My daily driver is on its way out, and I came across a 95 Volvo 940 wagon.

It has 256k miles on it. The transmission was replaced approximately 40k miles ago, and the timing belt was done within the last 10k miles. It is in great shape cosmetically, and doesn't appear to have any serious issues.

It's owned by the original owner, and has all the maintenance records. It was serviced every 5,000 miles.

KBB value is close to 2 grand, and they're asking 1500.

Should I go for it?

1/21/2012 6:10:59 PM

KBB be damned...At $1500 and 256k it's all about how well it has been maintained. Stuff is going to break all the time...Some people keep up with it and some people only fix the things that are required for it to stay on the road (whether safely or not.) There's a big difference between buying from an owner in the first group and buying from an owner in the second group.

I would not expect it to be as cheap to maintain as say, a Civic of the same year, but that's the price you pay for driving something a little more luxurious/fun/obscure.

[Edited on January 21, 2012 at 6:48 PM. Reason : l]

1/21/2012 6:47:12 PM

Parts are not cheap.

1/21/2012 9:41:36 PM

if you don't know a mechanic who will not rip you off, or have a place to work on cars, or even care to know how to work on cars, don't buy a $1500 car that is not a honda or toyota, IMHO.

was the transmission replaced with one that only had 150k on it, 40k ago?

I'd keep looking...

1/22/2012 1:41:42 AM

that money buys e36 325i with 150k. just sayin

1/22/2012 2:04:13 AM

with blown out suspension, bushings, wheel bearings, and a suspect cooling system with plastic parts

1/22/2012 3:06:26 AM

^!

you could get a 318 in ever so slightly better shape.

1/22/2012 3:20:06 AM

radiator was replaced not too long ago, and I do most maintenance myself

[Edited on January 22, 2012 at 3:48 AM. Reason : suspension seemed fine when I drove it]

1/22/2012 3:48:08 AM

Quote :

"with blown out suspension, bushings, wheel bearings, and a suspect cooling system with plastic parts "

right. good luck finding E36, especially at 150k that could have original cooling system. anyway, it takes 3hr to change the entire cooling system on that car. rtabs take an afternoon. you are talking like volvo with 256k will not have those problems.

Quote :

"^! you could get a 318 in ever so slightly better shape."

oh just STFU. as usual you have no clue what you are talking about.

[Edited on January 22, 2012 at 5:28 AM. Reason : jesus]

1/22/2012 5:26:24 AM

I completely missed the point of that post apparently

1/22/2012 5:29:53 AM

For 1500 you can buy a crown vic or somthing cheap to work on

1/22/2012 8:41:54 AM

^^^ now that good sir is false.

I probably know more about the e30 series then you do. even though there are some much more knowledgable then i on here.

1/22/2012 5:09:40 PM

A little more money gets a lot better car than a volvo

1/22/2012 9:12:26 PM

sold just before I got the money together on Sunday

1/24/2012 4:31:06 PM

Probably for the better

1/25/2012 12:11:54 AM

where you get all these cheap jap cars???^^^

http://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=317756&page=48

got some cheap jap car here too

1/25/2012 1:31:22 AM

What???

1/25/2012 7:37:58 PM

I think it's the same car.
He just painted the hood to match.

1/25/2012 8:11:33 PM

oh. thought one was a toyota and one was a honda

1/25/2012 9:07:57 PM

Full records? I'd go over those to ensure it's had ALL its routine procedures done, not just oil changes. If that checks out, and it drives without any red flags, I'd say go for it.

1/29/2012 10:36:30 AM

^X8 I stopped by to look at the Accord Primer has and it is pretty damn clean.

1/30/2012 7:14:05 AM