5 replies to this topic

[82889pro]

looking into buying a 1989 Volvo 240 DL with 169k miles on it

> body is OK but has one dent in the finder on the drivers side. runs good, needs brakes in front and an alignment.

> will pass inspection

> are the 240's good reliable cars?

> what kind of MPG should i get (2.3L 4-cyl)

> will the rims on my 1994 855-T fit on it? (16in rims 5 bolt)

> Guy wants $1000 for it. (i think its worth 600)

What do you think

[blackknight]

The 240 is a very reliable car. The b230 motors can easily run 500,000 miles. The fuel economy may not be great. I generally get around 23 out of my wagon. It'll do better if it's a manual of course, but don't have high expectations of impressive fuel savings. If it passed emission inspection then it should be ok as far as fuel usage goes. The wheels off a FWD Volvo can only be used on a RWD with the use of spacers, there is a thread on here somewhere that you can find to get the right ones to make them work. The dent shouldn't be hard to pull out on your own if your willing to put some work into it. The guys asking price isn't unreasonable at all if the car is as good as you say. I've seen them sell for more that were in rough shape. You can try to talk him down but around here in N Alabama you're not gonna get someone off a grand for a reliable running car so don't expect to get it that cheap.

The bad: 240's are SLLOOOOOWWWWW. It can be made faster. But, it's not going to ever be like driving a 855T.

Good luck and if you get it welcome to RWD.

[kepla]

I'll second that. The 240 is a wonderfully reliable car with the only weak point I know of being the fuse box - which can fall prey to crud and corrosion. I run a 2.3 litre 1990 240 GL with an auto box and agree that while it is not 'fast' it keeps pace with the traffic effortlessly. It has just hit its 150,000 mile mark - so it is now properly run in - and earned its bronze mileage award.
Expect to pay a bit more for a 240 than most other twenty-year-old cars as, while most other cars will be on their last legs at twenty, the 240 is still going to be going strong. They are solidly built and very well engineered.
After my first 240 saved me from injury when an idiot behind me didn't stop, I ran a 760 turbo for a few years. While the 760 is a great car, I consider the move back to a 240 to be an upgrade. The recent front-wheel-drive cars are simply not the same.
I would agree that over all fuel consumption in the low twenties mpg is typical for a 240. They are heavy, but at least they don't fold uplike a discarded paper bag at the slightest tap !

[SvenAndOlie]

I would third what everyone has said. My first car was a '79 242DL and I still have it almost a decade later. Its got 318K miles and the engine is finally in need of some work. Right now its in the garage undergoing a total rebuild as a hobby. In the mean time, I'm driving a '79 245DL. I've found them to be the most reliable cars, easy to fix, the handling is great, and they get right around 25 mpg, which isn't great, but really not a problem. My family has also bought two other 240's (a bit newer)--- two years ago we paid $1000 for an '86 240DL, and its been great! I got my 2nd 79 for $750, but asking price for anything from the 80's seems right around the thousand you're being asked. Its worth it!

As far as inspections go, it will probably be fine. I've never seen an old volvo fail emissions, and they are solid as rocks. Like everyone said, the engines go forever too!

As far as your rims, I don't know about interchangeability. I know the 240 has 5 bolts, but i couldn't tell you more. If the rims do fit, let me know. Old volvo rims aren't exactly stylish.

Good luck! Volvo. For Life.

[82889pro]

not the gas millage id expect, oh well. i think ill go and buy it at the end of the month. thanks for the tips.

[Three Fat Tigers]

The wheels have the same bolt pattern, but the wrong off set, you would need spacers, 25mm for the front, 30-32mm for the rear. '89 is a good year as (among other things) it shares a lot of fuel system parts with newer cars.

Reliability is more a factor of how the car was treated and serviced, this is often true of any car, but given proper care it should be quite good. I've bought quite a number of them so far and found that after I had fully sorted out the issues, they were almost 100% reliable. The main advantage to the car is that they are easy to work on and usually not expensive to maintain.

I looked around at a number of brand new cars of similar size with similar engine displacement and was surprised how many got right about the same mileage.