what people are asking for cars is only 1 small indicator of what they might be worth. One place to check actual sale prices is Ebay.

Do an Ebay search and check for closed listings or sold listings. You can search only sold now. Used to be you had to check the closed and look thru to find sole.

Compare them to this car. Although with the mods it may be tuff. But you need actual sales and sales in your area would be better. That is how the banks loan people $ to buy a house.

Don't get emotional about this car, or any other. Tell yourself that it is not a big deal. Offer sellers a price that you have researched and tell them why. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO WALK AWAY. If they stop you, then maybe you can make a deal.... don't get emotional, Liberals work from emotion and look where that has gotten us.

 

Ok, here's your dad's opinion ;-) - the noise in the suspension is likely a spring seat or strut bearing. Easy enough for fix - but if the lowering springs are stiffer than stock, expect both sides to be at risk. The commentary about the aftermarket bits - I'd expect the car to be driven hard but probably got regular maintenance. Bottom line is, the car still has 120K+ miles and more importantly has the check engine light on. That could be due to a number of things including some that could be expensive. Until you look into the OBD2 codes behind the CEL, you have no idea what is going to be the cost of the repair so there's no fair market price until you can guess at the cause. On the layout, the AWD 6 speed is a fairly rare combination so that's to the plus side. My advise would be to 1) get a carfax report 2) get the owner to pull the OBD2 codes 3) do a professional checklist inspection - particularly for suspension parts which may be in need of a refresh - ie control arm bushings, sway bar endlinks, strut mounts etc 4) see if the owner can provide maintenance history (ie timing belt? fluid changes? 5) DON'T pay extra for the after market parts (wheels may be the exception). More likely, price in the cost to return the car to stock (ie new downpipe/cat/o2 sensor to clear the CEL?, installing stock springs?).

 

As another owner that bought in on a "recovering" vehicle, let us know how it goes. Any surprises? (good or bad) Look out for those sunroof drains!

 

Hey everyone, The car sold a few weeks ago. Not sure if I missed out of not. But thanks for all your help!

 

Too bad on the miss but there's going to be plenty of others (just check autotrader.com to see a sampling) , but it I think it'd be good to post up a sticky thread with all the inspection check list items for people looking to buy gen1 or gen2 S40s - similar to the thread on the 850/S70 board...

 

Yess lol! I joined the forum to ask about something else and i was surprised to see this post lol!!
The final price of the car was $2400. Bow the good and the bad :
The good:
The engine is in good condition, runs good, quiet, no leaks etc...
It has a stage 3 clutch and the owner (who was actually pretty nice guy) kept good records of everything. He also gave me the stock VOLVO clutch wich according to him had only about 30k.
Its really fast and the exhaust sound pretty good and not obnoxious.
Timing belt was changed at 90k (car has 120k)
New battery, spark plugs
Tires are halfway decent.
No scratches or dents on the car.(paintjob is a different story)

Now the BAD:
I really just think this guy was tired of putting money into this car and just wanted to get rid of it. The forst thing i had to change was the sway bar link. It was completely detached and I had to get it done asap. Cost $110. Also the car needs major suspension work. Lowering of the car was a bad idea on his part. I just recieved the struts i ordered in the mail a few days ago and plan on installing them myself.
Another thing that made the car sound really bad was that it needed a WHEEL BEARING. Now for someone that doesn't know much about cars the sound of a bad wheel bearing could really scare you lol.
And oh by the way the rattle sound coning from the car was just a BAND CLAMP on the exhaust that was loose and rotted out, only a $15 part and that problem is already fixed.
The check engine light on the car is on because of 2 oxygen sensors( not sure if this has to do with the aftermarket exhaust system or not).
The paintjob doesn't look bad to the average person. But someone that knows about cars could instantly tell that this isn't a professional paint job.

So far i have spent
$110 sway link
$400 struts
$100 Band clamp, oil change, air filter change
$80 wheel bearing
$200 ( This is a guesstimate for the O2 sensors. I havent ordered them yet.)

That much should have the car running in good condition.
As far as the paint job goes, its not too bad, but i might even decide to try a DYI vinyl wrap job on it...let me know what you think...

 

That isn't a bad deal. I could tell it was repainted in the pictures because there was overspray all over the engine. I'm not sure if the guy just felt like painting the car or it was in a major accident. And the check engine light made me a little concerned.

 

I hit submit by accident without finishing up the whole post Macenzie

 

There doesn't seem to be any body work done to the car....and also CARFAX came out clean on accidents so I dont thinks so. The owner did tell me he painted it by himself just for fun and it took him a couple months when he was stationed in NC. The original color was dark blue.

 

Thanks for the very interesting update.

I assume the costs above are the costs of the parts only?

And who the hell paints a car for fun?

 

And who the hell paints a car for fun?[/QUOTE]

Yes, thats the cost for parts only. Average estimates to get struts and wheel bearing put in were around 400-500. And I wish I knew what was going on in his head that he painted the car lol, maybe he was bored but its not a terrible job. However I plan on changing the struts myself. The rear struts are going to be fairly easy, the front are going to be a bit of a challenge, and I am going to have to take the bearing assembly to a shop to get it pressed out and back in. Given the value of these cars, I think I got a pretty decent deal for just $2400 and another $1000 or so to get it back in good shape.

P.S...Is there a way I can upload pics off my phone on this forum??