740/940 estate purchase

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

I'm glad that you mentioned the corrosion side of things, 'L.S.'. The mechanical side has been well covered in the replies thus far, but no one has mentioned the rust.

Contrary to popular belief, these cars can and do rust. It spelt the end for my own much loved 745 - although in fairness it was 29 years old, the last 18 in our ownership. It had lived outside for all of that time and failed it's last MOT on extensive corrosion. £4-500 worth of welding would have set it right, but then there's always next year and the one after that ...

Personally, l'm not overly keen on the turbo models. They have more to go wrong and can be expensive to repair if or when they do. My own preference is for a 2.3 N/A auto - a lovely flat torque curve and 27+ MPG overall over 60 odd thousand miles.

But they are getting on now, and even the best Swedish steel will rust eventually.

Regards, John.

As you say John, the corrosion side of things is definitely worth mentioning. Most are good on that side of things but those of a certain age will develop small holes here and there, if caught in time they're easily fixed but if they aren't and progress through the course of a year they can be a cause of terminal tinworm as you found with your 745.

I'm pleased you also mentioned the turbo models - normally mine is the "lone voice of dissent" on turbos.

I've always been of the belief that "there ain't no replacement for displacement" and a bigger engine without a turbo or wild cams and so on (in other words, what some may describe as a "lazy" engine) is always better for longevity and more consistent economy, albeit at (sometimes) a penalty on fuel economy.

However, when my 760 is running right, it happily does 22-26mpg on my usual short running about and i have nudged 40mpg on longer distances.
That's the 2.8 V6 auto as well. My previous 740GLE was the 2.3 n/a auto as you described, the economy on that varied between 25-35mpg on those types of journeys, in line with what i'd had from my previous 740GLE autos.

That means for me, the V6 is the best of both worlds, better power and economy (due largely to the engine being more suited to the heavy bodyshell of the 7/9xx) but each to their own.

Don't get me wrong, if i'm a little too "enthusiastic" with the loud pedal i can get the economy down to the high teens but i have to be fairly brutal to do that!

[volvosam]

Thanks very much for the pointers. I appreciate that even the newest of these cars is now getting on a bit and so there may be some rust to deal with - from looking on line there are very few advertised with external body corrosion like you might see on many Mercedes and some BMWs of the same era. Most 20 year old silver Mercedes seem to look like a patchwork quilt of multiple shades of silver paint.

[john.wigley]

Agreed, 'L.S.'. Linda's '95 3.0 V6 Saab 9000 also proves your point conclusively - a big, lazy engine that still returns mid-twenties MPG overall in everyday driving.

Never owned a V6 7 series myself - was always put off by reports of the unreliability of the wde-angle 'V' motor - which I now believe that, given conscientious maintenance, were probably overstated.

Regards, John.

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by Familyman 90

Theres a 740 diesel wagon with an auto box currently on ebay. Big miles, but the MOT history looks commendable and the whole thing looks very clean.

I did spy that one when it was first listed on Gumtree a couple of weeks back. Lovely clean car-I believe it’s done less miles than it currently reads, the MOT history a few years back shows a jump of an additional 100k in a year, so I’d imagine it’s had the clocks changed.

I’d like an auto diesel, for sure. It’s a touch too pricey for my budget at the moment but certainly a lovely car which is worth good money if it’s mechanically sound.

[nemesisthewarlock]

Originally Posted by griston64

As far as I'm aware the 740 doesn't come in LPT. The 940 does come in LPT format but it's the same engine as the HPT. The only difference is the wastgate on the turbo ( HPT runs around 8psi and the LPT 4 psi ish )

The HPT has a turbo boost gauge under the rev counter which is the easiest way to tell them apart

My advice but then I am biased is buy a 960 and enjoy the smooth six cylinder life

[griston64]

Originally Posted by nemesisthewarlock

My advice but then I am biased is buy a 960 and enjoy the smooth six cylinder life

Give me a 250bhp manual Redblock all day long

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Agreed, 'L.S.'. Linda's '95 3.0 V6 Saab 9000 also proves your point conclusively - a big, lazy engine that still returns mid-twenties MPG overall in everyday driving.

Never owned a V6 7 series myself - was always put off by reports of the unreliability of the wde-angle 'V' motor - which I now believe that, given conscientious maintenance, were probably overstated.

Regards, John.

The early V6 engines did have a bad reputation, largely due to the heads on them. That was a big part of the 1986 ish redesign/revamp by Volvo that eliminated almost if not all the inherent problems in the early heads. They also addressed the odd-fire crank and made things generally more even and vastly improved the engine in general.

I also have a wide-angle (90 degree) V6 in my Rover, however that was designed from the start as a 90 degree V6 and not 3/4 of a V8 as the Volvo was. If memory serves correctly, the GM V6 in your Lindas Saab is a narrow-angle V6 at 52 degrees instead of the most common 60 degrees.

I noticed Ben (Nemesisthe warlock) has also cast his vote for having a six-pot in the 7/9xx model the OP eventually chooses.

[SalvadorP]

I was in the same position last year when i started looking at volvos. Forums helped a lot. Robertdiy on YouTube helped a lot in terms of what to look for too on car inspection.

I went for a 1997 manual tranny 940 2.3 LPT. I just love the car.

What i was told and what i did was that if tranny felt right and engine sounded nice, there was no rust and the ac worked, the rest was easy to deal with. But look up robertdiy if you haven't yet, he has 2 videos about inspecting these cars, it will help you a lot.

[tofufi]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I noticed Ben (Nemesisthe warlock) has also cast his vote for having a six-pot in the 7/9xx model the OP eventually chooses.

D24T diesel. Clearly the best engine ever fitted to the 700/900 series

That said, if mine wasn't a diesel I'd be going redblock

[kiloran]

Check it's running blue coolant, not pink. Check carpets by clutch pedal for dampness if it doesn't have AC - leaky heater valves are common and hard to come by.
The engines take abuse and will run well long after a lesser lump would have expired. There's a couple of us on here with water-side HG failures present for months/years. HG failure most commonly happen just above the water pump (front left corner of the engine when you're looking back from the nose).
Quite a few bits and bobs no longer available or very hard to come by.
Get underneath and have a good poke around for rust. As you already know battery trays are one area, so are arch liners and around the jacking points
Personally I'd avoid sunroof models but that's only because mine's a little leaky and in need of a new seal which is a pain to fit.
No experience of turbo stuff so I'll leave that to everyone else.
Oh and do not open the door with your foot - the door pockets are incredibly brittle.