Does anyone have any preference or opinion on the two?

havent seen chiltern, haynes is poor, but good electrical diagram..

i believe the haynes for the 740 may be better (the earlier haynes were better) might be worth picking 740 one up (see them on ebay cheapo) as ageneral ref and a 9 one for the specific stuff (altough the 9 haynes manual has pics of a b200 engine and 760 interior...go figure)

I can't say enough bad things about the Chiltons. Some genious at their company thought that instead of making a decent manual for each model, that it would be a good idea to include all of the models in ONE crappy manual. (That's all 240, 740, 940, 850, and V-90 -- more than 20 years worth of models. FWD, RWD, 4, 5, & 6 cyl... rediculous) Why don't they just make one manual that covers every car that GM made between 1976 and 1998? That would be a great idea, aye?
In my humble opinion, Chiltons is not worth the paper it's prited on.

Jeff Pierce
--
'92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '93 945 Turbo (a kickass family car), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece)

"... In my humble opinion, Chiltons is not worth the paper it's prited on..."

And if you saw that paper, you'd know he's really not complimenting them at all. (Cheap newsprint type stuff complete with the little wood chips)

I disagree with your bad comments about Chiltons manuals. Many Volvo owners with pets have found the Chilton's pages quite usefull. For example owners with cats suffering incontinence have found the pages to have just the right absorbant qualities. Others have found the pages a good fit and size for a bird cage liner. I for one keep a copy in the bathroom just in case I run out of tissue.
--
David Hunter

Chilton's notoriously poor (as you've read from others). Haynes Genreally better. If there is a BENTLEY manual for your car, you'd be much better off, and a Volvo Ag manual best of all. Of course, through BB posts and the contacts here, you can find detailed (and illustrated) instructions on nearly anything you'd need to do. Keep Rolling...Dee Jay
'66 122
'89 240
'90 240

I really don't like Haynes manuals, they tend to focus to much on the later models in their manuals and skip over many important areas.
But then that's true of a lot of manuals.

I'd love to be able to get a full volvo manual for my car, don't like my chances though.

Can you get the Volvo Service Manuals? www.volvocars.com/lit I think they are for North American versions only, but still might help on other versions.

Regards,

Bob

:>)


PS I am assuming that the screen name begins with anz as in Australia New Zealand.

Chiltons have been consistently mediocre, but for the later Haynes series, they're not all that great either. My nod will still go to the Haynes, though.

-- Kane ... they used to be better, when more car repairs can be DIY.
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

You're stuck with two choices on a 900, as you've mentioned.

If you count on Chilton's (in my experience), you're not much better off than having Stevie Wonder perform open-heart surgery on you.