My volvo history: Love the car!
- 1968 S140(?) (drove to 150k)
- 1986 240 sedan (still driving and now 202K; pristine condition; mechanic tells me safe YET I’m gettin’ nervous – making more 1k trips…)
- looking at V40 – is it time to buy ?
A 240 sedan in good condition (body, mechanical) and well-maintained is a very reliable car. I lived in Asia for 5 years and there were several shops who specialized in refubishing Volvos and Mercedeses. I rode in one owned by my client that had 800,000 kilometers (500,000 miles) on it and it basically behaved like a new car.
As other posters may agree, a good old Volvo is at least as reliable and cheaper to fix than a newer one. I would not hesitae to take a 1000 mile trip in one.
Market is down, prices are down, dealers are willing to make slammin’ deals.
If you have the money to buy -ever- …now’s the time to buy.
It’s a good time to buy, but before you do, check the reliability of late-model Volvos. It’s not like the Volvos you’re used to.
And any value your current car may have is also down. It is really a personal choice. If you would like a new car, now is a good time to buy. I suspect for those with the money to pay cash, it is going to be a good time to buy for a long time to come.
As others have said, new Volvos are not like the old ones. The V40 is based off Ford’s Focus/Mazda3 platform, and has typically had “average” reliability ratings from Consumer Reports for the last several years. It’s a good car, but no better than most on the market these days.
If you buy a new one, Volvo will fly you to Sweden for free to pick it up. How can your turn that down?
I really don’t know enough about you to say what I think is right for you, but if it were me, I would go for it. You have kept your 86 240 long enough that you can easily justify the expense of a new car. You should be able to get one heck of a deal.