Faults:

Both Taillights had cracked lenses.

Both front door frames had been removed and reattached loosely.

Trunk interior trim was removed.

Leather seats had not been oiled in a long time and were very hard and somewhat cracked.

Over-drive solenoid sometimes won't let transmission shift into overdrive.

General Comments:

Engine was rebuilt at 200,000 miles by a retired Toyota mechanic. Did an awesome job. Engine switches on as quickly as my parents 96 Camry V6. Engine is so much more powerful, responsive and smooth than the 2.1 in my 1982 245 with only 155,000 miles I am seriously considering putting a 2.3 in it, especially the 16-valve.

The 4-speed overdrive transmission is such a relief from the 3-speed in the 245 I have already purchased one for it. I hear it is much stronger and more durable. It is turning at 3100 rpm @ 70mph vs nearly 4000rpm in the 245.

The handling is very good. The body is much more rigid than the 245. I have added a strut brace and a brace from the struts to the firewall in the 245 that helped a lot. The 740 come standard with the strut-to-firewall braces that look like building girder beams.

I have a very fine stereo system installed in the 245, including a 100-watt/channel Blaupunkt amp, an 60/75-watt/channel Rockford Fosgate amp pushing 2 12" Rockford Fosgate Subwoofers and pairs of Polk 5 1/4", 4-inch and 1-inch Tweeter/2 1/2-inch Upper-mids with a Blaupunkt Houston CD AM-FM head unit that sounds great.

All the speaker installation had to be very customized except for the 4-inchers.

The 740 is all ready to accept 5 1/4's in the front and rear doors as well as 4X6's on top of the dash.

I have already accumulated a Blaupunkt MP74 AM-FM-CD-MP3 head unit with a microhone balanced 5-band equalizer with DNC and RDS, 2 Blaupunkt PCA-100 100-watt/channel amps for 2 sets of Polk DB525 speakers, and a Polk 500 mono subwoofer amp to push 2 Polk db104 sub woofers in a nice infinite baffle enclosure.

This system will really rock in the car even when the manual sunroof is open.

I I have already purchased a set of 16X6 1/2 Volvo alloys with Goodyear 205/55-16 tires that are standard on BMW 325i's.

Just waiting for the spacers to mount them properly.

I am sold on Volvo's great combination of comfort, excellent rear-biased handling, robust build quality an superb high-speed cruising in combination with real world mileage of 22-25 mpg.

Faults:

The electrical system hasn't been perfect; the light-out-light is on even though no lights are out.

Seats wore badly, but expected because it's an old car.

Exhaust leak, but common on all cars of this year.

General Comments:

I really love my Volvo.

It gets up to speed.

Sound System is good.

Engine is as solid as it gets.

Faults:

New fuel pump around 135,000 miles.

Front end loosened toward end of my ownership; couldn't find anyone to give me a straight answer on how to fix this.

Headliner drooped in midlife; only thing about the car that seemed substandard.

General Comments:

If it would have been possible to buy a brand new 740 in 2004, I would have done anything in my power to facilitate this.

One of the more "over-engineered" cars I've ever known; it truly was like saying goodbye to an old friend when it was time to part.

This car, though there were much more expensive and luxurious Volvo models out there, always made me feel special (this may have had something to with the beautiful buckskin leather interior with two tone dashboard) especially on a beautiful day with the sunroof open.

The most reliable car I've ever known. Ten years of bliss in this regard. Rugged as a mule, yet far more elegant.

The trunk was usefully shape (why are car manufacturers afraid of the box shape; it's so incredibly functional... in the 740's case, it was also beautiful).

Alas, after 200,000 miles, and fourteen years the car began to feel tired... the front needed work and the engine began to seep oil. I researched how to get the car re manufactured (there used to be a place in New Jersey that did this to Volvo's and BMW's) but came up empty. I really wanted to begin again with a brand new 740.