1994 Volvo 440 from Bulgaria - Comments

Clutch disk twice for 60000 km.

New transmission.

Engine problems.

Dash board shaking and creaking on every occasion.

Seats are very poor quality, they wear out too fast.

Left mirror mechanism broke.

Exhaust changed.

Horn broke.

Rust in a few places.

I purchased it second hand from Holland. It was produced originally with Vialle LPG system. I don't know if this is the reason (car has been driven on LPG all its life) but the steering wheel was vibrating and shaking too much on low revs (900).

The car is very bad mixture between Volvo and Renault 19 (engine and some other parts). I can say that all the bad things with this car are because of its Renault engine, which is very unreliable and problematic.

The interior was very poor and real shame for me - weared out too fast. Very weak paint and rust in few places. Dash board shaking and noisy plus falls apart, very bad material.

I had to change the whole transmission - very expensive repair. Something very annoying for this car and other Renault mades - the clutch pedal is very hard to push, so after couple of hours driving in city my knees start aching. Esepcially hard to push for my wife.

The luggage compartment of this car is too small, buy the 460 if you had to buy Volvo (I do not recommend).

I purchased this car because I heard that Volvos are ugly, but reliable. However this car is very bad and cheap built, and has nothing in common with the Volvo's from the past.

This car has few good things: very strong and reliable suspension - I drove it 70,000 km without any repairs (only the 2 stability rods must be changed every 20,000 km - cheap and easy), very good and comfortable drive, performs like a big car on the road, the parts are not too expensive because they are Renault, the car is well insulated for noise and no noise is heard inside while driving.

I do not recommend buying Volvo 440/460. This car is not reliable and is expensive to maintain. Don't deal with the official dealers (now Ford :( ) because it is not worth spending much money on such car.

Anyway, I must admit, that though this car has gave me a lot of hard timea, it never left me on the road during 3 years and 75,000 km.

I think your comments are completely wrong. Volvos are never bad cars. I have a 1992 440 1.8i and it is a good and reliable car. It has now 173.000 kilometers and it's now obviously old, but all the problems you seem to have with your car must be due to the fact it's a second hand one, and you don't know the use it's previous owner has given it. So your case must be simply bad luck.

I agree. My 1994 460 turbo is faultless and it has more than 520.000 kilometers on the clock. I wouldn't trade it for anything elese, not even a NEW Audi or BMW (bad experiences). I also know a few people with the same car and I didn't hear one complaint from them, so your case must be simply a bad luck.

Also the case here. My Volvo 440 from 1992 now has 196,000 miles on the clock, and has had very few repairs over the years. All it has needed are stability bracket (

I have just bought my mothers volvo 440 1.8si. I have had it for a month now and have had no problems with it. Then again she is an M plate with a really scarey 18,000 miles on the clock, that's 1800 miles a year. The drive is smooth and the injector really makes the difference to the drive. She is a tad thirsty on the juice, but that may be applicable to my rather heavy lead foot. She is going in for a timing belt change and local Volvo dealer offred £200. I shopped around and got the work done for £120 from the local AA garage.

I have a 1995 (N-reg) 460 Turbo manual - no problems at all, it just needed a good service when I bought it. Dashboard can rattle sometimes, but soon stops when the engine's warm, or if you hit it hard enough!!

I got my cam belt done by a local mechanic, who charged me just under £80 - excellent job too!! The Volvo garages are apparently useless, in that they can't be bothered with the older models, and also charge way too much. Just shop around for cheaper prices, they are out there.

Regards.

I´ll just have to say, that my Volvo 440GL -94,with 2.0 litre Direct Injection (Made In Sweden),is the most wonderful car I`ve ever driven! Soft and smooth on the road, no problems almost, in fact the only thing I could give a low score on is the gearbox, It should have been as massive as a M40 or M41,like those in the old 240`s. Other than that, it`s a great car!And a economical one too!I get about 15-18 km out of about 1 litre 95 octane petroleum.That`s amazing for a Volvo!You do have quite a lot of space in the backseat, and the trunk is not a shame that either!I live in Sweden, and in the winter it sometimes get quite cold, about -25 Celsius. And the damn car starts without a problem!Even if it has been parked for a week or two!

So to sum up; Buy a 440!

We have had a 1990 440 for 7 years and 60,000 miles. Now done 105,000 miles. No real problems except a very poor tickover (carburettor model). Just replaced it by a 1995 automatic - expect similar from this.

My wife bought a Volvo 440 XI new some 13 years ago K Reg. (at least) I have used it for the last 10 years (she changes her car every 2 or 3 years) and it is still going strong. In all that time the only parts to fail were the radiator, a door lock, the steering lock, and the boot lid gas supports. It is a brilliant car. It has been driven around the alps several times, now with 90,000 miles on the clock it still takes steep Devon hills in its stride and accelerates well, and it does not burn oil. It cruises effortlessly at motorway speeds. The heated seats are a delight on a cold morning. What more can I say. It is a tribute to the high build quality and engineering design.

Ditto. My 1992 440 GLT is now at 160,000 miles, with no rust and looking sharp in Metallic Black. It has been fantastically reliable over the last 7 years that I have owned it (even with it being parked up for 2) and I rate it highly. It is because of this car that I will now only buy Volvo!

Fantastic! I bought myself a 1995 Volvo 440 S today, many years after promising I'd never have anything other than Japanese cars again. (Too many bad experiences with Fords, Vauxhall/Opel/GM's etc.)

I have owned and loved a variety of Japanese cars since then, having been won over by the unfailing reliability of Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Proton (actually Malaysian, but who's splitting hairs?!) et al. OMG do those cars take some punishment!

Needing a car quickly and unable to find me a good ol' Nissan in time, I knew I was going to have to bite the bullet and buy one of the legions of shoddily-built, badly-engineered European nightmares that are so liberally strewn across the pages of the local ad papers.

With a heavy heart I began browsing, and then I saw the ad for the Volvo I ended up buying.

I thought back to a mate of mine from Uni who had inherited his grandfather's old 240 (I think that's the model number?) with about 280,000 miles on the clock. It lasted my mate the four years of his degree, sailed through every MOT and carried him another 150,000 miles into the bargain, before finally being 'retired' aged 18, after an accident that would have killed the drivers of most cars.

I have a neighbour with a big old 440 that's done 190,000 miles and has never once failed him, who told me about many more Volvo's that have managed that kind of mileage. I check online, and...BAM! Only one poor or even slightly negative report on this page, which seems to map the general trend where Volvo's are concerned.

Add to that their safety features, and the fact that they're very cheap to insure, AND they don't eat fuel like an f1 car and...well, you know the rest.

For the record, after one day of motoring, I have already 'bonded' with the car. It's easy to drive, as comfortable as my sofa at home, packed with features (electric everything, 6 speaker stereo unit, headlamp wipers (?!) etc etc... and best of all it's done over 40 miles to the gallon of standard unleaded petrol today. I've mainly been in city traffic too, and I have a legendarily heavy foot..!

Put another way, my only real complaints so far would be the annoying ticking reminding you to put on your seatbelt, (GIMME A BLOODY CHANCE, CAR!!) and the colour. I don't look at the outside of my car when driving, so we're left with one petty niggle on an otherwise outstanding motor.

It's a 1995 1.6 litre fuel-injected 440 S, in a kinda greeny shade. 78,000 miles and two lady owners from new, so the engine's just about run-in. (!) Full Volvo service history up until the last owner (so up until car had done 60,000 miles), 9 months MOT. New exhaust (full system), new front tyres, recently done timing belt, water pump and some other trivial stuff. (And, of course, seats that adjust in about 5 million different ways.)

Can you guess what I picked up this baby for? I love cars that are ignored by the masses for stupid reasons, as it always guarantees a bargain for the lucky buyer. This model is seen as 'a bit ugly' by most, hence the knockdown price of... 275 UK Pounds.

Beat that for a deal! It's 100% genuine too - independently verified mileage etc - so hopefully I'll be back here in a few years telling my own story of satisfaction, happy that I changed my mind over certain Euro brands! There are some real bargains to be be had out there.. maybe we should be keeping our satisfaction quiet to keep prices low..?

I have a 1996 Volvo 440SE, 1.8i and I absolutely love it. I've been through a long line of Volvo 340's which cost me virtually nothing and ran forever, and I'm finding my 440 to be the same.

The car cost me £300 6 months ago with 104k miles on the clock and 8,000 miles later we have spent virtually nothing on the car.

It's really quick and smooth, and feels very safe to drive. I get around 37 mpg, and have done some fairly long journeys (300 miles round trip in the same day) and the car has cruised effortlessly each time. The brakes are typically Volvo and are absolutely superb.

The only down sides I've have - crank sensor blew when I changed the battery, gas strut ball joint boot lid keeps popping out, rear window washer has stopped working and since changing my 4 x worn out Pirrelli for cheaper brands the handling has suffered somewhat.

Were going to run our 440 for a bit longer, before we try and get hold of a nice S60 or V70.

To 22. Aug. 2007: you can disconnect seat belt reminder under the driver's seat. I did that, the car didn't remind me anymore. After a few weeks I got stopped by police and got a ticket. I plugged reminder back on...

I have the Volvo 440 1.8 si n-reg and it is a great car just done over 110,000miles and still runs reaLly well it has had very little repaires and has never broke down (touch wood) I got it for my first car and it has been perfect, and I think the style inside the car is realy good for its age and even in 2days terms I have just brought an new honda civic, but do not want to sell the Volvo it is that good! volvo all the way!

I once owned a 340 that was still running after 220000 miles, and only ever needed 2 new parts, which I obtained from a breakers yard. The car was written off when a careless driver slammed into the side of me.

Any other car other than a Volvo would have left me badly injured. As it was I got out without a scratch.

I have just got a great buy on a 440 LE 1.8i, one owner, Full Service History, and only 43000 miles on a 96 plate. Loving it already, and although it is ugly according to my friends (not me), I know we have many happy years ahead of us.

I had a very reliable ‘92 440Si until last week when some kids tried to "borrow" my 440 for a lift and ended up breaking the steering wheel column!!, that Volvo did over 117500 miles and was still going strong nothing wrong mechanically or electrical but since it had the normal under the wheel arches rust and other minor bumps (Including a rear bumper that was hanging on cable ties and shoe laces after some distracted driver drove into my back) together with the repair costs from last week incident decided to ditch it.

Now I got a ‘93 440Li with a bit less goodies like power steering but that didn’t stop me to buy it. I am totally convinced that a Volvo is not just for Christmas it is for life!