I've seen some posts saying the '88 is the best year for the 240.
One could argue the point, but it's a very good year as being after they fixed the rotting wire harness problem (some time in '87), and before the introduction of the sometimes problematic type 561 ECU "computer" ('89).

Standard trannys are harder to find than the automatics. If you prefer a standard, be aware that if you pass up a nice one you might have a long search to find another. The clutch lasts a long time (maybe 200 K miles, depending on how it's used?). The auto trannys are incredibly long-lasting, my first 240 went past 400K miles on the original tranny, and that's fairly common. Rust and teenage drivers finally killed the car off. If comparing ownership cost of auto vs. standard, you have to try to compute the value of the standard's gas savings vs. the cost of the eventual clutch job.

Of course all the usual warnings & caveats re. any older used car would apply. I'd add that it's almost a necessity to be able to do some of the maintenance yourself. If you have to pay a shop for all needed maintenance, pretty soon you might decide it's not worth it, considering the dollar value of the car.

Of course, that's logic that you can shoot down. If you spend say $500 a year maintaining a car that cost $1500 to buy, and you could also spend $500 a year for a car that cost $7000 to buy, the $1500 car is still a better deal, dollar for dollar.

Our experience in this family - five 240s over 11 years, driven by a total of 4 drivers - is that for these cars, age and mileage aren't really important indicators of the value or usefullness of the car. Condition and maintenance are what determine it. So you try to find one that's rust-free, or nearly so, and looks like it's had regular oil changes. Like, not ugly-looking when you look in with the oil filler cap removed. I think some brown-gold varnish would be normal, but you shouldn't see caked up gel-type crud.

I always figure I'll find $500-1000 of work to be done on the car after driving it for a bit. Those jobs are usually the reason they're selling it. Stuff that doesn't stop it from running, but can't be ignored. So be ready for that. Anything you CAN see when inspecting/road testing, get them to reduce the selling price by the cost of that work. Then you're still OK when you find the other stuff that needs fixing.
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Sven: '89 245, IPD sways, electric rad. fan conversion, 28+ mpg - auto tranny. 850 mi/week commute. '89 245 #2 (wifemobile). '90 244 (spare, runs).