Thinking of buying a high mileage 740 - is it worth it?

[meganmay]

Thanks all for your input about the handbrake - I can assure you it definitely doesn't work as there's no resistance at all and I almost pulled the centre console apart pulling it up as high at it would go!

On a related note; thanks for being so nice and respectful on this forum - being youngish and female I'm always apprehensive about being patronised or not taken seriously (I've had bad experiences on other car forums in the past) and I'm really pleased you've all made me feel so welcome! Volvo people are lovely

[Laird Scooby]

It wasn't taken as critical Bob - i'm all too familiar with the way Volvo seem to dip into the parts bin ad hoc when they feel like it and throw a red herring into the works!

As a point of interest, my front discs come up as combination #4 in that link, presumably the least common.

Also they seem to have adopted the attitude of "bigger engine, bigger brakes" completely forgetting the cars weigh pretty much the same regardless of engine size/performance and as such will need the same amount of stopping power.

As mine is auto i tend to sit with my foot on the brake on hills, not necessarily the ideal way of doing things for a few reasons but the other options all have their pitfalls too. I find that's the option with the least pitfalls/best method for me. Sometimes if it seems we're going to be stopped a while, i will put it in Park and take my hoof off the brake. I usually dwell in Reverse for a second or two as i select Park, just for the fun of looking in the rear view mirror at the expression behind!

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by meganmay

Thanks all for your input about the handbrake - I can assure you it definitely doesn't work as there's no resistance at all and I almost pulled the centre console apart pulling it up as high at it would go!

On a related note; thanks for being so nice and respectful on this forum - being youngish and female I'm always apprehensive about being patronised or not taken seriously (I've had bad experiences on other car forums in the past) and I'm really pleased you've all made me feel so welcome! Volvo people are lovely

It's a shame it wasn't just "finger trouble" with you not being used to it - would have been a nice, easy fix! Seems like you'll have to do some digging into the problem to find out why.

I've heard about forums like you describe that are patronising and disrespectful, thankfully i don't think i'm a member of any of them! I've seen it once or twice on a couple of them that i was once a member of but i like to look at it this way - it doesn't matter whether you're mechanically gifted or not, we all have to start somewhere.

As such, someone starting out deserves that same respect as someone who has been around things a lot longer and has suddenly come on a fault they've not previously experienced. It could happen to any of us at any time, the good thing is on a forum like this, there's almost a certainty someone has come across the answer.

Thanks for showing your appreciation anyway!