Cl find? 1988 Volvo 245 (wagon) DL 5 speed with new tires for $650 asking price.

[BRealistic]

http://tricities.craigslist.org/cto/2965779115.html





1988 Volvo 240 DL - $650 (Johnson City)

Date: 2012-04-18, 4:24PM EDT
Reply to: db6qh-2965779115@sale.craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

This 245 features a (rare) manual transmission. Also has a new set of Goodyear tires with less than 1500 miles on them which were nearly $400 alone.
Ran great up until it suddenly started sputtering and shaking and had no power. I haven't had anyone look at it but think it's probably something simple (bad spark plug wire or fouled catalytic conv, ect).
It has been a great car and I'm sure it has plenty of life left - these 240s don't die!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know these 240 series Volvos used to have a huge following.
And sure, I can see why.
Roomy interior, great visibility, solid front engine rear solid axle drive truckish chassis and drivetrain, quirky euro charm (or eurotrashy.. depending on opinion).. and big cargo room in wagon form.
And while the safety image thing is a past memory now considering how much safer even a new base Accent is, at least they are not tin cans that easily fold up like some past less than fullsize cars.

So what do the Volvo know-it-alls think the issue is? Something really as simple as stated?
I suspect this car may be tired looking, but probably has no or just mild surface rust at worst.
European cars tend to do very well in this area considering the sparsely used road salt.

[Broduski]

Sounds like a simple misfire. For $650 that's a steal.

[BRealistic]

Sounds like a simple misfire. For $650 that's a steal.

I guess.... just wary.
The seller seems to know Volvos.. but yet lets a possibly simple fix kill the used value of this car.
Or maybe just lacks time or is lazy.
I have heard that bad compression on a 240 can cause a similar fate.

[rs4-380]

to be honest it's more then I would spend. the 5 speeds were not *that* rare and I guarantee that no matter what the ad says it's got rust issues, and probably needs some delayed maintenance to be even relatively reliable. Considering it doesn't really run I'd offer 500 bucks it everything looked decent underneath, and the suspension and exhaust were didn't look like they would crumble in the next year.

The engine issue is no big deal, could be variety of things (fuel pump relay, fuel pump(s), MAF etc) but it's all easy stuff you could diagnose by throwing junk yard parts at it (if you truly did not want to actually diagnose it).

[rs4-380]

btw these cars do better when they are used. that picture doesn't exactly inspire confidence in that egard.

[The Igneous Faction]

The last 240 I emailed a guy about was a 5-speed wagon on turbo wheels that ran and drove for $500. It was up for, maybe, 2 hours before it sold. Manual 80's Volvos don't really command that much of a premium. And you can buy 2/7/940's all day throughout the northeast for under a grand that run and drive.

Sputtering/shaking/no power? Sounds like it could be way more serious than just a cap/rotor problem, but it'd be worth it to take a look. If it is bad compression, 16 valve swap! Or turbo swap! Or 16v turbo hybrid swap!

[66Satellite]

'88 is a good year. Just take it to a Volvo shop and have them crawl around it for an hour.

[WhistlerYOW]

Looks like junk.

[BRealistic]

Looks like junk.

But it is Swedish junk.

[Broduski]

But it is Swedish junk.

The best kind.

On a note about the no power/sputtering. It could also be a head gasket. Which is extremely easy to do on these.

[JacksSenseOfRejection]

Another vote towards the MAF. My 240 has been suffering from the same thing. Just ordered a new MAF from IPD. I replaced the Fuel Pump Relay, Battery, and Alternator to no avail. After the MAF, I guess the fuel pump is next.

[tjl]

The tires look a little small for a wagon.

The original spec tire size was 185R14 (185/80R14). As this tire size is no longer available, a lot of owners used 185/70R14, which was spec'ed for the sedan. A better match replacement tire size would be 195/75R14 or 205/70R14.