Comparing 940's to 960 .. I see a lot of 960s for sale what should I be aware of and what years are the must reliable..

Thanks in advance

I bought my '94 960 with 125K on it. I agree with all the posts about religious maintenance. Having worked my way through 8 years of college as a mechanic, I have some skills, but this beast is still a challenge. I've owned German, French and Italian wheels and still this number is the most rewarding....Drove it 5,000 miles in 20 days last summer through the Rockies, High Plains, desert and CA coast. At the age of 60 I did the honorable thing and proposed to her after arriving home safe and cramp free. If only I could get a set of 4 high heels! My other toys are insanely Jealous so I keep them away from guns and bags of sugar!! I will add something I don't see mentioned often enough on Brickboard: Tire selection really makes a difference on this chassis. Check out tire rack.com....tests and reviews are exceptional. The increased power and torque of the silky 6 cylinder make this a far superior road car than the 940 I used to have.

I have a S90 and would not argue with any of the cautionary and negative points others have made here. A 940 makes more sense.

But I drove our 940 (now in the hands of my daughter) for many years and there is no comparison in the driving experience. The S90 is far, far more comfortable, quiet and powerful, and typically better appointed with luxury electrical goodies. In my style of driving, a lot of highway at moderate speeds, it gets virtually identical fuel economy to our non-turbo 940.

That said, it is much more expensive to repair mechanical or electrical problems, and in cars this old, there will be problems. Also it feels heavier and less nimble (if that word can apply to any RWD Volvo!). If the timing belt goes, it will cost more than the car is worth to repair the engine damage.

Keeping my fingers crossed, maintaining the engine per Volvo's schedules, and using nothing but Mobil-1 synthetic oil....so far, so good (235,000km).
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Bob: son's 81-GL, dtr's '94-940, my 83-DL, 89-745(V8) and 98-S90. Also 77-MGB and some old motorcycles.

Thanks all I suspected so.. I will expand my search for a 940

there is a reason why you see more 960 versus 940 for sale.

the 960 is much much more expensive to maintain and when the T belt breaks folks throw the cars away.

the extra luxury you get will evaporate once you start having to fix what goes wrong.

if you must own a 960 then choose nothing older than model year 96, in 98 the 960 is called a V90.

i would prefer to own and drive any decent 93-95 940 any day over any decent 960/v90 ever built.

I could not agree more with trichard's post. I would shy away from a 960 if I could. Reliability isn't the same and parts availability (esp 96-98) is poor.

Well the 960 is a bit more luxurious than the 940. the 960 has an 6 cyl interference engine, while the 940 has a 4 cyl non interference engine. This means that with a 960 you MUST be religious about replacing the timing belt, tensioner, idler pulley, and everything in point 1 below.

It used to be difficult to find bone yard 960, but they are not more common, making them less expensive to own.

The 960 was out from I think 92-98. The 92-94 had some serious problems with a pourous engine block. The major revision came in 95. It was a sleeker look, but as it was the first modee year for a change, this is what I have, and it is not the best.

Horsepower was reduced in 95. 92-95 only had OBD1, so reading codes and finding a problem is a bit more work. Knowing what I know today, I would probably buy a gently used 98 960, negotiate the price down, and have the car towed to a Volvo dealer or excellent Volvo indie and have everything in step 1, below done.

With mine, after the timing belt and accessories, 1-13 (filters, plugs, oil,etc., and I did everything else below (14-19) over a year or so. If you buy al the parts, you can DIY everything on the list over a weekend. Brickboarders may wish to suggest other ideas to work on as well.

Personally I like a super clean engine. It makes it easy to work on, to find the sources of leaks, and parts take less time, money, and expense to replace. Today my 960 is 17 years old, and is worth 24 times it's market value. Good luck and let us know what you decide.



What to do With a New To You Volvo 960
$1469

1. Timing Belt, tensioner, idler pully, spring damper, water pump ($550)

2. Replace Flame trap & seal ($10)

3. Replace serpentine belt ($35)

4. Clean throttle body, IAC with throttle body cleaner ($10)

5. Check codes, record, clear all

6. Test/replace battery ($130)

7. Replace oil filler cap gasket ($4.00)

8. Replace brake pads, slider pin boots, clean & lube slider pins, calipers ($100)

9. Spark plugs ($38)

10. Air filter ($40)

11. Vacuum elbows ($2.00 each)

12. Oil, filter, 10w30 ($40)

13. Replace fuel filter ($25)

14. Flush transmission fluid using rad line, Dexron III atf ($70)

15. Flush coolant, use Volvo blue, 50/50, water/coolant ($40)

16. Silicone spray rubber door, hood, trunk seals ($5)

17. Consider getting car detailed, esp engine shampoo. Makes it easier to see leaks, preserves hoses, vacuum elbows, easier to work on ($220)

18. After above, consider getting car appraised. It is an older car, and an appraisal will help preserve it’s value in the eyes of insurers ($150 1st time, $65 after that)

19. Check: engine mounts, control arm bushings, sway bars, rad hoses, upper rad neck, brake flex lines, parking brake condition, tie rod assembly