1991 Volvo 240 review from North America

Upon purchase the wiper motor needed replacing, as did (according to my Volvo dealer) the speed and throttle sensors as well as one of the headlights.

According to previous owner, absolutely nothing has gone wrong aside from normal wear and tear.

Valve tappets collapsed recently, I think. The engine suddenly became 10dB louder.

What a fantastic car! The quality of construction and driving feel are impeccable, and you feel like you're driving something truly substantial. Especially if coming from a 1900lb Tercel that felt like a tin can.

I sometimes wish that I had the turbocharged 240 like Volvo used to sell in the 80s. Acceleration is generally adequate, but on hills you start wishing for 30 more horsepower.

I'm also only getting 23MPG, which I understand is par for 240s, but pretty disappointing when your previous car would get 38MPG easily.

The rumors you may have heard about Volvo repair costs are true, by the way: they get VERY expensive, almost in BMW and MBZ territory. I spent $753 on those nitpicks listed above! On the other hand, a lot of the cost is from the dealer end. One could easily get by with a Chilton's repair manual and some elbow grease, because 240s are relatively simple to work on and parts can be found cheap. That's one advantage of a design dating back to 1975, I guess. But then again, my experience with Volvo dealers has been quite favorable, almost worth the exorbitant prices they charge.

And did I mention the fan-base this car has on the web? 240 owners are a loving bunch, myself included. I easily see myself keeping this car beyond the 200k mark, both because the car will easily go that far and because I WANT to keep it running. It's been a great ownership experience for the brief amount of time I've owned it and the car comes highly recommended to those wanting something along the lines of a used Camry, but with more panache.