A friend told me about an '84 wagon for sale ($800) with 130,000 miles. It has a new battery, mass air flow meter and wiring/caps/rotor (and something else but I forgot what). I drove by it tonight and it looks decent, some rust around the tire wells but that's about it. Interior is about the same - driver's seat a little worn, but everything else is nice. It allegedly "drives pretty good".

I know I should worry about the transmission, steering and rusted floor pans, but what else? Is this a fair price, assuming the car is in decent condition? If it drives decently, I will take it to my mechanic so he can tell me how much it will *really* cost, but in the meantime I would like to know if I should even bother looking at this car more given the initial asking price...

Martha

Sounds like a good deal, but -- as the others said -- be prepared to invest a few dollars over the next several years in both repairs and routine service.

130k miles is low, low, low (for a Volvo). Engine barely broken in.

Where did the car grow up during the last 19 years?

You can find a replacement driver's seat and swap it in -- four bolts and a small electrical connector (if it has bun warmers). If you're motivated, you can repair/rebuild the seats, no special tools required. Not hard to work on.

Transmission should give no trouble other than possible leaks. ***One likely leak spot is the steel cooling lines that go to the radiator. They're prone to chaffing under the clamps (at the support bracket), causing pinholes and severe leaks. This can be forestalled by wrapping electrical tape around the lines and then reinstalling the clamp, squeezing on the tape (tape cushions the pipes, prevents vibration). If now leaking, the worn spot can be cut out and a 5" long piece high quality Neoprene fuel injection hose substituted. (I drove my '83 over 100,000 miles with that repair -- no further trouble with it.)

Another problem area is the engine harness, which tended to have bad insulation for the (approximate) years of '79 to '88, or so. First symptom of this is a flakey oil pressure light (or maybe charging problems) caused by decaying wires near the oil filter, behind the alternator. Easy to repair.

Steering rack should ordinarily be fine on a low-mileage '84. But the car might need ball joints, steering tie rods, etc. Normal stuff over the years.

Rust is the big issue.

Remember to replace the timing belt at 50,000 mile intervals. (Check the PO's service records to learn the last replacement). Change at 150k, 200k, 250k miles, and so on. If it breaks, NO harm done except that you're stranded.

Expect the normal things:

Tires
Exhaust
Brakes
Shocks
Radiator, water pump (maybe)

None of these should be overly expensive (if you have an honest shop).

Oh, yes ---- one more thing on a wagon.

The wiring harnesses that go through the tailgate hinges tend to fail after 15-20 years, causing weird symptoms. These include the rear wiper running when the lights are on, and so forth. This is caused by the insulation failing and the various wires (to wiper, lights, defroster, electric lock) touching each other and "cross connecting."

New harnesses are about $20-25 (on Ebay) and take about 1-2 hours to replace. Easy repair.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)

Excellent - thanks for the detailed response! Thanks to felow Brickboarders, I went in there sounding like I *invented* Volvos. The seller was totally clueless and apparently completely intimidated by my command of all things Volvo and promptly dropped the price to $700. Which turns out to be cheaper than a year's worth of monthly bus passes.

The wagon was first owned by a older lady who drove it for the last 18 years/125K miles. The next owner was her neighbor who bought it last year and put on the last 5K miles, and he is selling it because he bought a Jetta and doesn't have room to park two cars. All of the service/maintenance has been done at the local Volvo dealership.

I just test drove it and the interior is far better than what I could see last night, peering through the window in the rain. lol! The seats still have plenty of support and no twisting or sagging. The speakers fade in and out, but that was no surprise and not a big deal.

Everything mechanical seemed lovely, except it needed to crank a bit to start and then the idle was a little irregular at times, like going into reverse. It never killed, but it sounded like it was thinking about it. Both sounded fixable and not overly expensive. The transmission was great, which was what I was most concerned about. It also has an engine block heater, which is always helpful in MN in late January. Could probably do with new tires.

I'm bringing it in to the mechanic for the official go-over on Saturday but unless something truly gory is uncovered, I just may have found my semi-official winter car of 2003-04!

Many thanks!

Martha

TEARS OF JOY HERE! I just love happy endings.

Sounds like a great move...be sure you get soem decent winter tires...all four is best, but rear two will do. 'Gislaved' radial snows from Finland are probably the absolute finest (BUT most expensive). They run quiet and can actually make you think you're on dry surfaces when driving on snow...you KNOW you can get any volvo question answered here...we ALL have the 'disease'.

KEEP ROLLING!
-DeeJay

Buy it, Martha..NOW...put in another $1000 over the next 3 years, and your annualized purchase cost is only $600...think about it...your friends are paying that much a MONTH to own their SUV's! Good Luck...Dee Jay

I wholeheartedly agree with DeeJay. If it has been well-maintained, then it will last another 130K easy. If not, it's $800. Even if it only lasts a few months and then goes totally south, you've spent less than car payments would be on just about anything. And you'll have a parts car for your next 240. (You have to start thinking like a Volvo-holic.)

Good luck,
Keith
--
1983 245 Turbo, 165K miles; 1987 244 DL, 272K miles; 1980 244 DL (RIP)