Help, I have owned a Volvo 740 1988 for 20 years and we had to push start it from the airport car park a year ago. Since then the petrol gauge has stoped working also the trip kilometre counter. The wife wants a reliable car and the daughter wants a more modern one to learn to drive any ideas? I have also a 245 auto 1984 and 244 1976.
thanks Justin

Kids are fine with driving old Volvos when they don't have a choice. I sure didn't have a choice when I was offered my first car, a 1972 Chev. Impala.

Onkel has some great advice.

Opel Astras are fairly common as I recall and do well in Euro NCAP crash testing. http://www.euroncap.com/results/opel_vauxhall/astra.aspx

Any 5-8 year old simple (non turbo) common and inexpensive car, like an Astra, Yaris, Avenesis, Jazz, Focus, etc. should be reasonably reliable. With your daughter learning to drive, crash test results would be a consideration for me, too. I think the Swedish insurer Folksam compiles real world crash injury ratings for various models as well. The Folksam guide would be a good place to start as a car with low real world injuries will be cheaper to insure and guarantee you some savings over one that isn't.

A while ago, my teenage daughters would not allow themselves to be seen being dropped off at school because the other kids made fun of the strange looking volvo wagon, even though it was quite fine in every regard. Kids are cruel with one another, and the ringleaders are very much a product of the mass media, media marketing. I saw a new car commercial months ago that showed a family riding in a 240 getting passed by some 50,000 dollar SUV on the highway in the mountains and all the kids looked sad to be going so slow in comparison. The punchline to the commercial was something like "Isn't it time to get up to speed and be modern!". Very harsh.

I love the Swedish designs, particularly the 240's, pre FORD. I think the gas gauge on your car could be fixed by getting into the sending unit in the tank if you desire. You could upgrade the tank pump and the little hose that goes bad at the same time. I love the ease of replacing the heater blower on the 740.

I recently traded back from a 2004 Honda Accord that I bought for my daughters, and a 2002 Silverado Diesel truck, to an 87 pre ford 245 which I rebuilt pretty much from scratch. The US Insurance Underwriters did crash tests on rear end whiplash analysis of these two cars and found them to be extremely poor. I was rear ended in the Honda (which teen age girls for some reason really like) and it has taken me three years to recover.
Both Saab and Volvo rate very highly on this rear end test. Some Buick LeSabres have the Saab super safe seats built in. I feel safe in a vehicle that can withstand low speed rear end crashes without snapping your head off. At higher speeds in a newer car there is some measure of crushing of material that absorbs energy, but at lower speeds, all the energy is transferred directly to the occupant/driver--enough to cause catastrophic damage. This change went into effect I think sometime in the mid to late '90's. With the modern designs, it is the seat that is the last line of defense, specifically the padding, cushioning in the back. In the Saab 'pocket' seat, this padding is substantial. The Honda has nothing but large medical bills, a lifetime of chiropractic adjustments--if you can afford it.
If I had to replace a 740 for the wife and daughter, I guess the first choice would be Lexus 470 Suv type that retails for about 68,000 US, but if you got one coming off a five year lease, one could be had for about 32,000 with less than 100,000 miles. The vehicle has a lot of integrity, even being five years old. I may be off price wise because it has been a few years since I checked. About five years ago I rounded up and delivered about six of these units for party officials in China.

Great points you mentioned. Our older daughter was happy to learn to drive in old Volvos older than her. Children can be so different! I will consider the safety points you talked about .
Thanks for your advice

Update. Still driving the volvo 740. My daughter has an old vw polo.

Depending on the motor and equipment, fun little car. Even the base model from the first generation was agile and capable of (eventually) reaching reasonable speeds.

We got rid of our '88 745 GLE years ago, but it was super reliable.

Isn't the '88 your 'good' car? Does the gas gauge work when you snap it with your finger? That's how we fixed ours.

Do you think that you will be able to push start your new car?

Last year we got a FWD XC 70 and we love it

Good luck, bring your wallet.

Yes our 1988 is our good/ newer car, It even has a life time guarante (on the exaust system behind the cat. It is stainless steel). The gas gauge moves back and forwards as it pleases. The car has only broken down once in over 20 years. A few hundred yards from our home. Ignition Amplifier (Power Stage) Failure. The gas pump relay has also needed to be replaced.

Lots of choices but since we do not know what country you are from and you used the word "petrol" instead of gasoline it is likely not the US, it hard to know where to start.

If you are not already someone who repairs his own car, I am not going to suggest another Volvo (let me know if I am mistaken about this). How "new" are we wanting? What are the requirements for hauling (people and cargo), fuel economy, luxury items, etc...basically what are you planning on using it for.

When folks ask me for a suggestion for a good all-around utility car that is less than 5 years old, I suggest the Mazda3 hatch. Virtually unchanged in any major way for many years, good-to-excellent reliability and actually enjoyable to drive plus cheaper than comparable Japanese cars.

The only newer used car for me is the BMW 5-series wagon. Anything else from this century will be a small pickup but who am I kidding...I will be driving RWD Volvo's until I cannot find parts anymore.

Thanks for your interesting reply. Yes I have done all my car repairs but realise it is very limited on newer cars. I live in Sweden so a Volvo or Saab might be an obvious choice but I wanted to be open minded about what to look for. Is the Mazda 3 quiet? Or perhaps a BMW would be the choice for a quieter journey and I am sure my daughter would love the image.

As a result of Saab's well publicized troubles, the cost for a mid-term (5-10 year old) Saab has dropped considerably. Regardless of whether Saab survives/returns, I'm sure there are plenty of independent repair shops in Sweden who can keep the fleet in running order.

Good idea. Have looked into buying a Saab 9-5, one of the safest cars. Today I changed the front exaust pipe, the downpipe on my 245 1984. My wife commented "are we not going to buy a NEW car".Yesterday it drove an old cement /iron front stairs to the recycling station (Dump). Great practicle car.

95-97 850's and 98-2000 S/V70's. Safe, simpler than modern cars and more reliable than any Saab.

Most can be bought for under $3000.

As much as I adore the Red Blocks, I have never been able to like, let alone love, a White Block, aka 850/S70, etc. There is simply nothing about them that says Volvo: FWD, difficult maintenance, crappy materials used throughout, etc. They look good on paper but the driving experience is disappointing.

The truth is simple: starting around 1990-1995 pretty much all Euro makes that hadn't already, decided to concentrate on bling,looks, economy, performance, and ease of recycling. The old idea of keeping a car forever is gone! Why couldn't Volvo survive? Because you can't make money if the stuff you sell lasts and lasts. You have to convince the buyer that a constant improvement is what they need, whether the new features are a necessity or pure BS. This is one of the many paradoxes of capitalism. Make an item that never breaks down and you'll be out of business; convince the sheeple that they need to fill a non existing hole, and you got yourself a booming business! With every passing year Volvo becomes more irrelevant, the writing on the wall, what is a Volvo about? All the reasons people bought Volvos and which made the mark distinct are gone. A Passat, Camry, Corolla, etc. would be my choice if I had to lose my RWD Volvos.

Thank you. The more I think about it, another Volvo makes sense.

One of the few things the Mazda3 does not do as well as I would like is quiet highway/interstate/motorway/autobahn/whatever cruising. It is quieter than a 240 but not as quiet as most newer cars.

OK, you have alot more potential options in Europe for my type of car. Depending on how new you want to go:

The BMW 5- and 3-series wagons (estates) are quiet, fun to drive and until you get in the absolute newest models (I think 2005 was the tipping point) pretty easy to work on. The seperate openning glass on the hatch is a HUGE feature not offered by hardly anyone.

Volvo has offered the V60 in Europe for a while and it is a good spiritual successor to the 2/7/9-series wagons even if it is front wheel drive. Lot of space on the inside for the outside dimensions. The first gen V70 did it even better but that is not too modern anymore.

There are a slew of Volkswagen Golf variants to choose from including the those from Skoda and the other two off-brands I cannot remember. All of them I have rented where well built, quiet (Audi's A3 being the quitest and the Skoda being the loudest) even at full throttle ont he autobahn, and offered in every engine and transmission variant possible from tiny turbo diesels with an automatic transmission to 200+ HP turbo gas motors with 6-speed manuals...and at least 4 sizes in between.

I am a huge fan of the "people movers" as Jeremy Clarkson calls them...especially the smaller ones like I just bought my wife. She is the proud owner of a Ford C-Max hybrid for a number of reasons but one of the biggest is the convenience features (one-touch folding rear seats, high seating position without the SUV gas hog penalty, electric rear hatch). She is only 4'10" (147 cm) tall so all these things are factor. Couple that with the 25% increase in fuel economy over her Focus (she drives about 15-20K miles per year so the payoff for the hybrid is about 3.5 years) and the fact that it is almost silent cruising the highway.

Speaking of the Focus, the wagon version of the Focus ST is something I would kill for over here.

Still not sure how new/fancy/etc you want and what the car's primary use would be so I am shooting in the dark here. Really I am just talking about the vehicles I like which lean heavily toward wagons for the utility factor.

Great advice. I am trying to be open minded about buying another car but I think my daughter thinks buying a car is like buying clothes. Although she insisted the car had an airbag & AC . She judges cars by their looks. I feel it is like being in a jungle looking for another car I should be out in the carport attending the cars instead.

"She judges cars by their looks."

Then she can pay for the looks and you can pay for the mechanicals! Honestly, what kid is not more about the image of the car than its usefulness? That being the case, you (I assume) are the one buying it so you set the boundries.

I guess you are on your own until you narrow things down.