So im thinking about buying a 240....

Im 16 at the moment, soon to be 17 and looking for a new car. (17 in september) My parents are strong Volvo followers along with my brother and i would like to follow their lead due to Volvos great image and saftey records. I love the 240 range, the looks etc but im just not sure. Can any of you help ?

1. Which Volvo 240's come with power steering and automatic choke as standard since i hate non power steering cars and manual chokes.

2. Can anybody give me an idea of the insurance for a 17yr old, living in the middle of the Cheshire country-side with a 2.0 letr 240 would be like? A lot ?

3. What exactly are the Saloon 240's like to drive ? Hard, easy ?

Any help would much great since im really really wanting that 240 ive been looking at.

Thanks ! Graham M.

[Clifford Pope]

3. What exactly are the Saloon 240's like to drive ? Hard, easy ?

I can answer that one - nothing like the sort of car most 17 year olds would want to drive! Soft suspension, easy, swaying, American-style ride, not a lot of steering feel. Very comfortable seats, unless you get one that's collapsed. Big torquey engine pulls away from rest at idling speed, from a crawl in 2nd, and ambles along at 60 doing only 2500 rpm.
Has an incredibly small lock, so you can U-turn where much smaller cars can't. The sort of car you can drive non-stop for hundreds of miles and forget to take breaks.
Corners surprisingly well if you dare.

I hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Cliff

Graham

Good on you, go for it!

Be different from the crowd of flimsy horrible Novas and drive a cool 240 instead.

1. I'm no expert but I think the majority of 240s you'll see around now will have power-steering. Not sure about the manual choke, but any car with fuel-injection has automatic cold start and hence no choke.

2. As for insurance, I think you'll just have to phone and get some quotes.

3. The other reply from Cliff sums up the driving experience perfectly. A bit disconcerting at first if you've learnt to drive in a small modern car but once you get used to it great fun and easy to drive.

The main thing I'd say is don't get carried away and buy the first car you look at. Bodywork condition varies a lot and you should keep looking until you find one with little or no corrosion. Rust-free cars are available and they cost hardly any more to buy. Definitely worth the time & effort to find a good, solid car.

Best of luck

John

PS I bought a 240 GLT yesterday and it's great!

[James A]

Keep checking eBay for good 240s. They do turn up.

Sadly, my eBay purchased 240 was a hound of Baskerville proportions, but it only cost me £200. However, I liked driving it, and it got me hooked on Volvos for life...

[James A]

Here's the woofer...

[migrator]

But it's only a little saloon ...

[James A]

I HAD to have a 240, and at the time of looking for one, there were no estates to be had.

It's even littler now as it probably forms part of a washing machine somewhere... :)

[migrator]

Just think of it - a washing machine that can do over 200,000 (washes?).

By the way, Haynes do a manual for washing machines. }( }(

[James A]

Check out this beauty! :)

http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/dc/dcboa...g_id=277&page=

[TheJoyOfSix]

>1. Which Volvo 240's come with power steering and automatic
>choke as standard since i hate non power steering cars and
>manual chokes.
>
>3. What exactly are the Saloon 240's like to drive ? Hard,
>easy ?
>

All 240's post 1983 (ie with h/lights and indicators 'smoothed off') had power steering, previously only GLT's had it (It was an option on GLE's and some GL's)

A great bonus is that being square visiblity is superb, that combined with a tight turning circle makes it a doddle to park.