, though, that it looks pretty good as a ute, and the Swedish flag paint job is a nice touch. Whoever built this car missed an opportunity, though: they should have put a badge on the back that says “Vägen,” which would be the Swedish equivalent of El Camino.
Mechanically, it’s a stock non-turbo Volvo 740, which is by no means a bad thing. It’s powered by Volvo’s sturdy “Red Block” inline four and an Aisin-Warner four-speed automatic, a combination which should just about last forever if you take care of it. Currently it has 147,000 miles on it, and it runs and drives very well.
And this isn’t some backyard Sawzall job, either; it appears to have been pretty well thought-out. The blue and yellow theme continues into the interior, with custom bucket seats, door panels, and a rear shelf that contains speakers for what the seller assures us is a “bumping” stereo.
There is one area of concern outside, however: the seam where the rear door used to be on the driver’s side appears to be trying to re-open. I would assume it was welded shut, but whatever filler was used to bridge the gap is cracking, which may mean not enough care was taken with structural reinforcements as there maybe should have been. But then, they’re not asking much for it, so you could just live with it and see if it gets any worse.
1998 Land Rover Discovery – $3,000
Engine/drivetrain: 4.0-liter overhead valve V8, four-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Del Mar Heights, CA
Odometer reading: 158,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives “like a champ”
The Land Rover Discovery has a terrible reputation for unreliability here in the US, which is strange, because it has accomplished some amazing feats elsewhere. That seems to be the case with a lot of European cars, and I’ve never quite understood why. Maybe it’s because Americans are used to Toyotas that run flawlessly until they rust away, and Chevrolets that run like crap forever no matter what you do.
This Discovery is from the final year of the first series, with a 4.0-liter version of the aluminum Rover V8 that dates back to Buick in the early 1960s. It powers all four wheels all the time through a ZF four-speed automatic. It has a two-speed transfer case and a lockable center differential for when things get gnarly. It runs and drives very well, the seller says, but they don’t give us any information about its history. My guess is there are no service records, so assume it needs everything, maintenance-wise.
Inside, it’s got seat covers, and I assume there’s at least one popped seam in the leather seats underneath, because I’ve never seen a Discovery in this price range with perfect seats. The only problem the seller notes is that the driver’s window is off-track; they can hear the motor run, but it does nothing. They say they’re scared to open up the door panel to fix it, and if that’s really the only thing that needs fixing on this thing, it’s a hell of a deal for someone more handy.
Outside, it has been painted flat black. Everywhere. Even the wheels. How much more black could it be? None. I’ve never been a fan of this faux-tactical look, but some people must like it, because you do see it a lot. It looks undamaged, just badly painted. You could repaint it again, I guess, if you wanted it to be shiny. I know I would be tempted to do so.
Anyone who has had to resort to cheap cars has made compromises on appearance. I guess the good news is that they both run and drive fine. You’ll get a lot of funny looks, especially with the Volvo, but at least you’ll be able to make a getaway. So I guess the question is, which one would you rather be seen in?
None.
However, I’d rather take the cracked Tre Kronor mobile and see if its fixable and eat the cash than ever deal with a Discovery of any type…..but no maintainence records at all? No sale.
Can we get a none of the above? Volvo someone elses project poorly done or unreliable Land Rover with a piss poor paint job requires a total paint stripping prior to preparation primer and paint. I bet it breaks down sitting in the paint shop.
I kind of like the Volvo and would much rather roll the dice on the body filler/? cracking over any Disco. Not only do I not like this type of vehicle, these in particular never did anything for me. They largely look like any contemporary generic, milquetoast SUV, but with horrible reliability. While I get the practicality of flat black in that it’s cheap, dries quickly, and is easy to repair, I also hate the look and it’s even more difficult to keep clean than gloss.
More difficult to keep clean than gloss, I’d say harder to keep clean than glass.
I can see a turbo gauge on the Volvo’s gauge cluster, so hopefully it is a 740 turbo – which are not as painfully slow as the non-aspirated red block.
Easy…Volvo Ute! That thing is awesome and I don’t mind the blue and yellow (would probably end up making it all blue) It looks like it would be fun to cruise around in. There was no way I was gonna vote LR- I’ve never been interested in them but at least they are capable off road. Makes me think of this line though:
“If you want to go into the bush, take a Land Rover. If you want to get out of the bush, take a Land Cruiser.”
Swedish flag Volvo Ute has to be an iconic vehicle. A very slow iconic vehicle.
Maybe monolithic vehicle?
That Discovery with no maintenance records screams infinite suffering to me. Hard pass.
To be clear, I wouldn’t actually want to own either one of these myself, but I voted for the Volvo simply because it’s the more appealing of the two (to me, and my personal/distorted worldview). Of course, it’s the cracking bondo under that blue paint, presumably from poor welds or maybe even some body flex, that’s giving me pause. I LOVED that little pickup/ute that someone lovingly made out of a BMW 2002 the other month, and though I prefer 200s to 700s or 900s when it comes to Volvo, a Volvo ute would be great (AC and manual preferred of course, but I can rarely ever have what I want). But I wouldn’t want to deal with whatever’s happening on this particular one… not for $3,500. anyway, even if Santa Monica’s so close to me. If it were selling for a grand or $1,500. and had passed smog not too long ago, I might be tempted to try to deal with all that cracking myself, but even then, it’s probably not worth the trouble.
A 740 is a really decent (regular) car though… I had one (well, some kind of 700 sedan about 25 years ago, though I can’t recall which one it was) so it’s a shame this wagonization job wasn’t welded as thoroughly as was needed (if it’s not body flex actually happening). I’m no expert welder (I’m an armchair welder actually 😉 ) but I have taken a class, and borrowed a neighbor’s Lincoln a few times, and completed a few decent/sizable projects, and now finally have my own little Harbor Freight welder (the entry level green one… I don’t recall if they call them Titanium or what). But I don’t want to chip away all that bondo and then try to weld/grind/reinforce the f-ck out of that 740, only to have to do the bodywork and paint over. Also, the yellow piping on the blue seats is fine (nice even!) but those door cards are a more than a bit gaudy IMO. Not deal breaking, but still….
I really like it and would happily drive it around Hollywood with that Swedish flag paintjob, but life’s too short for all that extra stress/work.
Looking at pictures of 740 wagons vs sedans, I believe the seller is correct, although it could be either.
Help me out here. I am studying up on languages today. I know the British word for dumpster is tip. What’s the Swedish word for mullet?
A very fun word… “hockeyfrilla”
Cod.
*backs away slowly*
Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope, Nope….
That crack in the Volvo is a little scary, but living with a Discovery is scarier.
The back looks like it could make for a decent place to sleep with the seats down while waiting for the tow truck. The Volvo bed is too exposed. Plus, when the Volvo snaps in half, the tow truck is not going to help much.
Tow truck driver: “Which half do you want?”
Well according to Top Gear if the Volvo is FWD, I didn’t feel like scrolling back, you can continue to drive it and just have the back towed.
Haha fair. Throw some casters on there and send it!
If the locations were switched and the Volvo was in Del Mar there’s a strong chance I’d already be on the way to go see it…
Even that modified Volvo is better than any Land rover LOL
I’m a Volvo guy through and through but man…..half the charm of the wagons is you can fold the seats down and chuck in as much junk as a small pickup holds. One could argue the ute conversion actually makes it less practical. And it’s certainly uglier as a ute. And it might split in two at some point. God help me, but I guess I’ll take the Disco.
Same, as also I need to fit at least three people for regular use, so I guess we’re getting stranded….
Brat Volvo Ute
Disco please! Disco 1’s were not as bad as the detractors say. It had a lot to do with the rapid expansion of LR’s US dealer parts and service network. Too far, too fast, and not enough personnel working there who truly understood the beasts. I daily-drove one that I picked up used and abused in the Northeast, and found there was nothing I couldn’t fix or replace myself. It helped to have real service advice and parts from the folks at Rovers North in Vermont — which just kind proved that the factory network in the US was OK and better than it once was, but still not always on top of the finer points of this generation of Rovers.
It’s definitely not the same as a Jeep / Blazer / insert-typical-American-4×4-here — it’s an even more overbuilt, heavy-duty chassis with a fairly generic European wagon body sitting on top. It’s full of very generic world-sourced parts. The mechanical bits are mostly truck-derived and often require larger tools, but rarely any specialized ones. It’s essentially still a tractor that can comfortably cruise on roads at 80MPH all day. What’s not to like?
The most common failures I had were always Bosch coils and alternators and distributor caps/rotors, which were the most common standard replacements in every parts catalog everywhere. They would fail repeatedly. Once I found proper Marelli and Lucas parts, it stayed fixed. The other big one was spark plug wires, but that’s kind of a pain in everyone’s backside now that most cars use coil-on-plug setups. Quality isn’t always what it used to be in wire sets and it’s always a good idea to keep spares on hand because one will crap out for no good reason when you least expect it.
The Volvo is just ruined in several ways, so it’s going to be the Disco, with all the “joys” it might come with 😀
I’ll take the Volvo ute but you can keep the yellow stripes and cheesy interior. Swap it for a used black interior and I’m happy. Blue on black.
I already have a Disco I (with perfect leather seats and stickshift, though this reminds me mine has a window problem too), so yet another Volvo for me. Shame it’s coming apart at the seams, would actually be kind of handy.
Is it a Swedish chef meets Aussie bogan kind of Monday? A pint of Victoria Bitter with an Akvavit chaser? All the better to take the sting out of Møøse bites, which probably are less horrible than giant Australian spider bites. Trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
Or is it the ‘Murican redneck meets the King on this fine Victoria Day? Sing the Buick V8 song of the U.S.of A. in a British accent whilst sipping a warm Olde English 800. Until it breaks down. Again. At least you can touch up the paint with a rattlecan while you wait for the tow truck.
Rock-and-roll rendition of God Save the King for me.
Disco (wrenching) party! Good tunes, good drink and get ready to contort!
Ur be dur do viggen truck work work work crash! (Swedish chef the Muppet show.)
If you’re gonna make bad choices, you have to lean into it. Ute for me.
On a related note, I saw an Edsel Ute this weekend. I did not remember that they made those!
There wasn’t an official Edsel ute, but apparently this is a “thing.” I saw one near me recently, and a google search turned up many.
The Volvo Camino is the right choice. The separation anxiety is likely reparable with a liberal application of reinforcing metals and electric glue gun. The disco has the potential to spontaneously disassemble at any moment.
Leave the Discovery for recovery.
The Ute is a beaut!