Ex850R
Sleepy statusyou mean?
Slow and expensive on fuel...
no working air con without complete system upgrade...
Seats crap unless renewed.
Yeah, the good old days...
ramrod
Ex850R;c-146358 wroteSleepy statusyou mean?
Slow and expensive on fuel...
no working air con without complete system upgrade...
Seats crap unless renewed.
Yeah, the good old days...
Slow? Once again, are we talking about road cars, race cars or rally cars?
The op posted asking which car would be best for him. I don't think he's trying to enter any racing championships
How fast can you go on public roads snoopy? 60 km/h?
For the record, my 240 uses 8l/100km. Not expensive, unless you compare it to a Prius
Back to the point, 240. Everyone should own one at some point in their life. Then sell it to me
BigEd
Thanks everyone for the advice, hope I didn't start any problems. I guess ultimately the decisions will be whatever bet nick one comes first hah. Hopefully the other model won't be too far behind
Disco_Inferno
A 240 is a far, far worse car by every measure than any newer Volvo.
Get a 240. They're awesome.
Klaptrap24
240s suck
get a 240
Spac
I have owned and loved 240s for nearly 25 years now. They're amazing cars that can hold their collective head high for remaining competent and useful at 25-43 years of age.
But... they are all old cars now. This means three main things:
1. They all need work. Even if you have a perfectly maintained one, there's still more chance of stuff randomly shitting itself compared to a newer car.
2. They are dated. None of what made them exceptional in their day is remotely impressive in the modern context.
3. Ownership is more of a hassle. Parts and knowledge are drying up outside of the enthusiast sphere.
I have repeatedly said that a 240 is the oldest car that I could live with as a daily, but increasingly I simply don't want to (and haven't). For me, there are plenty of other cars that meet my criteria better, including plenty that cost less.
And unless "fashion" rates very highly, I suspect that the same is true for everyone else too.
Obviously the 850 is also an old car now, but the middle year of the P2 platform was 1998* vs 1984 for the 240.
*? Not sure what was the last year of the first generation C70.
Ex850R
ramrod;c-146362 wroteEx850R;c-146358 wroteSleepy statusyou mean?
Slow and expensive on fuel...
no working air con without complete system upgrade...
Seats crap unless renewed.
Yeah, the good old days...
Slow? Once again, are we talking about road cars, race cars or rally cars?
The op posted asking which car would be best for him. I don't think he's trying to enter any racing championships
How fast can you go on public roads snoopy? 60 km/h?
For the record, my 240 uses 8l/100km. Not expensive, unless you compare it to a Prius
Back to the point, 240. Everyone should own one at some point in their life. Then sell it to me
Fast? A dd in a 240 is sloooooooow.
Depending on which 240 you get and condition of all parts that make it work regarding fuel economy, the worst older ones are horrendous.
I've had a few, I'd only go back to one for the look. It would have a coupe door for drivers ode modified into a wagon body, seats from any other late car that is comfortable and a proper motor and 4 or 5spd auto gearbox, massively upgraded electrics etc etc, they are just too uncomfortable, thirsty, broken and worn out. They are just old cars now.
Own a 240 by all means but only if you can fix cars and have a push-bike to get you to where you want to go in the boot.
BigEd
Ah, I'm crap on the tools. Actually I have no tools, hah.
Ex850R
Buy a very good example of either 2 or 8 series or x70, which is an 850 with different front and interior only.
You wouldn't get either for 1k more like 3 or 4k which brings you to x40 cars coming down in value, a much better bet than either 2 or 8!
For a non dd, get an old one, learn to work on it.
carnut1100
240s are awesome.
I can pull one apart and put it together in my sleep.
I’ve had to more than once...
I still love them dearly.
I no longer daily one, in fact I no longer own one (for now...)
A 240 is cooler than an 850 will ever be.
An 850 is a better car in every measure. Especially if you want to daily drive it.
Never owned one but always wanted to and come close a few times. Wonderful cars to drive.
240
@BigEd a couple of things-
As has been pointed out, 850's are newer cars than 240's and therefore are safer, more comfortable and nicer to drive. The main thing to remember is this: you are looking at cars that are well over 20 years old, with a 240 or 850, and whatever car you buy, it WILL have problems that need to be addressed. This could be maintenance that hasn't been done by the previous owner, or broken interior pieces that need to be replaced... it's a long list.
If you're not going to be doing things yourself, and it sounds like you're not, then it could get pretty expensive.
I think that for a daily driver, you'd be better off finding something newer (like a P1 S40 or C30 turbo for example) and then find a nice 850 or 240 as a second car.
If you're set on the idea of daily driving an 850 or 240, I'd recommend the 850. I say that even though I daily a 240 myself. It is a nice car to drive, and has character etc, but the bottom line is that it's slow, loud, not very comfortable and worst of all for a daily driver, there's always some little mechanical thing that needs attention which can be annoying.
That being said, it's never broken down on me and they are good cars, so don't be discouraged. If you do decide to get a 240, I'd suggest trying to find a manual one as there is a big difference. Mid to late 80's models can have lots of wiring issues so beware of that too.
Klaptrap24
for reference, my mildly lightened 240 wagon with lh2.4, m46, 3.73 rear, full exhaust, e-fan and H cam is still slower than any normal twin-cam economy car from after the year 2000
BigEd
Wow cool, thanks for the advice all. Really appreciate it. Think with all the feedback I might be leaning toward an 850 for now. The 240 may need to wait. Shame there's a neat 240 in syd too hah.
ramrod
Where? I'll buy it
BigEd
Vee_Que
What lexus do you currently have? If it's an is, keep that, the 240 or 850 is inferior dynamically.
If its an es, obviously its a camry, so fwd.
The 850 is an old car now, they all need work even after the previous owner has done all maintenance work.
I daily drove an s40, woeful, 850/s70 etc are getting brittle, no different to older volvos.
Better to get the v8 s80 now if you don't want/can't do your own repairs.
Ex850R
The S80V8 at Berry's Isa nice, sorted one...
And,
They go like the proverbial off a shovel.
BigEd
i got a 2003 ES300 as a daily driver, so basically a Camry with leather seats. i got it for the idea of being stuck in traffic and being somwhat comfortable to sit in but its so bloody boring.
theres a s80 v8 in sydney, its on the radar page for around 13k.... i was thinking about that, worse case if nothing ever pops up
Ex850R
Yeah, go for it!
Chris
TBH if the 240 or 850 is standard issue it isn't going to be any more exciting than the Lexus to drive. 240 would need to be modded, 850 modded or a turbo variant to be more interesting. Modded daily drive if you're not mechanically minded may not be the best option. So that kind of narrows it a bit.
Against what Alex said, have you thought about a S/V40 T4? They are fun in a kind of unruly way and @Spac could sort you out with one. Main downside will be if you are tall they are tight. Alex is not only tall, his is a bog standard NA so not exciting at all...