What's the best model Volvo?

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by VM, Jun 10, 2004.

  1. VM

    PButler111 Guest

    Subject: Re: What's the best model Volvo?
    You're out of touch. The 1992 240 I just got on eBay was $3300 (not counting
    the $200 I'm spending to fly out to pick it up), and it's in immaculate
    condition. There are lots of great 240s to be found for under $5000 for anyone
    who has the intelligence and patience to do the search.
     
    PButler111, Jun 15, 2004
    #61
  2. VM

    R51reed Guest

    << My bias vote is for the 940 (a '95 turbo one if possible). I have one,
    and am very happy with the build quality and reliability.>>

    I would concurr. This will be my next Volvo. I currently have a '90 745t

    Ronald Reed
     
    R51reed, Jun 16, 2004
    #62
  3. VM

    James Sweet Guest

    But that's not the point, if a person already has a car they like, a lot can
    be done to make it nice again. Could probably fix nearly everything for far
    less than $5k, but it'd certainly be easy to spend more than that for a top
    notch restoration. All new bushings, shocks, brakes, tires, paint,
    upholstery, etc, do all that and you have a car that you *know* is in good
    shape, better IMO than taking a gamble on one that *looks* to be in good
    shape. I know there's lots of reasonably priced 240's out there but that's
    not the point.
     
    James Sweet, Jun 16, 2004
    #63
  4. VM

    PButler111 Guest

    You're out of touch. The 1992 240 I just got on eBay was $3300 (not
    It is kind of the point. It's better to trade up now, while the old car still
    has some trade in/retail value. And if I'd had your attitude about not taking
    a chance on a new car, I never would have gotten the last two really fabulous
    cars I bought through eBay. Hell, given your reasoning, no one would ever buy
    a new car if they already had one that ran reliably.
     
    PButler111, Jun 16, 2004
    #64
  5. VM

    mccaldwell Guest

    Yes. You might get extremely lucky and find a good one on ebay, but
    the chances of finding a good one, at a good price, from a dealer, in
    the northeast "rust belt", are very slim. Look on cars.com to see
    what the better ones can bring. Immaculate ones bring top dollar, not
    auction price. You will get what you pay for. Cars being dumped will
    have problems. Dealers may be sleazy, but they're not stupid.
     
    mccaldwell, Jun 16, 2004
    #65
  6. VM

    PButler111 Guest

    Subject: Re: What's the best model Volvo?
    I hate to be repititious, but I just bought my *third* 240 wagon, through eBay,
    from "the northeast "rust belt" -- two in New Jersey, one in Connecticut/New
    York. Each of these cars was terrific, each as good as or better than
    advertised. One was from a private seller, two from dealers. You can't be
    suggesting that I just happened to get "extremely lucky" three times in a row?
     
    PButler111, Jun 16, 2004
    #66
  7. VM

    mccaldwell Guest

    Hmmmmmmmm??? You would help prospective purchasers much more if you
    would honestly describe past experiences. Was the "terrific '87 from
    the private seller or dealer"? From your old posts....

    "Of course there's a risk to buying a car in another state
    without first driving it but, quite frankly, I bought my last two used
    cars
    locally and drove them first and still got royally screwed. So, after
    much
    agonizing and angst, I finally decided that $2000 (which includes my
    airfare out there) is an acceptable risk . If it were a $5000 or
    $10,000 car, no; but $2000 seems like a reasonable risk. ....
    I had an '83 wagon that I actually did wreck, during a misadventure on
    the
    south side of Chicago, as night fell. Very scary. I replaced it with
    the '87
    wagon I'm driving now, which has served me well for a year. But it
    was fairly well worn out when I bought it, more so than I even
    realized. I just got around to taking it in for a used car inspection
    yesterday. Prognosis: An excellent car to donate to Volunteers of
    America. So now I'm in the market to replace it with a car that will
    last me for many years to come (assuming I stay away from the south
    side of Chicago at night)."
    ...............
     
    mccaldwell, Jun 17, 2004
    #67
  8. VM

    PButler111 Guest

    Subject: Re: What's the best model Volvo?
    I did honestly describe my past experiences. The '87 was from a private seller
    and was exactly as described. The seller was a really nice guy who took the
    time over the next two years to periodically check with me via email to see how
    the car was serving me. I got far more than my money's worth out of is car
    before moving up to my '89. Again, I've had three very good experiences buying
    240s on eBay.
     
    PButler111, Jun 17, 2004
    #68
  9. VM

    James Sweet Guest


    My dad bought a 240 Turbo on ebay and the experience was good, but then this
    was an $800 car and was expected to be a bit of a project.

    I don't think there's anything wrong with ebay, it can be a fine place to
    find cars, just that if a person is looking to replace a Volvo with a
    similar model needing less work it might just be easier to fix the existing
    one rather than replace it. That's just me though, I don't like to get rid
    of anything if I can still use it, I know too many people who throw away
    their money constantly buying and selling things rather than sticking with
    something that works.
     
    James Sweet, Jun 18, 2004
    #69
  10. I just had a look at the archives to see what the consensus was on this
    question but it appears that the thread took off on a tangent.

    A low-mileage(~170k km) '92 960 wagon recently came up on Ebay motors
    that looked to be in pretty good shape.

    I had a quick look at the JD Power ratings at the Edmunds.com site and
    it appears that the '92 960 was rated as being somewhat mediocre in the
    long-term reliability ratings but the '93 appeared to be one of the
    best for all Volvos.

    I'm wondering if people on this group have found this to be the case ?
    (ie '93 960 being *the* best Volvo new or used in terms of long-term
    reliability. )

    I ask because JD Power rated Buicks with the 3.8 litre engine pretty
    highly too but a number of people I have quizzed about them have talked
    about premature engine failure, poor build quality, etc., all the
    things you would expect from an American auto.
     
    Eunoia Eigensinn, Feb 23, 2005
    #70
  11. VM

    Dave Guest

    Based on my experience of eleven volvo estates over the years, all of which
    did over 200,00 miles and one 448,000 I think I am in a position to give an
    opinion.
    Out of the 240 range I would go for '89 245GL;
    of the 740's, '89 740 GLT;
    and 900's the '95 Wentworth 2.0T.
    Probably, out of them all, the '89 740 GLT has the better build and
    reliability track record. The 16 valve 2.3L engine is excellent for torque,
    reliability and smoothness although not particularly quick off the line
    perfect for motorway cruising and towing.
    The 2.0 turbo engine is lively and reasonably economical, probably one of
    the most reliable and resilient turbo's I've come across and that includes
    the Merc Kompressors.
    The 240 series are strong robust vehicles but certain years do suffer from
    rust.
    900's on the other hand are very refined, a little fragile in places, suffer
    from numerous electronic reliability issues, but all are very quick off the
    mark, hold the road well without wallowing and eat the miles with ease.
    I have never owned an 850 or any of the late or smaller models, although I
    have many friends that do. Amongst them they don't rate the 850 very highly
    due to the vastly reduced cargo space, high cost of ownership and
    reliability issues, but they are exceptionally nice to drive. No one I know
    ever liked the 300 series and the 400's had some excellent models such as
    the 480 GLT.

    So! It really depends on what you're yard stick is and what you want the car
    for. I hope this has helped.
     
    Dave, Feb 23, 2005
    #71
  12. Definitely not the best ever. The 940s are considered better used cars
    than the 960s. The best 940s were the '94 and '95.

    As a model, the 850/V70 were the best run of a model. Two notable
    exceptions were the '93 & '94 850 in which the transmission was getting
    bugs worked out, and the '98 and '01 where some changes were made and
    they weren't all for the best.
     
    Stephen Henning, Feb 23, 2005
    #72
  13. VM

    Rob Guenther Guest

    We've had our 1993 960 wagon since new and it's been the best car we've ever
    had.

    No turbo to fail on it, 6 cylinder - inline, nice leather interior with
    velvet headliner and pillar liners, SIPS, dual airbags, good ABS brakes,
    excellent highway fuel range (8.9-10L per 100kms highway, 11-14L per 100kms
    city... drinks gas in the winter in city driving... maybe a bit more then
    14L on some tanks on the coldest weeks)

    Never had serious trouble with the car, never left us stranded... its been
    good, only age related and wear and tear items.
     
    Rob Guenther, Feb 23, 2005
    #73
  14. VM

    James Sweet Guest

    Reliability ratings can and often are misleading, they just don't take into
    account for or provide enough information.

    The 960's overall are good cars, though anything that old will be somewhat
    hit or miss. The overall design is solid but a lot is riding on how well it
    was looked after by the previous owner(s).
     
    James Sweet, Feb 24, 2005
    #74
  15. VM

    Guest Guest


    A customer of mine has a 96 V90 3l 24v with currently 280k miles on it, in
    not bad shape, but its beginning to cost more to run now, things like crank
    oil seals front and rear, waterpump, alternator bearings, radiator leaking,
    door hinges saging, the occasional coil pack failures (well documented) and
    the auto box is getting abit tired now despite regular fluid changes, but
    not slipping yet!

    I'd still stick with the 4 cyl turbo 940's though.

    Tim.
     
    Guest, Feb 24, 2005
    #75
  16. Anecdotal information on one or two vehicles is much worse. Reliability
    ratings and satisfaction ratings are real world numbers reported by real
    people, a lot of real world people. They are what they are. They don't
    make gold out of lemons. They don't make lemons out of gold. They are
    a tool indicating the typical result. As time goes on, both ratings get
    much more accurate since they reflect the long term satisfaction and
    reliability and not early sample defects which are covered under
    warranty and no concern to the used car buyer.
     
    Stephen Henning, Feb 24, 2005
    #76
  17. i like my 1993 940t...it has 240,000 miles on it and runs like
    a champ...the turbo moves this light, 4door sedan right along...

    the 940's seem (to me) to drive and feel great .. even after 100,000
    miles on the clock.......good value for the $$ imho...
     
    ~^ beancounter ~^, Feb 24, 2005
    #77
  18. VM

    Rob Guenther Guest

    Everything you mentioned could go wrong with the turbo 4, at roughly the
    same kilometerage, no? I mean, it's all age/wear related items that engines
    all have.

    My big worry is the turbo on such an old motor.... How much are Volvo
    turbo's to replace? or are they quite rebuildable.
     
    Rob Guenther, Feb 24, 2005
    #78
  19. VM

    BigSwede Guest

    My heart is beating for the old Volvo 164E especially 1972
    I owned a few of them amd still missing them all. Here in Sweden it´s
    not so easy to find a good 164 anymore how is it in the States?
    240 is still a good car but if you search for something newer buy a
    940 Turbo it will not let you doun in the first corner.
    I left to be a Volvo owner fore some years ago and tryed VW,BMW,and
    european FORD but compares to Volvo it was totaly crap.
    Now im driving Chevy Tahoe and found back to the realability that
    volvo had. (just to turn the key and drive away all the time)
     
    BigSwede, Feb 24, 2005
    #79
  20. VM

    Rob Guenther Guest

    Chevy Tahoe?? They actually sell that thing over in Europe?
     
    Rob Guenther, Feb 25, 2005
    #80
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