Hey guys. I'm new to the forum and looking to purchase a 1990 740GL. Its my grandpas car and I'm not sure what is a good price for the car. It has 171k on it and the body is in good condition. ABS light is on because he replaced one of the wheel hubs with a non abs model. Check engine light might be on, I think due to catalytic or 02 sensor. cant remember. Could use an alignment, other small stuff. Interior shape is maybe 6/10. AC use to work, but he says it has a small leak and so it needs found and charged.

He is older and wont be driving much longer. I want to give him a good price for it. Dont want to screw him, dont want screwed. Its a dependable car, and he is honest. Thanks fellas.

 

Unless it has been taken care of like it was a baby I say no more than $1000. Ur gonna want/need to change suspension bushings, fix a/c, fix CEL (which can be anything until u read the codes), and numerous other 21 year old things. The a/c will b interesting at the least. Does it leak anything? Did u drive it?? How does it drive? Turbo? Auto? Fill in some blanks on its history.... U may only have a $500 car. some old folks take good care and some dont, if the a/c "used" to work and he never fixed it he may have never done alot of stuff. A car in the junk yard had a/c that "used" to work...

 

About a G... Right now used cars seem to be bringing a lot... A basically sound running Volvo from your grandpa, a $1,000 sounds like a good round number and nobody's getting a great deal or getting screwed...

 

it realyl depends on where you are, too. around here on the california central coast, a clean halfway decently running early 90's RWD volvo could easily be $3000-4000.

 

He takes good care of stuff. He has probably had it for 6-8 years. He is a stubborn "do it yourselfer". He religiously changes oil and fluids. I drove it. It's auto, 2.3 non turbo. He converted it a few years ago from R13 to 134A (or whatever its called). Then on a trip they immediately took, about 800 miles, it stopped working at around the 500m mark. He said he checked the compressor and it still works, but that the newer stuff is leaking somewhere (supposedly its thinner, I dont know much about AC).

He has a diesel truck that he drives mostly, and this is his around town car to save money. I'm doubting he changed anything like bushings.

 

FYI, I've heard its bad for the AC compressor bearings to run it when its out of juice. No idea if this is an old wives tale or what.

 

Thats actually why they dont run after the pressure is so low I believe. He bypassed the pressure switch just to see if the compressor would kick over, and it did. Thats how he knows its pressure related. He was a mechanic most of his life.... He's just older....much much older lol. So he doesnt get much done these days. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get it. I know last summer he only wanted a grand for it, but I wasnt shopping for a car then. I'll prob offer 900-1000 for it. Even if I dont resolve the AC, I know its at the least, dependable.

 

The seals on the cold side of the A/C piping start leaking with time. It needs new o rings and then to be evacuated and refiled. Unless he put on a newer style compressor the A/C won't be as cold. The R134a requires higher compression for the same cooling as R12. I've been doing a lot a research into air conditioning because I want to refill mine with R12 someday.

 

What compressor would be good. I've been doing some research on just putting a newer compressor and dryer on it to make sure its all good for a few years. But i'm skeptical of the remanufactured ones on ebay. At the same time, I'm not trying to drop a ton of money on true volvo parts.

 

What a weird bot.

I don't know about getting a new R134a compressor. I'm not sure when Volvo would have started putting them in. You may be able to find a newer one in a wrecking yard that takes R134a.

Good luck.

 

The industry completely cut over to R134A in 1994. Volvo cut over in model year 1993 (all 93+ should have been R134a from the factory, prior were R12). My 92 745 came with R12 but was converted, I believe they replaced the compressor with a refurbished unit, and various seals.

Note, in another year, R134a gets banned and is being replaced with HFC1234a or something. yeeesh.

 

I guess worst case scenario I'll just get a refurbished one online if I need to. I'm looking forward to getting it. Right now I'm trying to sell my gas gussling silverado.

 

1K in most places would be the max. I bought my 90 740GL in 2006 w/ 125k on it for $250. Ran and drove..a/c was empty, R12 setup of course. Pulled a vacuum and evac, gave it a shot of R134a and it was good to go. A/C was solid right up until I pulled it to transplant in the V8. The Volvo compressor is currently working like a champ in my 144. So...since it's family, $1000 isn't exorbitant if everything works and it isn't beat up.

I switched the 144 over to a product called Maxi-Frig. It's a hydrocarbon based refrigerant. The new stuff in Europe is either HC based or CO2 based. I've been quite satisfied with the Maxi-Frig...much better than R134a and advertised as even more efficient than R12!

 

Swift, when you switched to Maxi-Frig, did you evac and refill? Or did just replace what was needed. I am facing a buff up on my 1990 245 AC and down to the last can of R-12. I have a pump so I can pull a vacuum, if I switch.

Sorry for the hijack

 

I believe to switch from R12 to whatever, you need at a minimum to evacuate AND change the compressor oil, along with some seals.

 

R12 uses mineral oil. R134a uses ester oil. They've now developed PAG oil that is more tolerant to residual mineral oil. When replacing R12 with R134a, it's necessary to pull a complete evacuation removing all the oil possible. Maxi-Frig is less picky about lubricants but still, it's good practice to completely evacuate the system, do a leak down test and proceed accordingly. HC based refrigerants are not legal in all states...yet. It's an example of legislation lagging behind technology.

As for seals, o-rings etc. there was widespread misinformation out there when conversions were first occurring. Just as the first microwave ovens weighed 100 pounds and were built to withstand a 2 megaton direct hit, there was all kinds of over concern about R12 systems springing leaks because of incompatibility of the different o-ring composition. We don't get many conversions any more at the shop; the cars were either done years ago or were built for 134a from the get-go. We just don't see many 17+ year old cars. Still, all I've done with my Volvos is: Evac the system, do a leak down test for 20 minutes, add oil and refill w/ R134a...or in the case of the 144, Maxi-Frig.