Hello,
I looked at an '86 745 Turbo with intercooler yesterday with 219k miles. It was an automatic. Which auto tranny would it have? The owner replaced the transmission with a rebuilt one this year. She replaced the turbo about 20k miles ago. I inspected it before driving. Found no rust in wheel wells or under body. Lots of small cosmetic blemishes. A front corner light seems to be separating. Both reverse lenses are gone (would use ipd replacements). Tailgate needs new struts. Headliner needs to be replaced. Dash is cracked in a few places. Radio has tape stuck in it. Antenna was broken off. The voltage guage in the instrument cluster always was near the red by 10V- bad guage or not a problem? Seats are cloth- in very good shape except a small seem split in rear seat. A/C is cold. One rear window won't roll up or down- is taped up and piece of wood is wedged into the door to keep it up. Paint is good- only minor surface scratches. Car was in an accident in front left fender- can't tell. Lots of tire tread, new brake pads recently.

Car seemed to be in good mechanical shape when I drove it. Can't complain with new tranny and turbo. Turbo wooshed nicely. Hesitation and jerkiness at 3/4 to wot at higher speeds though (45 and up). FAQ says AMM, knock sensor, throttle body, or fuel pressure regulator. If my sister decides she wants this car, I will take it to our mechanic to try to look it over and ask him to find out why it hesitates before we buy. Car doesn't pick up well from a stop, but once it gets going it accelerates well around half throttle anyway- I think sluggy starts is a characteristic of an automatic (I have an 86 w/m46 non-turbo). Not sure how to test or check the springs and shocks, but the car swayed a bit in sharp cornering and the springs 'seem' a little more bouncy than my car. But the car rides very nicely. It tracks straight down the road. Fast braking is excellent, no pull or grabbing. Perhaps a little bit of clunkiness in the slalom. I mean the steering wheel is not buttery smooth- I feel the road. (I had my other 740 realligned and got new tires and that fixed it's problems. Now it's very smooth at any speed.)

The woman who's selling it just bought a new s40 w/turbo. She is asking $2200. She was asking $2850. She says she needs the money for tuition. For a car with 219k, I am concerned about how much life it has left in it. Especially since it is a turbo. I am not sure what to look for to detect how regularly the oil has been changed. Do I take off the oil filler cap and look at the metal in there? Fixing all the cosmetic things would be a fair amount of work and money. Also, assuming the engine hesitation could be fixed for a reasonable cost, the car is mechanically superb. New tranny and turbo will last more than long enough. I think if the engine checks out at the mechanic, I wouldn't hesitate to take it for $1700. Sound fair? The car I own now had been baby'd much more before I bought it and I paid $1600- but the transmission broke in two months.

I think it would be very cool if both my sister and I drove volvo 740 wagons to school for the next 2 weeks. Of course, I might be jealous because hers is a TiC. But mine is tricked out and cleaner. For sure, I can't let her buy an old civic or accord- where's the safety/fun/what-makes-a-car-great in that?

Thanks,
Nathan