1985 volvo 240 advice
 

So I am considering buying a volvo 240 from 1985. I have heard that this year is worse than others.

I am familiar with the 240 as I had a 1991 240 for a while.

This one is a bit unique in that its a "police" model with a turbo - Current owner has done a good bit of work on it (below) and its straight and lowish miles (less than 200K)
Current owner work done:
- Replaced steering rack
-Power steering hose
-Replaced brake booster and transmission mount
-Replaced belts and new battery
-Replaced Engine wiring harness
-Replaced fuel pump, new brake pads and rotors, and replaced left and right engine mount
-New rear taillight circuit board
-Replaced Alternator and power steering hose/belt

Thoughts, and or feedback or other things I should look at outside the obvious?

WOW! A Police Model Volvo 240! I haven't heard of that here in the U.S., however there were a handful of 850's specially made for the California Highway Patrol years ago. Seeing that you describe the car's mileage in km., I assume that you are not in the U.S. It sounds like a lot of important things were taken care of by the previous owner; but you should be aware that "police" duty vehicles get a lot of hard use before being sold off when repairs become too costly for the agency's maintenance department.

This car is in Eugene, OR... I am skeptical about the "police" version claim as the car came to Oregon in 2008 (Carfax), besides there is really nothing special about the car the way it sits that couldn't have been added by an owner during its 33 yr life. May be a decent car, hard to say without seeing it in person, but as far as 'police"?

i know there were a few small towns in California that used Saab 900 turbos as police cars in the late 70s or early 80s.... so its not completely impossible this was at one time a special order domestic police car... or i guess it equally well could have been a grey market import...


ah. found it! heh https://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/d/...750255138.html

so they claim it was a Portland PD 'undercover' car.

actually, it looks decent enough and sounds reasonably well maintained, although I would want to verify all the claims at $3000 for a 165K mile car, maybe even bring it by someone like IPD or Alamo (both in Portland) for a thorough PPI. my biggest concerns on a 85 are wiring harnesses, thats peak biodegradable eco junk era, and its not just the engine harness, although thats usually the first to fail, its all the other wiring too.