Need input - looking to buy a Volvo

I'm looking to buy my first Volvo, on the recommendation of my parts guy.
I'm historically an older VW/BMW guy, but he has owned six 240s over the
years, and his wife is driving a 740 Turbo. With the third-row seat
available in the wagons, the Volvo would suit my current needs as well.

I'm on a budget, and I'm trying to stay in the $3-4k range. My parts guy
recommends the '88-89 740 Turbo wagon if I can find one. I think a 240
would be easier to come by (the Lafayette, IN area is nearly devoid of cars
that are of interest to me - everyone either drives brand new cars or older
junk like '80-90s Cavaliers and stuff, but there are a few Volvos around).

If I buy a 240, will I really wish I had a 740? How much nicer is a 740
than a 240?

If I buy a 740 NA, will I really wish I had a turbo?

I understand the jump seats are optional...how common are they? I would be
putting my boys (3 1/2 and 5 1/2) back there, and my new baby in the second
seat. Are they reasonable for daily use? Are they actually designed to fit
kids, so I could nix the belt-positioning booster seats? I know there has
been discussion on the Brickboard about hte third row seats' safety, but
driving is not a safe activity, and they're probably safer there than in my
Pathfinder. Someone else will always be on the road in something capable of
hurting anyone, regardless of their seating position or orientation.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Aaron
'88 MR2 NA
'92 Pathfinder
'70 Beetle project

 

Depends what you're looking for, 240's and 740's feel distinctly different,
240 has a bit more of a basic no frills solid feel, a bit tighter, the 740
feels more luxurious. Mechanically both are very similar, 240's interior is
simpler and easier to work on, 740's blower motor is much easier to replace,
AC is much better, it's a tossup really, just depends which you like better.

The turbos are much more powerful and tend to come with more options and a
sportier ride and look. If you have one you may find it hard to go back,
though the N/A 4 cyl's are impressively powerful for what they are.

 

The 740 and 240 are basically the same size and the same power plant.
The sheet metal and furnishings are different. On a used Volvo, a turbo
is a risk. It is the only part of the car that will probably need
maintenance. Without turbos they are much more reliable. My only bad
experience in those years was an '84 240 that had a soft cam. After the
cam shaft was replaced early on, the car was just fine.

Regarding the 3rd row seat. You may find one at a junk yard. It was not
a very common accessory.

 

If you can, look for a California car. The 740 turbo wagons are plentiful
out here and it is very easy to find a good clean example. There is a
beautiful gold '91 down the street that looks like it just rolled out of the
showroom and the guy only wants $4K for it. I picked off my '89 turbo sedan
for $1500. The paint isn't pretty, but that's to be expected on a car with
over 270,000 miles. In the three years I have owned the car I have had a
tranny mount and a heater hose fail. The rest has been regular or
preventative maintainence.

I love my 242 turbo, but it is an older car, requiring a bit more
maintainence, and not all that comfortable as a daily commuter car. I'm
building it up to be the ultimate sleeper/rice-eater ;-)

After owning turbo cars for 3 years now, I don't think I could go back. They
are fast enough to get me in trouble, get reasonably good mileage and
insurance is suprisingly inexpensive.

Good luck on your search,

 

By and large the 700s are an improvement over the 200s. Two exceptions
come to mind: the brakes and the interior. The 700/900s are built with
the cheapest possible interior bits. It's complete crap. The brakes are
debatable, but I prefer the four piston calipers of the 240s. Having ABS
on my car doesn't help with the pedal feel either. The 700s/900s use one
or two piston floating calipers depending on the car.

If you're looking for something really utilitarian, the 240 is the way to
go. The seats are what really make the 700s worthwhile for me. Altho
you'll find plenty of people who find the headrest in the 700s extremely
uncomfortable.

If you are okay with driving a Beetle or Pathfinder around, you probably
won't feel a pressing need for a turbo. I wouldn't have it any other way.

For reference I paid $2000 for my wagon (and I'm in California where car
prices are really inflated). Mostly complete service records, non working
A/C, needed motor and transmission mounts, dome light, driver's window
regulator. I went ahead and finally threw in new tires, strut rod
bushings, and Bilstein shocks in the back.

AFAIK they're not designed as a replacement for a booster seat or what
have you. I would consider putting the baby in the front seat, and the
two older children in the rear seat.

I the end you should drive em and decide which one you like. I miss my
240s..

 

I would argue that the interior on a 740 was an improvement over the 240,
yeah it's more complex and harder to take apart and put together, but it's
much more luxurious and the plastic parts seem to hold up a lot better. I
rarely see broken plastics in a 740, but in a 240 those stupid door pockets
and parking brake covers are *always* broken on the older cars. The C pillar
covers tend to be quite brittle as well and often snap when removing. One
real downside of the 700's though is the headliner, when (not if) it starts
to sag it's a real project to redo, much worse on a sedan.

 

you may want to look at the eBay used 940t & 960 wagons...they are not
too much $ and not a bad duy for the $$..basic cars w/nice
features...not too complicated...and can be made to move...fast...if
you want to throw some
$$ at them......i guess i would look at 1993-1997's.....or, what ever
the last year of the 960 wagons were...good luck!!! you wont be sorry
(imho)...i am an x bmw driver....both the volvos and bmw's are nice
cars...in there own areas...

 

The 900 series has a cheap interior??? I know the 700 series did, some trim
was falling off our 89 740 by the time we sold it in 1993. But our 960 still
has leather that looks great, velvet headliner and pillar trim (I've never
seen a trimmed pillar even in the new ones... they are usually plastic on
most cars) that is in mint shape, the plastic is durable and good looking -
not a single crack in any of the plastic pieces, the switches all seem
pretty serious duty pieces.... The only thing that was junk was the original
radio.... Considering we never asked much more from it then AM most of the
time FM some of the time, and tape deck on long trips it wasn't really that
reliable... But that's all fixed now.

The interior in our 93 960 looks far superior to many 2004 cars out on the
market.... The only problem with the trim is one corner of the wood paneling
is loose, but it's being held in by the other corners... And it squeaks a
bit over bad roads.

 

Hi,

I am also a BMW (&Volvo) guy.

Other than the good advice posted here on the various models to look for in
your price range (I'm partial to the 900 series), if it were me, I would
try to find a year/model that has the newer R134a refrigerant in the A/C
system. Much cheaper to deal with if the A/C system goes out (which is
likely on a car of the vintage you are talking about). I don't know when
Volvo switched over to R134a from R12. BMW switched with the 1993 model
year.

It's not something people normally think about when shopping for a used
car, but it should be on the list of things to consider.

Bob
'95 Volvo 944t
'92 BMW 325iC [with an R12 A/C system :-( ]

 

It may be worth mentioning that (here in UK, at least) the "third row"
seats were available as an add-on from Volvo to fit to existing 5-seat
cars. EBay UK usually has plenty for sale. The kits were different for
the different (240/740) models of car.

 

That's not really much of a concern, the 700/900 series AC system is easily
converted and works well with R134a, shouldn't cost more than a few hundred
bucks to have it ressurected and converted assuming the compressor,
evaporator and condenser are in functional condition.

 

They were available everywhere, they're really only suitable for children
though, I think the weight limit is 75lbs/person. They also take up the
entire rear storage compartment and require holes to be cut in the headliner
and rear floor board. I'm not sure why people want them so much, my mom's
245 had one that I rode in when I was little, it was cramped on legroom and
made me seasick to ride facing backwards, much better to get a van or
something if you need to move that many people on a regular basis.