Their is a recycling yard at this link: http://www.volvosaabparts.com/new_arrivals/index.html#Area%20volvo_100 that I thought I would check out. So, I went on to that websight and I saw several 240 that were being parted out that did not look like they had any damage at all. What a waste. I wonder if this guy goes to new car dealors and buys used 240 for nearly nothing and makes a fortune parting them out. If that is the case, what a waste! I think some of these are as new as like '91. A late model 240 can catch more then $5000 in Oregon. I'm not saying that this is a bad business, I just don't understand why he is simply just throwing away what seems to be several good 240's or a least reparable?

Gotta remember this place the next time I'm looking for a project...
--
Richard - '87 245 DL 374,000 km, '82 242 GLT 121,000 km

Here in Illinois if a car is abandon on the road you can apply for a salvage title very cheaply. But if you plan to put licences plates on it you have to apply for a rebuilt title. This will cost at least $500. Plus you will have to have it inspected. To pass this inspection the car has to be in very good shape. Therefore if you pick up a car you will be looking at several repairs and the cost of rebuilt title. Then you will still have a rebuilt car. If you have a rebuilt car title you cannot put full coverage on it.


This is why a lot of "good looking" cars wind up in the salvage yard.

Brian
--
86 240GL, 86 740GLE & others

Unfortunately, the people who have the know-how to fix these cars typically don't have the time to do it or are not easily accessible by those who need such assistance. I would love to have a shop where all I did was restore Volvos to running condition, -knowing that I may be saving a life in a future accident.

It looks like they do sell complete vehicles, specifically the ones in good condition and the ones that don't need any major work:
Sold V70 '98 with minor/moderate rear end damage
Sold V70 '02 with no obvious damage
S60 '03 with only 91 miles on it, just wishing it was back on the showroom floor.


I agree, it's a shame to see the vehicles without accident damage being parted out. Right now, I'm working on restoring a 1989 780 Turbo that was hit from behind on the driver's side rear (above the bumper). It's got a lot more damage than this 780 that looks like they're going to part out: White 1990 Volvo 780 Bertone From the pictures, it looks like she only needs a fender dent pulled and a front air-dam.

On a somewhat humorous note, their facility is located in the city of Rancho Cordova, CA, at the corners of Recycle Road and Dismantle Court.

God bless,
Fitz Fitzgerald.
--
'87 Blue 245, NA 230K

Ever been there?

That whole area of town is nothing but dismantlers and junkyards. :)

- alex

No. I just happened to notice the address. I've only been to California 5 or 6 times in my life, and most visits were just for a day or two while I was passing through.

There's a huge salvage yard 15 minutes North of me (Joe's in Spring Lake, MI) where they have a really slow turnover rate. Some sections of the yard haven't been touched since World War 2. A few acres have been reclaimed by the forests and trees are growing through the cars (which you can still remove parts from). Just to give you an idea of how old the yard is, there are a decent number of vehicles out there that have wooden spoked wheels... Unfortunatley, they don't have many newer Volvos. There's only one '86 and that's the newest one in the yard. Several '77-84 240s, but not much after that (and no turbos).

The ones without obvious crash damage probably don't run and probably have expensive (if you don't fix cars yourself) mechanical problems. So they probably got donated to charities that sell the non-running cars they get to salvage yards.

Looks like someone tested the XC90's "roll stability control" beyond its limits:

http://www.volvosaabparts.com/new_arrivals/030204.html

The parts have to come from somewhere, and like it or not, 240s are still just cars. The last 4 240s that my local pick-n-pull has parted were a 1990, 2 1991s, and a 244ti. The first 91 was an absolutely beautiful car, and I don't normally like sedans. I never knew anything about the drivetrain, but the body literally had not a blemish on the totally original paint. Considering that this place doesn't give more than $75 for anything they have to tow in, the owner obviously didn't even attempt to sell it elsewhere.

Oh, and I got the complete intercooler setup off the 244ti for 20 bucks. I wish I'd had that when I was looking at that 82 242 last year, it would have pushed me into buying the car.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.