I wanted the thank those who helped steer me towards my "new" 1991 240 Estate. She's a non-turbo gas with a 5-speed manual. Gold over tan and 191k miles. I'll have some photos soon!

Just drive it! Ignore the horror stories and get to know this particular car. Enjoy yourself. Try to keep the gas gauge above 1/4 tank, and use known brand gasoline. Stay away from the snake oil additives, mostly money wasters, and drive it.

Keep it clean, in and out, a little paste wax twice a year works wonders, especially the door bottoms and rocker panels. Clean both sides of the windows, not just the outside. And enjoy your ride!
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My name is Klaus and I am a V♂lv♂holic

Great choice!

Now...figure out if you have LH 2.4 or 3.1 in that car. With either, get yourself a spare AMM (used, known good and tested on your own car) plus a fuel pump relay and throw them both in the car as spares.

Replace the crank position sensor if it has a yellow band.

Replace the 25 amp blade fuse (if so equipped) in the engine compartment with a waterproof holder.

Do a complete regimen of maintenance on the in car fuse box (remove each fuse, clean the ends, replace plastic and lead fuses with ceramic and brass, clean and re-tension the holders).

Clean the flame trap and associated plumbing.

Check to see if any of the accessory bushings are collapsed.

Cross your fingers that is never needs a blower motor.

Go drive the thing and make sure to use it to haul lots of stuff...it is happier when it has a job to do.

I would add in bypassing the airbox thermostat (blocking the hot inlet port), and maybe lubing the bushings on the fan via the drill/hacksaw method. 240's are a little new to me, I'm more a 740 guy, but those two things just seem to be important and cheap to fix.

Welcome to it!

All this sounds threatening, I think you scared him.

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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 http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

Was not my intent. Most of this is no-cost to pocket change preventative stuff. The AMM and fuel pump relay are a little more but they are much better to buy before you need them.

Every older car has some "quirks" like this. On 70's to early 80's BMW's it is the Guibo and the emergency flasher switch (like the bulb failure relay, everything runs through that one switch) plus the entire cooling system health. On 240/300 Mercedes diesels it is the vac pump and all the fittings on it. On the 80's Mercedes wagons it is the self-leveling suspension. I am sure there are more but those just pop to mind.

Heck, aren't you one with old airhead bike? If so, spline lube, floats and needles, and the entire charging system jump to mind.

I was kidding.
In fact; All good advise
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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 http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

Thanks for the feedback! Forgive my niavity, but what is an AMM?

Not at all...AMM = Air Mass Meter. It is the part with a wiring harness between the air cleaner box and the throttle body.

The reason I mention having a spare is that this is an item that will some day fail, is difficult to diagnose (sometimes) when it is an intermittent problem, and costs WAY too much when you need it right now because you are stranded. My guestimate is that they usually last at least 150K-200K miles so having a spare "known good" unit is cheap insurance.

If yours is an LH 3.1 model, the AMM is particularly rare used so you will need one in advance of your existing one failing. Used AMM range from $25-150 in the US depending on if you pull it from the salvage yard to buying on Ebay for the rarer LH 3.1 model.