Hi everyone! I have always wanted a volvo and could never afford a new or even newer one, but now that I'm married to a mechanicly inclined man, we can get an older one and fix it up :) Anyway, we found a 1985 740 wagon with 180k miles on it; manual transmission. The only obvious problems are: the overdrive button doesn't work, there are big holes in the dash where the heat/air vents should be, and the heat/air doesn't really work, and none of the seat belts work, they are all stuck, so you can't pull them at all. The seller is asking $700 obo, and is very receptive to offers. Blue book for "fair" condition is 945.00, but I think the car is more in poor condition because the belts don't work.......and there is no blue book for poor condition

The biggest issue to me, as I am the safetly stickler (hence always wanting a volvo) is the seat belts. We have two kids, one in a car seat, so it is imperative that they work. I've searched on the forms here and found some solution suggestions, but would like to know more about what would cause all belts to lock and remedies. And, would the worst case scenario be replacing all the belts? I found a volvo parts sites that sells used belts for around 50.00, so that would be 250.00 for new belts.

Anyway, any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. We just got totally screwed buying and wasting a ton of money on a stupid horrible Dodge Caravan; and really don't want to make the same mistake.

Kristi

My local DIY yards charge about $5 per belt, unless you tie the belt to an engine, in which case it is included for free. My 240 had a belt stick, so I removed it, bent a little spring, and it was good as new.

I think the 740 may be as maintainence intenseive as a Crapovan, but are much less likely to have the symptoms 'will not run' or 'no forward gears'. I have an 85, and the plastic is in poor shape, and almost all my problems have been wires or screws that worked loose.

New heater vents pretty much just snap right in. $3 @ pick n pull.

If the OD is busted, it will be a pain to fix, if it is just the button, easy fix.

180K is pretty low miles for such an old car, did it spend a lot of time not running? Another alternative is many of these cars seem to come from multicar households.

Hi! The lady who owns it has had it for a year; prior to that I'm unsure of the history- she doesn't really know anything about cars, and I doubt she asked many questions about it when she got it.

I think it will work for us if she comes down in price, as we have money set aside to work on it, and my husband is great at fixing cars, though this will be his first time on a Volvo. My husband said to offer $450.

Our stupid Crapavan (love that word!) has cost us so much money and still doesn't run right- I don't like driving it as it's totally unreliable.

Like I mentioned, the Volvo at least starts and runs! :)

I would like to get a new one, so we might wait. But, we live in a very small town, where most of the used cars for sale are American models. This is the first Volvo I've seen for sale in a year! We also don't have a Volvo dealership here....or a Volvo specialist mechanic. Closest is Phoenix (maybe Flagstaff?).

Kristi

I'll add one more thing here that hasn't been mentioned. Pre '88 740s are notorious for disintegrating engine bay wiring harnesses. Lots of electrical problems. The up side is there are sources for new and used harnesses and it's not that tough a job.

http://www.linkline.com/personal/dbarton/WireHarnesses.html

Is a source that's been mentioned here recently and praised for good service. Another, for parts and excellent service is FCPGroton.com. You cannot go wrong with these guys. If you don't see what you need on their website, call. They likely have it.

Which seatbelts are stuck and what color are they? Anyone here know if there's any difference between '85 and say '89 or '90 belts?

Also, look at the top of the page here, under the ad banner there's a "features" pull down menu. Look in it and go to "700/900 FAQ" for all the information you could ever want for the 740/940 Volvos.

I've had my '88 740 turbo wagon, manual trans and 191,000 miles, for a year now and as I enjoy tinkering I think it's a great car. My wife is deciding between our Dodge Crapavan and the Volvo 850 wagon I drove before finding my cheap 740.

Good luck!
--
Erwin in Memphis, '88 745t 193,000 miles, '95 855t 96,000 miles

Thanks so much for the info! All of the belts are stuck (not sure about the middle rear, but the two front and two rear). They won't "pull" at all.

Kristi

Every auto recycler (pick your part) I know has an abundance of Volvo 7-series and every one of those cars has a full compliment of seatbelts that sell for $5 each. $250 is waaay high. This is a $25+labor and time problem. On the other hand, that does not mean you should buy this car, but if you do buy and old Volvo and have a mechanic type to work on it, nothing on earth is cheaper and safer to run (except a 240).

Thanks! I just called her and left a message- I think we will buy it, I'm so excited!

The problem with junk yards here is: we live in a small town, with a lot of "do it yourself" mechanics. There are two junkyards here that totally take advantage of the fact that they are the ONLY junkyards around. Here, used seatblets go for about 30 a set!!! Even for old cars.......it's insane. We are about three hours from the Phoenix area, and I think we'll need to go there if we want cheap parts; or order online.

Kristi

I would think you can remove the seatbelt reels behind the pillars and vacuum/clean them out. Often the pendulum mechanism is simply stuck and needs to be released (screwdriver helps). I've done this on our 87 760T with no problem.

This isn't often a good thing to try without profound knowledge on the newer cars because they have explosive squibs used for belt tightening. If your proposed 85 doesn't (and AFAIK they didn't) have these squibs, don't let the stuck seatbelts be the criteria. If the car runs well go ahead and buy it.

PS...the overdrive button may or may not be the issue...chances are it's a bad overdrive relay that can either be replaced or disassembled and about 4-5 connections on the relay circuit board resoldered.

Thanks! The car really seems to run great. The lady that owns it drives it about 60miles rt every day, it starts right up (which is more than I can say for our stupid moneypit/van), yesterday it had snowed and the roads hadn't been plowed, so it was mushy, and it made it from her place to our place just fine (about 30 miles).

We know that things will come up, and have some money set aside for that. I really don't care about the ac, but would like heat :) As far as he can tell, my husband would just need to replace the blow motor; and find some dash pieces.

I'm excited! Of course, I will actually need to learn to drive a stick if we buy it......

Kristi

Kristi:

I have had numerous Volvos - 140s, 240s, 740s and 850s. The 85 740 is a bit on the old side when looking for a decent used one. For a first Volvo I would get a used 89-93 240 hands down! All the 740s I have had have been more problematic than the 240s. Plus the prices on the 86-90 240s are coming down a bit on higher milage cars. Right now I have a 93 850 166k (paid $900 for it) and a 1990 740 147K (paid 1750) that I am selling. Bought both in November, but the 850 turns out to be a more reliable car.

I would be careful on a older 740 - especially if you can't get it for a couple hundred. There might be a better first Volvo out there for you!

Bob Weber
Hamilton, Ohio
55 Volvos since 1979
VOCA member
95 850 140K
93 850 166K
90 740 147K
86 240 142K