1988 Volvo 740 GLE Estate review from UK and Ireland

A couple of minor things that I didn't notice when I bought it. These included drivers side heated seat and rear window wiper. I have since fixed the rear wiper (the motor just needed lubricating - I used motorbike chain lube).

The 'in gear' engine safety switch blew once which prevented the engine from starting even though not in drive. This cost 150 quid to fix.

The fuel pump also makes a lot of noise, but still works.

I bought this car (1,300GBP), with the intention of keeping it 6 months as I had just opted out of a company car scheme and was waiting for a new car on order. I was doing a lot of Do It Yourself also, so needed a big car.

It's been absolutely fantastic, very comfortable and extremely well made (more comfortable than my Merc SLK!). Even after 15 years there are no squeeks and rattles. I've done 31,000 miles and serviced it once myself. It does 500 miles a week at the moment and still cruises well at 85. I've been trying to run it into the ground for the last 18 months, but it just won't give up.

The only downside that goes with a car like this is the fuel economy, but then when you drive a 2 tonne brick at motorway speeds, it's not really surprising that it avg 25-28mpg.

The fuel tank is also a bit small for a car of this size