Faults:

Prop shaft came off at 77,000 miles. That cost £100 to repair.

Accelerator cable snatched a little after the prop shaft problem. RAC fixed it for free.

Radiator was replaced at a cost of around £100.

Distributor cap was changed within a week after purchase.

Headlights replaced for the last MOT as well as the brake pads.

Rear window defroster worked only partially and heated seats didn't work from when I bought the car.

General Comments:

Very comfortable and spacious car but I never found the driver's seat very comfortable which might have to do with the fact that I'm a tall person.

It feels like driving a bigger car which gives a 'king of the road' feel about it.

Not bad fuel economy out of town but quite thirsty when driving in the town.

Very practical boot loading area.

Very squary and outdated body styling which I never got accustomed with and which is the main reason that their prices in the second hand market are so low. Definitely not a sexy car.

Big advantage the fact that this model sold a lot in its time so you can find many second hand parts cheap at the scrapyards- original Volvo parts can be very expensive.

Overall I can say that the 340 is a very good choice if you are on a low budget and don't want to waste your money in repairs. However, if you are interested in a car with more personality you will have to look elsewhere.

Faults:

Very little has gone wrong with the car. Problems mainly caused by the neglect of previous owners.

I've owned a few of these, so these are all the things that have gone wrong across the range of them (you're unlikely to have all these problems in one car) :-

The exhaust blew, and I needed to buy an aftermarket one, which was surprisingly cheap from National Tyres (so cheap, I thought they'd made a mistake).

The idle solenoid in the (Solex) carburettor went so that the car wouldn't idle. This is a safety device that needs electric current (i.e. ignition on) to allow fuel flow at idle. A replacement was ridiculously expensive, so I just pulled out the 'plunger' which stops the fuel flow. Job done, no side effects.

The speedometer cable invariably needs replacing at some point (from a breaker or 17 pounds new).

Front light bulbs blew a lot, so that one side was half-beam ('parking lights') or when you put the lights on full beam, only one side worked and the other side dipped in power etc. I've seen this on a lot of other cars though, so maybe it's not peculiar to this car.

The steering rack worked itself loose so there was a lot of play. This happened on a couple of cars (as in the infamous Jeremy Clarkson 'I hate this car so much I'm going to crash it' video).

Hatch hydraulic 'lifts' invariable fail.

Handbrake cable underneath often needs 'tightening'.

Rear light clusters play up; often the contacts just need cleaning.

Virtually impossible to find an intact parcel shelf.

General Comments:

An excellent vehicle!

Lots of space in the hatchback.

Lots of safety features 'ahead of their time' on this old car; e.g. side impact bars and safety cage/crumple zone design, seatbelt warning etc.

Excellent brakes.

Well-designed instrument panel.

Excellent heating.

Comfortable seats, but rather a lot of body roll cornering at speed; solved by lowering the car and fitting anti-roll bars.

Both the 1.4 and 1.7 are Renault engines. 1.4 is basically the Renault 5 engine built to Volvo specs. The 1.4 enjoys very good fuel economy. The 1.7 has better performance, but idles erratically. A blocked air filter most often hinders performance (and affects fuel economy). I take them out and stuff a nylon 'scouring pad' - sprayed with performance air filter aerosol - up the air intake pipe.

Fitting bigger lower profile 5 spoke alloys/185/60 R14" tyres from a 440/480; essential really for looks and handling.

Parts are easy and cheap to find at breakers yards.

I've become 'hooked' on these cars. I have a leather-clad BMW 5 series as well when I need to 'look the part' but I still enjoy driving the 340. Just the fact that there are so many of these cars still on the road tells you something...I've bought my examples for between 50 and 150 quid, so I've had amazing value for money. There is even a tuning site at www.higgins340.fsnet.co.uk