Volvo for a first car?
 

Alrighty... I'm new here, 19, and in a position to buy my first car. I've been working odd jobs to save up so I can get a car to get a steady job somewhere. That's my situation. I've always thought older Volvo wagons looked nice, and they're bulletproof, from what I've heard. :rolleyes: Anyways, I've found a few reasonably priced ones around here, and I was hoping to get a run-down from y'all on whether or not it would be a good choice for a first car. Stuff like:

Ease of maintenance
Reliability
Gas mileage
Price/availability of parts
Etc.

Also, I know very little about car maintenance, but I want and am willing to learn. Thanks in advance, y'all.

the classic Volvo 240/740/940 4-cylinder nonturbos are about as easy as anything to do routine maintenance on... if they've been well maintained and not abused, they are decently reliable for an older car (remember, we're talking about cars that are 20 or 30 years old here), and they are certainly rugged and robust. they get mediochre gas mileage, non turbos are around 25mpg, and turbos down around 18mpg.

parts are readily available, and fairly reasonably priced until you get into major stuff.

here's some good tips on buying a used Volvo...
Buying a Used 7xx/9xx
(oriented towards the 740/940 but much of that advice is applicable to the mid 80s and later 240's too as they used the same B230F engine

if your goal is inexpensive reliable transportation, you're probably better off finding a 4 cylinder smaller Toyota or Honda, there's tons of them on the road, and they are likely to get better mileage and be cheaper to maintain.

Like pierce said, if you need reliable transportation, you may want to try something else as your first car and get the Volvo later. A 240 was my first, and a good portion of the time I drive another family vehicle because mine is torn apart doing work on it. A learning buddy and I do work at a reasonable rate, but not as fast as any shop of course. That being said, the work we do on it is not 100% necessary, and I could always run the car and never fix them. If you don't do most of the work yourself, you will be stuck with some big bills at the shop. So here again, a Honda or such with cheap mechanics on every corner might be the choice.
If you can do most of the work on the Volvo yourself, be prepared for it to not start and die on random occasions. This is due to some small little thing most of the time, a relay, fuse, wire, and can be fixed real fast if you know where to look quick and have parts on hand. I'm not trying to bash on any Volvo, but I think it is a second car that you can have time to work on until you get it all up to par and find all the little surprises in between.

When looking for model specific parts, you should be looking online, and occasional you can find stuff at local auto parts stores. Major parts are a little pricey(as with any car I guess), but those Bosch parts last if well taken car of. Most everything you need to keep the car running you will easily find online in like FCP, or IPD to name a couple.

Ill go somewhat different direction. My first car was a 73 Buick Regal that needed a ton and never got to stage 0 (meaning good running and reliable) while I owned it. But I learned more than I could have any other way. All cars are expensive to maintain correctly. If you have saved enough to buy the car and get it close to stage 0 right out of the gate, I say go for it. Once you drive/own one (a Volvo) most find anything else sub par. The annoyances, issues are easily worked through with a little knowledge and help from sites like this. Where I fully agree with the others is that if you don't want to be bothered, dont have the time, place, etc with DIY then go tyota/honda or similar.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I've got the patience and willingness to learn on it, and a neighbor has any tool I think I could ever possibly need. I'm perfectly okay with having a car that runs, but isn't 100% perfect. Just so long as it runs. I have a lead on an 80's 245 for around 2k, is that a reasonable price? It runs and is in good shape, just no radio/AC. I figure I can fix both later, and I'm used to a car with no AC... :rolleyes:

a/c not so easy to fix on an 80s car, unless its already been converted to r134a, and even then, you really should let professionals work on a/c, as you need special recovery equipment to keep from polluting the ozone layer with leaking freon etc.

stereo is easy, a $100 or so pioneer or kenwood or whatever, and some decent speakers and the right wiring harness ($20 at a car stereo store) and easy. the 240's doors will only take low profile (thin) 4" speakers in the standard door positions, so you have to hack a bit if you want bigger (typically, remove the plastic tray thing from the bottom of the door and install a surface mount speaker box, and you can get a 6.5" in which will give you plenty of sound). I'm a big fan of JL Audio speakers, like the C2-650, nice natural quality sound, plenty of bass, capable of going as loud as you like if they are properly mounted and powered.

Thanks for the quick reply. Would that be a pretty good price, though? Or should I look for something else?

if its a clean well maintained car, with only minor cosmetic issues, and the seats are in decent shape etc, yeah, thats a decent price. depends heavily on where you are. places like here on the central coast, volvo 240's are really popular so a clean decent one commands a high price.

The 2k is not bad really. I'm concerned about that a/c though, being it will have to be vacuumed and such. I would try and tell him the a/c has to be converted and some parts may need to be changed which could very well cost you $500 to $1,000. Some pics would help if you had any, but if you say if it looks good to you, the asking price is a good place to start.

Thanks for the advice. Because of the A/C, I figured I'd offer $1600-1700, and deal from there. Anything I should know to look for if/when I czech this car out in person?


Here's a pic posted publicly, so I figure it's fine to share here:

Attachment 19364

Oh... I like, even the 700 series rims on them. Of course, that is the best lighting to cover imperfections, but I would look at this public guide from VCOA- Buying a Used 7xx/9xx
Yeah it says for 700 and 900 series car, the the engine and body principles are the same. Major things I would look at are the flame trap and rear axle oil, tranny oil and engine oil too I guess. Have any records? Check out the ball joints, does the rubber on it looked cracked. Is the tank more than half full? They might be trying to mask a bad in-tank pump, take if for a drive and give it some generous gas, does it feel like the engine is receiving more power the faster you go?

Almost every one of us kids had a Volvo to start.

Brother - 1987 740 GL 5-speed
Sister - 1989 Volvo 240DL
Me - 1992 Volvo 944T (940 Turbo


Excellent cars.

Are the tires properly inflated, or at least all even if you don't know the recommended pressure? Is the spare tire properly inflated? These are indications of a tedious care taker which is good. The recommended pressures can be found on the passenger door, or driver's if the older 240's are different. Do all the instruments work, switches, rear defroster, seat heaters, rear window wiper, emergency brake...

Oh yeah, test that cabin fan at all speeds and the heat while you are at it. Those are a trip and a half to replace if they are noisy.
Does the reverse light work?

Thanks for the list.. some obvious, but I'm sure me of all people would forget to czech, then get home and find out that they don't work... :rolleyes:

Reading the guide as we speak... erm, type.

I have been creating a list of thing I will be checking if I look for another 240 myself, but you could check stuff all day... Just as long as the major stuff works, you will find out yourself what you will be looking out for in the future. Some of things I suggested to check for are 240 specific so you may have trouble detecting a problem with it like the in-tank pump.
If you want, I can explain and give some links to those things, but you may just have to buy and fix them down the road like me. I did not check anything, but at least I got away with a decent one at a solid price.

that looks really effin nice. are all the lights clear ? I replaced the turn signals and tail lights on our 87 sedan and it was 10x nicer.

is the interior half as nice as the exterior looks in that picture? most important to me is the drivers seat, and if the car overall is free of annoying rattles and clunks. yeah, that car *looks* like its worth at least $2000 in the local market here on the left coast. I'd want to see it up close, check some stuff, drive it before I'd say for sure.

those wheels are a fairly rare Volvo "Adhara" 15" rim.
Volvo 200/700/900 Alloy Wheels

stock on a 240 wagon was a 14", with a 195/75-14 tire... the 15's will take a wider stiffer 205/65-15 tire and were a factory fitment (but those wheels were probably optional or upgraded, I've not seen those on any 240s).

that car has upgraded 15" rims, so the door tire pressures are probalby incorrect. Stock was 195/75-14 and it probably has 205/65-15. I'd expect the /65 tires to need a little higher pressure than the /75 series with the same load

Burn Stains, I haven't even got a clue what a flame trap is, and how would you czech the rear axle oil?

The ad states that the wheels are a later addition, and the interior looks pretty nice from the pictures, the driver's seat has cracks in the leather, but whatever. Pierce, what things would you czech?

Currently, the biggest problem is that I can't drive a stick... :o I'm trying to find someone to teach me, but if it comes to it, I can just have someone else test drive it for me..

the flame trap is a filter screen in the oil trap, which is part of the crankcase ventilation... its mounted on the side of the engine block underneath the intake manifold, there's a removable screen you clean in solvent. there is a ~1" hose that goes from the oil trap to the intake duct between the airbox and the throttle body.

...right. And once I've disconnected the modular discombobulator, is it safe to start again? ;) I guess what I'm saying is that's all Greek to me. Pictures, however, I understand. :D