1984 Volvo 245 DL from North America - Comments

Air mass meter failed idles rough.

Fuel injectors need rebuilding (repair quoted $500).

Replaced rear struts, car handled scary!

The overdrive is not working, could be solenoid, switch who knows.

Steering rack needs replacement (quote $600. This means the steering rack boot bursts spewing power steering fluid everywhere.

Pops out of car and now difficult to shift.

Rear window wiper and demister a joke, known fault of car.

The driver side window, flat fell out. Just fell off it's track and out.

Needed replacement ball joints.

Breaks squeak in that charming volvo way.

Right door lock seized, fell off it's track of something, $70 to repair.

Other doors (rear passenger, and rear hatch) have seized, worked intermittantly.

Sure Volvo's are designed to go 500,000 miles right?

And this particular example I bought off a little old lady professor who babied it.

So no problem, right? WRONG, this thing has been a money pit since day one.

The repairs listed above have been just in the past year. I have a phonebook-thick sheaf of repairs the first owner made.

The thing was expensive when she bought it in 1984, and it took an army of swedish-trained technicians to keep it going.

I read hair-raising stories of the nice lady previous owner, left stranded in Tacoma more than than once.

When she sold it to me, I should have taken warning that she gave me countless fan belts, Overdrive switches and hoses to go with it. Oh and headlights, seems that it likes to break headlights.

So the 500,000 miles Volvo story is a bit of a fiction-- perhaps the engine can run that far, but all the other vital parts, including tranny, electrical system, cooling, and door locks (dang, door locks!) aren't.

Think seriously before buying a car. Perhaps mine is/was a lemon. But you just don't have the kind of cash, it will cost to keep your Volvo 240 on the road.

Clean the flametrap? Come on! The design of this auto is pure obscuranta. No one else can fix it, folks buy them and keep them running, because they are ashamed to admit how much cash they've put into it. Who's ever heard of a failing steering rack?

And as a my (sometimes) wise brother said "once you replace every incidental system on this car-- you're still only going to have a volvo wagon."

Seriously buy a subaru, I had a nice 1987 wagon, same color blue. It was a bit smaller, better on gas, had 4 wheel drive (imagine how costly that would cost to keep up if Volvo had made these babies in 4WD!).

Or a honda, do yourself a favor.

Hello,

Sorry you have may of got a bad one, I have a 1986 volvo 740 Gle and it has been wonderful. Learn to work on it and use secondhand parts ie steering rack. There is an excellent volvo forum called. www.brickboard.com which covers every volvo model. You can post questions to problems and get excellent advise. We have had several MK1 and MK 2 subarus and always had to replace the driveshafts on them each costing about £250 UK pounds going back 15 years, which was quite often. Don't give up on them they are great vehicles. James.

Hello!

I think you just got a lemon. I own two Volvo's and a Subaru, and they are all great cars.

1. Volvo 460 turbo (94') : 522.000 kilometers on the clock with no problems

2. Volvo 850 T5-R (95') : 312.000 kilometers with no problems (bought it used)

3. Subaru 1.2 4WD (90') : 449.000 kilometers with no problem (survived 3 accident's)

All my car's were properly maintained.

I don't know why he thinks a 20 year old car which has been around the clock twice is going to be in showroom condition.

(followup note from the former owner)

I finally got rid of the car, gave it to the local Volvo recycler (aka the junkman). And got nothing for it.

But at least I didn't have to pay to get rid of this thing.

Sure it's been around the clocks twice, or however you said it, but I figured that last year I spent $4,000 just to keep this thing on the road.

The gas mileage wasn't that great, the handling was oaf-ey, and the payoff, and the subtle charm of the model just wasn't worth it.

(Oh and yes, I did get some interesting/useful info from the brickboards).

Oh and if you need some parts for you 245 wagon, go to that automotive recycling place in Ballard, they just got a new shipment of used parts.

There is some truth to the story. My volvo is 1990 240 DL SW and 195 K miles. Handeling is a week point.I thank my lucky stars that I do not have to drive on narrow Hilly roads and mostly drive on broad staright roads.It sways like a boat.Even If I change the whole setup it won't change the inherent behaviour of the car. (ie heavy, high CG and a week suspension system, thin tyres for the load (new mecheline 185/70 R14 in my case) ).Stock sway bars are thin.

Regards

Gopesh

My 88 240 wagon benefited greatly from adding alloy turbo wheels from a 1984 wagon with 195/60 15 tires. Before it wanted to turn, now you must steer to turn, and pressures are 38psi rear and 34 front for performance!

I recently bought a 1984 240Gl and have been very pleased with the performance. Tough luck my friend. I've had Subaru's too and with much fanfare they found their way to the scrap heap... better luck next time.

Steve.

Many of the repairs mentioned are easily fixable yourself, or can be completed for much less than your mechanic quoted. Just because a model is known to run a long time doesn't mean that wearable parts do not wear. I have never heard of a 20 year old car that did not need a good bit of money to get it back to showroom condition unless it was always kept in that condition. I've never had a volvo 240 go less than 250k

-2 of them died because of electrical reasons. Wireig harness, and expensive mystery repair. My average maintenance cost per year has been around $200, and for a 20 year old car, well. I also just keep my car in running condition, not showroom condition, so mushy handling, so what.

Calling a 240 a money is pit is completely incorrect. A 240, just like any other car is only as good as it's maintenance. You can't just put gas in a car and ignore everything else then expect it to not whimper when things wear out.

I have two 240's now and I've had 2 700's in the past. One of my 240's is stock and has 190K on it. I drive it daily and it's bullet proof.

My other one has been turbocharged, changed to electric fan, lowered, IPD sport suspension components, ported and polished head, new cam, 3" exhaust, new front drivers side seat, chipped, Hawk HPS pads, goes like stink AND has 185K on it.

Both cars have engines and trannys that are bullet proof if you, the owner, take care of them. Things like brake pads, injectors, etc..., are going to need attention eventually. That's life with a used car. :-)

I bought my 245 DL new in 1984. I drove the care for the next 23 years and it served me well. I have just now given it to a friend with 160,000 miles on it. That is not much in 23 years. The Volvo, like any European car, is expensive to maintain. This must be understood from the very beginning, whether the car is new or used. During this same time I purchased a 1986 Toyota Camry and my wife was the primary driver. In 2003 I purchased a new Toyota Camry which replaced 1986. With both the 1986 and 2003 Camry we have had little if any maintenance problems. Parts are much cheaper and they seem to be more dependable. The Toyota ride is so much better than the Volvo. I initially bought the Volvo because of my Scandinavian heritage. I was 42 at the time. Now that I am pushing 65 I want a little more comfort and peace of mine. For some reason the Japanese have figured out something that the Americans and Europeans have not. Yes, you can buy a European status car that is a fabulous driving machine, but I only need to get from one point to another and impressing those on the road with the car that I drive is not in my makeup. Yes, I LOVED MY VOLVO, but know I am at an age where I can give it up without regret.

I've seen more people claim that European cars are expensive to maintain as if it's a fact of life or at least acceptable. No other region of manufacturers gets more free reign to produce what are often finicky, gremlin-laden cars and still be considered good.

I cannot fathom that for the life of me.

If I spent $4000 on fixing my 240, it would be a show winner, I don't understand how someone could spend that kind of money and not have a perfect car in the end. What could possibly cost that much? BTW I have found 240 parts to be cheap and easily available via internet, not to mention easy to put on the vehicle. I think a Volvo 240 takes far less maintenance than a BMW, Mercedes, or VW. The 2 240s I've owned had 315Kmis and 450kmis and sure they needed the occasional part, but that sure was cheaper than a new car payment. Both cars were in great shape when I sold them.