I just had my favorite mechanic, a neighbor who's dayjob is as a Volvo dealership mechanic, give my station wagon a major tuneup and timing belt change..(and cheap brake repair). I had noticed a slight falling off of performance but still pretty good MPG ratings.. although just an automatic, my current 245 gets almost as good mpg as my old, now junked, '86....and actually goes faster than my old stickshift.

My issues with this car...(a thousand to $1500 valued car in our locale).

1)my radio's dead and I tried replacing it with my newish cd/radio/mp3 dash set which wouldn't work as Volvo's got a proprietary amplifier...that requires installers to rewire volvo's for almost the price of new cd/etc players...(best buy said Volvo installations require a 130 surcharge where most other cars get installation free!!) so I now have hole in my dash and use occasionally a portable radio....do I have to wait to buy another car for a radio???

2)my mechanic's major tuneup didn't improve power nor performance but made the car slightly smoother, but also slightly more slower, and more gas consuming....what gives on that ..?(he said I needed to burn my new plugs in a bit more.. never heard that one before.. after 2K that's not an excuse anymore)... Could the timing belt replacement been slight off by a cog? (but the engine light doesn't go on..so the computer is saying it's running fine.) My mechanic has 20 plus years with Volvo...so there's no arguing with him... and he's been very economical and helpful keeping my old Volvo alive..(in New england...a '90 is old..due to the rust happening here). My mechanic has given excuses like.."you carry too many tools" (I am a carpenter..but my tools don't weigh more than two grown men.. and this car should carry 4 people easily) or my car's old...(but only 184K.. .which as they say, for a volvo'' that's just breaking it in!") but I am not going to 'dis' the guy as he's a been a loyal helper when other mechanics have overcharged and failed me in my last two Volvo's problems..(being that they're economical older cars which need maintaince...)

I have to be diplomatic, but I'd like to know why a major tuneup seems to not have improved performance?

Also I am edging towards getting a faster Volvo, a 740 or 960 or is the '40s with just the same engine as a 240? or maybe even an 850.

My car has a "piston slap" but otherwise goes down the road fine even if passing can be a little slow....but I usually am 15 over the speed limit much of the time.. and I make regular 500 mile round trips twice a month plus daily driving to work, etc. So this car's a workhorse...(but I'd like to improve it's performance if possible..that is the main question...can it be done?)