I guess her time is up. I hope to find someone who loves 240's and wants a project car, but I may have to bury her soon. I no longer drive a red brick. I drive...(Pause, Sigh) an Audi A4. At first I was angry at the thought of having to buy a newer auto. Mad at the payments, mad at the btchn red volo, mad because many of my friends were like "thank god. Step into the new millenium"(its a 98 so I guess Im still behind), mad at the folks who kept reminding me about how I used to go on and on about my car like it was my first child. Im starting to be alright with it. The only reason I didnt fix her is the pressure from the parents, namely my pop who's hand is normally firmly gripped around his wallet. I must say it is nice to have the turbo, and the four wheel drive...the heated-seat thing is a little much.

Anywho, one day I will own another 240, that I will probably go from love to hate with a million times. I think addict is a little strong. Glutton for punishment may be a better way to describe it.

Thanks for all of the advice. Ill always be in "love (with) my btchn red volvo".

But the other problem is now Im addicted to the board too...I think I might need separation therapy!

Well, you're not alone.

Soon I'll be coming to terms with having too many cars and will have to choose which one(s) get cut out of the family lineup.

The oldest, baddest one, be far, is my '84 244GL. A junkyard ugly I bought (delivered) for $350 and repaired for another $250 in front end body parts.

I just love the way it drives! Faster feeling than my '86 DL and more nimble steering than that plodding '86!

But the '86 is a hand-me-down from Dad -- the last Volvo in his long 20-year ownership run with Volvo, starting with the '67 144. Hard to part with that one.

Stll, this '84 needs everything everything listed on the FAQ -- from bad seats to heater fan for rust repair behind the rear mudflaps. And paint.

But I like the thing so much....

But I am ready now to put the '89 740 Turbo into service (the '84's replacement, as it was intended) and my girl's uncle gave her the '95 Ford Contour. Now Dad is giving her the '95 Avalon.....but she likes the manual transmission of her nimble Contour.....can't have a car anyhow as a college "first-year student" and sure doesn't need a large family sedan.

So, too many cars. None I'd want to get rid of....

What's a Volvo junkie to do?
--
1989 740Ti 1986 240DL 1984 244GL

I was almost at the point of selling my '82 turbo. It was a real garage hog. I suppose it still is because it burns a lot of oil and I'll probably have to rebuilt the motor someday. Anyway, I got an '81 245 GLT that was pretty ugly but ran great. It cost $300, takes me to work and back (20 miles round trip), and I'd take it on a 1000 mile road trip tomorrow. What I'm beginning to figure out about these cars is that I can fix anything on them. No mechanic neccesary. The more I learn about them, the better I feel about driving them. They are extremely affordable if you do your own work. My advice would be to shop for A $500 240 and keep it as a toy, if you really love it, you'll eventually fix enough stuff to be able to call it a daily driver. If you don't like working on them, stay away from Volvos and enjoy your new car.
--
Bob W.
'91 744T 173K
'82 245Ti 238K
'81 245 GLT, non-turbo 275K
'67 122 wagon

Tight on the wallet huh?
I dunno, I think you can buy and maintain any old VOlvo for a whole lot less than the $20K or more that the A4 cost....
"Total Cost of Ownership" with VOlvos is generally very low when worked out for years, or miles, compared to other cars because they tend to NOT need major components. (Ask any Taurus owner how much his most recent transmission cost- more than I've spent purchasing *ALL* my Volvos, I bet).
Anyway, you may have had a rotten old car before, but you could have found one that needed nothing for a lot less, I suppose.
I don't dislike Audis, having been a VW fan for many years as well, but I have seen and heard plenty about their reputation. Hope this one works out for you.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 'Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!'

We both used the Taurus/Sable as examples, just in opposite ways.

--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.

I like Audis fine having had a VERY good 100 series that lasted waaaay over 200k. Repairs cost a fortune, but I didn't think that the frequency of repairs was more than other cars. Just the expense.

THe thing is, comparing a 98 Audi to an 82 Volvo (which honestly sounded like a piece of crap) isn't the same thing. Of course an 82 Volvo isn't going to be reliable. It's not going to be as reliable as a 98 S70 either, unless it's been gone over top to bottom. Or a 98 Sable, or a 98 Crapola, bla bla bla
--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.

I made the mistake of getting an 96 2.8 A4 earlier this year. I owned it for 4 months and put a little over 2,800 in repairs. Almost all repairs were due to a poor German engineered electrical system. And at 98k miles the front end needed to be fully rebuilt at around $1,500. If your dad was really that tight on his wallet he would smack you for getting an Audi. Needless to sa I dumped that car and went back to an older Volvo. I'm happy now.

You know what auto technicians say about Audis? "We don't fix Audis, we just work on them."
Hope you got the extended warranty.

Yeah well sometimes it feels like I can only fix something on a Volvo if something else goes wrong. Compound that with a second wagon, and you can end up pretty busy. Gotta go get the 745T out of the garage so I can open up the 855T. work work work! I'm sorry I meant "maintence".

This sounds like a messy divorce.

dick