Rust, and a lot of it! Door bottoms corroded and fitted new panels: both front wings (rotted around arches), front valence, rear valance and particularly holes inner rear panel (where the boot catch is - defective seal?) HOWEVER, no rot on sills, rear arches or underside and car body is now being COMPLETELY restored with full respray in the cool original dark grey.
Plastic engine guard fell off.
Car doesn't like going over 85mph.. starts to shake and cut-out.
Heated seats no longer work effectively, however this will be remedied too.
Mechanically superb, it had poor starting when I bought her, but I had my mechanic look at this and service her, and since then NO PROBLEMS WHATSOEVER!
This was my grandad's car between 1991 and 1996, so when I saw it up for sale for £200 with 4 months t&t, I offered a lot less and this was accepted... (of course I didn't let on WHY I wanted it or that I particularly did!) - I always liked the colour, the rear spoiler and top-tinted windscreen
They're a strange car to drive, unlike anything else, but for some reason I like it (I'm used to all sorts of cars, I also have an E34 BMW, Rover Metro and various 70s Fords) - The comfort level is staggering (a real big-car feel) and for old nails, inside they ooze a feeling of quality. I used to call these cars all the names under the sun when I was younger, now I'm converted!
Had the same problem with the car cutting out at higher speeds. After three months of my local garage tinkering with it I returned home to find it on my drive fixed. the cause was diagnosed as dirt in the petrol tank, an accumulation of rust (and the dregs from petrol stations) over the years. Condensation forms on the inside of the steel petrol tanks when they are not topped up, and due to the age of the 300 series Volvo's it is likely that they have been left standing for long periods over the years. If this proves to be the case with your car the petrol tank can be dropped and cleaned out, and the petrol pump and fuel line checked/replaced due to contamination. This is a relatively inexpensive operation that should cost under £25 for parts and will see your car cruising down the motorway for a few years yet.
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