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Hi Jeremy-
There's a wealth of information here, as I'm sure you're realizing. NArrow things down by reading just the "200" forums, and also you can select year and model when you're posting, so it winds up in the correct forum so the experts see it. Some great basic information which *mostly* applies to this car, can be found under Features - 700/900FAQ, then look for "Buying a 700/900". They're mechanically very similar to 240s.
Now, you're looking at a 20 year old car- it won't be perfect, but you don't want one so bad that it's a money pit. Body repair, unless you can weld, fill, sand, and paint, is NOT going to be cheap. It may need to be completely professionally repaired just in order to pass state safety inspection... depends where you are. With this car, the most likely place for rust is the floors, rocker panels, and spare tire wells behind the rear wheels. Occasionally cars also rot the bottoms of the doors, leading edge of the hood, and around the windshield frame. Floor and rocker rust is structural- it needs professional attention. Everything else is cosmetic... what are you willing to put up with/how much can you fix/does it need to be perfect? Check prices for such repairs before you buy, if you find that they're needed.
The other important items would be the engine wiring harness, and the turbo. At this age, I'm *sure* the wiring has been replaced. If it hasn't it will be in noticably poor condition. The insulation literally falls off the wires, crumbling. Likewise the turbo- at this mileage, the original turbo has probably been replaced at least once, and might be due again. Hopefully it was upgraded to the later (740) style watercooled turbo. It's kind of a big-ticket item, so you want to find out about it's service history. Turbos can last a long time, but most people are in too much of a hurry to let them warm up and cool off properly, and end up damaging the turbo itself.
Inside the car, everything is repairable by you with normal hand tools. The heater/AC fan is the biggest pain if it's on it's way out. The dash is built around the heater box and it's a lot of work to replace a fan. Hopefully it doesn't squeal and does run on all 4 speeds.
It's a cool car, and there aren't a lot of them left- good luck!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: "Roterande Fläkt Och Drivremmar!"
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