Looks like it's gonna be more difficult than I originally thought to find what I want. I have been looking for a 1988-1995 RWD wagon with B230 engine for about six weeks. I have searched Craigslist, Auto Trader, Cars.com, and eBay with no luck. So far everything is either junk, over priced, or too far away.

Some of them have seemed promising in the ads; but when I email or phone the owner, the sordid details start to come out. A couple of times I got past the questioning phase and actually went to see the cars. I won't go so far as to say the owners lied to me; but they certainly were overly forgiving in their descriptions of the vehicles.

Oh well, I suppose tomorrow is another day.

 

Patience! Sometimes a distant car can be well worth it though, I bought my car from a city that was a 1300km road trip home. Had the vehicle independently inspected, electronically transferred a deposit and flew over to drive it home. Then ripped off a 13 hour non stop trip home!
SO, if something sounds good but it's a fair way away, look at your travel options and get an inspection done. It can be well worth it, I'd have never found a Turbo wagon in teh condition my one is in if I'd waited for something around here, in the 18 months I've owned the car, nothing even close has tuened up within 500km of me.

Regards, Andrew.

 

How long have u been looking for? Do you need something A.S.A.P? Took me 3 years to find the right Volvo 850 for me and Ijust got it this past september. I will agree with Typhoon, and Patience. There are tons of vehicles out there but you won't get EXACTLY what you are looking for. When you least expect it, you WILL see it. I saw mine sitting on a lot as I was driving by and wasn't expecting it since that place normally sells BMWs and not Volvos. Needless to say I got an exellent deal since he had the car a while there and it didn't move and was on its way to Auction. But again, I wasn't expecting it. Good Luck, as I know a few of us on here have been right where you are at Waiting. Where do you live? Maybe we can all keep an eye out for you in your seach?

 

Apparently I'm one of the lucky ones. My dad found my S70 the week before my birthday and we bought it/drove it home on my birthday.

What are the specifications of the B230 engine?

 

Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys. I live in Columbus, GA (about 100 miles south of Atlanta). There are a lot of wagons advertised in the Atlanta metro area; but the ones I have checked out just haven't lived up to the hype of the seller's description. Driving a couple of hours on a wild goose chase is one thing; but flying a couple of thousand miles for a disappointment is a different situation altogether. I certainly don't mind a road trip; but I would want it to be productive.

I don't really have an immediate need for another vehicle; but, even so, patience is not my long suit.

BlazeS70...nothing exotic about the B230. It is the old reliable SOHC 2.3 liter four cylinder that was the basic Volvo workhorse for a long time. Finding a car with it hasn't been the problem. Finding it in a wagon that has been well maintained isn't nearly as easy, though.

Interestingly, the asking price doesn't always help when sorting out the vehicle's condition. I have seen listings for $2500 and $1000 where the condition of the vehicles was virtually identical.