Hey everyone,
I'm going to be buying my first car soon, and I really want to get a 1986-1993 240 sedan. That car's appealed to me for a long time. The only problem is that I have to pay for it, and well, I'm not the richest teenager around (at the moment). Can you guys tell me a little bit about the 86-93 240? I'd like to get one with around 125k miles on it. Is it safe to go higher without risking having some engine problems soon after? I know these things go up to 300k+ miles, but it just seems a little scary to buy a car with 150k miles on it. I won't be able to afford too much maintenance for the car if anything were to go wrong.
What's the maximum amount of miles that you guys would recommend the volvo has when I go to buy it? At what point do a lot of problems start to show up?

Anyways, my price range is going to be about $3,000. Is an '86-'93 240 with around 125k miles (unless you guys think I can go higher) reasonable for my budget?
According to KBB, a '93 240 with 125k miles and some premium features in excellent condition is $1750. This seems WAY too good to be true from what I've seen. Where I am, in the Pacific NW, the prices are quite a bit higher than the KBB price.

So what do you guys think pricewise? Is my budget reasonable?
Thanks!

EDIT: I'm fine with automatic or manual. I'd almost rather go with manual. I don't know how to drive a stick, but it seem's like it'd be a tad bit more fun that way.

 

You may want to check this recent thread https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...rst-car-55158/ out that has many suggestions to look for and expect in a 240. Your budget is very reasonable and you could pick up a nice one for that price. Are you looking to work on the car some yourself? At that point in mileage, you may be looking at some in-tank pump issues like me around 160k, that's really all I have run into (since I bought it with 156k). As long as the car has been maintained, no expensive major work should get in your way for a while. The KBB values always seem to low-ball the value of older cars, so I would not really base my price off them, but you could work that in your advantage I guess. I would look for one around $2,000 or so, and save the grand for later, you are going to need it.

 

KBB prices are dealer-oriented. Edmunds pricing seems much more realistic. Also, nearly everyone overestimates the condition of their car when they get estimates from any of these sites, so take them with a grain of salt.