I just purchased the eighth Volvo of my life. Let's see, I've had four 122S, three 240's, and just purchased a beautiful 1989 740GL Wagon (non-turbo). All have been manual transmissions.

My experience has been that the Volvo four cylinder engine is a most reliable and long-lived engineering marvel. The manual gearboxes are likewise nearly unbreakable.

The new car has 190K miles, has had every single scheduled maintenance, regular 3k oil changes since it was new, and is as clean as a regularly-driven 18 year old vehicle could be. The paint isn't perfect, but it's never been hit.

I'm about to put in a new clutch (cable, too), drive shaft support bearing and bushing (classic Volvo problem since time immemorial), starter (same basic device that started my 1962 122S), and a major upgrade of the currently non-functional AC (blown low-pressure pipe). That's about a couple grand worth of stuff at my local Volvo specialist shop, mostly for the clutch and AC. The rest of the vehicle is basically in cherry shape. It runs beautifully, quietly, and has no other major issues. I'm really lucky I found it. I think this car could easily hit a third of a million miles without an engine rebuild.

I paid $2,600 for it, but Longship's #1 Volvo Principle is in play. "All Volvos cost at least $5,000. If you buy one for less than that, the extent of the difference will be shortly paid in repairs to bring it up to snuff."

Maybe I'll post a pic soon. It's Volvo blue. Has no Volvo roof rack , but it does have the third seat.

Now, where can I get a set of Volvo floor trays for this guy?

Yes, the bun warmers work. ;-)

 

Welcome.