I was on www.half.com and bought a Haynes 740 Repair Manual. The guy said it's brand new and still shrink-wrapped. Total came out to be $9. Was this a good buy?

Jay

Yes, that's a good price for a Haynes manual. The Haynes and Chilton manuals for Volvos are not great books, but they do provide a lot of basic info for your '85. If you do a lot of repair and maintenance yourself, you will definitely want the factory shop manuals. One source for the shop manuals is http://www.volvocars.com/lit/

Hey, I'm looking at this page http://www.kencook.com/vcna/litcat/models/1985740.html I don't understand which manual I need. I'd like something that covers just about everything, if not everything. I read the key but still couldn't figure out the abbreviations. Could you help me out a lil? Thanx.

Haynes is a vast improvement over Chilton's, in my opinion. I have a Haynes Britsh hardbound edition which is improved over the US version. Haynes has also just released a new version of their 700 series manual, good through 91 model year. I saw it yesterday when I was at the IPD service sounter. Yes, I am familiar with the factory service manuals. I have a partial set of those.

The only Chilton manual I could find was one that covered about 8 different volvo models and spanned 15 years or so. I figured I wanted something more specific and went with the Haynes.

Are the factory service manuals completely detailed? I might want to get them if they are. Kinda price though, aren't they?

Jay

The factory manuals are superb, but pricey. All kinds of pictures and details. Excellent trouble shooting procedures. The Haynes will get you by. I got by with them before I got the factory manuals.