240 General: 240 GL Saloon Auto - Good Car Generally?

[Shez69]

Hi Everyone, New to everything, never posted, never been part of a club. Very excited!

I am seriously considering buying a 1985 240 saloon, it is a 2.3l (big car for me!) and I wondered if anyone had any advice that they could give me, good or bad etc things to look out for?
I would be most interested. It sounds very vroomy (which is cool!) and is full leather with heated seats!! A big upgrade from my current car. Look forward to hearing from anyone with experience of this type of car. Oh, the mileage is about 150,000 and the gearbox sounds like its just getting warmed up.

[Roger Jennings]

WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!

Providing that the car has a good service history then there should not be too many problems. 150k is not high for a 240 Volvo even at this age providing it has been well maintained. I have recently bought an '86 240 2.3 GLE with 105k on the clock and it is still very solid both mechanically and bodily so assuming yours has no serious corrosion it should be a pretty good car. Obviously there are the usual things to look for; tyres, brakes, steering, gearbox and engine etc but most parts are available through the dealers or Euro Car Parts, GSF etc at what I think are pretty good prices. Sorry I can't be of more help but would suggest that you perhaps contact the nearest local centre of the VOC (having joined first of course!) and enquire if there is a member who can perhaps help you further.

Best of luck and happy Volvoing!

[James_N]

Rust does tend to bite the 240s more than the 7/9 series. Providing its been well maintained you should have no problem. Spend a few hundred on maintenance and it will go on forever. Replace things like:

- Cambelt
- Fan belts
- General Service Items (spark plugs / oil etc)
- Dizzy cap and rotor arm
- Ignition leads
- Possible waterpump.

Ive done all that to my 740 since i got it in Jan of this year with the help from various forum members. I dont expect to have to do any maintenance outside of routine servicing next year.

[Mike_Brace]

Hi and welcome !!

WE are in to our 240s in our family and have been running and modifying them since the late eighties apart from breaking and repairing them for other people. A good solid one without any corrosion is what you need. The model you say about is good - the 2.3 makes for more relaxed cruising although the 2.0 is OK. Mileage should not be a problem - my GLT estate (below) came to me 2 1/2 years ago with 200k on it. Whilst I have carried out planned renewal of parts over this period I have found it very reliable. It works very hard (always full of junk) and now with about 285k on the clock. It's just a case of keep on top of maintanance and make sure water doesn't get in. Looking through old posts should give you some idea of what to expect. If you do run into problems there are plenty of people to help you!

Mike

[Velorum]

Welcome.

Warning - 240's are addictive!

I think Saloons are great and the good news is that the estates are the ones that hold their value - result = brilliant cars for next to nothing!

Buy one and enjoy it! The folks here will provide just about any advice you need to keep it going.

Ian

[Paul240480]

Go for it!

My first Volvo was a 240 Torslanda, ran it to 134K (nothing) it was brill. Part ex'd it for an 850 T5 Est another brill car. BUT I missed the 240 so much I just had to buy a 244GLT. My wife talked me out of that as she hankered after a 480ES Turbo Auto which she still has. And me? Well I sold the T5 & bought a 240GL est! What more can be said?

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

You shouldn't have many issue with a 200 series.
Good solid tanks they are...
Keep an eye for rust spots - wheel arches I believe.
Also have an eye on the engine - does it look "maintained"..?
If you can, chaeck hot and cold start and running..

Enjoy...

Des. . .

[Shez69]

Thanks for all your support, something tells me that I'm gonna need it. I am now the proud/worried owner of my first Volvo (although my folks have always been Volvo lovers) but I have already experience some of the things that you have warned about.
The car is not yet happy about starting cold for me, in fact was going to nip to Asda this morning after not running it for about four days and it won't start. The engine turns over and the fuel pump relay is clicking...I don't know what else to check for. I have changed the battery and this one does sit a little higher so could be getting damp (it is raining at the moment). Sprayed all connectors with WD40 last week. Wonder if spark plugs need changed although they looked ok...sounds like its not firing on all cylinders when cold ie shudders quite a bit but once its warmed up it runs just brilliantly. Ooh another thought, my kids washed the car with me and my son held up the 240 GLT sign shouting "Mum, is this supposed to come off?" It is in one piece but I wonder what the best thing was to clean off the residual double sided insulating strip (or thats what it looks like) and how can I permanently fix it back on without damaging the car? Gosh talking quite a bit here, right. I look forward to hearing from anyone with any advice, I really appreciate being part of a "family" as it were...the "Volvo family"!

[LankyTim]

You can get special double sided pad things from halfords or simlilar stores, you need a craft knife to trim dound the pad to the shape of the badge after sticking the badge to one side. Make sure that the panel is clean and free of any dust or grease before sticking it on though.

If its an injecction car (and it sounds like it is) I think the injection relay can play up giving poor running and occasional cutting out before it fails completely. Always worth carrying a spare and keeping it in your car just in case. I dont know where it is on the 240 model though!

Sounds like it could do with a good service, new dizzy cap and rotor, new plus and lead, oil and filter change. Welcome to "real" volvo ownership. You wont look back!

[Shez69]

Thanks for your help, this could end up costing small fortune, but like most things in life...the more you put in, the more you get out. I will have a look at the bits that you mentioned, I can't afford an official service at the moment but there is no point having it sat on the drive not playing the game!
Yes, it is a fuel injection its a 2.3l 240 GLT Automatic and the pumps, looking at previous posts, tend to be a problem but I have checked all the leads (in fact previous owner just replaced them) and it is still playing up. I will try to give it a strip down and clean when the weather dries up a bit. I would love to be able to afford a service but to be honest I am frightened to death that they find something really costly, although it's due its' MOT at the end of Jan so the more I can do now, the better.
Thanks for the help!