760 D24T/TIC (Europe)

[Turbointtelkuurel]

Looking to buy a 760 turbodiesel in Europe. Must be in good condition, not a project. I've had a 760 sedan with PRV V6 for a couple of years now and hands down my favourite car. Also owned two 940s with D24TIC and would like to buy a 760 with the "best" engine. In my country there haven't been many examples, that fit my criteria atleast, for sale over the last couple of years so I'm willing to travel for the right car.

[Turbointtelkuurel]

Summer bump. Still searching...

[v8volvo]

I wonder if you may want to consider importing one from the US?

Still some nice ones around over here with the BEST engine , and many from parts of the country where climates are friendly to cars and rust is not a factor as it would be in much of Europe.

Lots of old Volvos of various types making their way back to Europe lately from what I hear. No idea what the transport cost is though.

[Turbointtelkuurel]

I have certainly looked into the US Volvo market. There were quite many 760's sold new over there so there's still a bunch left. Most of them with very nice options too that are quite rare here locally. It's crazy to see the the US has still a supply of fully loaded rust-free 760's in circulation when the majority of the ones left in Finland are beater-spec base model 740's.


So far I've been put off by the fact that facelift 760's were never sold in the US with a D24. I'm pretty set on a facelift sedan as they came with the multilink rear suspension and just feel a bit more refined. Also I like the newer 850 style dashboard. The cost of having someone buy a car for me in the US plus transport to Europe might also be unjustifiable considering the actual value of the vehicle.

Mainly looking at French/Italian sites since they seem to be the markets with most supply in Europe. If I manage to land a nice one through the forum I promise to make a detailed thread about it

[v8volvo]

That is true. Volvo stopped bringing in the 760 TD after 1985, then we only got the 740 TD for one more year through 1986. That means that almost all the later updates both to the diesel engine (hydraulic cam followers, intercooling, updated T-belt setup etc) and the car platform (improved wiring, ABS, safety features, interior materials, dash design, bigger/better brakes, etc) never reached us here. Of course we did get the chassis updates in the later year models but only with gasoline engines.

There are certainly plenty of nice late model facelift 760s around still in the US -- all with gas turbo engines but those are easy enough to swap to D24T(IC) power. I plan to do exactly that with a 780 coupe as you may have seen in my thread, for some of the same reasons -- I want the later year features and the multilink rear end. A swap is always an option. But an original vehicle is always better if you can find one that fits the demands. Over here a swap is the only way to combine a diesel engine with the late model cars but that's not the case for you lucky folks across the Atlantic.

Agree on the fact that transporting from the far away might well exceed the "value" of the vehicle..... But I think that says less about the cost of transport and more about the bargain price of the car. A very nice, preserved classic Volvo 7 or 9 series can be bought for $5000 USD, give or take a few thousand and can then still serve very effectively as reliable, comfortable, safe, enjoyable transportation with low cost of running and upkeep. When you look at the price and complexity of a new car, not to mention the rapid depreciation, almost anything you do in this realm with an older car like this puts you ahead financially, right? I think it's a fallacy that you should never spend more on a vehicle than the sum of its street value. Many people choose to scrap a car when they face a repair bill that costs "more than the car is worth". But what does that mean? What's the practical alternative they are comparing to? The real question should be what's the car worth TO YOU, not what its street resale value is. Spending 10x more than that on a new car is what most people choose to do but I don't see the logic in that -- they are for sure money ahead just fixing the old car, no matter what they can "get out of it". The only time that move makes sense is if they wanted to move on from the old car anyway and this is just an excuse they can justify. By the same token, if a car costs $10k to acquire and it's the car you want, then 1) that's still a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest, lamest new car and 2) what does it truly matter if 30% of the cost is the car itself and 70% is logistics, if the overall deal is still good financial sense?

In theory anyway. It's an interesting discussion to me because I contemplate it myself sometimes. Two years ago I bought a very unique and special VW Passat TDI wagon from Florida for $2000 (cheap due to mechanical issues) and spent easily double that getting it back to my location and repairing it for use. So I'm putting my money where my mouth is on this at least. But it's a car I enjoy driving, plan to put another couple hundred thousand miles on, and is cheap to maintain and uses very little fuel. I think it pencils out.

Good news for you is you have access to European markets that have those nice later model diesels. Italy or France or Spain seem like good targets given their more friendly climates leading to a cleaner car. Even areas on the Adriatic like Serbia, Bosnia, Greece seem like they might have options. Didn't they offer the early 960 cars with D24TIC? Seems like that would be the peak of the platform?