1988 Volvo 740 GL 2.0

Summary:

An ultra reliable workhorse

Faults:

Front sidelight blew plus the fuse.

General Comments:

Not the fastest of cars, but is still very responsive for such a heavy vehicle.

It's fourteen years old now and there's not a spot of rust on it. The interior is also very well maintained, almost as new.

A very comfortable car to drive.

I'm only getting about 23 miles per gallon out of it at the moment, but I think that's partly due to the need for a service.

When parked next to my Fathers brand new V70 it puts the new models to shame. You can tell the REAL Volvo!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th April, 2002

13th Apr 2005, 14:19

I too used to be a proud owner of a 740 GLE -88. It truly is one of the best cars ever built, a genuine piece of motor history.

Volvo has continued building great cars, but without the personality that the 140-, 240- and 740-series consisted.

1988 Volvo 740 DL Estate 1989

Summary:

Excellent motor

Faults:

Usual service items exhaust, tyres etc.

Fuel gauge & speedo.

Front running lights.

Niggling fault with the fuel injection system.

New front discs fitted.

General Comments:

I have had Volvos now for 20 years and wouldn't have anything else. Though I hope the acquisition by Ford doesn't make a difference.

Stay away from the little Volvos, they ain't Volvos as such. The only real Volvo is a big un!

Generally reliable, they go on forever but like all cars they do have niggling little faults.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th September, 2000

13th Jan 2004, 16:19

Well here we are 3 years later at 164000 miles and the car's still running like a dream, think I'll keep it until I retire! (then an 850 T5!!) Fixed the ignition problem which turned out to be the ignition module and the car's just had a new radiator, but at this age to be expected.

One or two jobs for the summer ie. the fuel gauge and the passenger auto window lift motor, but shouldn't take long.

1988 Volvo 740 TD Estate 2.4 turbo diesel

Summary:

Boxy but good, REAL GOOD!

Faults:

The left hand front daytime bulb blew and a number of blown dashboard lights needed replacement.

The LH rear caliper seized badly at about 129000 - very easy to put right. Both front caliper rails began to seize, but again, once freed they are very easy to maintain.

The windscreen washer motor needed replacement.

Cold starting can sometimes be a problem and the oil light takes a little while to go out. Oil is constantly leeching out of the rear of the camshaft area and caused a failure of one of the heater hoses (close call that!)

Oh, and the odd glow plug needs replacement now and then.

General Comments:

The above list might seems daunting but ALL of the above were DIY fixable and the list is complete to date. The car could well be superb, save for the standard fitment of the German VW LT28 commercial straight six diesel (which must have come out of a German U-boat). Not the nicest of power units and a complete mystery to me since I am unable to get any manuals on the engine! Despite this, it's the BEST car I've ever owned returning about 34-37 mpg and costing next to nothing to maintain!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 7th July, 2000

26th Oct 2002, 16:16

I have A oil cooler fitted to my 740 td. I took the oil cooler from A Mitsubishi galant 2.0 TD. It was fitted at 184,590 miles. I now have 271,456 miles on the clock and no engine trouble.

My vacuum pump for the brakes has recently started knocking, but the brakes are still working fine, any ideas WHY?

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