B ack again after long absence, change of address and email. My handle is arthur240. Live in the Rockland County NY area and drive a 1987 245 Volvo. My second, actually, since my 1984 245 diesel rusted and was sold running to someone in Georgia who drives it every day. It had 240,000 miles and presumably is still chugging away. How did it last so long? Smoke and mirrors, but mainly smoke - black diesel smoke. I publish newspapers, teach at the local college and work as a technical director in the theater. My Volvo is ideal for what I do. I once loaded ALL the rental lighting I needed into it for a Marvin Hamlisch concert. It creaked and groaned a bit as we filled it with lights, cables, etc., even using the roof rack, but my Volvo delivered the stuff with nary a complaint. I do NOT recommend overloading a Volvo wagon, but once in a while the need arises.
I bought it on Ebay for $1200 with 140,000 miles. Two years later the odo reads 171,000. Still no complaints. Main work: replace the cat converter and brake pads. Had a real flakey problem with the engine temperature sender to the Lambda box, but relentless troubleshooting cleared that up. Ready for another 100,000 miles or so. Minimal rust. Still looks good after 19 years on the road, a lot better than I look after 19 years on the road.