Hey all,

My Stagea has had so much put into it over the last few years it's no longer economical to daily drive. Hence, I have been looking at a cheap beater to daily and would prefer something semi-quick with a stick shift.

This 99' S40 T4 manual has come up near me for cheap but it apparently needs some work.

Car has an exhaust and is running 10psi, not sure what they make stock. Has had the whole ignition system refreshed too and sunroof seals fixed.

Downside is it needs a new slave cylinder and 1st/reverse can be sticky.

My general question is. Is it worth it?

I'm fairly handy and plenty comfortable doing work on it, but the gearbox issues scare me a little. Likely to just be the slave cylinder or some larger issue with the trans?

Lastly, what would you reckons it's worth? Paints a little how ya goin' which doesn't bother me but obviously makes it worth a little less. 200K kms with a couple mods and I think he's looking for $3K. Seems a little much based on nicer examples I've seen on here going for about the same?

Appreciate your time.

Cheers

I've driven one , and they could be a good option for a daily, not overly big, enough features and a bit of fun when they come on boost. Been told they handle pretty well in the twisties too.

Seller could be asking a premium due to it being manual, a lot of 1st gen S40 seem to be auto, I have heard some parts are hard to get for them.

We don't have a T4 but a regular NA 2.0. Can confirm parts are getting harder to find. They can generally be had, but depending what it is, could take a bit of time and effort to source.

That said, this is true of many older cars so it's not unusual in that regard.

    They are under-rated cars, I think it would make a great daily, although I assume you've been real that there are more economical options but you like the driving experience of a turbo too much to let it go (same).

    An S40/V40T4 still feels fast by todays standards (probably not in comparison to your Stagea though) - they may or may not be incentive to make it a suitable daily (it's a plus for me).

    Like @jamesinc , I feel that they're very underrated as well. To the point where I often wonder why I havent previously owned one. For me, I struggle a bit knowing when to 'stop' - I start on some things and then find myself going down a path where I start thinking 'Since I'm here and doing this, I may as well do xyz' and I feel that's a dangerous mindset if I was to consider a daily of that age.

    They're basically solid, but even the newest of them is getting close enough to 20yo now, so will either require effort to get it up to par (like this one) or will require maintenance effort to keep on the road or both.

      I've seen a few manual T4's come up for sale for $3-4,000 that appear to be in better condition and don't have significant issues (according to their advertisements at least).

      If you have work to do, possibly a gearbox replacement, I would be wanting to pay in the area of $1-2,500.

      It would also depend on registration.

        Thanks all, a lot of fantastic responses :D

        Chris

        We don't have a T4 but a regular NA 2.0. Can confirm parts are getting harder to find. They can generally be had, but depending what it is, could take a bit of time and effort to source.

        That said, this is true of many older cars so it's not unusual in that regard.

        That's a fair point to consider. I wonder if there's be many parts the dealer could source (albeit for a premium), or if it would all be a matter of browsing ebay then waiting a while for the shipping.

        johna

        I've seen a few manual T4's come up for sale for $3-4,000 that appear to be in better condition and don't have significant issues (according to their advertisements at least).

        If you have work to do, possibly a gearbox replacement, I would be wanting to pay in the area of $1-2,500.

        It would also depend on registration.

        I was thinking smack bang in the middle of that range. $2000 if it did end up happening.

        How often do these things come up do you reckon? Might be worth waiting for another better option to come up in 6 months time.

        AshDVS

        An S40/V40T4 still feels fast by todays standards (probably not in comparison to your Stagea though) - they may or may not be incentive to make it a suitable daily (it's a plus for me).

        Like @jamesinc , I feel that they're very underrated as well. To the point where I often wonder why I havent previously owned one. For me, I struggle a bit knowing when to 'stop' - I start on some things and then find myself going down a path where I start thinking 'Since I'm here and doing this, I may as well do xyz' and I feel that's a dangerous mindset if I was to consider a daily of that age.

        They're basically solid, but even the newest of them is getting close enough to 20yo now, so will either require effort to get it up to par (like this one) or will require maintenance effort to keep on the road or both.

        That's the same issue with my Stagea, simple front mount and exhaust turns into injectors, fuel pumps, coil packs, bigger turbo, then voila' 300awkw and <300km on a tank of E85 plus stuff is always breaking with that amount of power. I dont need a daily anywhere near that quick, in fact it makes it more enjoyable in a lot of cases. Something something slow car fast than a fast car slow.

        I used to own a C30 T5, and though it was an auto the thing felt plenty fast enough. The manual trans in the S40 is a big plus as a stick always makes things seem faster to me, so i'd be very happy with something zippy without being stupid fast.

        Again, really appreciate all the help. Reckon I'll at least give the car a look and a drive, then see how things go.

        Worst case, I just wait around for another to come up, even if it's a little more :)

              I've been looking for a suitable V40 T4 manual for a few years now, but S40's seem to be more plentiful and I would estimate I've seen maybe a handful of manual T4 manuals come up for sale over the last year.

              If looking for parts Berry Motor Group has wrecked a few in preceding months, always has parts for most models and knows where to get new too.

              I've driven a manual N/A and it was a hoot, wished for a turbo model!

              Just really fun to punt around.

              Clutch slaves are internal, so replacement is a full gearbox out job. I think $2k is far too much for one with crap paint and a dodgy slave cylinder.

              https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/13398/know-stuff-about-first-generation-s40s-and-v40s/p1

                Spac

                Clutch slaves are internal, so replacement is a full gearbox out job. I think $2k is far too much for one with crap paint and a dodgy slave cylinder.

                https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/13398/know-stuff-about-first-generation-s40s-and-v40s/p1

                That, is a terrific bit of info.

                If I was taking the box out, I might as well just put a whole new one in it. Completely eliminate any gearbox issues. In which case yes, $2K is way too much. Going to have a look at it today, but looking like I'll just keep an eye out for a nicer example to pop up.

                  Keep in mind the work that's been done already. The gearbox parts would be available iirc and any other manual will head the same way with issues, my 855R with similar gearbox had the 1st to 2nd issue where it would baulk and sometimes jump out with only 160K KLM

                  on it.

                  Unless a car has been kept indoors a lot at this age the clear coat is dried out anyway.

                  Is the interior good? Other driveline ok?

                  Actually a very good point about the interior. The Phase 1 S/V40 had Bridge of Weir leather (i.e. the real deal) that nobody seemed to look after so almost all of them are trashed by now. We've been through a few sets of barely there fronts over 5 years that eventually disintegrated because they were already headed that way. Good front seats are near impossible to find in Melbz at least, pretty important therefore. Backs are easier to get. Spac may have access to good seats in his stash?

                  And don't be tempted to replace with later seats. When they moved to the update model the airbags went from mechanical to electrical detonation so they're not compatible.

                  Unless it's been done, likely the headliner has dropped.

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