I have found a 1993 Automatic 940 Turbo wagon that could be the one. It is red with black leather and only has 93,000 miles. I haven't seen it yet; but the owner swears that it has never been wrecked, the paint is glossy, and the leather has no rip or tears with only very slight age lines. His asking price is $1500. He bought the car six months ago for $2500 and has driven it to work daily with a 50 mile commute. The only problem during the first 5 months was a fuel gauge that only worked intermittently. All other electrical components work without problems. He never bothered to look into the problem with the gauge.

Now, here is where I need your thoughts. Within the past month the engine has begun to stall while driving. He says that it doesn't surge, stammer, or buck. It just suddenly quits as if the ignition was turned off.
Sometimes the engine will restart immediately after coasting to the side of the road. Other times it will restart only after it has sat for varying periods of time. These varying times may be only moments or, sometimes, hours. The times between stalls are also variable. He said that sometimes the car will complete his daily commute for 3-4 days in a row without missing a beat; but one day last week it stalled three times during one 50 mile commute.

I get the impression that he is sort of a DIY kind of guy. He has not taken the car anywhere to have it checked. Instead, he has been looking for the problem himself...without success. He sounded really frustrated on the phone when he told me, "It just won't stay broke long enough for me to find the problem and fix it". I'm not sure what he has done in the way of diagnostics (or of his level of diagnostic ability); but he is convinced it is an electrical problem and not fuel related. He did say that he has fire going to the coil; but no spark at the plugs when the problem occurs. He also said that the coil is good (not sure how he determined that). He made no mention of diagnostic codes, so I doubt that he has checked for any.

The bottom line is that he told me he is tired of chasing gremlins and he will let me have the car for $1200 if I want it "as is". It's only about a 4 hour drive from my house, so I am tempted to drive up and check it out. If everything is as he said, I could rent a car trailer for ~$100 and bring it home. My total cost for the wagon would be well below the $4,000 I had tentively budgeted for a "needs nothing" wagon. Once I get it home, I am fairly certain that I can sort out the problem...hopefully, without breaking the bank.

Whaddaya think guys? Is it worth the gamble or should I just continue to look for something else?

 

It certainly seems worth a look. The problems sound a lot like a faulty fuel pump relay. Pretty simple and cheap fix if that indeed is the problem.

I guess the price depends on the condition of the rest of the car. If it is clean with no rust, it could be a good deal.

Good luck

 

The fuel pump relay was the first thing that popped into my mind also...until he said that the spark plugs weren't firing. Does the ECU cut spark to the engine during low fuel pressure conditions?

I'm totally unfamiliar with the ignition system of the Volvo. I haven't bought any repair manuals or wiring schematics yet; because I have been waiting to see which model vehicle I end up buying.

 

I would go for it. If it is a nice car with 94k it'd be well worth it. How hard can the problem be to fix?

 

Exactly my thoughts...or; as the Captain of the Hindenburg said to his flight engineer, "What could go wrong here? Let's take her down."

 

Well, it's been just over four hours since my last post; and now I know what can go wrong. The owner sent me pictures by email; and the car does look pretty good. The upholstery is as good as any I have seen on a car of this age. He also sent me the VIN. Therein lies the deal breaker. Carfax shows that the car has a salvage title from Alabama. Car was purchased new in NY in OCT 1992...driven for almost two years and put into a ditch in AUG 1994. Declared as totalled. It was rebuilt in Alabama and issued a salvage title in NOV 1994. Sold with a salvage title in JAN 1995. The purchaser apparently drove it until NOV 2008 when the current owner purchased it...still with a salvage title.

I think I will pass on this one. Looks like I'm in the hunt again. Thank you Carfax.

 

Good job!!!

Never (and I mean never) buy a used car w/o running the VIN first! I also take my compression gauge with me too.

Information is power; bargaining power that is...

 

I thought Carfax only went through the last 7 years. Am I wrong?

 

I'm not sure what their limit is. The first entry on this particular car was:

10/07/1992 NICB Vehicle manufactured
and shipped to original dealer

 

I don't know about you guys but I'm not that afraid of a salvaged title. Although one that totaled a 2 year old car would be scary, it could not have been bad if someone purchased it and drove it for 13 years! There is a place near me that puchases wrecked Volvo's and they do such a good job that they have customers waiting for them to re-build cars for them. The big thing for me is, will I want it to retain it's resale value? If you are going to drive it till it drops like I would, and pay just a little for it, what does it matter if the title is salvage??? I have had two Volvo's totaled by my insurance company and both are on the road and doing well WITH NO SALVAGE TITLE (yikes). LOL! If the car will drive strait without eating tires, and will run every day, and I am satisfied with how it looks & smells, I would not mind owning it.

I recently seen a '98 S70 T-5 with a rebuilt title on the car fax. They wanted $4,300 and because of the title issue I offered them and would have paid $3,000 for it. But with that I would have wanted a little bit of resale insurance. As for something that I would pay less than $2,000 for after repairs I would not worry about a salvaged or rebuilt title. I tell you, it doesn't take much to total out an older car.

 

I wouldn't arbitrarily eliminate a salvaged car from consideration either. A lot depends upon the state in which the salvage title was issued and the restrictions of the state in which you wish to register the car.

This particular car has an Alabama salvage title. I live in Georgia. In order to register the car in GA, I must apply for a Georgia salvage title. This requires passing a safety inspection conducted by a DMV inspection facility. The cost of the inspection is $100. Any item causing a failure must be repaired by a licensed repair facility...DIY repairs don't cut it in the eyes of Georgia. I certainly don't mind doing repairs to bring a vehicle up to standard; but I don't want to get into the position of having to pay labor to someone else to repair a car that is sixteen years old.

 

Well, I hate SALVAGE titles too BUT at this stage, if it is a "nice car" I'd consider it. It all depends on why it was salvaged. I personally look for myself beyond the obvious, likeTITLE and MILEAGE which most buyers zero in on. And Carfax is OK, but their info is by no means infallible. In this case I am sure that the title itself is marked SALVAGED so it would have come out anyway. Somebody has to report it to Carfax, and many don't, so there it is...