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To be able to go back in time and buy a new T-5R

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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matthew1
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To be able to go back in time and buy a new T-5R

Post by matthew1 »

What I wouldn't give.

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1998 V70, no dash lights on

1997 850 T5 [gone] w/ MSD ignition coil, Hallman manual boost controller, injectors, R bumper, OMP strut brace

2004 V70 R [gone]

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matthew1
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Post by matthew1 »

IIRC they were $42k back then, which is almost $87k today, so they were not giving them away.
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1998 V70, no dash lights on

1997 850 T5 [gone] w/ MSD ignition coil, Hallman manual boost controller, injectors, R bumper, OMP strut brace

2004 V70 R [gone]

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Post by Sveedy »

That kind of $$$ for only 2 color choices, would be a "no go" for me. It almost strikes me as a bit arrogant -
" If you want to buy our car, fine. But we're only going to give you 2 colors to pick from. And one is yellow. " :( :?
I know that some high-end cars do that, but we are talking about a mass production line of cars with models that come in many colors.
Bet they would have sold more...
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Post by 454cid »

Sveedy wrote: 15 Aug 2025, 18:54 That kind of $$$ for only 2 color choices, would be a "no go" for me. It almost strikes me as a bit arrogant -
" If you want to buy our car, fine. But we're only going to give you 2 colors to pick from. And one is yellow. " :( :?
I know that some high-end cars do that, but we are talking about a mass production line of cars with models that come in many colors.
Bet they would have sold more...
Yeah, neither would be my choice, and I own 2 black cars. I understand the decision, sorta, with only 1000 made for the US market. What was world wide production? More options could quickly add more cost, that would be distributed to a handful of cars, relatively speaking.
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Post by abscate »

I remember looking at it and they told me…in 1999 you can buy more power in a Nautic Blue T5 with more poweR and 5 geaRs
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matthew1
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Post by matthew1 »

This is conservatively a half-million dollars in Yellows. That's 16*$30k. The pedestrian, but otherwise very nice, T5 wagon converted to manual just sold close to $20k on Bring a Trailer, mentioned here yesterday... so I think $30k for a Yellow is conservative these days.
364 sedans imported to the United States, that’s it.
49 wagons imported to the United States, that’s it.
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Scarcity drives price, and Yellows are possibly the rarest factory Volvos made in my lifetime*. I'm not counting options combinations on other models, because that's splitting hairs, and you could counter that simply by then saying you have a 1/1 Yellow wagon in the US because it has some obscure factory option.

It's not difficult to be 1 of 49 in a field of 49 USA Yellow wagons, for instance. On the flip side it is very difficult to be 1/n where n=1000 or n=10,000, which is a typical number for other Volvo models.


* maybe the 242 GT is more rare? I can't think of other examples...

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1998 V70, no dash lights on

1997 850 T5 [gone] w/ MSD ignition coil, Hallman manual boost controller, injectors, R bumper, OMP strut brace

2004 V70 R [gone]

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Post by 454cid »

The yellow isn't quite a pastel, but isn't as vibrant as what I'd expect. I'd rather have Saffron if I were to have a bold color....although, I have not seen a Saffron car in person and I admit seeing something in person can make a difference.
1996 850
1999 S70 GLT (sold after deer hit)

2010 Ford Focus SE
2006 Cadillac CTS
1996 Mercedes C220
1999 Chevrolet K3500
1969 Buick LeSabre Custom 400

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Post by abscate »

If you don’t have a heated rear third seat, it’s bbq black, not rare …
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Post by Vova585 »

matthew1 wrote: 15 Aug 2025, 13:46 IIRC they were $42k back then, which is almost $87k today, so they were not giving them away.
87K? Wow...for a 4 door yellow sedan?
I doubt i would spend that much money, since i doubt that i would ever buy 2025 v60 II(look up the sales report for the year). 87k...I would probably buy Crown Signia and camry and for left over money take family on 2 vocations. I like Volvos, but not for 87k.

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Post by abscate »

$500 and a new friend for the past 10 years in NJ
Got my last daughter through Smith college and her first two jobs, still running.
No gull yellow car is worth 176 Evitas!

Volvos were never cheap. Evita was 32k list in 1999, and my loaded T5 was almost 40k
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