Greetings BB'ers
I currently own an 88 240 DL, automatic trans, Sedan, with 290,000 miles. She is really showing her years as a daily beater. Today on the drive home from Long Island to Lancaster PA, the AMM bit the dust. I say AMM, because it went from normal highway driving to slow and sluggish coming out of the I 78 tolls between NJ and PA. I pulled over quickly, did a quick check of the engine compartment, and found nothing unusual, except of course the stumbling studdering engine. On a whim, and thanks to you all, I shut her down, un-plugged the AMM, and she started right up and ran, albeit a bit rough. Could it be anything else?

Anyway, after limping the rest of the way from above Allentown to Lancaster, about 100 miles, I stopped by a place where I often see nice used cars, often a number of Volvos among them. And there it was..... The '87 240 DL Wagon with...now get this... a 5 SPEED TRANS!!!!! I asked to pop the hood, and found a very clean engine compartment, Volvo's name on the plug wires, and a Mann oil filter. I also found a slightly leaking water pump, and a wiring harness that is what we all expect out of an '87. I asked to take it for a spin, and before I left the folks who run the place warned me about the pulsing brakes, which felt like warped rotors to me. Otherwise, it ran like a champ!!!

The asking price was $2950. I figured that with the repairs I thought I would need to do in the near future, I could put close to $1000 into it, so I offered $2000 even, and they said they'd let it go for that!!!!

Okay... Let me have it. What do you all think? Should I take it?

Thanks
Doug
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1988 240DL sedan. auto. 277,000 miles :>)

If it is free of rust, I'd say it is worth $2k. $3k was too much. From your description of your current ride, I can see why you might hesitate to make any big investments in it.

In response to another post, I would not necessarily get a genuine Volvo water pump. When our original water pump failed on the '87 at 70k miles, I decided that I didn't need another pump like that one. I went to NAPA and paid half what Volvo wanted for a new pump, and it has already gone twice as far as the original pump.

Doug,
I have an 88 harness that will work in the 87 if you decide to buy it. $70 shipped.
Michael

I think that $2,000 is a steal for an '87 with 100K miles PROVIDED that there are no major mechanical issues (wiring harness is a "given"), and that the body is straight and nominally rust-free. Even with twice the mileage on the clock, I think that $2K would be a "good" price for this car. Manual transmissions are somewhat rare in late model 240's, and 245's in good condition w/ manual tranny command a premium on the west coast.

The repairs don't sound all that bad...rotors are relatively inexpensive, and a used "new" wiring harness via Dave Barton will run less than $200 if you can install the same yourself. Genuine Volvo waterpump is $70, plus a couple hours' of your/your mechanic's time to install.

So, if the title is clear and the body is straight, and engine/trans in good shape, I would say RUN don't walk for $2K.

"RUN don't walk for $2K."

Sorry, that doesn't sound right.

What I mean is, TAKE THE CAR NOW BEFORE IT'S GONE. :-)

The 88 is probably the AMM, cheap and easy fix gets you back on the road.
$2000 for an 87 seems high with the amount of work you will need to do to it. It will need a harness which you could get from your 88. You know the condition of your 88 and it was a good year for the 240. Good luck. Dan

Take it. Pulsing brakes could be due to disuse - rust on the rotors where the pads aren't touching them. My car had that problem for a few hours driving after I got it back on the road (snapped valve spring).


-b.