At $6,000, Is This 1985 Volvo 240 Wagon A Holy Grail Deal?

We all know that the only things to be left after the apocalypse will be roaches and cars like today’s Nice Price or No Dice Volvo. Let’s see if this one is presently priced to weather both the world’s end and our voting.

A Small and Overpriced (for Volvo’s Target Audience) EV is Coming

Audi loves its nomenclature. The company has a number of vehicles that are identified by complicated combinations of model name, sub-model, and drivetrain. That gives us cars like the Q4 Sportback e-tron or yesterday’s 2005 Audi A6 allroad quattro. Our allroad quattro was the first model so designated and proved popular enough to not only earn ensuing editions, but an expansion to the A4 line as well. Our allroad quattro’s $12,500 price tag proved not all that popular for most of you, ending up with an 80 percent No Dice loss.

One of the reasons yesterday’s Audi failed was the model’s reputation for needing expensive and frustratingly frequent repairs. That seemed to mitigate the car’s manual transmission, a rare inclusion on the model. What if, however, we could find a manual transmission wagon that has a reputation for durability rather than fragility and that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either to buy or to maintain when things do break? Might that be something you could find appealing?

If so, then feast your eyes on this 1986 Volvo 240 Wagon which pairs its stalwart B230 four with an M46 four-speed stick with working Laycock de Normanville J-Type overdrive. That overdrive is probably the car’s finickiest component so the seller’s confirmation of its pfunction is a big plus.

That’s especially so when the car’s somewhat questionable mileage history is taken into account. The ad notes 188,000 miles on the clock but advises that the odometer is broken and only spins when the mood hits it. In reality, the seller says the actual mileage is around 300K, which is an amazing number for any car, but generally a walk in the park for a 200-Series.

Aesthetically, the wagon appears solid albeit with some obvious wear from all those miles, most notably on the paint covering all of the horizontal surfaces. It’s nowhere near the level of a rat rod patina, but given a few more decades and such a look might just settle in.

Other elements such as the bumpers, side trim, and wheel covers are all present and accounted for and look to be in great shape. One tail light lens does have a chip out of it, but that doesn’t seem to affect its function. Another issue noted by the seller is some rocker rust, but that doesn’t seem to be very pervasive, not even showing up in the photos.

Things are likewise a bit of a mixed bag in the cabin. The cloth front seats don’t match the vinyl on the back bench or doors, although the seller claims to have matching upholstery that will come with the car, just not installed. A carpet for the third-row footwell is also included but is in a non-matching color. There’s no word on whether the hair tie circling the shift lever is included or not.

According to the ad, lots of work has recently gone into the car, resulting in all the electrical systems functioning full-time and the A/C blowing cold on more modern R134A refrigerant. The 114-horsepower B230 four is claimed to work without complaint and to be tight as a drum. It received a replacement timing belt in 2020 along with an intake system cleaning. Other notable new parts on the car include the tie rods, power steering hoses, and brake pads all around. All-in-all, it seems to be a fairly well-sorted and serviceable car.

The title is clean and the car comes with its original manuals as well as a couple of repair books for handy driveway wrenchers. The only reason for the sale is that the present owner’s family isn’t too keen on a stick shift car. Their loss is somebody else’s gain. For them, and the rest of us, what might something like this reasonably be worth?

The ad asks $6,000 for the wagon and all the extras. What’s your take on this car at that price? Does that feel like a deal for a car that will fight it out with radioactive bugs in a post-apocalyptic death match? Or, is that too much to ask even for that exciting possibility?

You decide!

Portland, Oregon, Craigslist (although the car is located in Idaho), or go here if the ad disappears.

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