1994 Volvo 940 Wagon...Should I buy it? information needed from Volvo owners!

Hello there. I've recently been looking at a 1994 Volvo 940 station wagon,
turbo with 88K miles. So far, the maintenance appears to be pretty good. The
owner is a marine mechanic and seems to know turbos, and the issues that keep
them running or not. He professes that he's used Valvoline oil the entire time
he's had the car, and has changed the oil every 3,000 miles. What I do know is
that the interior is immaculate and it appears as though the wife has driven
the car most of the 88K miles. No apparent damage from accidents. They did
replace the transmission because they say the radiator cracked at the bottom
and the transmission sucked up coolant and ruined the transmission. The cloth
interior is yellow/tan and the exterior is white which is a favorite of mine.
Now I'm also wondering why this car does not say "intercooler" on the rear and
whether or not the car has one, or if that is even important. Does anyone know
who makes the turbo for this car? Are these cars generally reliable and what do
people know about these wagons, and wagons with turbos. I've had nothing but
Toyotas, and if they made a wagon, I wouldn't really be looking for a Volvo,
but actually, this one drove very nicely! What can I expect in terms of
longevity? I do service my own cars and have no hesitation about doing so. I'll
likely be using synthetic motor oil and transmission fluid in the car (unless
someone objects with good support for not doing so). Tires are for matching
Goodyears, which shows me that the car was not Mickey moused. No third seat,
however, oddly enough, I have a black one I pulled from a wagon in the junk
yard some time ago.

Additionally, I'm really confused about the numbering and lettering on the
Volvos. This is a 940, so how does that compare with the 240's (which I know
are now not being made after 1993 or so), and the 740's. I can't quite figure
this out since I think that the DL, GL, GLE etc. indicates trim levels. Geesh,
this is confusing. Oddly enough, this 940 does not have any letters behind it.
What the heck is that about? Are the leather seats nicer/better than the
fabric? And, just what do the letters and numbers signify?

I'm curious if this motor, which the owner says is the original motor but he
says, is also used in the 240's, is it a particularly good motor? I know some
of the 240 motors were actually better than others (i.e. stronger and better
suited for use with the turbo). The price of the car is about $6,000.00 which
I'm guessing is reasonable and not earth shattering, but fair according to
what's being sold locally. I sure would appreciate any ideas from those of you
who have had Volvos in the past, as this would be my first experience, and if
those of you who've actually had this car recommend it, I'd be willing to stray
from the Toyota line to see. I plan on using the car to drive people around and
need a good reliable car that looks good and works well. Thanks again so much,
and Happy Holidays to all!!

JB

 

Woah, that's a LOT of questions!

In the old Volvo designation system, first digit is the series or model type
(240 = 200 series, 740 = 700 series), 2nd digit is the cylinder number (240
= 4 cylinder, 760 = 6 cylinder, 850 = 5 cylinder), and the last digit used
to mean no. of doors (242 = 2 door coupe, 244 = 4 door sedan, 245 = 5 door
wagon). In 1983 Volvo decided not to state how many doors it has so they
all became 0. Also there's exceptions to the cylinder number too, 740
Turbodiesel has 6 cylinders, while 760 Turbo has 4 cylinders.

The DL / GL / GLE / Turbo were trim level badges, DL = De Luxe, GL = Grand
Luxe, GLE = Grand Luxe Executive. Turbo is usually at GLE's trim level but
with a Turbo engine. Volvo dropped the trim level badges on 940 in '93 or
'94 so it's normal for the '94 not to have any trim level badges.

740 and 940 are very similar, they are based on the same platform and in
fact a lot of mechanical parts are interchangeable. 940 Sedan has a larger
trunk than 740 sedan, but the wagon version's chassis structure are
virtually identical. Of course 940 has more safety equipment than 740 such
as air bags and SIPS, but the basic chassis design was produced from 1982
(with the introduction of 760) right up to 1998 (finishing with 940 / 960).

The engine design spans an even longer production life. It was first
introduced in 1976 on the 240 and finished in 1998 on the 940. Obviously
it's gone through a lot of changes during that time, from a 2.1 litre
carburettor engine on the first 240's to a 2.3 litre electronic fuel
injection with light pressure Turbo on the last 940's, but again the basic
design remain largely unchanged. A tribute to how well designed it was to
begin with. Quite a few members on this newsgroup has clocked up 300k miles
on their 240 / 740 / 940 engine and still going strong. 88k miles is
considered barely run in.

The 940 Turbo is fitted with an intercooler. Intercooler cools the intake
air on turbo models after it's passed through the impeller to cool the air
down, and increase the engine power output. I think the intercooler badge
was dropped in '91, but only the early 240 Turbo's (in the early 80's) were
not fitted with an intercooler. Volvo Turbo's were made by either Garrett
or Mitsubishi. I've heard that early ones had Garrett and later ones had
Mitsubishi, so I think 940's had Mitsubishi.

I like cloth seats more than leather but that's just my personal preference.
Cloth seats "grips" you better than leather seats, and won't allow your body
to slide across the seat as you take a fast corner, which is something I'd
be tempted to do quite often if my car's a Turbo. By the way my 740's also
white exterior with beige cloth interior.

All in all I think this 940 sound like a good car, go for a drive and if
you're happy with everything, you'll have a very safe, durable and reliable
car for years to come.

_________________
Will
'90 Volvo 744 GLT
B230F converted to B230FB (531 Head & VX3 Cam)

 

And one other thing - Toyota do make wagons, previous model Camry springs to
mind but I'm sure there are more- but you would certainly be happier with a
Volvo.

 

Not in North America. The Camry of I think 3 gens back now (the one that
looked pretty good) was their last wagon here (it had dual rear wipers...
pretty cool stuff). They also abandoned the Corolla wagon at the same
time... They released their Sienna minivan to make up for it, and a couple
SUVs or something, no real wagons tho. Honda also abandoned the wagon
market, despite having an Accord wagon in other markets, and a strong V6
engine for it.

Volvo still remains the ultimate wagon company.

I'll recommend the 940T just because we have a similar era (1993) 960.
Probably just about the same inside and such, just a different engine (tho I
think there was a 940 that had an older style interior and one that was
equal to the 960, you couldn't even get cloth in the 960 when we bought
ours, this was in Canada... maybe in Europe there was more choice, to i'm
pretty sure you are posting from the US)

Our 960 has held up very nicely... They are solid cars those 900 series.
Hell i'm 20 years old and I want one of my own (driving the family one every
so often just isn't cutting it.... but then again I don't want to spend 50
bucks on premium every 500-600kms when I can spend 30 on diesel for my
Vee-Dub every 800-1000km).... they are THAT good!

 

Not in North America. The Camry of I think 3 gens back now (the one that
looked pretty good) was their last wagon here (it had dual rear wipers...
pretty cool stuff). They also abandoned the Corolla wagon at the same
time... They released their Sienna minivan to make up for it, and a couple
SUVs or something, no real wagons tho. Honda also abandoned the wagon
market, despite having an Accord wagon in other markets, and a strong V6
engine for it.

Volvo still remains the ultimate wagon company.

I'll recommend the 940T just because we have a similar era (1993) 960.
Probably just about the same inside and such, just a different engine (tho I
think there was a 940 that had an older style interior and one that was
equal to the 960, you couldn't even get cloth in the 960 when we bought
ours, this was in Canada... maybe in Europe there was more choice, to i'm
pretty sure you are posting from the US)

Our 960 has held up very nicely... They are solid cars those 900 series.
Hell i'm 20 years old and I want one of my own (driving the family one every
so often just isn't cutting it.... but then again I don't want to spend 50
bucks on premium every 500-600kms when I can spend 30 on diesel for my
Vee-Dub every 800-1000km).... they are THAT good!

 

This car is barely broken in. The intercooler is there, they just stopped
putting partial car specifications on the tailgate. Keep up with the oil
(synthetic) change intervals and it will go a long time. This is a very good
car with one of the best engines.




Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see:
Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs http://www3.sympatico.ca/borism/
Aurora, Ontario