Should I? Pics added

[Richard]

My dad is about to trade in his N plate Volvo 940 TD Estate for a new car. He's getting £250 for the Volvo. He's had it from less than a year old and he's taken it from 14k to just short of 200k. The car is in reasonably tidy condition and he's had it regularly serviced at a local garage. There is an alarming banging noise from the engine (or possibly one of the ancillaries) but he says it's been doing that for ten years. The question is- should I offer to buy it? It would mean selling the Xantia, which is the best car I've ever had but the Volvo would be shit hot for towing the caravan of for any impromptu antique dealing I might want to do. Another consideration is that a TD 940 is quite a rare beast. If he trades it in it will almost certainly go direct to the scrapyard.What should I do?

[STUNO]

Find out what the alarming banging noise is before even thinking about buying it. that aside it should be a good tow car.

[Milford Cubicle]

If you don't buy it, I will!The banging noise you speak of, is it just diesel knock? If the injectors are a bit past it, it can make the engine pretty noisy.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

It sound well worth £250 alright, you could bay it for more than that unless the engine is totally shafted, which it doesnt sound like it is. Get on it!

[Richard]

I'll investigate a bit further. From what I remember it wasn't rhythmic enough to be from the inside of the engine. It could be to do with the engine leaping about, Volvo like to mount their drivetrains with at least a foot of free movement. If I can persuade him to let me have it for a weekend I'll investigate a bit further. The new car hasn't arrived yet, and it has to be a demo for three months so it can become an ex-demo so there isn't a huge rush.They traded in their G plate 60k 205GLD a couple of years ago without telling me. A weekend of polishing, a new speedo head and some proper wheel trims would have had it like new but it would have gone straight into the crusher.

[Albert Ross]

The TD shares the engine with the VW LT does it not? In which case it has a cam driven Vacuum pump for the brake servo. Moneys on that it's the vac pump, and will continue to rattle it's cock off for another 20 years. Don't let it go! Keep it and get another 200k out of it. Try pricing a vac pump, and then see when the noise happens.......Under braking, just after braking or random. JUST KEEP THE CAR IN THE FAMILY!

[Richard]

Yes it's the LT engine. Where is the vacuum pump? I got the impression the noise was towards the back end of the engine but I didn't listen that hard.The only things putting me off are that noise, which I think Albert is right about, and the driving experience.M.C.- if I decide I don't want it I'll certainly try and send it your way. You could take your 405 home in the boot.

[Richard]

10/10 yes so far. I knew a yes vote was a foregone conclusion on here.

[Guest]

Aren't the engines in these complete shit? I've heard some bad things about them.

[r.welfare]

Au contraire, I've heard the engines are hardy but it's usually the fuel pumps that cause aggro - doesn't sound to be the case with this one. 940s are totally over-engineered and will last for years, a TD will get decent (high 30s) economy which is the only bugbear I can see on the petrols - for £250, buy it.

[Milford Cubicle]

They need to be rigorously maintained to stay reliable. I've been on the lookout for one for a while, they sound like lorries and belch out loads of black smoke. Proper diesels!

[dollywobbler]

Veggy fueled drift wagon FTW!

[Mr Lobster]

Buy it! Has to be worth £250.00

[trigger]

Sounds like a fair deal to me!, You know the car so you know it been looked after and I bet it will outlast the Citroen.Plus it's the perfect shed puller!

[Futuramic]

Ask an expert! Ask me!I have been in the same position, having previously owned a Xantia, and now running a Volvo 740. Both are petrol, as heavy oil isn't my favourite fuel; but I'd say buy the Volvo any day. My Xantia was reliable, but as with most French moderns it was under engineered and over complicated. Volvos are over engineered and under complicated, a much better scenario.Firstly forget the image. Old Volvos are a quality product. You will notice this the second you touch the door handle. Everything is solid and exquisitely made. The seats are supremely comfortable and even the driving position is reasonable. "Honest John" described the handling as "diabolical" or something. He is talking out of his arse. These old beasts will hold a reasonable line through a corner, and have the major advantage of rear wheel drive. Anything sending its power to the front feels rubbish by comparison. I will never own another FWD car (unless its really special or a cheap heap) after having the Volvo. It is just better in every way. The gearchange is a tad old fashioned but is lovely and mechanical, I have never put mine in the wrong gear and you won't either. Plus there is the styling, which grows better by the year.I thought the Xantia was okay for the price but my Volvo is in a different league altogether. It truly is the best of Europe, and I genuinely do enjoy every journey in it. You will never consider owning anything but a RWD Volvo after a few months of ownership so I'd say you be a complete fool not to buy it. Don't forget that the body is about the strongest and most rst resisant ever fitted to a car, o even if the engine needs work it is worth doing.

[Milford Cubicle]

I've sat in a late 740 and it didn't seem that well put together, and the headroom is appalling with a sunroof installed, negating the good driving position for me. They still appeal a lot though.

[AnthonyG]

I would definitely find out what the banging noise is before going ahead.

 

No point buying something thats shagged - and you won't get your money back on a Volvo 7/940 with a fucked engine/gearbox/axle. Sorry guys, but its not worth £250 if it has a major fault!

 

P.S they ride OK, but won't be a patch on a Xantia .

[Pete-M]

I had an F reg 760 GLE saloon, one of the IRS ones. I liked it.It's one of the reasons I've bought my T5.

[alfetta]

940 salooon was quite possibly the worse car I've ever driven. I wouldn't call RWD a bonus either, I like it on sports cars but not fussed on a barge like that...Virtually indistructable though, which means they'll be haunting our roads for decades to come...

[dollywobbler]

940 salooon was quite possibly the worse car I've ever driven. I wouldn't call RWD a bonus either,

I dunno. My old 740 was an absolute hoot - very tail happy if you wanted it to be, and it felt nice going sidewards too, unlike my Rover and my ol' Merc W123.However, it was as mechanically refined as an industrial sized blender chewing on a Simca engine. When it was revved up, the entire dashboard threatened to come adrift, and the interior plastics were horrendous.

[Richard]

If my dad agrees to it (I haven't mentioned it to him yet) I'm going to go for it. Sorry MC. Next time I'm up your way I'll let you have a go and then you'll stop wanting one.

[Milford Cubicle]

Not to worry, probably for the better!

[Richard]

I spoke to him about it today, I think I'm going to get it for nothing, which is nice. On closer inspection it's better than I thought. The alarming noise does indeed seem to be the brake vacuum pump. The two back tyres are new and it's going to get at least one front tyre replaced tomorrow- and that was organised when he still thought he was trading it in.

 

The MOT and tax are both going to expire around the time I get it but that shouldn't be a big problem.

 

I only had my DREADFUL phone camera so here are some extra-blurry pics.

 

 

[dollywobbler]

Can't be bad. I know someone who's just scored a turbocharged one of these for £350. Stupendous value - though not quite as good as free! Result!

[Station]

I say save it if you make use of it. I had the same option of saving a mk3 Cav in perfect nick, just with some welding needed in the 'prescribed area of suspension' (hole in the inner wing). I just couldn't be bothered as I had two usable cars, and it went to the scrapyard. I visited the scrappy for some parts a couple of weeks later and saw it crumpled under two other cars, intact with it's wheel trims but totally flattened under the weight.I nearly broke down.

[Richard]

It's not mine yet but I've got it for the weekend to fix the handbrake cable, which is a good opportunity to have a proper look at it. It's much nicer to drive than I expected but quite slow. I'm hoping that it'll go better when I clean the intercooler. Apart from the usual puckering of the door trims it's nearly flawless inside.

 

 

 

 

The powerhouse.

 

Could do with a new headlight and indicator, though both have been like that for years.

 

The intercooler is impressively oily, maybe the oil cooler below needs replaced.

 

The windscreen only cracked a couple of weeks ago.

[Pete-M]

The windscreen only cracked a couple of weeks ago.

My 760 cracked it's screen as well. Hmm.