Craigslist Find: Opinions?
 

Hey all, I am new here to this forum and to Volvos. I have been doing a TON of reading and gaining knowledge. I am narrowing it down to 1988-92 244 Wagons. i found this on CL and went and looked at it yesterday. It runs and drives pretty well, but is missing the plastics (console, shift lever cover) and just needs general TLC. My question is, are these parts hard to find? And what else might I be looking for? A/C does not work, but heat does. It will need tires ASAP, but mechanically, all else seems ok. I can get the car for $900. Any input, opinions good, bad or terrible are appreciated. I am not easily offended. Thanks! :) Check link below.

1988 Volvo 240DL, 4 CYL, AUTO, SUNROOF, RUNS GOOD

$900 seems like a fairly good price given the condition. Rust is always the biggest concern when I am buying and it looks fairly rust-free. The plastics can still be found online at places like IPD, FCP Euro, or EEuroparts but they're getting scarce. The external trim parts I would try to get from the junkyard.

Thinks I would check out on the car:

- Suspension bushings - these are probably getting bad at this age. Look at the rear trailing arm bushings as they may be shot at this age

- The rims on it are not the proper fit for this model car. To work properly they need spacers to correct the offset.

- Check the trans fluid. Is it pink or dark brown. Does it smell. If it smells burnt, then trans may be be failing.

- Does it drive straight & true, stop without wandering, etc.

- What condition are the brakes?

- Any clunks, rattles, vibrations.

If the mechanics are all solid, then it seems like a fair price. If you need air conditioning, then assume you will have to invest a fair bit to bring it back up to working condition. Years back there was someone here on the forum that stated that its gonna cost around $3500 for a good reliable daily driver. His theory was, you could spend $1000 to get a cheap car but you will end up spending the extra money to make it reliable (tires, struts, etc.). Over the years, that seems to have held true for me. I bought a 240 sedan for $1000 and over the past few years, I have invested about $2500 to get it reliable but it is now a car that I trust my wife & kids to drive and be reliable.

If you purchase a car for $900 and it runs for 90 days, you came out ok.

from the picture, that looks like a glass 'moon roof'. AFAIK, those were never installed on a 240, just on 960s... so its either a aftermarket sunroof, or the factory sunroof was replaced with one from a newer volvo

Looks like a neglected piece, with some questionable mods. Mechanically, who knows? I'd rather buy a more original example since what kills you on these cars are the trim pieces and interior, etc. Now, if you are just looking for a beater running 240 and are not interested in making it nice, $900 may be OK if mechanically sound.

Many make the mistake of buying these cars super cheap, unaware that in the end it's much better to spend a little more for a decent car than buy a "negative value" car' that is, a car that is so trashed and needy that in the end it will cost you too much to make it into a serviceable car, and is essentially a piece of a car, to which you'll have to add many more pieces to make a whole one. Now, if you only have so much, say $400, and is a question between a bus pass and wheels, then all bets are off--you can't get a better beater than an old Volvo!

Guys, thanks so much for the input. I decided against it and to keep looking. There were too many gremilns I noticed when looking at the car and I completely agree that it would take $2500 minimum to get it reliable. I'll keep looking! I am not in any hurry.

Yeah, the sunroof did not close all the way. That was the start of my doubt even though the price was fine.

Wow I have been looking at this wagon for some time now and the person had another one that was way nicer...I think this was the donor wagon as he/she sold the other one a while back....

I would buy it for sure...why? YOU, IN OCEANSIDE HAVE TONS OF JUNK YARDS DOWN SOUTH OR UP NORTH IN MY AREA...I WOULD HAVE REPLACED THE HEAD LIGHTS/GRILL SIDE TURN SIGNALS AND THE LITTLE INTERIOR PARTS AROUND 100 OR LESS with a bunch of other parts too...THIS 23rd THROUGH THE WEEKEND THE PICK YOUR PART IS HALF OFF....
my parts/maintenance cost would probably be around $ 500 and that is freaking including all gaskets, ujoints, flush fills, brakes, diff fluid, trans fluid, hoses, water pump etc etc etc....ALL WORK DONE BY ME OF COURSE...
I DO A COMBINATION OF PURCHASE LOCATIONS: FCPEURO.COM IPDUSA.COM EBAY.COM JUNK YARDS...

CAR PRICE: 900
TITTLE PLUS SMOG: 160...add 175 for a cat installed...just like my 87 wagon.(if needed)
COSMETICS: 140
OPTIONAL MAINTENANCE: 500

TOTAL: 1700
DEFINITELY GOING TO WORK ON IT
SEARCH ORANGECOUNTY.CRAIGSLIST AS THERE ARE A FEW WAGONS THAT ARE MUCH NICER AND RELATIVELY CHEAP.