2009, Volvo, C30 2.4i

I purchased the car at a damaged car auction. The car was de-registered, but the damage didn’t look too bad. The rear bumper had a nasty hole in it, and the rear hatch wouldn’t close properly. After removing the rear bumper, I found that the crossmember also had a hole in it and was bent. In addition, the spare wheel and toolkit were missing.

I took the bumper to a shop that repairs and refurbishes plastic bumpers, and they fixed the hole for me. I priced a new crossmember from Volvo NZ, along with a spare and toolkit. Then I compared prices online in the USA from a Volvo dealer there. The US price was just over half that of the NZ price, including freight. I purchased everything from the USA, and it all arrived in about ten days.

Unfortunately, the rear panel was also damaged, and I couldn’t get the rear hatch to close properly. I took the car to a panel beater who straightened the rear panel for me and also checked the chassis alignment. He found no other issues, so job done — and he re-certified the car for me.

I thought the car would perform reasonably sportily, but it was a little disappointing. It felt solid to drive, as all Volvos do, but seemed to lack the sportiness I expected. The C30 also came with the 2.5-litre turbo engine, which may be a much sportier option in this model.