We bought an '89 wagon 245 6+ years ago. Upkeep issues were/are no different than what i would call "ordinary". I did do many upgrades on suspension-(IPD). The motor-trans-has been no problem at all with about 210K on it. Body is almost perfect as is interior, but that also will of course depend on how well you look after your brick and how well the previous owner(s) took care of it. All in all it's been a great brick for us. Good luck.

I have two Replacement Computers that I aquired over the years for my '89 but this Original Owner has yet to need to replace the computer. 300K+ miles and still happy.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html

I'm very happy with my 1989. No ABS, no airbag, but also no shiftlock system. First year for LH2.4 injection, and there were some teething troubles but those are easily fixed today (make sure the crank sensor wiring is intact, upgrade to a later white-label computer if you're somehow still running a pink-label original). First year for the attractive matte gauges in the cluster, steering wheel does not have that poofy-looking pad, rust proofing is superior. Also one of the last years where crank windows were still available, if that's something you like.

John

I remember reading something about the '89 having a problem with one of the computer modules.

After purchase, look behind the passenger's right kick panel. If the ECU has a pink label, start looking for a white label spare or replacement. It is not a reason to avoid the year, just a sudden no-start possibility lurking in the future. If it survived this long, it might not fail.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

We'll never run out of math teachers because they always multiply.