There is no doubt that most people with a 740 with over 225K will be doing more than average replacement and maitenance to keep the car going and keep it reliable. I've been towed by triple A 3 times within the year (got the silver 100 mile from home package so tow costs were reasonable- #1 timing belt tensioner froze and shredded the timing belt #2 turns out the pressure regulator collapsed #3 the car overheated on the freeway when I was pulling a 2500lb boat and I couldn't exit in time (I knew she was overheating sometimes and needed a head gasket but was putting it off. In this case I didn't notice it soon enough). When I finally opened it up for a headgasket job, I found a chipped piston and the need for a new engine. Fortunately in my arsenal I had a 1994 Turbo BF230 L engine with 64K waiting to be installed, having stowed it for 5 years)
The fact of the matter is the majority of Volvo owners you meet on this site are inveterate tinkerers and repair guys that can fix things very reasonbly (know the right Pick Your Parts junkyards) and don't mind even enjoy repairing their Volvos and keeping them going. We are all on a spiritual axis about prevention, detection and repair on our Volvos. Most of us are loathe to visit Volvo dealers and can run the Volvo with no car payments, minimum insurance costs and have the confidence to keep them running almost forever.
Very rare is the person on this site that hates wrenching.

I used to love my 240's and even my 160 back in the days. The cars insist you grow accustomed to treating and fixing them so they continue on the way. It's a way of life. It wasn't until I inherited my wife's old 1989 Toyota Camry with manual shift that I really understood what a troublefree car actually is. No constant tinkering with the Toyota. Just drive and go in a very unexciting way but with tremendous reliability. Oil and gas and a tuneup. I swore that car just plain rolled easier! I now understood why people loved the Toyota and I understood my hubris about Volvos. It's like an old dog you grow use to even love taking care of and then he passes and you realize how much time you spent caring for him when you don't have to anymore.

Likewise it wasn't until I bucked a trend and ditched the classic 240 look for the 740/760 series that I realized what a nicer ride and refinement that model had. Larger wheelbase, more engine bay space for working, better turbo setup. The wagons were better mechanically but very ugly. They rolled easier I thought again. Still I like my 1985 silver turbo today. I like the simple and reliable 2.2 ignition/computer with Hall sensor. I've placed nicer wheels on it with the newer jumbo brakes. Replaced the interior with black leather seats from the junkyard.
It's working great with the new engine with a rock solid idle and new hoses and radiator and fuel injection parts and hoses and I have the confidence it can go 50-60K without incident. The motor feels great. Recently did a 750 mile roundtrip to pick up 2 outboards with a Uhaul and the car ran perfect.

Yeah I love my Volvo. Spent about 2.5 weeks this year repairing and maintaining it, and I enjoyed it. I lug big outboards in the back all the time and it suits me better than a pickup (the enclosure protects and secures better.) Got new halogen headlights and new aftermarket lenses all the way around.

Lets see now... a dependable workhorse 23-24mpg highway, $425 liabilty insurance a year, no car payments, park on the street and don't worry... yeah it's my cup of tea and I love my Volvo. It's give and take, but I know what I have and for now its cheap to keep.

More and more it occurs to me that with the red block rear wheel drive cars getting older and nice ones scarcer, a breed of backyard Volvo mechanic will be slowly dying also. I was surprised how many 740's even 940's and some 850's found their way to the junkyards as clunkers...

With these 740/940 series with over 200K, you will be replacing worn parts to keep her going. You just have to learn to love the process (unless you naturally do like fixing)... just what the teacher said to me... learn to love the process...