My 17yr old has saved up some money for a car and has decided that he wants either a 240 Turbo, a 740 Turbo, or 940 Turbo sedan. I like his decesion to buy a Volvo, but I would like to know what you folks recommend regarding which model. Specifically ease of maintenance, reliability, etc..

We have an 850 Turbo that my 19 yr old drives, and my wife has an XC-70, so I'm fairly familiar with Volvo's, just not the 2, 7, or 9 series 4 cylinders.

Many thanks in advance,

Glenn

 

have him buy one with the most spare parts available. Nothing that has some weird funky piece that is critical or limited and comes for several hundreds of dollars to replace.

 

I love my 745T....it is fun, but I love the 82 244T just a little more. I haven't even done anything to it yet......sure it is not as roomy under the hood, but it is still better then the newer cars.

240's look a little nicer than the 700/900 series. Only down side I know of, is the Decaying wire harnesses from the 80s.....

A manual transmission is going to make a big difference......if he can drive one, then totally get one.

 

IMHO
If its his first car 90-93 240 naturally aspirated
if he drives it for 6-12 months with no problems upgrade him to the car of his choice.
there is allways a huge demand for 240's where I am from for first time drivers.

 

I would only say that whatever he buys, he should buy the cleanest, most unmolested, original car he can find. Tell him to keep saving and ignore the bargains.
I am yet to see a used car that had been "modified" that wasn't a total heap of junk or a ticking time bomb.
I have a preference for the 7/9 series Volvos with the 7's the best. Why? Well, teh 2 series are VERY spartan in many respects and a lot still run a very primitive fuel injection system. 2 series cars also tend to be teh most rust prone of the more recent Volvos for some reason.
The 7 series were a much more advanced car in every respect and teh 9 series was a refinement of the 7 series. Later 9 series cars are fairly complex electrically/electronically compared to a 7 series and some have been known to cause grief in teh eelctronics. However a 9 series can have airbags and were much improved over the 7 series in crash protection.
Parts for the 2/7/9's are very readily avilable from teh aftermarket and are more than reasonably priced.
So, if he's buying a turbo, don't let him fall for the old "it's already modified so it'll save you money!" line, it just means bad modifications to fix generally.
As a general rule, turbocharged Volvos are no more unreliable or expensive to maintain than non turbocharged Volvos, they're very well thought out systems, and teh turbos really make these cars decent performers. They're not lightning fast by todays standards, but they're not slow. The Volvo four cylinder engines can be called somewhat unrefined and coarse at some rpms compared to modern four cylinder engines, but they're built like anvils and are generally ridiculously reliable, turbocharged or not. They're prone to valve noise from under teh rocker cover but it is not a noise that should concern you. It's normal.
If buying a turbocharged car though, I would pay to have the cooling system checked for combustion chamber gases in teh coolant. It's a cheap and very quick test any competent radiator shop can do.
Don't let your son rule out the 3 litre six cylinder powered 9 series cars either, it's a nice engine.

Regards, Andrew.