• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

240 How far will you take your daily driver 240 from home?

How far will you drive your 240 daily from home?


  • Total voters
    87
  • Poll closed .
I do 70 miles a day minimum in my 244.
It made it to NC and back without a hitch, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I carry basic tools and fluids, but if anything major ****s up (which has not ever happened, knock on wood) I'll let the good people at Visa and Uhaul get me home.
 
I carry basic tools and fluids, but if anything major ****s up (which has not ever happened, knock on wood) I'll let the good people at Visa and Uhaul get me home.
Exactly. It's not like we're road tripping through Antarctica here. Prep for some minor things, don't fret about the worst case situations until they actually happen.
 
I drive my 944 about 4-500 miles a week and worry only about the possibility of crash damage, rather than mechanical failure. Granted I do keep a small toolbag with a socket set, multimeter and other assorted tools in the trunk. No spares.

Edit: To answer the question more directly, the furthest I have taken the car from home is NYC (~4 hours) but I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere I would take any other car. I think if that kind of thing starts to take precedent over just going somewhere you should be considering other options.
 
I've stage zero'd every volvo I own and I'd still rather hop in a neglected 300k mile camry for a road trip.

Really though I'd drive my 245 anywhere after I replace the CSB and both ujoints. I'd drive my 90 744 anywhere too.
 
My 93 240 is my DD and has 288k on it and I don't hesitate to take longer trips in it but I don't really drive out of New England too often. Longest trip lately Ikea in CT, 550 miles round trip.

I don't fear old car reliability much... I took my '92 Nissan truck out to Colorado (5000 miles) a few years ago, when it had 180k on it. Only had the AC compressor fail me (that was a hot drive back!!)
 
I cheated . . . . .

My '82 Diesel 245, which I bought new, has never left me stranded but there was a 5 mile pucker trip home the last time the Diesel ran.

Tuned it up with a 11k mile Ford 302 V8.

Go anywhere now.
 
Y’all haven’t lived til you’ve road tripped a PRV 265 manual 2000+ miles each way.

Wouldn’t trade it for anything but wouldn’t go back either.

Now my nice 740 just gets babied and if I need a real road trip (like last winter’s 13 hours straight for some cheap but mint 74O seats lol) I’m in the S70 worst case breaking exhaust pipes (from the high speeds and top shelf driving I assume) Still got me there and back just sounded cooler.
 
I’m currently driving my 421k 1993 245 on a 6,000 mile trip. I drive the car a lot, and so it’s always in a relatively good state of maintenance, at least under the hood. But honestly it’s not even “great” maintenance-I have a fair share of junkyard and used parts, and off brand stuff because it’s all I could get.

I trust the 245 more than my 2017 Chevy Express van, which is precisely why I’m driving it right now. 240s are some of the most durable and tough cars ever made, and if they’re in good health, they just go and go. The problem we run into is finding “same day” parts for 30 year old Swedish boats in a country that isn’t Sweden can be tricky.

My van will be needing a $3800 transmission soon. There isn’t a single part on the 245 that costs even half that. Stock(ish) 240s make great high mileage cruisers, and even fleet vehicles, sans parts availability.
 
I’ve driven my 83 245 DL between Boise, Idaho and San Diego four times this past summer. The only issue issue I encountered was that halfway across Nevada my “lifetime muffler” fell off.

Between all of those trips I only encountered one other RWD Volvo on the open highway.

Edit: I just hit 230000 miles, 80k are mine from the past ten years.
 
Last edited:
god that sounds miserable

I get the other days working from home, and it's a great gig so it balances out.

I'm also sort of (in)famous as the guy with the cool old wagon. Work with a bunch of engineering nerds and they all dig it.

Also feels great to drive the hell out of a car I rebuilt myself!
 
I daily drive my 1985 245 +t 100 plus miles back and forth to work every day. I have driven it from lake havasu to LA multiple times, havasu to vegas multiple times, havasu to phoenix multiple times. current mileage 248,525 approx. The +t was done at 180,250. my oldest daughter daily drives an 89 245.
 
Very proud my little 242 turbo zips to Denver(150 miles round trip) with no problems and I prefer it over my wife?s Volvo. Her car has new suspension and is too firm for me and I prefer my seats over her?s....let?s face it, my car is cooler and funner to drive than her?s!!!:rofl:
 
Just arrived from a 500 mile round trip last night in the 1992 240 with 240K miles. 4 weeks prior, I did a 600 mile round trip. Preparing for a 1700 mile round trip next month.
All new sensors, and carry spares of just about every sensor & electric component on the car. Also carry full tool kit, full size spare, hoses, jack, belts, towing ropes, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, etc.
 
Exactly. It's not like we're road tripping through Antarctica here. Prep for some minor things, don't fret about the worst case situations until they actually happen.

haha, I once broke the M47 on the Mass turnpike at ~11pm on a Sunday night coming back from 24hr lemons race.....found one in CT next day....drove 1hr south in 4th gear only to friend's shop....replaced trans Monday afternoon....drove home Monday night. Stressful, fun, lucky catastrophic failure.
 
1990 745 I have put 47k miles in the last year and a half. Last year it did 750 miles to moutain meet roundtrip and and then 800 miles Roundtrip to tennessee. Drive 75 miles to work and back 4 days out of the week. Thanksgiving will be another 800 mile trip for the volvo.

No major failures on road trips (knock on wood)
 
My sense of adventure has admittedly dwindled. I had an 89 245 in very rough shape, that I drove EVERYWHERE starting immediately after buying it and throwing an O2 sensor in it. Within a month I drove it from the southern tip of IL to the twin cities in MN and back in one weekend without any tools or spare parts. It was an amazing time with close friends and no break downs. About a month after that I took a very daring trip alone from Southern Illinois to Lansing MI which was completely uncharted territory for me. Again, no breakdowns and I enjoyed myself.

Fast forward about seven years. My trusty 240 is long scrapped after a failed restoration, but my girlfriend has a very similar '89 245 in seemingly great condition. It came with very detailed documentation and service records, and we drove it home to Indy from Milwaukee on a sketchy at best timing belt. It's been a pain in my rear ever since. Spontaneous water and vacuum leaks made it hard to trust for a while. Then as of yesterday, we lost rear braking power. I guess you win some and you lose some.

It's funny how as I gain more knowledge and comfort on fixing cars I also lose my trust in old cars as daily drivers. It's easy to stay on top of the repairs and maintenance of old cars when you don't depend on them, but when you drive them all the time it's easy to fall behind and sometimes seemingly impossible to catch up. However, we still love the car to death, and a 245 wasn't meant to be a weekend warrior. If it ever has a major failure, I'll probably buy it, swap in a more modern fuel efficient drive train, and drive it until the wheels fall off again. I'll still keep my newer cars with creature comforts on the long-distance road trip duties though.
 
Back
Top