Back when i was broke and they were cheap i owned a couple of 240 wagons. THey were great cars but they needed a lot of work and when the time came to get a better car they went down the road.

Now my wife wants a cool ride and she's thinking about a 240 sedan with a stick.

I wonder if i want low miles or high miles with great care? In the $2500-4000 range I can find either.

A low mileage car might have sat around a lot and every rubber part on might puke in the first few months.

A high mileage car might have most of that stuff up to date but I may have to deal with clutch and oil pump problems.

I know this question will not have a clear answer, I'd love to hear about different experiences.

Also, the Volvos i had were autos. WHat is the life expectancy of the cluthc and manual gearbox?

Also, if you know of a really good for sal in the Mid Atlantic region, I'd love to hear about it

 

I wouldn't be so concerned about the mileage on these cars as much as how it was maintained. A low mileage poorly maintained vehicle will have as many or more problems than a properly maintained high mileage car.

When I look for a 240 I look for condition of body, interior, etc. Rust is always going to be a factor if you live in norther climates. The engines, properly maintained, will last well upwards of 500k miles. Automatic transmissions in these will last 250k if reasonably maintained.

I can't speak for the manual transmissions as I have only had automatics. The earlier M46 were sturdy units but the overdrives on tended to have some issues as they had higher miles. The later M47 five speeds weren't as robust.

 

I'll second that! Miles are irrelevant if the car was well maintained. Also, 240 are notorious for bad odometers, so just because it shows low miles, who knows? People can't discern many other tell tale factors so they pay through the nose for low miles. Not smart! A quality car, if well taken care of can go forever, if not, you can wreck anything quick!
The M47 tranny, after 1987 in NA cars is not as strong--seems to develop 5th gear problems. The Turbos always had M46 till the end, that Laycock De Normanville is the best! That name, anyway.

 

Because of the age I found it best to get one that I could restore myself. If you have a 4000 dollar budget, your in there like swim wear! You can buy any non-rusted 240 and change every bushing, rubber parts, filters, shocks struts, brakes, brake lines, tranny mount, carrier bearing and support, Trailing arms , control arms, etc. and still stay under budget and yet have just about a brand new car. My car went a little over your budget, because I got caught up buying lots of ipd parts, and also bought new body panels and paint because the one I got was rusted up.

 

Where exactly are you located? Here in SC I can find a few really nice examples on Charlotte craigslist every few weeks. I might be able to locate a few really nice examples based on your location.
There was a beautiful 240 sedan for sale here for around $3,000 a few weeks back.

 

I am in Northeast NC, so Charlotte is not out of range and in fact I am searching craigslist that far out.

 

I would love to do that but I'm an old guy with two little boys, and interests in vintage campers, biodiesel, keeping my daily driver running (Dodge Cummins)

So I am looking to absorb someone elses loss.