We are now pushing 60 240s that have been owned, and I've lost track of how many have been serviced that weren't owned. If someone had told me ten years ago that 240s would one day be paying the mortgage, I'd have laughed, but there sure are a lot of them to be saved. Oops. The wife says it's more than 60.

I've spent my entire adult life working on machinery of many different types. The minor inconveniences exhibited by the 240 in terms of maintenance and repair pale in comparison to some of the engineering, uhm, engineering--anomalies--that I have seen in commercial equipment of all types, from presses to chillers, to forklifts to high frequency generators. For those situations, it is up to the service personnel to devise practical solutions that utilize more modern (read: better) parts, more modern processes, more modern reasoning to improve the equipment. This applies to every industry that deals with every type of equipment. That's what technicians and engineers are paid to do, keep the equipment usable, practical, reliable, running. It's all about ROI. That can be the manufacturer's ROI in developing the unit, or the user's ROI in keeping it profitable and/or usable. As far as design and engineering ROI, I don't think any cost accountant could possibly complain about Volvo's design of the 240, even if the next group of engineers to review the design can. Likely the engineers don't complain either--they are too busy figuring out a better way to....anything.

Most of the things that people mention in discussing the 240's shortcomings have been solved by innovative people over the years. Some solutions are elegant, some are simply effective. I often find myself arguing about whether a solution is a good one based on whether or not it uses factory parts or procedures. Silly stuff. The point is to find a solution that fixes the problem and restores the functionality, hopefully to better than original performance, but at least to "original" levels of performance. For me, it's not about complaining about the cars' problems, it's about keeping the car running so it can be enjoyed. Finding a solution, whether it be to a clunking bushing or an impossible to remove part, is a challenge to be enjoyed, not a chore. I think those that continue to complain about the cars' shortcomings just haven't embraced what's available to solve their problem. Getting other enthusiasts to join in the hunt for the fix (as we do here)? Priceless.

I am eternally grateful to those on the board who have provided solutions over the years. For the conventional solutions yes, but even more so for the unconventional ones, because I think they represent innovation.

I have no complaints about the 240 worth mentioning.