Advice on buying a 1995 Volvo 960, 3.0 auto estate

I have a 940GLE 2.4TD auto estate currently, after having owned this superb Volvo estate except for its engine which after having spent almost £3K in 3yrs, its now in perfect condition but I am begining to get tired of its noisy engine as I mostly nowadays drive in town.

I have seen two petrol estates at two different independent dealers (non Volvo), one is a 940 2.0 Wentworth 60K miles with the normal refinements and a 960 3.0 70K miles(I think its a 24V).

Both are similarly priced £5450 and £5999 respectively both have full dealer service history.

I am not too concerned about MPG as I only do about 6000 miles a year so anything between 20-25 (town driving)and 30+ at 70mph on motorway I will be happy, I want a car that is safe as I have a 1 yro family member to carry, refined and luxurious with power on tap to get out of a emergency situation, my diesel turbo is everything except refined and powerful.

I am more keen on the 960, I want some advice on any potential issues with this model and the engine in paticular, I have read about brake discs wrapping? how to detect this on a used at a dealer? anything else I should be looking for.

Thanks to everyone your contribution is extreamly helpful.

Thanks,
Mike Patel
94 940GLE 2.4TD Auto Estate (UK)

Well my turbo diesel is both powerful and luxurious but, admittedly not refined. I love it though. But the 960 is a marvellous car, no question about it. You will be very pleased.

Test drive the car and that will tell you a lot, do a hard stop and check the discs, although if they are warped, new ones cost little and take an hour to replace, do the control arm stay bushings while you're at it as if they are gone, they will warp the discs. If the car, or rather, the engine is a 1991 or 1992, you must look out for the porous block issue where the block would crack and leak coolant. Timing belts are very important on these engines as they are interference, but so of course is the diesel so you will not live in the false sense of saftey of most Volvo owners. I knew one 4 pot turbo driver who said to me that changing timing belt before it broke was stupid as if it went, it would do no damage to the engine. That the car would not run and that the water pump would stop, he had not realised! Anyway, these engines are glued together, the head is acutally two parts and the block three so these are not DIY engines, be aware of that.

George

Anglo-Swede resident near Leuven in Belgium

'87 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler (D24TIC/M46, 200k)
'88 745 Turbo Intercooler (B230ET/M46, 270k)
'88 745 GL (B200E/M47, 200k)
'89 440 GL (B18K/M55, 90k)

Mike

Although I can't help you with the 3litre engine, I do have a 940 2.0L 1994 saloon. Without a turbo I would say that it does feel a little underpowered for the size of the car, although I do have a 'light right-foot' and so this doesn't really bother me! My last car, a 240 with the same series engine, was sold on at 280,000 miles and had never been touched, apart from frequent oil and filter changes, and never burnt any oil - these really are strong units.

Best of luck

Chris Hamilton

[alchemyuk]

We have had a 1996, 2.5 960 auto estate for 6 years now and have 70K miles on the clock.

MPG about town 19-22, 70mph on motorway 26-29. Never seen 30MPG.

Power weight ratio is very nice and the car is a pleasure to drive.

Bad points
Tyre wear is excessive and the tyres are quite expensive.
Look out for oil leaks from the engine and/or gearbox - seems to be a problem with the straight 6.

Other than wear and tear, both the water pump and ignition coil died last summer. Alarm key fobs constantly keep failing and are a real pain. Never had any brake disc problems yet.

Overall I rate the cars 7.5 out of 10.

regards
Andy