While the obvious choice when importing a piece of forbidden fruit from overseas is to choose the iconic sports car or SUV, I applaud the person who says, “Nah – give me the Volvo limo and hearse”. That’s what I’m reading into this listing for a 1994 Volvo 960 limousine which is a right-hand drive UK model with 53,000 miles on the clock. This limo hails from a generally overbuilt era of Volvo models, so with relatively low miles, there are likely many good years left in this elongated Volvo. The seller also has a slightly newer 1996 960 hearse available if you have slightly different passenger needs. Find the pair here on craigslist in Brooklyn with an asking price of $5,500 for the limo.
When you see limo conversions, sometimes it’s a horror show. The proportions are terrible, or it looks like the midsection is going to snap in half after hitting one pothole. Not so here, as this conversion looks pretty good, and it’s not so long that it looks weird but it also looks substantial enough that the conversion seems worth it. It also has three real doors, so a company somewhere in the UK did the hard work of engineering in another access point as opposed to just stretching it and keeping the same number of doors as the original design. This always strikes me as odd when companies do this, as someone has to climb all the way back up to the front if it’s all loaded up.
In this case, you’re actually getting three full rows of seats. I’m not sure what’s better in a limousine setup: the L-shaped wrap-around bench seat with a bar in the middle, or three actual rows. The latter seems far more useful, but the former is what most folks want in their limo. This isn’t exactly a bachelor party limo, to be fair, but it would make for a heck of an Uber. Ridesharing lets you pick up more than one fare, so why not load up at the airport stop? The leather looks decent but there’s some weird splatter trail in this photo; hopefully, that lifts off with some leather cleaner. The carpets look decent. I’d love to know if this was used for some high-level officials in the UK before being sent to auction and shipped stateside.
The hearse is an odd choice to bring home. There’s really only one purpose for something like this, which is…a hearse. I wonder if the importers really do expect that a funeral home is going to want it; otherwise, why import it? I haven’t seen a cottage industry spring up that specializes in converting hearses into something more utilitarian, so fingers crossed there’s a very tony medical examiner somewhere that wants an upgrade. The right-hand-drive steering may make these already-obscure cars an even harder sell, but the limo at least would be a pretty great marketing prop for a Volvo specialist. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find.
If the hearse was LHD I would buy it right now!
That hearse would certainly turn heads next Halloween car show!
Reckon these may have been a matched pair in service for the same undertaker, with the limo being used to ferry more of the bereaved family to the gravesite in one vehicle.
That said, I’m more intrigued by that high-roof yet otherwise understated V70-based hearse (or mortician’s service car?) in the background.
That’s no V70 you see there – it’s a Vauxhall Vectra C hearse
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/hearse-driver-pulled-over-m6-19017709
“The leather looks decent but there’s some weird splatter trail in this photo”
I don’t EVEN want to know!
“I wonder if the importers really do expect that a funeral home is going to want it; otherwise, why import it?”
Harold of ‘Harold and Maude’ would LOVE it.
like MB (around same time too) Wolwo went dwn hill (the 240 & 740 series were the last reliable, stay away from 900 series). It’s too bad~
I’d love to have this pair at the next Cars and Coffin show.
(I’ll let myself out)
I would definitely want the hearse. I’d tear out the platform stuff in the back, tint the windows and convert it into a camper. That being said, the limo could also be a camper of sorts. As a Volvo nerd, the hearse and the limo are both coveted items for collectors and enthusiasts in the US who don’t usually have access to these types of Volvos on the market. And the goth crowd, they love a good hearse….so….there you go.
Yup, nice looking herse, glad it’s got the roof rack so as can take all your “stuff” to the cemetary,
They make a good work vehiicle, especially for carpet
and window treatment installers, takes long stuff… but any,
Oops sorry, here’s the ad:
https://dailyturismo.com/1996-volvo-960-hearse-and-limo/
The ad says “fresh” but here’s a post from May 2021 saying the mileage is 95K.
https://dailyturismo.com/1996-volvo-960-hearse-and-limo/
The hearse was imported because there’s people that like them. There’s a club (Actually several).
The limousine has extra doors and doesn’t have a fancy interior because it was clearly ordered for the funeral industry. Unlike the Volvo 264 TE which was a specific product for the executive market (Stock from Volvo, not stretched).
I have personally owned over 20 hearses over the last 30 years. I have over the years have belonged to 5 different hearse owner clubs, president of one (Formalderides, based out of West Allis Wisconsin). I worked at a hearse dealership.
Don’t tell me there is no market for a used hearse lol.
Cool cars, although I am not a big fan of European cars. Great deals for the price!