So, I find myself looking for a "beater with a heater" and stumble across a Craigslist listing for an unspecified '82 Volvo for the right price.

I call the number and find the house. The picture online doesn't show the rust around the rear quarter panels and pock-marked across the lower half. I nearly drive on by but the owner is expecting me so I stop, get out, knock on the door.

The owner warns me that the widget-thing for the detent collar has been replaced and that now the detent collar needs to be lifted about half-way for first and second gear as well. Not a problem, I think, as I had been through that with an'84 Golf as well (and easily fixed). We chat as we walk out to the car, and she hands me the keys.

I look around the interior. Decent, but in need of cleaning. Radio missing. Roomy (for my 5'8" frame) and surprisingly comfortable. Hand-crank windows (which I always think is a plus). No passenger side mirror, but it's not missing. Huh. Four-speed. NADA guide printout on the passenger seat lists it as a 240 DL.

I go to put the key in the ignition and I see 275,000 miles. Ouch. I put the key in, turn the ignition and voila, it starts, easier than maybe any car I've ever owned. It just sits there and purrs at me. Well, as much as a 4-cylinder can purr. My jaw hits the floor and I just sit there, listening, waiting for it to skip or sputter or stall. Finally the owner walks up and raps on the window.

"You get that shift lever figured out?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just...amazed."

I take it for a spin around the block and it's solid. It wallows a little from the extra weight in the trunk (an extra set of tires and rims) but it doesn't wobble or rattle. I figure I'm just a couple of blocks from the main road, so I go a little farther, open it up. It accelerates a little slowly but very smoothly, definitely not bad for a 2.something liter. I swing around and bring it back grinning (which my wife later notes).

I check out the interior a little longer, smile some more, get out and wince. The rust around the rear driver's side wheel well is pretty bad. The paint is faded. Do I really want this car?

I check the lights. Dash lights work, but the backlight is either very dim or likely out, possibly due to a fuse. Front passenger-side marker doesn't work, either, for unknown reasons.

I thank the owner and drive away, still wondering if I should buy a car with 275,000 miles on it. My wife tries to talk me off the ledge, and I come to the conclusion that I should buy a 240 DL, whether or not this is the one.

So, what should I be looking for in a used 240 DL?