Faults:

Car sputtered sometimes out of the blue. Bobbin, rotor and cables replaced. Very rare, still some little sputtering but luckily never a complete silence any more. Probably the carburetor, it's a bit dirty.

Gasket between the gear-box and differential is covered in oil, but still giving no problems.

Expansion barrel of cooling liquid has cracked.

Springs of the boot lid replaced.

Water leaking at the right mirror suspension.

General Comments:

This car is one of my best purchases. For less than 200 pounds it's a very good car, except for the details described above.

The car is spacious and very robust: it had a collision at the back but it only needed a new tail light. The other car was total loss!

The engine is surprisingly strong, the car accelerates very fast.

The steering, however, is very heavy, even with the smallest tires suited for this car.

The fuel consumption is OK, as is oil usage.

Gear-box handling goes tough but does not creak (yet).

A very good car overall, considering the price I paid for it.

Faults:

New clutch fitted.

Starter motor replaced.

Blew a head gasket recently.

General Comments:

The 3 series Volvo is a good old plodder, reasonably reliable and quite a spacious car.

Faults:

Head gasket blown, radiator pipe split, rear nearside brake cylinder failed (resulted in nasty exit from the A329M), thermostat seal melted, fan belt drive wheel fell off, choke cable and mountings broken, spark plugs needed replacing, cylinder wall about to wear through, extremely prone to overheating.

General Comments:

Sounds awful but was good fun when on the road, but very expensive when off it.

Good points: Good acceleration and handling for a heavy car, very solid build, sharp brakes, nice predictable response. Comfortable drive except hell over speed bumps.

Bad points: Drinks like a fish, especially in traffic. Very prone to losing the back end if braking sharply (RWD), and skidding/wheelspinning in icy/wet conditions. Continuously breaking down - worst point being the amount of RAC personnel who were heard to comment 'Thought Volvos were supposed to be reliable'.