Hey guys, I figured this is the best bet for finding the information im looking for. Im a 17 year old kid looking for a good starter car. A friend of mine's father is a mechanic and claims volvo is the way to go considering their ability to "run forever". If a repair is needed, how expensive are older volvos to fix. Being a 17 year old with a limited budget, would i be able to afford to fix a volvo?

Good choice for a first car.

I've found that most parts for the older volvos are cheaper than comparable parts for most American cars.

Brake pads can be had for $15.00 or less. they seem to last forever. I drive a 1986 240DL with 900k miles on it and am replacing the rear pads for the first time. The front pads are still 3/16 of an inch thick.

I forget what I paid for a distributer cap and rotor, but; they were cheaper than the same parts for a 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier!

Suspension parts are cheap too. I replaced both ball joints, bellows and tie rod assemblies for around $70.00 in a little less than 6 hours.

Fuel system parts can get expensive..injectors are about $40.00 a piece. The main fuel pump is over $150.00. Fuel system parts have a very long life. I replaced my entire fuel system last year including the relays for around $500.00

The neatest thing about Volvo is they are very easy to work on. I would suggest buying the Haynes book on Volvos as certain parts are a little tricky to get to and the Haynes book is a good helper.

A set of tires can be had at Walmart for around $100.00 installed and balanced.

Once you get into a volvo you'll probably never want anything but a Volvo...that's what happened to me!

20 years ago I would say that Fixing cost would be out of your budget. MAny people who bought Volvos, Saabs, Jaguars etc didn't work on their own cars. So many aftermarket Autopart stores didn't carry anything for these cars. All expensive Dealer parts were all you could get. That's not really the case anymore.
Thanks to Computers there are many Mail order Places out there (eEuroparts.com for 1)that bring the price of parts back down to earth.

Aside from all that. These older Volvos are so much simpler then the new cars. Lift the hood...LOOK you can actually see something that resembles and engine.

I'm not just a Volvo lover, I actually am a Chevy-guy. But the Volvo's area great steadfast car that a homeowner can work on.


--
'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwr and two motorcycles: it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Sounds like you may have a mentor close at hand. That is a good thing with any car you buy if you plan to maintain it yourself. I am not sure that parts for Volvos are any higher in general. I have compared prices with other owners and the bottom line is they all cost more than we would like to think they should.

It is a great idea to buy a car with service histry, but this isn't always possible. I try to buy a car from a family in the 'nicer part of town'. This usually leads to a car that has been well maintained. You can tell if the car has been neglected or abused. Even the owner of a well maintained car may let service slide during the last 6 months or year if they know they are going to get rid of it. Plan for $500 in repairs, maybe less maybe more, than your purchase price for any used car you buy. This way you won't be frustrated.

Don't know where you are, but in my area if you are patient you can get ito a solid car, including the $500 reserve, for about $1500 to $2500. This is however an area where Volvos have been popular for some time. Example: About 8 months ago I purchased a '90 240 with 150,K miles for $800 and put about $600 more into it and not a penny since. This was my best deal of all, but others here have posted similar stories.

Good luck. Since you are posting here and asing, it is a good sign that you will enjoy a Volvo. I have three kids (daughter 23, daugher 21 and son 21), two drive Volvos. Oldest daughter loves her '87 740, Son with the '90 240 is glad to have any transportation, and my other daughter will only drive a Volvo under duress - Her car is waiting for the weather to improve so I can paint the body repairs and she is putting around in my '94 850 while I am getting acquainted with the new '89 760 turbo.

Read the information in the 740 FAQ before you buy. Much of the information will hold true for a 240 as well. Ask your friend's father if he will look at the car before you buy.

Dan

Hey man. I had my first 240 when i was 15, and one week shy of my 20th b-day, i'm about to buy my third tomorrow. Oh ya, and i have a '66 122 sitting in the driveway as well. I love 'em! It's pretty easy to keep 'em going, but i find that the pre '86 versions are a better option for kids our age. Much simpler in my mind, and less stuff to go wrong. If you want simplicity and are in canada, go for a carbureated model (a DL), that's the one i've been driving daily for two years now, nothing major has ever broken on her. BUT, i found a 242GLT, and she's coming home tomorrow, so the DL must be sold.......

Best advice though, get the bentley and haynes books, and while you're at auto wreckers (you're new home away form home) get any little thing possible. That's saved my @$$ many times now, especially little bulbs and such.

Basically, GET A VOLVO!!! You won't regret it. Let us know how it goes!!!

John
'83 244DL '66 122S soon to be '82 242GLT

if you live in a metropolitan area where there is a volvo customer base, there will be volvos in the boneyard to get parts from, and you will probably be able to find a mechanic you can trust that loves volvos, although this may be a task you do not have patience for. I got burned twice before i found a man of character. No matter how mechanically inclined you are there will be things that frustrate the hell out of you, if you buy a volvo and it has been well maintained half the battle is over. I bought a volvo because i knew they were reliable, but the volvo i bought had been neglected for a number of years. Beware of electrical problems they can be difficult. BUT if you can find someone you trust these issues can be remedied easily, the thing for a young guy to think about in my mind is this, some 240s made in certain years are prone to electrical problems, i own an 83 and its fine but i had to put about 600 bucks in it to make it right and my mechanic is a volvo schooled certified mechanic who works at home now. so i would be particular about previous maintenance records and the year of manufacture, i dont say that beacuse its not worth it to put the money in an old volvo, if you do you will have a very reliable car you can pass on to your kids for college, the car is a pragmatists dream, but if your 17 and you think you are buying a reliable car that will not require any immediate attention look very hard at maintenance records,or take it to someone you can trust or as a last resort the dealer to have it examined

I have had my '88 240 Dl since I was 17, I'm 19 now. I have spent many hours tinkering around with the car. My dad has taught me a lot about working the car, and I have learned a lot from this board. You will like this car a lot more then one of those honda things, that everyone has. Yes parts are expensive if you go to the dealor, that's why I try to avoid them. I love to go to the wreaking yard. My 240 had a slight ding in the chrome bumper trim. It wasn't a huge deal but I really wanted to fix it at some point. I thought the part would be fairly cheap new. Well I don't consider $170 very cheap, so I decided not to worry about it for the time being. Well one day I was in the wreaking yard and I found that same piece in perfect condition for $5.00. Not bad! The moral of the story is that you can probably keep one of these cars on the road cheaper then you could with one of those rice bucket.

Good luck and Happy bricking.

Most parts are fairly cheap, and 240s are packaged to be relatively easy to work on. The main problem with keeping an old 240 alive is the labor. If you can do the wrenching yourself, it's a great car to own. If you have to pay a mechanic to do the work, it can get very expensive in a hurry. In my town, there isn't a mechanic that will touch a Volvo.

And yes, properly maintained and not particularly abused, a 240 can run seemingly forever.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.

I agree with Cbolt. if you can do the stuff yourself with some help from others, you shouldn't have to worry too much about the cost. but be a step ahead, always look for rust, and do routine maintenance on it.

most parts are readily available from your new girlfriend, the junk yard.

if you do get a rwd volvo, read thoroughly on repair tips in brickboard, get a good deal on a bentley's repair manual, get your self a good set of tools (you will be adding to your tool collection over time, for sure), and have a good mechanic friend to help answer questions.

you'll be pleased with the results.

byron golden
bc1_2002 in TX
86 wagon, original owner 240k+ miles & still smooth
installed: p/w, heated p/side mirrors, full instrumentation, timing belt etc etc
projects doing: lft right rear cargo window gasket replacements, front/rear suspen bushings, dashboard, paint, front windshield, small rust repair, ipd sway bars installation

In my town, there isn't a mechanic that will touch a Volvo.
Their loss, I guess. At least Volvos don't take several hours and
various unpleasant contortions to change their spark plugs. (See
Ford Taurus V-6)


I don't know why mechanics would be so averse to working on older
Volvos. The cars are actually of very similar design to older
American cars. RWD with tranny in front, McPherson strut suspension
with live rear axle, ... really nothing to it. The only difference
is that the engine is an OHC 4 rather than a pushrod V-8, but so
are a lot of other engines these days. Then again, I live in NJ
where most mechanics (will claim to be able to) work on any car.


-b.

well they made the 240's for 18years so parts are everywhere. go for anything 88 or after in my opinion. i used to think they were somewhat challenging cars to fix, but now i don't think they are at all, compared to some other cars I have worked on. they were designed in the 70's and most of that technology stayed with them, even that stupid blower motor spot...

if you get an 89, beware of a faulty ECU, i think it is the pink sticker that is bad. those run you about $400 for a new one, but at least they just plug in and go!

FCPgroton.com is great for parts and very cheap too. buy yourself a bentley service manual and with help from the board, you will be set!

good luck
chuck
--
'88 244 173K, '87 BMW 325e 175K (used to feed a '84 245, '84 244, '85 744)