29th Dec 2009, 00:11
My 1993 240 four door is still chugging away contently at 178,000 miles. It has withstood the meanest, hottest summers mother nature could cook up for central Texas. With regular maintenance, I have no doubt it could continue for an indefinite period of time.
The alternator and the starter motor are still original. Usually, these two are the first to go.
Relatively speaking, parts are cheap and plentiful compared to other makes and model cars. I have a stable full of old Volvos, and just cannot see driving anything else.
18th Feb 2010, 00:04
I have a 93 240DL wagon. Purchased used with 108,000kms and it currently has 388,000kms. It has carried all manner of stuff - building supplies, kayaks, and with the added third seat on many occasions seven passengers. It has towed tent trailers across the Rocky Mountains and served as the daily driver for almost seventeen years. All this, and only now is it starting to require some significant service.
It was never a pretty car, but all the mechanisms, including the power locks and the overdrive still function. Smooth at highway speeds, and the smallest turning radius of any car I've every driven.
Truly an icon of automotive engineering.
It will be hard to part with, but its environmental footprint insists it be retired. The only question is with what?
17th Jun 2011, 19:28
Environmental footprint? If it's belching smoke like no other, then I would say it's time for a check up. Other than that, you are doing the earth a favour by NOT purchasing a new car. I need not state the fine points, but a new car is far more of a deep tread on the crust of the earth than that of a well maintained classic car. To anyone reading - keep your old car. Forget the carbon copied electronic tinker toys that are farted out of every 2 minutes. Buy a 240 and keep it up!
18th Jun 2011, 17:33
Another one on "Environmental Footprint" - what good are the new cars with galvanised bodies, good for 20 years, when a vacuum sensor fails and costs NZ$1,400 new (on a Daihatsu - no OEM parts available; the Audi one only costs NZ$250) ; the Mechatronic unit on the DSG auto tranny of a fuel-efficient VW can fail costing US$2500; and cars with the Teves Mk 60 ABS/ASR unit will suffer failures costing GBP 1,300 to fix?
These are problems that are NOT caused by neglect or lack of maintenance, or bad driving or trashing the car. These are design problems, which through no fault of the owner, will or can happen. The cost of repairs for these (even when the car is just out of warranty) is debilitating to real people with real jobs.
So you throw out an otherwise perfectly good car, which can do service for another 10 years, because it is just too expensive to maintain. That is a major waste.
Keep the Volvo. Damn political correctness and green fatigue. Do what you know is right. The greenies are NOT the ones paying for your car repairs.
8th Mar 2006, 21:18
My 245 1993 Classic is really a Classic, the designation of 1600 of the last production models. This car is really unique, so I do not expect everyone to like it, not even my wife, but it suits me well. My bicycle can lay in the back with all the wheels on just by folding the back seat forward. I wish it had side and curtain airbags and breakaway seat backs, but it still is a very safe car, passively. This one is my 4th in either the 240 or 140 series and although a little expensive on repairs, in the long run, it all evens out. Sure, I 'd like a new RAV4, but my 1993 Classic is paid for and just in middle age with 193k miles on it. My only problem is that I have 2 Volvos, a 1994 940 sedan also, so I may have to sell this one. Anybody interested?
Get Rolling!