Hi all

My father has a 1987 Volvo 760 GLE and I think it's on it's last legs. It's got over 350,000kms and he's made great use of it. The transmission is starting to slip and the body doesn't look too good right now.

My Question:

Knowing what you know about Volvos, either from experience or from your own research, which Volvo (model and year) would you get for ease of repairs, gas consumption, reliability and availability/cheap replacement parts? This replacement Volvo will take the place of the 760 GLE that he currently owns. I know he likes power windows, A/C, and auto.

I'm mechanically inclined and do most of my own repairs on my own vehicles, but I know nothing about Volvos.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Troy

 

That's a pretty tough question. All the newer Volvo's are front wheel drive. That last of the rear wheel drive Vovlos was made in 1999 (maybe 98). It was the 940 or the 960. Don't know much about them other than the fact that they are quite a bit like the 740/760 models.

Years most people say to stay away from are 99-01. You can pick up 850's or 98 V/S70's for very reasonable prices. Of the newer ones I like the S60 and the V70 the best, but that's just my opinion. I think you will find the newer cars (any make or model)need much more maintenance than the 760 and it can get expensive. There are many forums, like this one, where you can find out how to do most anything though.

I owned an 85 760 Turbo Diesel and an 89 760 Turbo Intercooler. I really liked the 85, didn't care for the 89 for some reason. I then bought a 94 850 Turbo that I drove til the engine quit at 206K (I think that was premature) and I now have a 95 850 T5R, a 97 850R and a 98 V70 GLT.