1986 Volvo 240 DL review from North America
"It's time had come"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Head blew and chewed up the valves. Odometer was dead. Not the car's fault, instead the fault of a ham-handed repair. Otherwise, car was doing well for it's age.
General comments?
Bought this famous brick for my wife. She fell immediately in love with it. It's a popular model, iconic even, here in Los Angeles, where Volvo must have sold thousands of 240 sedans.
Solid as heck, with a paint job that looked almost new, a trunk that looked almost new (20 years later), and oodles of that certain Volvo 240...something.
Frisky still, fun to drive in a totally different way than my Mazda Miata, but still fun. A car to wear old clothes in. Wonderfully comfortable seats. Plus, the 240 just looks ethical.
Had the head not been poorly repaired, I'm sure we could have got another 10-20K out of it, with basic maintenance and repair (and assuming the tranny didn't go). It already had new brakes.
A family tragedy when she quit. Ample evidence that a car can be built for the long, long haul. If you'd bought this 240 DL new and been fussy about maintenance, I shudder to think what kind of lifespan you could have expected.
Recommended reviews
| 1986 - 240 DL Sedan 2.3 gasoline Maintenance costs are definitely not zero, but the benefits of ownership far exceed the costs |
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| In a word; if it wasn’t so boring – I would own this car or its likeness forever |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model year | 1986 |
| Year of manufacture | 1985 |
| First year of ownership | 2005 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2005 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 2 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 10 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 180000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 183000 miles |
| Previous car | Mazda 323 |
| Date of Entry | 18th July, 2005 |