Faults:

I bought this old girl based on the reviews I read here, and I have not been disapointed.

I paid $500 for it, it needed three rust holes bogged up, then a bit of money spent to get it on the road. I live near a VOLVO specialist wrecker, so most of the parts have been salvaged.

It needed a radiator, steering rack, and one muffler, rear shocks, set of tyres, battery, then a few small things like dis-cap / rotor, plugs and leads etc. All up I spent just short of $1000, so for $1500 plus rego, I was on the road.

The clutch was wearing out when I got it, with some vibration when reversing, so after six months, I put in a new clutch plus master and slave cylinders - all up $700.

This old girl starts every time, doesn't blow any smoke, goes hard when I need it to. She's comfortable to cruise in, although a bit thirsty on fuel - by my calculations 14L / 100KM which is about as bad as a modern V8.

General Comments:

I've read that these cars can go for 1/2 million miles, and my plan is to drive it that far (which might take me the rest of my life, considering I only drive it one or two days a week (I use a scooter for the daily commute to work)

Faults:

Exhaust replacement.

General Comments:

Comfortable, reliable and safe.

Faults:

Emission control pipe came adrift prevented car from starting.

Usual minor problems with 13 year old car.

General Comments:

Great turning circle.

Solid build. Feels like driving a rhino!

Other drivers take more care in your vicinity. So you take advantage of that. Never seemed dangerous or unstable.

Weird fuel economy. Flat out with 5 people on board up hill towing a loaded trailer, 19 mpg. Easy downhill empty with a tailwind, 19 mpg. No more, no less! So why not go pedal to the metal everywhere?

Would love to try one of the conversions with a Ford 351 on board. That could feel about right regarding handling and performance. And probably get better mileage.

Faults:

Injector faulty, needed replacing, but was very cheap and easy to fix.

Hole in exhaust pipe.

Engine has been expertly reconditioned (by the previous owner) and has only done about 75.000 since. Is still like new.

Struts for tailgate aren't holding up the tailgate anymore. Need new ones.

The interior desperately needs fixing.

The only really annoying thing about this car is the daylight running lights, those lights that are always on. They burn out quite regularly and also cause all the dashboard to be on all the time. They tend not to last too long and they are a pain to replace. As a result half of them aren't working at the moment.

The car rattles a bit at the moment, ever since my son and his friends took it on a surfing trip, the roads to the beach must have been rough. Got to have a look at that.

General Comments:

I am only the third owner and know the car's history. It has always been maintained well and if you maintain a Volvo it won't let you down. So, its reliability is a plus.

Parts prices are fairly reasonable as long as you can stay away from dealers. They charged nearly A$ 100 for a front indicator lens recently (a small piece of plastic with 2 screw holes). I tried 12 wreckers, but gave up and ordered it from my local Volvo dealer. Brake pads etc are all cheap (I use generic brands).

The engine is quite smooth (2.1 fuel injected) but unfortunately it only runs well on (expensive) super. It is reasonably powerful, but the car is quite heavy, so fuel consumption is not good. It uses as much as my 4.0 diesel land cruiser, about 12 liter per 100 km. It is not that cheap to run in taht sense, but then again, I know a lot of people who buy new or different second hand cars all the time. You may save fuel, but you end spending a lot more. You sell and buy cars you always lose out. Not buying new stuff all the time is good for our planet as well. This Swedish brick just keeps on going.

Another good thing is that people don't steal them: they are not cool enough for young joyriders and other hooligans!