240 GL Estate Buying Advice Wanted

I am off to view a 240 GL Estate tommorrow, and would like some advice on what possible problems to look out for and if the price is okay

The details I have so far are : 1990, Automatic, Petrol, 1986cc, mileage 120,000, Alarm, Cental Locking, Electric WIndows, PAS, towbar with electrics and it's MOT'd til September. The price is around £300.

Thanks in advance,
Debbie

[Steve Curtis]

I would say this was a pretty good price for the car. £300?

I would also say that it was pretty low millage for a volvo of this age 120,000 right?

this car should be fitted with the newer style tailgate. these seem to be a lot better on the rust front but checkk the normal places all the same for rust. around the window inside an out. an at the bottom of the door inside an out.

rear wheel archs for rust. also lift the bottom part of the back seat an pull away the carpet as I'm not shure if its a genral 240 thing but mine has had to have rust cut out of it a couple of times in this area. these are the real trouble spots for 200 series cars that I can think of. I would ask some specific questions about the automatic box if I was you. perhaps post another more specific post on this forum as i have never owned one I don't know how long they tend to last.

Hi Celestia

Only last week l purchased a 240 estate with the same specs as the one you mention, apart from an extra 45,000 on the clock. The only rust spot is on the rear wheel arch (drivers side)

I was fortunate to purchase it a bargain price of £150 as well as a boot full of spares including two headlight units, two rear reflectors, too many to list (the guy had 240's for years)

So to recap there are bargains out there.

Good luck with the viewing

[dgbalfour]

Yes, that car should have plenty of life in it yet! £300 sounds good.

Check that the auto gearbox isn't slow to engage gears (one of ours started to get very sluggish but that wasn't until 190,000).

If there is a green triangle with a yellow background light on the dashboard this could also spell trouble, but it could equally not. It means the on-board computer has detected a fault with the engine. Many are trivial and simply removing the battery will 'fix' it.

The car has a towbar which means it's likely to have towed something in its life. This does tend to put a little more stress on the components than normal driving. That said, I've never towed with an automatic so I don't know what to look for there (you won't have to worry about a worn clutch for example). Make sure the back end of the car isn't sagging though, towing can shorten the life of the rear springs and suspension.

Good luck!
David

Price is good for year and milage but overall condition at this age is the most important thing. The automatic has got to be the main thing to beware of as the cost of a rebuild will I suspect be in the region of £1000 which is what I have paid on a similar age BMW 5 series unfortunately. I have no knowledge of Volo autos but every auto I have had has at some time cost me serious money which has taken me back to manual cars even though I love auto's.

Make sure you get at least two sets of keys and particularly make sure there are two remotes if needed for car. They can be a problem to replace easily.

Best wishes

Check that the heater fan works. No squeaks.
My estate is a 2ltr auto. No engine of gearbox problems in 2 years. It came with a towbar and I used it for towing without trouble. The engine might not be powerful, but it pulled well.
Try out all the electric windows. Faults are easily rectified, but if you need to pay someone else, not necessarily cheap.
Try the rear seat catch as well to see if the seat folds OK.

Mine's rust free at 89k miles on an E plate so I can't advise on rust spots.

Price is good, but the advise as always is buy the best you can afford.

Well I went to have a look and apart from 1 small spot of rust just under the window on the tailgate and needing replacement struts on the tailgate it seems to be totally sound.

Engine sounds great, gearbox seems okay, and got the price down to £250, so I went ahead and left a deposit, going to collect it later today.

It's the first time I have gone to check a car out on my own, so I am hoping everything is okay LOL.

Thank you everyone for your advice, it really is appreciated

[ivor940]

Hi,
Good luck with your new 240 Estate. Sure at 120k, it's only just run in. Do check "700/900 FAQ" on our site or "BRICKBOARD.COM" for useful info on engine, fuel and driveline items. Do check your fuse board for corrosion ( 240 snag area? ) and do clean out (or replace ) the oil breather box ( to avoid oil leaks). As regards auto, in USA the Warranty on some 4 WD jeeps were void if a towbar was fitted with manual transmission, but ok is auto was fitted. If you do intend towing, check auto trans oil cooler is fitted.

ivor940
94 940 2.0 SE Turbo Est 5 speed 165k
VOC member