I just wanted to say that I LOVE my old beat up 91 240. This car never ceases to impress me. I bought it about a year ago, did some front end work on it, cleaned out the gas tank, fixed a few annoying things and presto, she's good to go....

Last year I looked for several months trying to find one with a 5 speed instead of the automatic. I found my green, pretty ugly 240, 5 speed, with 184K miles on it in the autotrader. I just had the clutch replaced several weeks ago at the 200K mile mark and have never been more happy with it. She shifts like butter and I regularly get between 27 to 29 mpg. It's no racer by any means but cruises great at 80 mph and still gets me great gas mileage. I have a friend who does body work and paint in a paint booth at his house. I'm going to drop it off next month for a complete makeover, get the dents out and a fresh coat of paint.....I can't wait!!

I really started this thread to see if there were any others out there that were truly impressed with their 240, whether it be an auto or a stick.

Thanks for reading all,

Dale

 

I've got an '89 240 and it's the best decision I ever made. I paid $1,000 for it last winter with 239k miles, no radio, and a bad blower. Everyone thought I was crazy, but so far it hasn't let me down yet. In fact, its usually the first car the naysayers turn to when they're "technologically advanced" cars leave them stranded.

My only complaint is that everyone else on the road feel they have to test Volvo's reputation for strength and safety. After owning it only one month, I was back into by a short little korean lady in an '85 Oldsmobile...in an otherwise empty parking lot. I got a nice dent from that, but otherwise the only "real" damage was a shattered turn signal lens. Back in June I was side-swiped by a friend who wasn't paying attention when he was pulling away from the sidewalk in his Jetta. The damage; another dent(this one popped right out) and the bumper skin coming off the clip. As for his car? Well he had to drive home dragging his front bumper. Aside for some "user-error" though, the only thing thats gone bad is an O2 sensor and the occasional bulb.

I've thought about trading my car in for something faster, sportier, and nicer; but every time I come up with the argument "Will it be as reliable as what I've got now"? Needless to say, nearly 7000 miles later and it's still kicking. Besides, chicks dig baby-blue Volvos.

 

I'm glad you're loving yours too dsm, my only quest now is to give the interior some much needed TLC. My armrest is non-existent and the cloth seats (padding) is pretty darn flat. I've been doing internet searches trying to find different interior items and will probably just put pads and seat covers on the seats to help bolster them up a bit and look a little better. My clock and temp. gauges don't work either. I've been searching e-bay like a mad man trying to find a "reasonably priced" cluster, I've found a couple but darn those people are proud of them.

This car has really become quite a challenge for me is probably why I like it so much. It needs a lot of cosmetic TLC inside and out, but it's kind of challenging and fun trying to make it look better without just dumping money into it. That's my goal, as little money as possible and make her look good!!!