Faults:

Harmonic balancer at 240000.

Distributor cap at 267000.

Brake rotors at 267000.

Turbo at 169000.

General Comments:

Turbo smoked badly when I first purchased this car. Had it rebuilt at a cost of $1,200. Has run perfectly ever since.

I only use fully synthetic engine oil and change the oil and filter every 5,000km.

This car performs and handles like a sports car, and has the most comfortable seats I have ever experienced in a car. I'm 62, and every time I drive, I always get some young hot shot in a Holden V8, BMW, etc. creeping forward in the inside lane at the lights, ready to zoom in front of the old geezer in the boxy old Volvo. So many humiliated red faces as I am across the intersection before they can even get their foot down.

The handling is unbelievable. Coming down a winding mountain road, a Mercedes trying to out pace me drifted sideways into the guard rail on a hairpin, whilst my car handled as if on rails (Michelin tyres).

This car is so reliable. Volvo really over engineered this model.

Faults:

- Odometer had been replaced - actual mileage unknown.

- Air conditioner compressor seized.

- Radiator failed, needed to be replaced.

- Driver's door power window failed.

- Cruise control failed.

- Turbo gauge failed.

- Knob to set analog clock broke off.

- Windshield washer failed.

- Windshield wiper switch on column broke off.

- Map holders on front doors fell apart.

- Upholstery on the interior of the sunroof became snagged and tore.

- Headliner fell down.

- Front turn signal light lenses fell off.

- On right rear tail light, water would leak in to bulb assembly -> every time it rained the brake light bulb would need to be replaced.

General Comments:

Although being ensconced in heat during the summer, and the abyss of the atrocious interior trim and plastic, the car drove and handled very well. I drove the car hard, but the ironclad old school four cylinder Volvo engine never left me stranded.

For a twenty year old car that I spent $1000 and sold two years later for $500, I'm not complaining for what I got out of it. Call me a purist, but the car was over engineered compared to my 240.

If you have the time, money and patience (and interest) a car like this would make a nice ride. I simply regarded it as a cash car.

Faults:

All sorts of little stuff. Interior parts breaking, rotten engine wiring, temperamental window regulators, relays dying, rotten headliner, and many other small things.

General Comments:

Volvo did an excellent job with the body and driveline. I am not surprised that many of these cars have gone 300,000+ miles with no major repairs.

Unfortunately everything else about the Volvo 740 is horribly unreliable. I am forever replacing interior parts, soldering relays, cursing over stubborn window regulators, fighting with rotten wiring, dealing with flame traps and coolant valves, and chasing down other small but annoying problems on a weekly basis.

These cars get expensive and time consuming really fast. The only saving grace is that they are simple to work on, and parts are plentiful.

Having said that, I love my Volvo 740. It drives like a dream, has comfortable heated leather seats, and is amazing on long trips.

I consider my Volvo "luxury on a budget", considering I only paid $740 for it. Even though it's 22 years old, it's still the nicest vehicle I've ever owned.