Dauntless

My main problems with my 90 745T:

Pretty much every part of the interior fell apart

Endless electrical issues. Yazaki gauge cluster was in and out about 10 times because various gauges died.

Had to convert the HVAC over to manual type, as the original one and replacement climate control units just didn't work.

Heater core leaked, RHD replacements only available from England from a seller who doesn't deal outside the UK.

I could never find front strut tops that would last, and the solid strut tops made the ride unbearably harsh over bumps even with 205/70R15 tyres.

The tailgate rattle drove me nuts, even after installing an "anti rattle kit"

Various exterior trim seems to randomly fly off and is difficult to find replacements.

It leaked rainwater into the footwell and nobody could ever diagnose it. It wasn't coming from the windscreen.

It did drive fairly well, except I could never really dial out the understeer. It was good for towing.

Eventually it frustrated me so much I got tired of fixing it.

Handy things to note.

Sorry to have highjacked this thread, however if I do get one of the 740's I'm looking at, it will be a weekend/hobby car.

ToomanyVolvos

Nothing wrong with the SOHC GLE, check for all the usual things on a 32YO car, oil and coolant servicing etc. Being an 88 the notorious rotten engine wiring was not an issue, and corrosion protection seemed to get better with each year. Make sure the owner has been willing to repair what's needed and not someone who thought it's funny to keep driving it without maintenance like so many 740/240 owners. Many little electrical gremlins can cause no start issues, so enquire about that. As mentioned, rust is rare, but under extreme abuse like many years under a tree or wet floors that aren't fixed they will eventually rust.

Handy things to note. I'll be taking a note pad with me when I inspect. Being a former service advisor and still working in the auto industry, I've got a fair amount of knowledge. I'm just one of those people that pay other people to do the work. I know the theory, but never studied the practical.

      Carsales also isnt a good measure for how rare something is. Carsales used to be the premier car buy/sell platform but free services like Gumtree and FB Marketplace provide a free and in many cases a much wider audience to sellers and buyers. I rarely look on Carsales when buying as generally its a little harder to get in contact with the seller as FB is near instant and as is Gumtree. There are also less results on Carsales due to it no longer being the single best platform for selling cars.

      However because of its smaller audience I find Carsales to be a more refined service and if I am selling I will always list there as the crowd there is generally more mature and motivated on buying the right car and less about the price of the car meaning you can skip the serial price whingers and bargain hunters.

        Slowbrick

        Carsales also isnt a good measure for how rare something is. Carsales used to be the premier car buy/sell platform but free services like Gumtree and FB Marketplace provide a free and in many cases a much wider audience to sellers and buyers. I rarely look on Carsales when buying as generally its a little harder to get in contact with the seller as FB is near instant and as is Gumtree. There are also less results on Carsales due to it no longer being the single best platform for selling cars.

        However because of its smaller audience I find Carsales to be a more refined service and if I am selling I will always list there as the crowd there is generally more mature and motivated on buying the right car and less about the price of the car meaning you can skip the serial price whingers and bargain hunters.

        You are certainly bringing up some valid points.

        Carsales seems to be skewed to newer cars, rather than older vehicles. To make an ad costs quite a lot, but that is becuase they have a lot of privacy measures in place. It's more of a 'premium' offering, rather than Marketplace or Gumtree.

          When I searched I also checked gumtree and found nothing. Just two years ago you could always find 3-6 on Carsales and similar numbers on gumtree. Not a fan of Facebook, I've come across some real idiots using the marketplace.

            ToomanyVolvos

            When I searched I also checked gumtree and found nothing. Just two years ago you could always find 3-6 on Carsales and similar numbers on gumtree. Not a fan of Facebook, I've come across some real idiots using the marketplace.

            That is a personal choice of yours to not use a platform. Your choice to not use a platform does not alter the truth that the cars are not rare and are just being advertised by different means. Marketplace is also diluted by all the individual fan groups on Facebook. Alot of cars dont even make it to Marketplace, Gumtree or Carsales etc because they are advertised and sold within a fan page/community group with no access to those "outside" the group.

            Just to entertain the point I did my own search. There are 6 ads right now on Gumtree with 2 of those being wanted ads meaning there are 4 740s for sale right now.

            There are 0 on Carsales. Also note that the ones on Gumtree are all sub 4k cars with most in the group being less than 2k and the 4k car being an outlier because its a turbo.

            I was able to find 1 on FB marketplace but that is because i didnt want to spend more than 2 minutes on this exercise and FB marketplace is very locale oriented and you cannot just search "Australia" but instead actual towns.

            They are around but now with such a dilution of the platforms it can make it a little harder to hone in on one source to search them all.

              I don't really care for 740/940s in stock form but after fitting an m90 box, 16t, Bilsteins and swaybars to a mates 740 it's a pretty nice car to drive now. Still can't get past the uninspiring appearance though...

                @Slowbrick "does not alter the truth that the cars are not rare"?

                So you've found 4 on Facebook marketplace along with wanted ads, I'd still call that rare. Oftentimes wanted ads appear when the market is so thin the handful available cars are not suitable to the buyers. You generally don't see wanted ads for say a Volvo V50, which is still a statistically rare car.

                I didn't say I don't use Facebook Marketplace, just that I'm not a fan, I avoid it. I've found most sellers using it to be immature, unprofessional, dishonest, and mostly but not always peddling garbage.... All Bar One or two transactions I've made on that platform have resulted in nothing but wasted time.

                You can advertise for free on Carsales up to 5K, if you've got a car worth selling I can't understand why you wouldn't take advantage of that, maybe it's just me.

                The whole point of my post was that assuming the originally mentioned (and only Carsales listed 740) sold as a non runner for about the asking price, then perhaps this model has entered a new phase.

                  Regardless how we define 'rare', there does seem to be fewer of them about, and the ads that do exist are asking for somewhat higher prices than before.

                  I suppose it's the old 30 year birthday present some cars get gifted.

                  I wrote one of my 740T's of in a massive rain storm, bonnet spun around and smashed passengers front window, wasn't a straight panel on it, I opened the door got out and walked away, then bought another one, it proved its safety and protected me.

                  Volvos passenger cell, although not the most attractive did its job.

                  ToomanyVolvos

                  @Slowbrick "does not alter the truth that the cars are not rare"?

                  So you've found 4 on Facebook marketplace along with wanted ads, I'd still call that rare. Oftentimes wanted ads appear when the market is so thin the handful available cars are not suitable to the buyers. You generally don't see wanted ads for say a Volvo V50, which is still a statistically rare car.

                  I didn't say I don't use Facebook Marketplace, just that I'm not a fan, I avoid it. I've found most sellers using it to be immature, unprofessional, dishonest, and mostly but not always peddling garbage.... All Bar One or two transactions I've made on that platform have resulted in nothing but wasted time.

                  You can advertise for free on Carsales up to 5K, if you've got a car worth selling I can't understand why you wouldn't take advantage of that, maybe it's just me.

                  The whole point of my post was that assuming the originally mentioned (and only Carsales listed 740) sold as a non runner for about the asking price, then perhaps this model has entered a new phase.

                  Wanted ads also appear when people are too lazy to do their own searching and want the car to just appear in their life. If something is rare then the last place it will be advertised is to someone just saying "i want it, i have cash". It will be put up to the market and due to its rareness will have a large audience searching and waiting to buy it.

                  They arent as common as they were 10 years ago but neither are alot of things. Once again, you have made a personal choice to avoid using FB as your chosen avenue for buying and selling. That doesnt alter the truth for everyone else about your view of their perceived rarity. If I wanted a 740 then I bet i could spend 2 weeks searching across ALL platforms and find one to buy. It might not be as fresh as one 10 or 20 years ago but I could still obtain one. Dont confuse actual rare in any condition with rare in good condition as they are not the same thing.

                  Certain trims are no doubt considered rare in that the turbos are much more rare than the regular GLs because most of the turbos have been parted out to build 240 turbos because 10 years ago you could buy one for $300. The actual model itself is not yet rare and with a decent search effort you could obtain one with relative ease compared to an actual rare model such as a PV, 1800 or some of the pre 80s 1s and 2s. Also dont forget the economical climate we are in. Some are selling to get cash to keep afloat but alot of people ive spoken to in the car world are holding and not selling or buying. This has slowed down the market which is why you are seeing a decline in cars, particularly old ones, for sale.

                  If you are looking for confirmation bias then sure, 740s are not a common occurrence anymore and some, including yourself, would consider them rare. To the rest of us who understand finding anything old requires searching and effort then no, they are no more rarer than finding anything of that vintage and its just part of the game.

                    Damn, I am agreeing with Ryan. I need about 20 showers.

                    Its become a real sport to label everything “rare” but lots of things are rare because nobody bought them when they were new and nobody has cared about them since then: Hillman Hunters are rare now, but that does not mean that you will have to fight off twenty other potential buyers when one comes up for sale.

                    If that gold wagon got sold for anything like the asking price, then the seller was ridiculously lucky. Far more likely is that the unrealistic seller got the poops and called the scrappy.

                    Because everyone seems to be into over-hyping prices of old cars, I been getting better success in buying from the people who are way overpriced. When you are the only person who has even contacted them, you just have to actually turn up and the price instantly plummets - they're not going to let you go anywhere without buying their car.

                    That’s the best realistic scenario for the gold wagon.

                      Call me what you like, I think the 740 is uber cool, along with XJ40's, Range Rover's etc. All underappreciated and anything but mediocre.

                      • Spac replied to this.
                        ToomanyVolvos

                        Call me what you like, I think the 740 is uber cool, along with XJ40's, Range Rover's etc. All underappreciated and anything but mediocre.

                        Did anyone call you anything?

                        I cannot imagine myself owning another 740, for all the reasons Adrian mentioned in his post - but we ARE on a Volvo enthusiasts page so I seriously doubt that anyone actually thinks that you are nuts for wanting one.

                            Spac

                            Damn, I am agreeing with Ryan. I need about 20 showers.

                            Its become a real sport to label everything “rare” but lots of things are rare because nobody bought them when they were new and nobody has cared about them since then: Hillman Hunters are rare now, but that does not mean that you will have to fight off twenty other potential buyers when one comes up for sale.

                            If that gold wagon got sold for anything like the asking price, then the seller was ridiculously lucky. Far more likely is that the unrealistic seller got the poops and called the scrappy.

                            Because everyone seems to be into over-hyping prices of old cars, I been getting better success in buying from the people who are way overpriced. When you are the only person who has even contacted them, you just have to actually turn up and the price instantly plummets - they're not going to let you go anywhere without buying their car.

                            That’s the best realistic scenario for the gold wagon.

                            Thanks Dad.

                              Spac

                              https://ozvolvo.org/discussion/comment/176037#Comment_176037

                              Did anyone call you anything?

                              I cannot imagine myself owning another 740, for all the reasons Adrian mentioned in his post - but we ARE on a Volvo enthusiasts page so I seriously doubt that anyone actually thinks that you are nuts for wanting one.

                              Im fkn nuts and i want one....

                                You're only human

                                Nothing says stuck in the 1980s more than a 740 sedan

                                specially with that f--ked up vertical rear windscreen

                                Oh man, that raked rear screen and unapologetic US inspired 80's styling is what makes it so cool. Much prefer to drive my 740's than my 240's.

                                Regarding looking at a 740 check all of the front end rubber bushes. I bought one a few years ago (one owner, old guy who died, 140k on it, red w/ black windows, turbo, usual story) as an engine donation though quite like driving it so kept it on the road. It is comfy, goes well and the plastics are not yet destroyed. Inside the leather is all great, the outside is a little daggy though, few dings etc.

                                Mine, when first back in the workshop, needed all of the front end rubbers replaced. Drove a lot better afterwards. Guess it was just a lazy maintenance towards the end of the former owners run with it.

                                The AC is fine too. Do not think it has even been re-gassed in the 3 years I have had it.

                                They are an odd look though. My preference is still with the 240 for drivability and style.

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