Faults:

Car was very slow when cold, added transmission fluid, shifts perfectly now.

Wouldn't idle under 1200 rpm, connected the throttle switch, 700 rpm idle now.

Heater blower motor makes lots of noise, needs to be replaced.

General Comments:

I wanted a reliable car for school. I found a Volvo on Craig's List for $1,100. It had a turbo and intercooler, leather, automatic climate control, sunroof, heated seats, heated mirrors. I bought it.

I've never owned a european car before so I didn't know what to expect. It's amazing. Feels really solid. Steering is not too boosted. The car rolls a lot in the corners, but still takes corners very well. 110 mph feels like 60 mph on straight lines. Don't know if it's the Volvo reputation, but I feel very safe driving the car. Seats are more firm than I'm used to, but comfortable. Gotta fix the seat heaters before next winter.

I get 22 mpg on average, premium fuel for the turbo. Great acceleration, much better than I expected from a 4000+ lb car with a four cylinder. The "Turbo" gauge is fun, if I stay in the black range I get better economy, yellow range is boost.

If you leave the headlights on and turn the car off, the headlights go off. Great feature, didn't know they did that back in the '80s.

Faults:

Muffler leak.

General Comments:

Like all old Volvo's the front seats have a large number of cracks. Overall it is a great, comfortable car.

Faults:

On the Volvo 760 Turbo there were too many things that went wrong, when we first bought it at 54,185 miles, even though I bought it from a authorized Volvo retailer in Monterey which was Scandia Volvo and now it's called Larry Menke In.

My muffler fell off after one month.

The shift indicator light didn't work.

Electrical problems occurred, each time I put the headlights on the wipers would sweep.

My front left fog light screw fell off.

The rear front fog-light switch froze.

There were too many problems, I felt it was a Swedish Pinto.

General Comments:

The Volvo 760 Turbo is a great traveling car, it's safe and solid, the acceleration pick up is good on the freeway, and it will last a long time if it's properly serviced with a lot of money poured into it in repairs.

The parts are very expensive including repairs.

The rear seats are comfortable and cozy including the front seats.

The trunk is spacious.

Gas mileage is bad each time you use the turbo.

The oil leaks a lot because there are too many oil seals and gaskets, especially when the car gets old.