I drove my aunt's 1989 240 today about 100 miles. Original owner car, 69K. Besides the tranny not going into the high because of the faulty OD solenoid. I seem to think I like my '78 wagon to drive more. Maybe because I feel like the '78 has a more classic car feel to it I don't know. Anyway I wanna hear some debate on this! Lets hear some opinions people!

I think my favorite is the '91 245SE, in red, with the basket weave alloy wheels.
Only wish the one I have was an M47, but my daughter, who drives it, likes it with the auto. The SE's were the first 240's with ABS.

I like the 92 and later because they too had all the SE equipment, but no alloy wheels until the Classic came along, but they were not available in that bright red color.

For fun performance and handling the '84 and '85 turbos, and my personal favorite nice handling 240, the '81 245 GLT. No turbo, but all the other turbo goodies (wheels, shocks, bigger bars).
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84 242Ti IPD bars&springs, 89 745 16v M46 IPD bars, 89 744 16v M46 IPD bars, 90 745 AW70, 91 245SE AW70 IPD bars, 93 245 CLassic M47

I currently drive a 1990 240, and my wife drives a 98 V70. I am 45 years old and have been driving only Volvos since my early twenties. Sadly, I am only on my 4th Volvo (the V70). The others were a 1972 142E, and a 1979 245.

My favorite of all was the 142E. The leather seats, 130 hp engine, big steering wheel, linear speedometer, (factory) dash mounted tachometer, swan neck gear shift (that was like 2 ft long) were just too cool. That car was smokin' hot.

To answer the question however, all Volvo's I have had sent to landfill were lost to underbody and unibody frame member corrosion. This, IMHO, is the Achilles heel of this fine breed. When I bought my 240 from a Volvo garage, I was told that about 1986 or so, Volvo made a huge leap forward in factory rust protection. And sure enough, my 1990 240 (seldom washed, never stored inside) has no visible rust. My vote for the best car ever is therefore a 1993 240 series non-turbo. I say 1993 because this is newest model year available...

Best,

D

First, Canadian market 1982 242 GLT five-speed. Aside from the stupid power steering pump mount, great cars, and a blast to drive.
Second would be the rare Canadian market 1980 242 GT in black, only 200 produced in Halifax.

My preferences are, in order
1. 89-90 - CPS but no air bag
2. 91 - CPS and air bag but no ABS (usually)
3. 86-88 - no CPS but good wiring harness (86 questionable)
4. 91-92 - CPS
5. 83-85

6. No pre-83 cars; no 26_s.

I have one in each group right now: driving an 89 245; wife with a 93 245; working on a 91 244 and an 88 244.

I care only about reliability and reasonable handling.
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240s: 2 drivers and some parts cars

The '90 has an air bag. :)

-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1987 245 DL 314k, Dog-mobile
1990 245 DL 134k M47, E-codes, GT Sway Bars, GT Braces
1991 745 GL 300k, Regina, 23/21mm Turbo Sway Bars

The 240 didn't get rid of biodegradable harness until '88.

Personally, I like the mid years better (1985-1987). I can't really say why, but they seem to blend the best of both worlds. At least once you get a good harness on them.

I'm with ya on this one.
I have both a 1989 and a 1977 240 series. I like the 77 more- it has that classic old Volvo look and feel to it. Of course the 89 is a more modern and easy to drive with power steering, but I just love the older models. I also think they look better than the 1980s/90s model 240s.
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'89 245 'Haga', '77 244 DL

Hey Catfish. I'm thinking hard to beat a one owner, 69k brick any year! Although I love my 200k+ 82, 245 I would gain a feeling for your aunt's car after doing repairs and personal touches. My wagon is an insurance salvage and I had the chance to add the 4 head-light front end from a 79? Cool! Been picking up parts to make her mine all along. Shifter, shocks, power windows, drop springs, wheels, clean up the inside. I'll get ready to f+t one day when I find another wright-off. Only advantage may be that older cars are some-what simpler to work on. Mine is N/A with one big carb. No puters, oxy sensor or K-Jet to confound me, although with good tools, books and advice you can fix whatever you want to. Part of having one... ah, well many, of these great cars is to treat them great. Great to be able to choose. lol Well what ever you decide enjoy the ride... Paul

Oh for sure driving a 69K car is great! I think they drive similar though but the older one seems more like the cars of the old days (60's 70's). I enjoy both cars very much and just enjoy driving a Volvo period, whether its my 142E 245 what I remember of my mothballed 122 my cousin's 66 1800 or my friend's '71 1800E! Keep the discussion going, I love hearing the opinions and learning from everyone.

My opinion is, I love the last years of the 240 because of the additions. This, from someone who joined the 240 ranks while they were being produced in the 80s.

Among those features: ABS brakes, better A/C, driver's airbag, flush mounted glass, less screwy electronics, and so on.

Make no mistake, the later models had a few things to be improved on as well, but they remain my personal preference because they did have some of the features that are still not standard on some cars, such as ABS brakes. In my opinion, the 1993 240 was the epitome of a rock-solid platform with some then-new features, for a reasonable price.


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Chris Herbst
Scottsdale, AZ

2005 S80, 30k
1992 940, 150k

I enjoy my 92' 240 GL. It's got that timeless look, plus ABS, SRS, etc. Also 92' was the last year for the crank sunroof. Everytime someone gets in my car, they're like " a crank sunroof, you gotta be kidding me?" The 90s models give you that original volvo look, but you still have 90s electronic stuff. My sister has a 92' accord, great car, and is way more modern than my 240, but I like the 240 better.
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youbettafindmydamnvolvo!

I like the feel of an 83 with the larger steering wheel. But would like to have some power windows installed. My 86 is a work horse and seems to have run forever. The M46 transmission is in each of these which is why I like them as well. I love the look of the 84/83 body design although I wish they had round head lights like earlier models. I could go for a 91-93 with the diagnostics computer to help out and the air bag could be nice head-on insurance.

I just like it when they run for a while with no immediate needs.