Hi guys/gals,
I presently own A '98 V70 & A '99 Toyota. I want to sell the Toyota and replace it with a Volvo. I sorta have my eye on an '87 740 GLE w/ +-150,000 miles on it. It is not Turbo. It is in great shape, leather seats and loaded. Before I go for a test drive and talk to the seller, is there anything I should look for?
Thanks.

Paul

I recently bought a 760 turbo for $1500. Totally an Impulse Buy. My neighbor put up the For Sale sign, I drove it, I bought it. AS IS, of course.
The owner was the orig owner, good maintainance, she said she paid over $30K new. You Must drive a turbo before you decide to buy a 740 nonturbo or V6. For the same price you get turbo power/fun/leather/pwr heated seats/sunroof. I can't resist using the turbo! YeeHawww, take that, you with the six-inch tail pipes, fourteen racing decals and $2000 wheels, and 'You'reGonnaEndUpLikeRogerDaltry'SubWoofers! Unfortunately, A week after buying it, the heater core developed a small leak. The symptoms were: Fogged windows and a small dribble of coolant on passenger floor. THEN, one night Far From Home, sunroof open on a full moon night, accelerating up the mountain with turbo at warp 9, Suddenly steam streamed out of the vents. LOTS of steam. A Stinking Swedish Sauna! I had to leave all windows down and wipe the windshield every thirty seconds. $500 in labor to fix, all parts were about $200. This week I had a small puddle of coolant every day under the engine. I just finished bolting on a new waterpump ($39.oo at Kragen Auto). This engine is incredibly easy to work on. One hour to install the waterpump. A one banana/two beer job. Before you buy any VOLVO, CHECK the heatercore for leaks! Check the carpet for coolant spills. Buy a turbo. Turbos are Fun. Non-turbos are gutless-a four banger in a heavy brick=no fun, and the V6 has it's share of issues. Last but not least, read the archives before you decide. I have enjoyed my 760 very much- I did anticipate putting money into it when I bought it, and now I have a 700 series that is not going to have an inevitable heater core breach.
Good luck with your search, you can't go wrong with a well engineered volvo compared to other POS alternatives in the same price range.

The 700 is a very different car from your current cars. It will most likely outlast either of them and be more reliable too. It won't ride as well as either of them, though. Understand that one owns older Volvos for reliability, affordability, and truly great engineering -- not to slavishly follow the newest trends in automotive styling.

I bought my '86 740 GLE wagon new. My son has a '87 760 turbo sedan. I drive a '81 240 sedan. They are all great cars. I hope you love the 740.
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-- Bruce / '82 244 (315k miles!), '86 745, '87 760Ti, '94 854

I once drove a 740 Turbo (sedan) for a couple of days and loved it. Style of the car really is not important, but I do respect a car that can be driven hard and it comes back for more, and I'm looking for comfort.

here ya go ;)

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/BuyingUsed7xx.htm
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'

Thanks Invar,
I had seen that page before a long time ago but had forgotten all about it.
Thanks again

n/m

740's are good solid cars and are pretty comfortable considering their rather simple suspension system. They are also tough and in the UK at least, don't seem to rust very much. My '87 740 non turbo automatic is still in very good condition despite not being garaged, but it is polished about six times a year. Despite not being turbocharged, I personally have no problem with the available power. Also I think that a non turbo car is less likely to have been thrashed than it's turbo'd brother, which probably means longer engine/driveline lifetime available to a used Volvo buyer. The hard plastics inside the car are very brittle and tend to fracture/shatter easily but are quite simply repaired with suitable super glue. The electrics are awful. Check for rotting wire-coverings on and around the engine, because these wires all seem to depend on one another to allow correct running and if one is faulty, the whole engine just stops with no clue to you where to look. Light bulb plastic housings, such as on the running and side lights, tend to harden and crack and bulbs no longer function in their loose sockets. Speedometers are electronic and tend to give trouble. Trunkseals and doorseals can leak and cause wet carpets. Make sure the oil is clean in the engine and auto trans and check for accident damage. Then if you buy, join a road rescue service, firstly because those pesky wires may catch you out and secondly, the car is getting a bit old anyway, so things will go wrong! Best of luck>