Whats the 240 ownership experience in 2019

[honestjoe]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

I'm lost. 2 litre 340? Was it a 360? A tow car of the year I think?

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Yes you are right mr edwin..typo on my part..regards hj...ps it was that long ago and a b reg.

[classicswede]

240's can make a great daily. The later 4 speed Auto is not so bad. You already have a second car to cover any times you are without the car.

The only real thing to watch out for is rust.

A
LH2.4 cars are going to be best on fuel and give much better consumption on LPG

[AllHailKingVolvo]

I love my 240 Torslanda. Mine is a 2.0 manual, which isn't quick but is sprightly enough when not heavily loaded. It's an "old school" driving experience but is an incredibly comfortable and useful car.

I race karts in a national championship and am a musician by trade, so I'm always schlepping up and down the country in my 240, often towing a Tow-A-Van trailer stuffed with racing equipment or with the car loaded with a PA system, amplifiers, guitars etc etc. I do around 1000 miles a week and the 240 soaks up the miles like a champ. Insurance is stupidly cheap-I pay £16 a month.

I bought the car at the end of last year sight unseen from the retired former owner of an independent Volvo specialist garage, it was the company's courtesy car for many years so had only covered 118,000 miles with meticulous maintenance when it came to me. I've had some work done (rear main seal and clutch, driveshaft UJ, torque rod bushes and radial arm bushes) and have done plenty of maintenance myself (usual oil and filter stuff, throttle body and flame trap cleaning, new HT leads, heater valve, plugs, rotor arm and dizzy cap, fuel filter, middle box etc) but in general the car is astonishingly good for a 26yr old motor.

Downsides? Handling is a little bargelike, but would be improved by polybushing the front end and fitting slightly stiffer/fresher springs. Fuel economy isn't the greatest facet of 240 ownership (I get 34 on a run with a light load, 22-26 around town, less when heavily loaded and quite a bit less when towing) but the fuel expense is offset by the fact it costs beans to insure and repairs are so much cheaper than 99% of any other car I've owned.

My kids absolutely love the 240. My three daughters always jump in happily and regularly tell me how much they love the car because it's "big and jolly", and my stepson loves it because he's a car nut and we get to do loads of spanner spinning on it together.

If you don't care too much about getting the best possible mpg and don't crave sportscar handling, the 240 is a hugely enjoyable, comfortable, practical, useful and loveable car. The amount of comments and affectionate remarks it garners never fails to make me smile, too. Plenty of "your car is gorgeous", "thankyou for keeping this beautiful car on the road" and (my favourite) "my dad owned one of these, and seeing your car brought back so many happy memories of my childhood".

A 2.3 Auto GLT would be the best option in terms of spec and comfort. The AW70/71 boxes are very good in my experience (I owned two 740s with them) but you really need the 2.3 mill to pull an auto along properly. The 2.0 740 auto estate I owned was the slowest car I've ever owned or driven...lovely, but worked to destinations not ETAs!

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by AllHailKingVolvo

I do around 1000 miles a week


.... had only covered 118,000 miles



Handling is a little bargelike, but would be improved by polybushing the front end and fitting slightly stiffer/fresher springs.




worked to destinations not ETAs!

My 240 did around 400 miles last year.

At 120k it is like yours, not run-in yet.

I would want to drive and ride in a modified suspension care before doing mods. I know one 240 owner who is reverting [some of] their suspension mods. I understand anti-roll bars front AND back can be good?

Worked to destination. That's a good place to go.

Oh yes auto. My 740 auto was a 2.3 and coped nicely with well loaded journeys for back to back day conferences, including north to south through the mountains of Wales. That auto probably kept me alive, coming home exhausted and ill, from Hexham to the south of England after the penultimate day conference.

Stephen

[LankyTim]

I had a 2.0 240 not long ago. Compared to modern cars they're cramped, under powered, thirsty and have poor handling.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, in fact I enjoyed every minute of ownership and they're very easy to live with every day. It also got en excellent reaction from members of the public.

[volvo always]

I loved my 1989 240 GLT 2.3 auto, and it gave 10 years good reliable motoring and always put a smile on my face.

I fancied something with AC and ABS and a working heater fan and viewed a 940, that was cheap.

I saw a 1996 940 SE LPT Auto for sale for £250 and drove to Derby and had a ride in it and couldn't believe how quiet it was and more room and how smooth it was, I was sold. Bought it and was worried as 940 had more to go wrong, ie turbo, Air mass meter, ABS, and other engine electrical items, but in the nearly 3 years of ownership had no issues. Even re-commissioned the AC.
Needs more cosmetic tidy and now my workhorse after the 240.

I'd say consider a 940 too. The 240 though is that classic shape people think of.

James

[barrybritcher]

i would love a manual 240 16v but I'm not on 100k a year to buy one

[Triple-S]

LankyTim - I really REALLY like the ride in my friends Volvo XC90. One is wafted along, sitting in elevated and supreme comfort. However, it is just a car - not the new suite in your lounge: you wouldn't leave that outside in all weathers. And that depreciation plus expert maintenance needs........ No "financially average" father shouldn't even consider such an outlay for the family in these 'short of cash' times.
It is so much more comfortable than my 740 which I sold recently - that car was superb as compared with my 240 estate it replaced, but the 240 is so much more comfortable than my 145 estate "hobby car", which in turn is far more comfortable than the Amazon estate it replaced
But
they were all good cars at the time - remember they are each several years apart regarding development: its called progress.
My Amazon replaced my Morris Minor - a decent round-town car, which was FAR FAR better than our first car, a 'sit-up-and-beg' Ford Popular. However, being newly-weds that was all we could afford: my family toured all over the south of England in that, even towing a camping trailer. We were mobile, thats all that mattered: there was no other way we could visit the parents or enjoy camping weekends, and it was great. Wouldn't do it now though.

So my thoughts on the original subject - consider your finances carefully, after all, its only a car we're talking about, not the sofa. My main concern though is the necessary maintenance: one can do most things to a 240 and there aren't the increasing complexities/d-i-y unfriendly things fitted that prevent home-maintenance on the latest models. Fine if you can afford expert care (even though its only a car) but if like me you HAVE to do d-i-y work on your car, spend within your budget and bin those rose-tinted spectacles!

P

[Stephen Edwin]

As regards comfort between the different models referred to above, fair enough my 740 auto which I should not have parted with was generally better especially around tight bends in the road. BUT I feel the 240 is a better driving position and a number of not young passengers have commented that the seat height makes the 240 easy to get in and out of. I've never felt cramped in either car but with any transport it depends with whom one is sharing the vehicle.

Getting back in to driving a 240 just felt right to me as soon as I got in to the car. Best advice, view and experience some cars before deciding.

The Morris Minor. A spacious cathedral of excellence. My four door saloon was in my opinion superb. Took me fully around GB. It was interesting when a friend from NL did not realise that plod were stopping us for a routine check so she started to pull in to the middle lane to overtake their XJ6, when we were running in a re-built 948cc A Series engine ... Actually it had good drivability. Torsion bar front suspension "just like" the E Type Jag. And anyways it kept pace with a hard driven Anglia for many many miles on a very busy A303 on a gorgeous hot summer evening .... I am a sedate driver ....



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[StrongSpearWorks]

It's good to read some positive real world views on this subject. I'm currently on the look out for a 240 estate becuase I'm bored to tears with 10-15 year old euroboxes.

Both my parents had 240's (one saloon, one estate, and how I wish now I'd taken up the offer of having dad's GLT when I was 18, but what self respecting teenager wants to be seen in a Volvo estate?) and I've had three love affaris with Saab 900's (real ones, not GMs) but keep being drawn back to 240s.

Man alive though... they've gone up in value since I last looked!
Still... from what I've read here and in other places, I think £3k should buy a sensibly spec'd motor that I can use as a daily driver and fix up as needed? I'm no stranger to a socket set and have always carried out my own servicing and repairs unless it's something big and heavy like a transmission job. Just need to find the right car. I'm sure it will turn up in time.