1993 Volvo 240 Reviews

Exhaust, clutch, 2 coolant tubes, the intermediate bearing and a wheel bearing over 13000km.

I broke the clutch myself trying to haul a huge trailer up a hill. My mechanic said I'm unfit to drive a car if I manage to break the truck-sized-clutch on a Volvo, but it happened anyway.

The exhaust, tubes and bearings must be considered normal maintenance for a car of this age and mileage.

Rust is coming up in the usual places: Wheel wells, back door.

Very powerful and tractor like engine. Start it in first without gas and it will roll. Needs little shifting. Will almost always run, even if maladjusted or mistreated.

Massive space inside. The smart solution is to fix furniture or other stuff with hooks. Very spacious "cellar" under the boot for tools, an extra pair of shoes etc.

Soft and smooth ride. Excels on cross country rides.

Nothing is easier to park than a cuboid.

Rather cheap to buy, very cheap to maintain, no loss of value anymore.

Gas consumption is okay, and overall you spend less money on maintenance than on extra gas compared with other, more fuel efficient cars of the period. Remember that the design is from the 60s.

A lot of space in the engine boot, makes it a lot easier to some work yourself. Light-signal-controlled real "on-board" OBD is very helpful.

Rust is annoying. The Volvo 700-series is much better preserved.

Motor mount broke at 255,000 miles.

Starter died at 258,000 miles.

Replaced timing belt and water pump at 266,000 miles.

Voltage regulator died at 305,000 miles.

This is the most solid car I have ever owned.

I bought it from the only owner who had all of the service records since 1993. I paid $1500 for it.

Even with the high mileage, the engine purrs down the highway.

The transmission shifts smoothly through all gears.

The gas mileage isn't so hot, but maybe I need a new fuel filter.

I would own this car over most newly made cars.

The B230 red block engine is one of the best engines ever made, hands down.

Nothing.

I love this car! It is easy to work on. It seems it was designed just for me! An American who is tired of car trouble, and needs safety, reliability, and yes, a little class for the car snobs! If you do your own work, parts are cheap on-line.

I will admit to not being impressed with Volvo dealers in my area. They keep on trying to put me in a new one. I will when Volvo revives the 240!!

Alternator regulator brushes worn out. $80 replacement by auto electrician. Left me stranded for 2 hours.

Leather seats wear badly. Cracked and ripped.

Rear bench fold-down handle broken.

Internal plastic trim break off easily.

Door light switches faulty on all three rear doors.

Tail lights cracked (changed with used ones)

Driver's side door hinge broken (common fault)

Steering wheel delaminates over time.

Handles well for a largish car. Steering can be a tad light (over power-assisted?) but that's why lotsa women love driving this car. Terrifically small turning circle.

Very stable on freeways. Corners very well for an old largish wagon. Newish heavy duty front shocks helps keep body roll to a minimum.

B230FX engine with factory installed VX camshaft, 531 head, and factory higher flowing exhaust makes this a very revvy 240 model with good power delivery all the way to 5000 rpm. Wished the low-end torque was better (can be fixed with a camshaft advance?). Engine ticks over at around 2500 rpm on the highway at about 100km/h.

Good highway fuel economy, quite poor in city start-stop traffic. Smallish 60 litre fuel tank (compared to the 82 litre tank on my 740T sedan)

Interior is pretty worn for a 93 car. Leather doesn't hold up well in harsh Aussie sun with no maintenance. Front seats swapped for ones from a Volvo 850. Lots more comfortable.

Terrific airconditioning with a slightly noisy fan.

A small modification to the factory airbox has been made that now gives the car a much better throttle response. The factory intake snorkel has been removed and a much larger 65mm ID pipe takes its place. Warm air intake capped and flapper mechanism removed. Second mesh wire screen after AMM removed as well. Big change made to throttle response.