1991 Volvo 240, how bad is thia rust?
 

This isnt my car but one thats for sale, 1991 with 138k on it. I'd like to know if theres a chance of any unwanted surprises or not before I make a long trip to look at the car. There is some rocker rust and unfortunately I didnt get any good shots underneath.




https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/volvofo...63922996ca.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/volvofo...4da5bfabeb.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/volvofo...a23eaff01c.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/volvofo...dfa37bb7db.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/volvofo...b8a2d99c8f.jpg

from first glance i would say those spots do not look too bad at all. as for underneath that is of course another matter, but Volvo undercoating usually
performed very well in reducing rust. where does the car live? edit : nevermind i found it in IL. yes for the price they are asking well worth looking at
for sure (despite the goofy reflectors..). better hurry though believe it will go fast... good luck!

Thanks for the info, my main concern is the floors which you can rarely ever tell whats going on until its too late, or you're prying around. Yanked out the carpet on my current non-Volvo car when it was wet one day and discovered a nice crack above the cat.

For anyone else reading the cars located in the Midwest, probably been there for some time now.

yes the floors are certainly important. would be very helpful if you could get the people to let you get it on a lift to check
out everything underneath. if it really does only have 138k on it your chances are good there is nothing too bad. again, you will
need to see it with your own eyes to be sure....
i bought mine sight unseen off craigslist and got lucky i guess.

As long as there's no big spots underneath that's good for another 100k miles at least. These things were rustproofed good enough to damn near be submarines.

Salt water submarines.

Thank you for the responses, unfortunately the seller went quiet on me. I mentioned rust and asked for a video of the engine idling (since the cars a long drive away from me), they went mute (I wouldnt mind if they had said no).

In the ad I noticed that the car itself does have a sag in the back to one side, it'll likely need new bushings. Im not sure if I have the means to do that sort of work. That'd be for a specialist...I can find one in buisness.

looks like it is still up on craigslist... for 2500. isn't that more than they were talking on price previously? looking at the pics
the driver's side rear seems to be on a 'hump' in the gravel surface it is sitting on.. maybe that is the
sag you see?, but not necessarily bad bushings. at 138k you would not expect those to be needing replacement.

Previously it was $1900, I've seen other people on craigslist flip flop their prices around as well, I guess its to leave room to haggle? I think what puzzles me is that the car itself hasnt sold yet, dang near every other 240 I've seen has sold pretty quickly (including one with over 200k on it for $1800).

I'd expect the bushings to be bad more from age, or "missing mileage" if the odometer was bad for a time. But that hump is likely to be what I thought was a "sag" yes.

yes i see the old flip flop as well here. maybe no one wants a 240 in IL these days? dunno. i thought it would go quick at 1900 asking. anyway
i believe the only way to find out is to see in person (and check if odometer is working as well...!!) that is if still unsold and not that they forgot to delete the craigslist post...

I've found these cars to have a very strange market here in the states, one moment nobody wants em and the other they're dropping over $6k on examples with bypassed heater cores and what not. The ad for the car will expire tomorrow, and if its not reposted I'll assume that it has sold.

The one thing thats made me hesitant on buying this car, and really many RWD Volvos, is parts scarcity. I can order most bits online but the trickle supply of scrap RWD Volvos has dried up in my area, I've actually seen more Lexus LS's at the junkyards (despite that cars rumored reliability). My last 240 (incidentally a '91) was dead for a week when I needed to order a fuel line to the cold start injector. I understand this is a regional thing though, areas like California and Vermont seem to have a better supply of old Volvos.

i agree on all what you are saying, there are not many junkyards around here anyway that still allow pick and pull. the local
open market here has very little in the way of reasonable offerings, mostly either mint cars that command a lot of $$ or beaters/parts cars
under 1000. 28year old 240's are not for everybody i know.

Thankfully, usually it was interior parts when I needed anything from the junkyard, which are often absurdly expensive on ebay.
I should ask though, how important is it to know a Volvo specialist mechanic for a 240? I can do a bit of work myself, but otherwise they dont seem much more complex than other cars of their time (and compared to my '90's Hondas, Redblocks grant you much more space). I know a few shops that arent too far away, but I generally try to stick to regular indy mechanics for my car work.

i try to do routine maintenance stuff i can reach from the top myself, but for anything requiring a lift i have a local volvo/saab specialist that i trust do that work for
me. he lets me source the parts so i can save some there. yes it's very important to have an indy you can depend on (and not to rip you off).
sort of the same as a good doctor or dentist lol

I contacted the owner one more time and I dont think I'll be getting anymore info, just an invitation to look at it. Unfortunately I won't be able to do that til next weekend if choose to make the trip. Thank you to those who've provided advice for this thread.

I did ask about the price raise, but they didnt really provide a reason. Just that they'd negotiate once I look at the car.

Too bad you're back in the midwest. I'm in southern california and a couple of years ago I bought a 1983 242 (164,000 original miles) for $1000. It had minimal rust on the ledge of the rear side window. There only one problem, when I bought it I didn't know that older cars had to get a smog certificate before they're sold and then and only then the DMV will give you tags. It took me a couple of months to set it right (new catalytic convertor, air sensor). Honestly, the hardest thing was finding a smog center that would do the check. I finally found a shop that specializes in old cars. He told me most shops won't touch old cars because they take twice as long to check and since they charge the same price for all cars it not worth their time.

looks like it disappeared from craigslist.....

The ad expired, craigslist ads last for 30 days before requiring renewal.