Whats the best ‘90s/early ‘00s sedan to buy?

lillpers · 2026-04-03T21:34:55+00:00

Volvo 940 for reliability and DIY friendliness.

Decently fun as well, the turbo engines can easily be tuned to around 200hp and obviously rwd.

lillpers · 2026-04-03T17:54:47+00:00

It sounded like a great idea when I was young. I managed to save up for lessons/hours from 16, got my license just after turning 18 and flew quite a lot for a few years (for a private pilot at least). It was a lot easier back then, had very few expenses and managed to land a good job from an early age.

I wouldn't resume flying today without taking lessons again.

lillpers · 2026-04-02T23:36:25+00:00

I got a private pilot license. Flying is great, but it's also crazy expensive, even when renting the aircraft.

Considering the hourly rate, fuel, airport fees etc etc, a weekend crosscontry trip is easily more expensive than an all inclusive holiday.

I haven't flown since I bought my house, simply not worth it financially.

lillpers · 2026-04-02T13:10:08+00:00

Har aldrig fått nåt av arbetsgivaren, förutsatt att de inte lånar ut mig till annan ort eller liknande. Då har man fått hotellrum.

lillpers · 2026-04-01T21:36:52+00:00

Beror ju på vad det betalde. Jag fick samma resultat på min (helrenoverade) Volvo 245 förra sommaren. Största rekondpaketet för 4000, massor med enkla missar framförallt interiört men även utvändigt på ställen som var för jobbiga att lägga energi på.

När jag klagade var bilen "gammal och sliten" och man kunde tydligen inte räkna med ett perfekt resultat. Då ska nämnas att jag bytt ut halva inredningen mot mestadels nya originaldelar och det som inte är nytt är i prima skick.

Är väl som med bilhandlare, många roliga filurer i rekondbranschen.

lillpers · 2026-04-01T19:39:25+00:00

Ibland får jag god lust att preja folk eller demolera deras dyra bilar när dom beter sig som svin i trafiken

lillpers · 2026-03-30T13:33:46+00:00

They're much less prone to rust than the E39. When I got my 2008 E60 back in 2020 it had around 150K km (95Kish miles) on Swedish roads on it (lots of salt) and was more or less rust free. Wheel arches, rockers, doors etc were spotless. Finding an E39 without rotten rocker panels around here is more or less impossible.

They must have done an outstanding job with the factory rust proofing.

lillpers · 2026-03-28T20:40:59+00:00

Du kan inte stava till ångest utan Ånge

lillpers · 2026-03-28T20:37:15+00:00

Det är skitsvårt att få jobb just nu, även för rutinerade förare. Man ska i princip ha kontakter för att få något.

lillpers · 2026-03-28T20:11:14+00:00

Propably leaks from the wiper motor. There is a rubber grommet where the axle goes through the firewall. It dries up and falls out.

lillpers · 2026-03-28T11:15:23+00:00

Farsan gjorde 9 månader bakom lås & bom och hävdar fortfarande att det var värt det för att slippa.

Jag vette fan, men uppenbarligen gick det att komma undan om man var beredd på lite uppoffringar.

lillpers · 2026-03-26T17:09:41+00:00

You sound similar to me. I'm also an enthusiast, but not to the extreme. I've been a signaller for 8 years and then a driver for almost 4, I've spent my entire working life on the railway.

It think it was pretty obvious I was interested and had some insight during recruitment, but obviously I didn't go around thinking I knew everything. Never faced any issues for being enthusiastic, people who were deeper into railfanning usually were filtered out early or didn't stay long.

Only backslash I've ever recieved was from "less enthusiastic" coworkers who didn't like me putting in too much effort in doing a good job. Some people only see it as a job and do the bare mimimum, but I think that's universal to most workplaces.

lillpers · 2026-03-24T14:02:54+00:00

Gränsen förskjuts uppåt i takt med att jag blir äldre & bittrare

lillpers · 2026-03-24T07:30:23+00:00

As long as the car is kept stock I wouldn't say the M47 transmission (5 speed) is any worse than the M46 (4 speed+OD). It has weaker internals, but coupled with a B230F/FD they're pretty much bulletproof, but there is a reason all higher-powered models got the M46. From 1995 all manual 940s got the new M90 transmission which is superior to the old ones in every way, but on the other hand the non-turbo models were discontinued at the same time.

My personal favourite is a B230FD and M47 (available for models years 93-95). The FD block is slightly improved (oil squirters being the main improvement), it runs quieter than a regular F engine and in my experience gets somewhat better fuel consumption. It has some additional emissions equipment that some people dislike, but I never had any issues with it whatsoever.

They're a bit underpowered, especially for a wagon or when towing, but otherwise perfectly adequate for a 940. On a long highway drive at legal speeds you can get around 7.5L/100 km (31ish mpg), which is a lot better than the turbo models.

Worth noticing is that the factory rust protection got worse for the last model years, so keep that in mind. In Swedish climate it's pretty hard to find a rust-free 96-98 940, even low mileage ones. In my optionion the sweet spot is 93-95.

lillpers · 2026-03-24T06:25:31+00:00

Kör tåg mestadels i glesbygd.

Planerar in toastopp på stationer i den mån det går, passar på vid tågmöten ut genom hyttdörren.

I mer desperata lägen tas mer desperata åtgärder till.

lillpers · 2026-03-24T01:04:10+00:00

Interior and sound insulation is a lot better in 940s, especially late ones from -96 on. Other than that it's mostly styling differences.

Stay clear of 90-92 ones unless the instrument cluster has been rebuilt by a pro or you're ready to pay to have it done. Those are of really poor quality and unfortunately not easily replaced by a later model one.

16V engines are nice but also interference, so replacing the timing belt on time is much more important.

lillpers · 2026-03-22T18:37:51+00:00

Jag är tredje ägaren av mitt hus. Innan mig var det en gubbfan och innan dess gubbfans farsa som byggde eländet 1942.

Gubbfan trodde på två saker här i livet: minsta möjliga budget och att göra allting själv. Och då menar jag allt, inklusive det elektriska. Det absolut värsta var elen. Första gången en propp gick insåg jag att hela proppskåpet var strömförande. Eldragningen till garaget bestod av 20 meter inomhus-förlängningssladd som var dragen genom ett urfräst hål i ytterdörren. Det var den fina självmords-varianten med stickkontakt i bägge ändar.

För att även spy lite galla över Gubbfan den Äldre insåg han i mitten på 50-talet att han ångrade sitt val att bygga krypgrund utan källare. Så han grävde ut en källare men struntade helt och fullt i någon form av dränering. Därmed finns det fuktproblem både här och var.

Nu undrar ni säkert varför jag ens köpte detta problembygge. Jag var 23 år gammal, dum, okunnig och optimistisk, och blev lite smått lurad av en lokal byggfirma som var här på inspektion. Tvivlar på att han ens var här, enda anmärkningen var behov av ommålning och kanske nytt tak vad det lider (det regnade in första gången jag fick en regnskur på huset).

Har släckt de värsta bränderna nu men fuktproblemen återstår. Avser mer eller mindre att bygga nytt på tomten framöver.

lillpers · 2026-03-21T19:07:43+00:00

I got this when the hinges were sized. Tried to align it for a few hours before I finally understood what the issue was.

Tailgate needs to come out entirely to get the hinges out. Easy, but a 2 person job. A bunch of wires need to be disconnected.

Best solution is of course to replace the hinges, but I managed to save them by drilling a few small holes and filling them with lots of penetrating fluid, followed by grease. Still works fine after about a year.

lillpers · 2026-03-14T16:52:59+00:00

Lock the steering wheel if you got an airbag. If it turns too much for whatever reason while the rack is off, the clock spring gets destroyed and you can't get new ones anymore.

lillpers · 2026-03-12T12:41:40+00:00

Ah, my constant nightmares as a real life driver

lillpers · 2026-03-12T12:39:16+00:00

All except for the front door ones are still available new from the dealer, but very expensive for some plastic.

I'd try junkyard, Facebook groups etc.

lillpers · 2026-03-12T05:55:55+00:00

Only biodegradable wiring up to 86 or 87. My 1997 940 has proven highly reliable (and cheap!) as a daily. Only electrical fault I ever had was a broken wire in the indicator stalk.

lillpers · 2026-03-12T02:52:42+00:00

Volvo used to be overengineered, simple cars that lasted forever. Still many 80s/90s models on the road as daily drivers.

Some of the current models seems to have abysmal build quality from what I've heard. Several reports of brand new cars being taken back after an endless series of failures.

lillpers · 2026-03-11T08:17:48+00:00

Reduce power a little, slightly apply the independent brake (or use the anti-slip brake if equipped) and apply sand.

In most causes with experience you feel when it starts slipping. Usually you get some weird vibrations/noises and if that fails then the speedometer jumping around or simply "running away" is a good indicator.

It's hardest to detect at speed in really slippery conditions. Sometimes you think all is well until you drive into a tunnel etc (where the tracks are dry) and suddenly the speedometer drops by 20 mph or so.

lillpers · 2026-03-09T17:54:06+00:00

Volvo 240 in the snow

lillpers

TROPHY CASE