Used Volvo model recommendations

Looking to buy a used Volvo and seeking recommendations on what model to buy.
Will be my first Volvo. Would spend $8-10k. Reliability very important (I
am not keen on doing maintenance work . What else to look out for? Parts
availability?

Thanks.

Marcus

 

Purchased a '96 850 2.5 20v with 86k miles on the clock - Immaculate and
perfect so far (albeit only 1500 miles done it so far) would reccomend it
so far (fingers crossed, touch wood and anything else that helps.....)

 

Recomendation

I have said it before,
IMHO
You can't beat a 94 940 non turbo with Regina fuel injection. Regina doesn't
use the expensive air mass sensor, just a temp sensor in the intake. Crank
position sensor will fail sooner or later and leave you stopped, so buy one and
carry it in the car.
Parking light lenses are on eBay.
Don't try to use a cheap belt on the AC Compressor, it will squeal in 1000mi.


As you can see below I have had 3.
No engine repairs!
No transmission repairs!
Everything else is DIY and listed on the web, here or elsewhere.
I will drive 94 940s till I can't get any more,.

Al



Had
79 245 D,
81 240 D,
86 240 320,000mi and running fine when traded
94 944 Green 257,503 mi CRUNCH Parted out
Have
94 944 White 149,000 The New one
94 944 Maroon 135,000 mi

 

Most Reliable Used Volvos
VOLVO 240 '91 & '92
VOLVO 940 '94 & '95
VOLVO 850 '96 & '97

Least Reliable Used Volvos
VOLVO 960 '96-97
VOLVO S90/V90 '98
VOLVO S80 '99-01
VOLVO S70/V70 '98-99
VOLVO S40/V40 '00

 

I second this. You can get a mint condition one for about $5-$6K and spend
the rest on upgraded swaybars, tires, fixing the inevetable $1000 in aging
parts(struts, battery, radiator(10 years is all you typically get out of one)
and so on), upgrade the wiring harness, put on fog lamps...

For $8K out the door, you should have a car that is mint condition and is a
little sport sedan. That's the smart way to do it, IMO - $6K on a car and
then $2K on upgrades to make it run that much better. Save the last $2K
in savings for repairs. That should last you 3-4 years at least.

Second option: Same exact thing, but in a non-turbo 850 with manual
transmission. Learn stick as a clutch job is maybe $400-$500, while
the auto transmission is $1500 to rebuild. A 1994 850 GLTS with stick
and all the goodies is a perfect choice as well to modify with a couple
of thousand in extras and preventative maintainence. You should have a
nearly perfect car by then - not a single thing wrong, broken, or even
scuffed/dinged.

Drive it for another decade with minimal repairs.

 

i am enjoying the 93 940t...after a 02 s80.....
nice to back in a older mdl.....fun tweeking them
too......

 

Amen to that, I picked up a '92 745T from a friend of mine last Monday
for $3500, mint condition with 150K on it. I spent the weekend
putting TME springs, ipd 25/25mm bars and Bilsteins under it, man what
a car, goes like a bat, handles like a slot car and hauls plenty.
Dave Shannon
daveshan@DIE_SPAMMERScox.net (Spring Valley CA)
1984 245DL 200K
1984 245Ti 190K
1988 240DL 190K
1992 745T 150K
'01 Jeep Sahara 15K
www.volvo2.homestead.com

 

I'm partial to the 960. We've had ours for only 140K Kms, but still... 11
year old car. Nothing major other then a steering rack, and that might have
been caused by my mothers desire to turn the steering wheel when the car
isn't rolling.

My father claims to everyone that it is the best Volvo ever made until the
modern V70's came out... Yah the 940's are probably a little more "user
serviceable" but honestly my dad and I don't like working on cars unless
it's for stuff like changing the spark plugs, or doing the belt (not
timing)... The hardest job we did was a valve cover gasket on our old Golf
. The 960 has a straight six, so you know it'll last, I mean it's
perfectly balanced, so no inherent vibration to shake the engine and such...
It has the latest and greatest electronic management from 1993 (or 1995 if
you get the updated engine) and is better on gas on the highways then the
740 was (at least the NA, and 16 Valve DOHC models we had). You also get an
A/C system that works properly, ours has lasted 11 years with only one
checkup to top off and leak seal the system, and the ECC makes temperature
selection something you don't need to adjust while driving (I don't know
about you but can never get the right temperature with cold-to-hot
knobs/sliders).

Brake pads on our car lasted over 100K Kms, other then those, timing belts,
and stuff like that nothing really big... Exaust system was done after 8
years (we don't drive the car enough to get a huge life out of it... got a
stainless exaust from what looks like an 850 by the tip on the end). Oh and
one caliper started leaking at 130K kms, not bad, but it had to be replaced
of course.

 

Agree with others that the 940 is a great reliable car. My 10-year old
turbo with 110K is doing fine - no major problems. Exhaust, battery, tires,
brakes plus routine maintenance only. Find a local shop that specializes in
Volvo work and make friends with them. I find that's more economical than
the dealer and they go out of their way to fix little problems before they
get expensive.

TKM

 

From my point of view, the most reliable models would be the 740 and
the 940. No turbo, 16 valve etc.
My brother has a 1988 740, with more than 300.000 miles on the road, and
it still runs smootly.
The 850 can't live up to that kind of quality. My opinion is that the
940 was the last GENUINE Volvo. Rock solid!
The 240 is also very reliable, but it's not that great when it comes to
rust.

 

I would recommend a 240 Wagon to anybody. But I wouldn't pay more than
$4500 for one.

 

Depends where you are, a '93 can easily fetch over $8k if it's in really
nice shape, I've seen a couple 240 Classic models get $10k in the last year.

 

$4500??

I have several 240 wagons and have been driving them almost
exclusively for 20 years. My '89 with 235K miles is my favorite, and
I wouldn't sell it for that. If anything happened to our '93, I would
pay $8K-9K for another in great condition. It all depends on
condition and maintenance. The 740/940 is probably a better value,
but the 240 wagon is the classic.

 

you can find a nice, used (normal wear & tear) 940 on eBay for <
3k$...
got my 93 940t for $1,800...buttt..i hade to pick it up and drive it
home from nh to co...

 

They made the 940's much more recently, believe it or not, the late 240's
are worth more, they're harder to find in nice shape and more desirable for
various reasons. Don't get me wrong, the 940 is a good car, but you can't
base the price of a late 240 on one.

 

A 740 wagon is ultracheap at the moment and will be going up in two to vife
years. Means you can drive a couple of years and then get your own money
back.

Very solid
Very low maintenance
Very small turning circle
Very good trailer puller
Caries heavy loads
Very very very secure and reliable

I've don 750K + Km's on mine with no expensive maintenance (just the regular
stuff, Oil, sparks, battery, brakepads)

I'm starting on my second one now (240K Km's at purchase date (next week)
and looking new)

El Mecky