Is she worth it?....

['88740GL]

Bought a seemingly good 740GL saloon, '88 model with 42,000 orig. miles,
interior and outer bodywork in excellent condition, with the b200E engine and 5 speed manual gear box.....bought off an old guy who owned it it for 6 months, i don't think this guy did anything but put petrol in it...

Long story short, £350 got me a car that has rust holes in the footwells and around the weld seams, rusty brake calipers, leaky water pump seals, it had a cracked rear window, split/deteriorating anti roll bar bushes on both sides,
the cars heater blower has recently stopped working on all settings but nr. 4 which i've heard is the resistor pack...can't find any!!

One back wheel squeals continuously whilst putting on the brakes, they used to rattle but i've put anti rattle spring clips in, now i need anit squeal shims,

so far, i've spent £50-70 quid on waxoyl, and 3 weeks of summer underneath wire brushing the underbody and calipers,

£150 on a cambelt change,
££££ on its strange drink problem...15mpg?? -fixed now, t'was the overrun switch not shutting off on the throttle more like 25-30mpg now,
£30 in body filler and rust killer,
£217 on fitting a rear window (rust hole puffed surrounding bodywork up and broke glass)
4 new tires and alloy combo bargain (Airies 15'' with 4 pirelli's £75! Ebay!) + 3 Avons on steel rims

I've had to sort out dodgy bodged stereo wiring out, and pull out the nasty rammed in style ford fiesta cd player and fitted a volvo push button radio, also the power window on the driver side was clunking, a worn out split plastic bush had became lodged in the run, so i pulled out door cards and lubed all moving parts on each door,

filled in the tiny stone chips (werent many)

replaced interior dash bulbs and backlights,
replaced spark plugs and changed oil (usual stuff i dont mind doing)


As a matter of fact the only thing i havent changed is the air filter, its still clean and new oddly enough..



I've recently found a hole in the passenger front footwell has let water in and led to rot 3 more holes in the floor, i've mended those recently, no more water ingress now....hopefully never again....found a hole in the drivers side, small with no water ingress! fixed that, in the process of fixing the little creaks and squeaks on the interior, (yes i'm a perfectionist!)


Leaving these problems:

The steering on full lock it grumbles and judders, almost feeling like you're driving on a loose gravel stone pathway, but is fine in all other conditions,

The anti roll bushes are rotted, and so are the nuts and bolts holding them in, (i won't be able to remove them)

The water pump and filler cap expansion tank is leaking boiling off coolant (never has overheated)

Squealing rear brake i've tried allsorts on except replace pads..

I love this car, it rides quiet, fast and smooth, but in her condition, is it worth keeping her until she dies, or should i keep spending on her? Maybe in a year, if its still around i may sell it for spares or even to someone who can look after her fully...

Engine and gearbox are great, so is the diff and prop shaft!

Have i bought a lemon?

P.S it has never failed to start, and it has just passed its mot 4 week ago!


Give me your wise advice, gentleman, please check my pictures on my profile...see what i should do

Thank you!

[5t3w4rt]

Some people like doing work on their cars but I don't!

If you like the 740 I would advise buying a 940 as they are basically the same but newer. I've had an E reg 740, J reg 940 and a K reg 940 plus others. I bought them all with over 80k on the clock.

I never had any problems apart from 2 x electric window faults and a cracked block at 230,000 on the J reg 940.

It sounds like yours has not been looked after and if you buy one that has then you can get years of trouble free motoring. They all drink the juice but you should be getting 35mpg.

As an idea of what you can buy my friend went to see this the other day and said it was lovely but decided to buy a people carrier for the extra space. It's on the Wirral which is not far from you.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classifi...55et?logcode=p

Basically I think you should put your money and efforts into a newer model in excellent condition. There are many out there for around a thousand that will be trouble free for years if you look after them.

['88740GL]

Thank you for the sugesstion, funnily enough, i was looking at this turbo wagon earlier on that day, just to see what available and it does look a very nice one too, one problem is the missus doesnt like the wagons, so to keep her happy it may have to be the saloons or a newer estate which i cannot afford,

i'll just drive my current one around, save my cash for a newer one and just basic maintain the one i have, i was looking at the 850 saloon models, but i'm not too sure what their looking out for problems are, i want someting with air conditioning, or even climate control, i love the crisp fresh air that AC provides, seems to clear my sinuses haha!

Thank you for the advice!

[Brenda]

My suggestion would be to break it.


Thre are some many excellent cars broken rather than a low cost repair, but doesnt sounds like yours is one of them.


So, if I were you, I would break it, and buy another car in better condition.


PS The 940\'s are a newer car, but they arent half as good.They were built to a lower cost per unit just before Volvo were sold to Ford.They should have been badged the 740 mark 2.

[MTerry]

My question has to be: Are you sure that it only has 42,000 miles? Volvo speedometer/odometers are notorious for failing and this car sounds as though it has had a hard life. If the mileage is correct, break it yourself and sell the motor separately. There are plenty of people out there with 700 series cars that are in good condition save a run-out motor. You would probably make money on the deal just by doing that.

['88740GL]

Originally Posted by MTerry

My question has to be: Are you sure that it only has 42,000 miles? Volvo speedometer/odometers are notorious for failing and this car sounds as though it has had a hard life. If the mileage is correct, break it yourself and sell the motor separately. There are plenty of people out there with 700 series cars that are in good condition save a run-out motor. You would probably make money on the deal just by doing that.

Yes, the VOSA website and MOT papers all add up thats what threw me when i went to look at it, it passed its 23rd MOT 3 weeks ago no problems though..

[Kevs Estate]

I know what you're up against. My last Volvo 940 needed a bottomless money pit! every time something went wrong, it would get fixed and the costs were far above the value of the car. After many problems and it's constant demand to have money thrown at it! I had to give up in the end and i sold it for next to nothing.
The 940 i have got now is a different car again, it's fantastic. I paid a little over the top for it, but in nearly four years, iv'e spent no where near what i spent on the last one, which i only owned for about ten months!
I suppose it depends how much you like your car.

['88740GL]

Originally Posted by Kevs Estate

I know what you're up against. My last Volvo 940 needed a bottomless money pit! every time something went wrong, it would get fixed and the costs were far above the value of the car. After many problems and it's constant demand to have money thrown at it! I had to give up in the end and i sold it for next to nothing.
The 940 i have got now is a different car again, it's fantastic. I paid a little over the top for it, but in nearly four years, iv'e spent no where near what i spent on the last one, which i only owned for about ten months!
I suppose it depends how much you like your car.

I do love the car, i've only had it for 6 months and 3 weeks after getting it, i took it on a long run 200 miles in a day, didn't skip a beat, i guess its work that i could of done in the 'summer' where days were longer an warmer, now i've had do endure doing it in the cold dark and rain, this is my first proper car and i beleive that she will have a few more years on the road, and when my insurance decides to drop, i will buy a good 940 or an 850...

[barkster1971]

I would say that there aren't many 740's with good body work as they tend to get treated as a work horse. Fixing the bodywork re rust would not be economically viable as there are many better 740/940 available cheaply without rust. I would estimate I spend 500 quid a year improving/fixing my 940 at the moment but this is not in anyway going to be an investment into increasing the car's value just improving it's reliability and driving experience. For a car that cost you 350 you could have hit the bullseye and got a good one (or not!). Keeping the car for a few years allows you to spread the cost and develop a sense of weaknesses/ stuff that needs to be replaced in the car. With regular maintenance it will last for another 200 000 miles.

['88740GL]

Originally Posted by barkster1971

I would estimate I spend 500 quid a year improving/fixing my 940 at the moment but this is not in anyway going to be an investment into increasing the car's value just improving it's reliability and driving experience. For a car that cost you 350 you could have hit the bullseye and got a good one (or not!). Keeping the car for a few years allows you to spread the cost and develop a sense of weaknesses/ stuff that needs to be replaced in the car. With regular maintenance it will last for another 200 000 miles.

I only spend on the car for what i actually do need for it, petrol, duh obviously!, oil changes and filters, i do like to keep the bodywork well washed and waxed, i know nothing about its history, just that it has been stood around alot and it was once owned on a farm..hmmm (did he use it to plough his fields?)
mmmmm volvo potatoes!

It did an annual of 400-600 miles in the most recent years thats all..
I am building up a small list of things that need doing on the car at the moment, in the 6000 miles/7 months of ownership with it..its never skipped a beat though!