I have been looking for a new to me car, and well, since a used Volvo is not too expensive, especially when you compair it to the cost of, say a used Acura or Honda, or BMW...well its a seemingly good decision. Sure Volvos get medocre fuel economy, but hey premium is no more then 2.75/us gal and I do not see it going much over $3/gal in inflation adjusted terms in the near term. Therefore, if the Volvo gets 20 MPG (low end) and the alternatives get 30 MPG (high end) over 15,000miles a year 150 galons of fuel is $450...a lot less then the price of entry to a BMW or a Honda/Acura... I like the 940 because it's easy to work on, and does ok on fuel...but I missed this wonderful deal--IDIOT!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...=4562683826&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEDW:IT&rd=1 The S90/960 is my first choice, but there seem to be a lot of turbos out there--I have always shied away from turbos because of the issues with longivity etc... Can folks with experence with Volvo turbos give me some feedback about the turbo vs the non models please. Thanks very much! --Steve
Turbos are virtually a non issue ever since they started water cooling them in '86. Even an old oil cooled Garrett will usually go about 120K before needing replacement, and the water cooled Mitsubishis used in most of the newer Volvos seem to last very well, I have nearly 280K on mine and know of several people who've gotten at least that much. They're a little less forgiving to neglect but if you keep the oil changed at reasonable intervals you'll probably never have to think about it. In short, don't fear the turbo, even if it had to be replaced at 100K, the cost per mile is still far lower than other things that can go wrong, and if you do your own work to the extent of removal and reinstallation you can have a turbo rebuilt for a few hundred. Once you have boost you'll never want to go back, it transforms these cars from barely adaquate power to downright zippy and gives better fuel economy than a V6 as well.
I've had 4 or 5 Volvo's with turbos and never ever had a problem, and 2 without turbos. .I'd never buy another Volvo without a turbo. The last one was a '97 S90 --- great car and the right size, but was a straight 6 with no turbo and, while it had good power at the low-end, simply didn't deliver power at the higher end of the power curve. Almost got wiped out trying to pass when it just wouldn't accelerate from 60MPH up when needed. Currently I have a '91 940 turbo with 137K miles and never a problem. The car's in great condition, and I have it serviced every 3,000 mile/3 mos. *which i think is the secret tio trouble-free turbos. I also have a "00 S70 T5 with nearly 100K on it and again, no problems with the turbo at all. That car I have serviced every 5,000mo/6 mos.
That looks like a good price for that one on eBay. I'm sure there will more like that if you are patient and keep your eyes open. I own a '95 940 turbo with 175K on it. No problems yet with the engine, drive train, or turbo. A very solid, well built vehicle. I think it would hard to go wrong getting a good example of that model. Good Luck, Bob
You can go wrong with any car if it was abused and neglected for years, but you can usually tell if that's the case.
