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Think It'll go 2500 miles with nothing other than gas & oil (& filter)? I think the IRS mileage rates went up, but the $0.31/mile is an "official" cost of owning a car. Of course that's supposed to include the gas & oil & insurance etc, but for this case think of your already paying that.
It's always a judgement call, but clean, no rust, looks good etc goes a long way against mechanical repairs. I brought a 235k mile '79 245 for $1500 a few years ago. Looked very good. At 268k it started to burn a bit of oil. put in the engine from my previous wreck and now it's at 305k. Of course I started out fixing a few things - repaired the seats, exhaust, shocks, brakes w/hoses, belts, tires and undoubtably a few more bits. Say I brought the engine for $1000 at the junkyard, I'm still at $1500 + $1000 & say $800 for $3300 & 80k miles. That works out to what, 4 cents a mile? That's a lot of gas & insurance money left over for that $0.31/mile.
I found a car good enough to take a plaque at a Volvo club event for "beauty",
have lots of fun autocrossing. I also enjoy the "It's *how* old" and "It's got *how* many miles on it?" And naturally it's got the high mileage badges on the grill.
Your savings may vary. You've got to think in terms of $800 for a turbo sometime although I've heard of 260k original turbos in fine shape, I don't think that's the mean. Add up your possible or probable repairs - how much you like the car and make a judgement. I think it's plenty cheap enough for the gamble. OF course havve a mechanic check it out first - you'll get some initial repairs that the mechaninc would like to sell you, which gives you an estimate of initial cost.
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