Volvo 240 Buyer's Guide!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ย. 2023
- So you want to buy a Volvo 240? Great! The newest 240 you can get will be 30 YEARS OLD! Assume non of the maintenance has been done and all the bushings are SHOT!
The good news is, the Volvo 240 is the BEST car ever made and it's absolutely worth putting in the effort for a decent one!
#volvo #volvo240 #hagerty - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
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Have you had issues with your 240? I want to hear about it! Lets list it all as a collective knowledge base.
As for the odometer, Volvo actually did something very brilliant which no other manufacturer to my knowledge has ever done and that is they put a special trip computer underneath the hood that works essentially like an OBD one system, and it keeps track of the actual mileage on the vehicle in the event, that the odometer ever stops counting. So you can get the mileage on those cars and correct it accordingly. A good friend of mine Robert Spinner, who is also known as Robert DIY on TH-cam and of course David Bello who is a long time TH-camr and Volvo enthusiast would know how to go about this procedure if you’re curious.
I'm familiar with both channels actually! It's good to be able to correct the mileage deficiency
Oh wow! Good to know. I’m in Australia with a beautiful 92 wagon with broken odometer. Would be glad to know how many it’s done! Odometer says 399,999. I’m the second owner and have put many more miles on it since then!
@@russelllindsay2702 I'm not entirely sure that would work on a 92. From what I learned it was from 93 and newer, not including 240s.
Other areas of awareness of the 240 I would have mentioned:
- 1993 is the pinnacle of the 240 line: Oil squirters, heated mirrors, stock R134a AC system and ABS (also standard in 1992 models)
- Strut Mounts: not really any good options when those reach end of life.
- Wiring: 1980-1987 have the disintegrating wiring harness. If that has not been replaced, or just patched, will need to be dealt with
- Wiring: The wiring & pickup in the diff for the electronic speedometer in the 1986 - 1993.
- Wiring: Disintegrating connector for the oil pressure sender/warning light
- Replacement steering racks are expensive and not typically carried by chain FLAPS.
- Aging plastic trim on the door bottoms (1986-93) after 30+ years isn't hold on as well,
All great advice!
Excellent assessment of our wonder bricks!
Thank you kindly! I've had quite a few requests for a video on my 240 experiences. Happy to share my first hand knowledge. I absolutely love these little wagons!
Rust Achilles' heel in the Volvo 240:
Front windshield frame: The adhesive doesn’t last forever and can cause the windshield to slip, allowing moisture to get under the seal. Very expensive to repair at a body shop.
Longitudinal beams of the rear axle: Inspect both from outside and inside (lift carpet)!
Door bottoms! Tailgate bottom edge on the wagon.
Sunroof, as with all old cars.
Spare wheel well.
Labor-intensive repairs:
Interior fan: Be sure to check its functionality (and yes, it's normal for it to be very loud).
Expensive parts:
Interior fittings
Trim strips
These are all good things to look for. Fun thing to note, much of the 240 sheet metal will work in a 140 series Volvo!
Step 1: Make sure the odometer reads 400.000 or above. Kms or miles, doesn't matter.
Honestly, I've never looked at a 240 with high miles and thought "That's too many". The really are a tough little machine!
Great, informative video & cautionary tale. I’ve been thinking about a 240, but I think I’ll go with my original plan of getting a Mercedes 300 diesel. Electrically, the 240 sounds like the finest car Jaguar never built.
I think at this point, everything older than 15 years or so should be approached with caution. Electronics get old. 240s are 40 year old cars now
Cheers Dean! I think you convinced me with all that technical know how jargon, adjusting of headlights or maybe my ownership of about 30 different Volvos over at least as many years tipped it favour.
Either way your humor in your videos is worth getting into Volvos alone.
Keep it coming.......🤘
Thanks Karl! Headlight adjustment is crucial for proper fitment and or anger management. Either way a new set of E-codes are well over due!
This is the exact sort of video i wouldve loved a couole years ago when i was first searching for a 240, luckily since then ive had a Beautiful 92' GL with a factory M47 named Gilda which I love dearly, keep it up with the awesome content Dean =)
I believe it! There’s been many requests for this video so I happily put it out there. I’m glad Gilda is treating you well! 240 with an m47 is an excellent choice.
Thank you for the honest assessment. I still love mine. Buying one of these beauties should be an eyes wide open experience.
I think thats a great way to say it. I do honestly love these cars but its not a buy and drive easy car like others might be.
Great video! I've been a lifelong Volvo fan and have owned a 740, 760, 850 and S40 (current daily driver). Would trade it in a heartbeat for a decent 240 wagon.
All fantastic choices. The 240 will always be my favorite.
Awesome video, thank you dean.
No U! Ha Thanks for stopping by!!!
I recently bought a V90 cross country wagon and, since then, have found myself becoming sentimental over the 240. I had the good fortune to drive my parents' 244GL (model year 1975, I'd guess) in high school. It was comfortable for a tall person, the manual transmission was smooth and fun to drive, and the sunroof an unbeatable extra during our short summers. That car definitely played some part in my decision to buy a Volvo. Your non-exhaustive list of issues and lessons-learned-the-hard-way reminded me to cherish my memories of that 244 . . . and to run in the opposite direction if I ever come across a good 245 to buy.
They are definitely cars of nostalgia! How do you like the V90?
Your silver wagon looks amazingly clean. Maybe it's just the lighting or lens but if not, keep that one precious.
It is an exceptionally clean car with a few weird quirks from past repairs. Some fixes someone did and didn't come out quite right. It's a running punch list to make this car perfect!
You brought back many memories of my 1983 DL4A. The blower motor went out, and it cost $600.00 to have it fixed (back in the late 1980's or early 1990's that was a lot of money, so I decided to do it myself. I'm certain they placed the blower motor on a skyhook, and built the car around it. My wife was certain I'd never get that car put back together. It took my buddy and me 3 days to do it. But the car WAS well worth it. She was a sand beige DL4A, and I named her Sandy. She lastes well over 335,000 miles. I miss her.
They are fantastic cars! It’s unfortunate they made the hvac such a pain. Thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
@@DeanofMachines I didn't mention it, but I was a Volvo salesman 1986-1989 in San Diego. I KNOW they're great cars.
i gave you a like and a new subscriber because you do rotary and volvo 245
Welcome to the party! We have fun here. Sometimes too much
the turning radius was insane lmao holy crap
It's the best of any car I've ever owned!
Excellent video dude really enjoyed it. I mean I would definitely buy a 240 after seeing this video just still yet to find a sensibly priced one..
240s seem to be skyrocketing in popularity recently
For me this wasn’t a things to look out for but rather a bingo game of which of these issues I’ve had. Let’s just say I got bingo
Haha. I figured this would be the scenario for most.
The fan issue... "When God created the 240..." he build it around that heater fan and it is a huge task to repair. But you need not to take the whole dash out - but a lot of stuff - to wiggle the package out from under and to the right. This has to be done after 250 000-350 000 km or so. As with the wire harness through the hinges at the hatch. Fuel gauge is also a point, but like with bikes, the tripmeter is fine to determine gas fill. The seat can easily be fixed when sagging. I drive my '93 at 0,67 l/mil (lowest so far) and that would be 35 mpg. Sluggish and relaxing. 😊
All very good points! I think it would be impossible to get 35mpg out of a 240 where I am. The speed limits are too high and there are many hills!!
One of the things I've found out regarding electrical connectors, is to use Corrosion-x spray.
That's a great tip!
I know how fragile the map pockets are, and mine were intact, and I was being super careful with them, and still barely touched the passenger one (messing about with Megasquirt wiring) and cracked it.
WOw! I'd wish I had seen this video 2 years ago. I'd never buy a 240 ;). Just kiddin. Love my 240. It just goes and goes. You do some repair and it goes and goes :). Simple life! :D
You are absolutely right! Its always silly little repairs but it just keeps going!
I bought a low milage (just under 74564 miles as of today) 1986 245 without this video and got lucky, it's maybe 95% rust free with most of the specs I wanted (base model spec with aw70 trans and b230a engine), I might swap the current engine for a 940 turbo engine at some point to reduce the fuel consumption as 21 mpg in a 245 is not that great in the long run
Sounds like you got a good one!
Taking the bulb outta my dash ! All my lights work as they should, 93 Volvo 240 Wagon Classic Edition Reporting in 230k and still rolling strong
#240things am I right?! HA I drove to work today and my bulb out came on. I actually have a brake light out!
That looks just like my pretty 1984 Volvo 240DL., Mine has a luggage rack in Jaguar Champagne, dark windows. It's going through a stress test as I got stuck teaching abroad during COVID, It's been guarding my stressed out Malibu friends window, unstarted since the mountain fires, land battles. It's about to get its fluids changed, Let's pray it survives this nonsense. Perfect upholstery, no big wiring problems. You're right, the plastics are brittle. replaced my side map pockets with new ones. wish it had air conditioning. My biggest irritation is that it doesn't like going up mountains, but yes, a great turning radius. It's nice to just drive......
Very cool! I hope your car comes out unscathed!! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help!
@@DeanofMachines Wow, Thank you. You sound like an expert. My mechanic is good, but my Malibu friends went nuts and I can't afford my own driveway/garage in WLA, so it'll be awhile more. I was raised on classic car shows, it would be a shame if it was permanently damaged. We'll see. Where are you, it looks nowhere near the west?
@@MissBabalu102 I'm in the greater Atlanta area. If I were closer it would be easy to help! Feel free to email pictures: info@deanofmachines.com
@@DeanofMachines OK, Thanks, it'll be a few more months. I lost the photos on my phone. It looks the same, or it did before I left. First thing I got it detailed.
hopefully gonna get one from a friend soon that's needs some work, only 700 dollars. Nice sedan, not the prettiest, and 240k miles! Wonder how long it will last tbh. They are also getting rid of a parts wagon, which i will try to take as many decent parts off of it as possible, but the engine still runs well, it saw an accident unfortunately. Really sucks that it's getting scrapped, i dont have space for it :(
Edit: I do need a new left headlight and turn signal, as they are both busted in different ways lol
Sounds like a great car! My suggestion is to spend the money on Ecodes!
Had an 1980 gle and a 1982 dl manual transmission 😊😊
Yes!!! Absolutely fantastic!!
Saw the Amazon at caffeine and octane
Excellent! Did I get a chance to say Hi?
Love those Volvo 240 series
Any Volvo actually. I am looking one for myself.
They are out there! This one will be available when we are done with it!
'93 240 here. Replace the oil trap before even thinking about timing belt and seals or you will be just wasting effort
You are 100% correct!!! Thanks for chiming in Gwen!
💯
I bought a brand new 1993 charcoal grey, 245 GL that i owned for 15 years... It was a great car but like you are saying, had many problems. I can say without an hesitation that the biggest problem on that car (i had them all) was the weak, poor desing, and poor quality of the electrical system. Every thing electrical, from the tailgate window wiper and defrost to the front position lights could and will at a given time go wrong due to bad grounds, bad connexions and poor quality components.
The air conditionning system was also problematic... Refrigerant leaks and corrosion on fwd components were reccuring...
At around 60,000 miles the motor started to be quite noisy because of its low friction desing (for fuel economy purpose)...
The clutch had to be replaced quite soon in the life of the car...
The car wouldnt start in cold weather (below -23 C, which is very common here) It would become flooded after one attempt.
Beside of that, i still think it was a great car with great qualities and i feel very lucky that i had the opportunity to drive and own a brand new one .
Im a bit surprised you had cold start issues. All the ones I had were great cold weather cars. When I lived up north that is. I appreciate your list of issues by the way. It goes without saying, these cars can be needy!
yesss. It would start perfect until the outside tempereture will go below -23 C . It was a very common problem for these cars. Another common problem was the wire bundle between the driver door and the A pillar. Wires inside the flexible rubber boot would crack from the opening and closing motion of the door, causing all kinds of intermittent disfunctions of central locking system and power windows...@@DeanofMachines
@@jplock-mg8mx The cracking wiring seems to be common. Thanks for the input on sub zero temps though! When I use to live up north, many cars would struggle with that kind of environment. I'm not really surprised the Volvo did too.
Let's see with mine... Lens falling off ✅ (gorilla taped the seams), trash wiring ✅, cracked dash ✅, broken odometer gear ✅, had rusted rocker and floor ✅, rear hatch wiring was garbage ✅, weak engine (upgraded) ✅, don't forget the crappy fuse holder in the driver's kick panel.. and I just removed the map pockets...
I think its time I make Volvo Bingo cards LOL
@@DeanofMachines sounds like a winner to me, but that game would end quickly lol.
@@barrets6226 you might be right my friend!
😎👍
Thank you kindly!!
Should I keep the 67 Amazone or look for a 245?
Definitely keep the Amazon! Unless you don't want it and want to trade for a turbo 245...
@@DeanofMachines Thank you for the honest answer. I love the Amazon, have it since six years now. It "lived" in California most of its life. From 67 til 2005 with its first owner, a Lady with a Swedish name, now after a short stop in the Netherlands it is in Germany with me. Maybe I will think about a 245 as a second Oldtimer, I like the clean station Wagon style of the 245 and thought, maybe a good short trip camping car.....Thanks again and have a great day.
@@Beavis-et8ox 245 is a great camping rig!! Your amazon sounds like it has a GREAT history!!
Hello my volvo 240 GL have a transmisión ASIN AW CO ITD are good?
Hi there! I don't fully understand the question. Do you know what series of AW this is?
@@DeanofMachines hello that is the transmission model
@@tomassilva1 I'm sorry but I do not know what you are referring to.
Depending on your 240, and which transmission(s?) you have, You might be able to make something work.
Wait, do you have an Aerostar?
Boy do I WISH!! Thats the neighbors
My 1990 244 has the windshield wipers come on by themselves and not sure what it needs, maybe a new wiper motor? I tried to clean the terminal to it without success.
Oh and I forgot to mention that I have a T cam and a sport exhaust so although it’s not fast, it’s spritely enough to be zippy and fun.
Ah the joys of old electronics! Atleast you have a 240!
@@DeanofMachines yes indeed and I love it! And like you mentioed, I have three on my property, two are mine and one is my dauughter's.
My man!! It really is the best car ever!
Intake manifold gasket old and leaking.
That's a good one!
NO volvo 740 is better it is almost fixed everything wrong with the 240
I will strongly disagree!
Jesus christ just get on with it! You don't need to stop speaking for planes, cars, coyotes ffs. So irritating
I know what you mean!