Faults:

ECU box gave out after barely one month's ownership; cost best side of £200 to diagnose and replace.

Middle section of exhaust needed replacing at MOT.

Rear shocks needed replacing at MOT.

Fogs and hi-beams incorrectly wired, presumably by a previous owner.

Possible head gasket problem.

Sender unit needs replacement; having fun and games locating one.

General Comments:

My first car, after passing my test in summer, 2003. Needed a car with at least six seats, but never thought of a Volvo; was looking at old MPVs!

Daunting at first because of it's size, but is a joy to drive now, despite it's blind spots and above problems.

Very sturdy and can pull good weight; helped move most of the contents of our house last month.

Interior definitely shows fifteen years worth of wear, but it adds to the character, I feel.

Decent acceleration in second gear, but first gear and reverse can be a little notchy and hard to engage sometimes.

Roomy interior for passengers and a typically capacious boot; although can occasionally be a squeeze for 6' 3" drivers and lumbar support leaves a bit to be desired.

Having driven nearly 4000 miles, despite the problems - on account of the car's age, in my humble opinion - it's been by-and-large an enjoyable experience and I'd have another Volvo in an instant.

Faults:

Nothing apart from a noisy fuel pump, which still runs perfectly.

General Comments:

Now converted to 7 seats with a kit from a 245, cracking car, indestructible, lovely and comfortable, I've never had a better all round car. Although we do run a 1.1 Metro for my wife, both cars, bought, MOT'd, taxed and insured, Comp on Volvo, and TPFT on Metro for less than a grand.

Faults:

Car had sat for 2 years without turning a wheel, rear disc's, pads and h/brake shoes replaced as matter of course, front pads were new, disc's cleaned of rust, needed a track rod end and a frayed seatbelt replaced for MOT.

General Comments:

Considering I saved the purchase price of the car simply by changing insurance company, and sold a dead Sierra (head gasket) which more than covered the cost of parts for the MOT, I am totally delighted with the car, not much more expensive to run than the 2.0 L Sierra, apart from a noisy fuel pump it is a lovely and comfortable lazy car to drive, enough room for family of 5 and large dog with room to spare.

Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong so far, although I only paid £400 for it, and it included 6 months road tax and MOT.

The exhaust is blowing at one of the joints, hopefully not going to be too expensive.

There is a bit of vagueness on the steering which is probably just worn bushes/bearings and I'm hoping shouldn't be too awkward to resolve.

The fuel gauge is having a party! The needle bounces all over the place, can't tell how much fuel is in the tank. I'm hoping a replacement sender unit will resolve this.

General Comments:

Solid car, very minimal rust only where stone chips have gone right through to the metal work.

I'm primarily a motorcyclist and got the car for winter motorway use. It has big road presence, other cars give it plenty of room.

Big solid care, give good feeling of protection.

Engine seems willing to 'go', but is held back by the weight of the car. Not a problem though as I didn't want a sports car. :-)

Interior is dark, and typical 80's angles and switches. But on the plus side it's solid and everything still works as intended.

Fabric seat material is lasting well, no scuffs or tears.