Whats the 240 ownership experience in 2019
 

Hi,
We currently have a 340 as a weekend car to go alongside our boring daily drivers. I'm slowly nudging SWMBO towards the idea that a 240 estate is a cracking car (to be fair though my own memories are from my dads ownership of a brand new one back in 1986). It would need to be an estate to take on the roll of dog carrier and probably auto as we both have dodgy knees so the land of auto's is beckoning.

So, the question is - is a 240 auto estate a sensible choice, what things do we need to look out for and can a reasonable one be had for sensible money (doesnt have to be show-ready, but sound and reliable would be preferable) :regular_smile:

Obviously the 340 will be staying as well so we can have a little family of Volvo's

Andy

welcome Andy... But cor! that's a general question and a half!

early 240 autos are 3-speed, later ones 4-speed. Both strong boxes with regular servicing etc. Someone with 1st hand experience of these boxes can comment on their performance. So far as I know, they are fine as far as they go

A range of engines and fuelling available - largely dependent on age and what performance you want

How handy are you? What are you happy to fix? Bear in mind that a 1992 car is now 27 years old so regardless of the mileage, components (especially plastic interior trim) are suffering from age. You will be fixing things!

Most stuff is available OEM (FRF Swansea will source OEM Volvo parts if avail) and almost certainly aftermarket too. There are some things that are not available and r potentially a headache - rear aluminium bumper rail for example

Overall well engineered, well built cars. Wiring can be a nuisance (rubbish fuseboard design for example) and things like clutch replacement and braking system work must be done correctly, else you will cause yourself no-end of problems

What's reasonable money? You'd get a runner for a few hundred. A grand ought to buy you a car that would be a long term project, a few grand should buy you something half decent. You can pay up to £8-12k for a low mileage minter. Rare tho' and not really what you are looking for I suspect

Good luck and keep us posted. Nick

I had a 1989 240 GLT Auto for 10 years and it was a good reliable car, covering 76,000 miles with me and sold at 234,000.
The 2.3 Litre B230E K jet injection engine can keep up with traffic and is a good match to the AW70 Auto box. Never had any major issues bar tail output bearing and prop bearing that together cost £400. Also replaced rad for nissens and gearbox cooler pipes. Other items service items or age related.


common 240 faults heater fan dead. Big job diy as dash virtually stripped to replace.
Tailgate wiring harnesses. DIY in a few hours but fiddly.
Rust biggest issue. check underneath, sills, wheel arches, boot floor pan. under back bumper.

Never had a problem with interior trim except door pockets.

Sold my 240 as couldn't have 3 cars and 240 not used as bough a 1996 940 to get ABS brakes and Aircon.

I would think you would get a 240 2.3 for £1-2,000 as a basic driver but not mint and needing some work.

James.

A 240 isn't quite as quiet and refined as a modern car, but I find it refined enough. I have one with AC, which is important here. The auto gearboxes are rugged. I have a spare from a crashed 940 in the garage just in case -- it has a lock-up torque converter for better motorway economy/lower rpm. If you can find an example without much rust, and which has been cared for, then they are reliable in either k-jet or LH injected forms. Check the ads often and wait for a good one to come up -- it took me about 2 years to find my estate.

We run one as a daily driver, takes five of us plus dog everywhere. The 245 is an Infinitely stretchable holdall that is fun to drive and my 15 year old tells me is now a dead cool car to be seen in.Injection ones are pretty good on fuel too.
So, banish the world of grey blob cars and get one!

If I were buying a 240 now:

I would also choose an auto. I'd look in to the radiator issue. Otherwise in the event of failure, fluids that should be apart from each other can intermingle, an expensive result.

I would consider the K juet engine. They are not without difficulties, they are engines. But they have a strong reputation. The forum has many threads about trying to diagnose the later, LH, engines.

Brakes, yes. There are threads about brakes. I think the starting point is to get them worked on by someone who BOTH remembers basic principles AND finds out and respects the specifications for working on 240 brakes. From one thread in particular, I suspect that once someone has got the brakes wrong, it can be a for ever task to get them right again.

Rust. Less of a problem on later cars, some galvanising I think. A saloon avoids the under rear bumper rust of estates. That rust can go quite a long way beyond the bumper. Get that area checked out very carefully.

The estate is a great load carrier. Takes a single bed or a full chest freezer. The load area is a good place for a picnic sat looking out of the open tailgate over weather drenched marshes.

Tyres. 14" are difficult to obtain quality tyres. 15" wheels for example the excellent Volvo Omega alloys allow a good choice of quality tyres. For e.g. the SE the Omegas look very like the wheel trims fitted by Volvo and are an excellent choice.

Overall. Any problem can sometimes take time to diagnose, and time to obtain parts. With several cars you might not be bovvered too much if a car is out of use for a while?

My 240 SE (LH 2.4) Esatate is booked in for the MOT tomorrow. And, famous last words, I have no significant concerns.

Bottom line. If a day comes to replace my 240, I expect to buy a 240.

Does any of that help?

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Hi I had a 340gls and what a super car in metal dark green with chrome everything..the tin worms put paid to it and they seem like hens teeth these days..a nice five speed box and that invincible 2.0l redblock..Magic!..Back to your question to sum up,like others have pointed out rust is the big problem on older cars once its in you spend the rest of the time chasing it around..Mine is a standard 240DL 1988.Bought it for less than £400.00 in 2004..was not keen on it when i got but now happy to chase the rust around.Mine is a poor mans classic car that works for a living and The moral of the story is dont fall in love because you will.

Just to weigh in on this:

I think ultimately it comes down to what you're used to and what you expect. I drove my 240 for three years and put about 35K miles on the clock doing everything from commuting to work and going to the shops to driving boats to Scotland and back. It was noisy, it was rough and it was uneconomical but it was what I knew and, once we put an M47 in it, it was pretty fun too. I drove an estate which was cavernous and super practical for pretty much anything. That said, the list of jobs to-do mounts pretty quickly in a 26 year old car that's not been looked after too well. Once I got to the stage where the bushes were shot, the brake calipers were close to needing replacement and the shocks had fully ceased to work it started getting a bit silly. Yes, I loved that car absolutely to pieces but when I was spending more time fixing niggling little problems than taking it on adventures it ceased being fun.

I've still got the car and I'll put the work in to it when I've got the time because I genuinely believe it's one of the best, most reliable and enjoyable forms of transport ever invented but they need looking after. My car had not been looked after for a very long time and was really starting to show it. I've since swapped to a V50 that has been looked after and yeah, it's completely different. Much quieter, much more economical and much more practical. Would I say I'm in love with it? I'm not sure. Do I miss my 240? Absolutely. Have my expectations for my driving experience changed? Big time.

The take away from all of this is that the 240 experience on a well looked after, well maintained and rust free car would be brilliant but those aren't easy to find now and you're going to pay through the nose for it. If that's what you're after than yeah, wait for the right car to show up and open your wallet. If you don't find a solid car and you're not used to fixing things and living with about 10dB more road noise than anything else then it might not be so great.

If I could chuck the V50 engine in to the 240 body and soundproof the whole thing then I'd be in nirvana. Hold on, I feel a project coming on here...

Hope that helps,

Alex

Alex's post illustrates an old principle. A car that is quality starts off with owners that can afford the maintenance even for a high mileage and heavy work load. They buy a replacement and "we" subsequent owners have to be realistic. Ain't dat da truth?


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I'm lost. 2 litre 340? Was it a 360? A tow car of the year I think?

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