1988 E Reg VOLVO 740 GLE

[Badger-Bob]

Hi all As this is my first posting on the forum Can I ask a question.I have the chance of a 1988 E Reg VOLVO 740 GLE estate but the mileage is 191,000 miles.Is the engine near the end of its life or will it go on.The body is in good nick and has a mot.Many Thanks Bob

[James_N]

Originally Posted by Badger-Bob

Hi all As this is my first posting on the forum Can I ask a question.I have the chance of a 1988 E Reg VOLVO 740 GLE estate but the mileage is 191,000 miles.Is the engine near the end of its life or will it go on.The body is in good nick and has a mot.Many Thanks Bob

191,000 is just about run in look at the high mileage listings and you will see this.

There was a 740 estate on ebay the other day with 424,000 on, so dont worry about the mileage. So long as its been fairly well serviced, you should have no worries at all.

Things to look for on the 740 Estate includes sagging headlining and erratic fuel gauge, all of which can be cheaply fixed.

They never fail to start, and mine looks just as it did years ago, see Here: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=20310

What sort of price is this car up for?

[billyboggins]

hi,i've got an 86 740 gle auto with nearly 200,000 miles on clock,just sailed thru last mot no work needed at all,still drives well and no rust anywhere to speak of.......of course depends on the price you've got to pay but my advice would be go for it.
ernie

[Badger-Bob]

Many thanks for your quick replies.the asking price is £ 285 and its mot till jan 2007.Bob

[James_N]

Originally Posted by Badger-Bob

Many thanks for your quick replies.the asking price is £ 285 and its mot till jan 2007.Bob

Bargain!

cant really say fairer than that

Yeah, have it for that price, no worries.

Get it, no questions asked. That is a good price for a good car. The GLE would have electric windows, sunroof, leather, the 2.3 litre engine and often an autobox. 1988 is also a good year as that is when they updated the electrics a lot and introduced all body galvanisation which means a lot less rust.

I would strongly urge you then to do some intital work on the car because I doubt it has been well looked after, these old Volvos rarely are, the problem is that the engine does not mind much and so the owners think all is well. I would, having bought such a car, take it in for a service and replace the timing belt, all fluids and filters and any seals you can get at. I would then check the brakes and replace as needed and get new shocks and springs all round. That will really improve the car. Any interior faults are easily fixed with parts from breakers, keep in mind that many parts from the 900 range will fit too. The 945 for example, post 1995, has a much improved head lining that most breakers will sell for 25 quid and if you add 75 to that, they will sell you the glass moonroof too.

I realise that it takes a brave man to buy a car for 285 pounds and spend a 1000 quid fixing it but if you do, you end with a fantastic car that will serve you wonderfully for many years to come and be both more practical and cheaper to buy and own than many brand new cars.

I spent a lot less on my 760 than that and have only had to replace one rear caliper and both discs as urgent.

Charlotte

[James_N]

when i bought mine for £100, I then spend a further:

£33 on service parts (got a mate do service it)
£70 on 2 brand new front tyres (cheapo ones but do the job perfectly)
£60 or so getting the fuel gauge fixed (bought a new instrument cluster and god
knows how many gauges! now it works)
£90 on having the timing belt replaced
£20 or so on some new oil (going to do that today, as ive done about 6k on the current crappy oil i put in at the first service)

and apart from a few cosmetic things like clear indicators at the front, i havent spent much more on the car.

but if you do get it its definatly worth spending £150 or so on having the timing belt done and a full service carried out.

I havent even checked the brake pads yet, but theres no grinding so i presume theres a little more life left in them yet!!

[alsner]

I payed £600 for my G red 89 740 2.3i GLE in Jan this year and it was immaculate with full complete service history (all bills, receipts and stamping) only 3 very careful previous owners. It had done 126k but only had 6 months MOT on it.

All I've had to deal with was a faulty overdrive relay, managed to snap both fan belts (long story, not the cars fault) easily fixed, number plate lights (corroded connection), clutch slave cylinder and finally a steering rack gator (replaced track rod ends also at the same time). Flew through last MOT except for number lights and steering rack boot.

I think I'm in for £890 in total including a couple of little other things (cheers JamesN) and I'm well happy with it with 11 1/2 months MOT left.

I recently went looking for a newer car(for fuel economy reasons) and got so disheartened by the crap other manufacturers produced have now given up any thought of looking for a different car and will run this car for as long as its alive.

Forgot to say I advertised it (£795) and had 4 serious callers for my car. The ones I had numbers for were all disappointed when I called them to say I was now keeping the car.

Good luck

Ali