I had a young guy knock on my door a couple of days back wanting to buy my 1982 Volvo GLT. I hadn't been considering selling it because we've owned the car for 22 years now and it is a bit of a family pet. I would like it to go to a good owner however and I am not getting any younger.

The car's finish is not terrific. Lots of oxidized sections, particularly the hood and trunk and there is some obvious rust just aft of the lower left door above the rocker panel. It has mag wheels but they have lost most of their silver paint. Engine runs well but I have not had it checked in many a year. I try to maintain it every year with oil changes, etc. I usually go through the Haynes manual recommendations and look at plugs, flame trap, etc.

So it is not in mint condition but it is not a wreck either. Good brakes, runs well. And it has the B23 engine in it to give it good boost. Oh, it also has a new windshield, just installed last year.

What would such a car be worth?.

Hi muskox37,



FYI. It's not mine or related to this seller.

87 242 37k miles $5300

http://newyork.craigslist.org/lgi/cto/4589093926.html

Uncle muskox37,

I don't have an answer. It sort of hard valuing something like a 1982 Volvo GLT (Grand Luxe or Luxury Turbo). Is this a coupe (242), saloon or sedan (244), or estate or wagon (245). The GLTs were usually a 245 with auto trans and hide leather interior with bun warmers, Virgos 15" wheels, and gas charged Made in Germany Boge shox. (Not that Made in Mexico Sachs brand crap, that everyone should avoid like the mnemonic plaque.)

You don't mention mileage, tire condition, a listing of recent repairs, or needed repairs (front strut mounts or rear wheel bearings checked, replaced if needed, and repacked with new grease), and so on. (Some repairs may matter little to valuation.)

Hopefully the interested purchaser is mechanically capable, with tools, and willing to care for it inclusive of the big repairs.

You can look online for car values from the usual web site suspects like:
- http://www.edmunds.com/
- http://www.nada.org/
- http://www.kbb.com/

There may be Canadian-specific auto valuation sites.

There is the special section on http://www.cars.com (?) for vintage or antique cars that are 20 or 25 years owld and older.

Other places you can search are:
- https://www.brickboard.com/CLASSADS/
- http://turbobricks.com/ or http://forums.turbobricks.com/ (see for sale)
- http://www.ebay.com/motors/
- http://www.ipdusa.com/classifieds.asp

Finally, you can use Bing (smarter or stupider today?) or Google (more monetizing, less successful searches) to target craigslist adverts for a 1982 Turbo Volvo.

In the search field of either search engine, try the following expression strings:
- 1982 Volvo Turbo site:craigslist.org
- 1982 Volvo GLT site:craigslist.org
- 1982 Volvo 240 Turbo site:craigslist.org

craigslist.org is in the U.S. As you are in lovely British Columbia, Canada, the solvent and sovereign nation, in potent contrast to the nation directly southwardly ... you can search in the area ...

http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/search/sss?query=1982%20Volvo&srchType=T
http://calgary.craigslist.ca/search/sss?query=1982%20Volvo&srchType=T

You may want to see the range between 1980-81 to 1985, the Volvo 240 Turbo years.

And on the search engines:
- 1982 Volvo Turbo site:craigslist.ca
- 1982 Volvo GLT site:craigslist.ca
- 1982 Volvo 240 Turbo site:craigslist.ca

You get a value boost of maybe 200-350-500$ for a manual transmission. The better the overall value, the more having a manual transmission helps.

Also, it reads like you've not modified it at all.

So many ruin Volvo 240s by bumping it into some lowered, drifter something only to ruin it and garbage it up.

Sorry to be so vague, yet ambiguous.

On the Seattle craigslist we have:
1980 242 GT for 2500$ in Bellingham, WA
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/4590169566.html

Rare Volvo 242 gt!! - $3500 (Green, modified and missing rear 22 mm sway bar. text states has a 19 mm rear sway bar, yet factory OEM springs for 1980 242 GT. 1980 factory 242 GT is 19 front/22 rear sway bar. 1978-79 has a rear 23 mm bar.)
http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/4591844233.html

A 1983 244 GLT sedan with manual transmission. Some mods.
http://skagit.craigslist.org/cto/4542787305.html

Somewhere around the 1500-3000$ Canadian $ range? I dunno.

Hope that helps.

MacDuff.
--

Thank you MacDuff for a very comprehensive reply. I need go no further. My car is a two door GLT, manual transmission, no turbo. The paint is badly oxidized on hood, roof and trunk and there is some fairly serious rust reappearing just above the rocker panel aft of the door opening and running to the rear wheel well. The 244 at $3350 was the best example of value I could find. My car is nowhere near the condition of that car. So my best guess is that it is worth two thousand at the most and I asked fifteen hundred from the potential buyer and there is where the problem is now arriving.

He is sixteen, is living at home but does not have a garage. He is dead keen on the car and is willing to work through the summer to pay for it. He said he has researched Volvos a lot and this is the car he would like to have.

I am looking for a good home for my car after 22 years of ownership. The money is really beside the point. I would give it to him if I knew he would look after it and improve it while it is under his ownership. I am 77 and nearing the end of my driving career. I am worried that he will tire of it and then junk it.

A bit of a dilemma but your input has resolved some of the issues. Thank you MacDuff.

The real value of the car is what someone is willing to pay for it not what a seller thinks his car is worth.

Rust would be a big deal to me if I was buying a car and might well be a deal breaker. A 16 year old kid looking at his first car may not see that as a problem but in the long run it will be the end of the car.

Maybe you have some things that need to be done around the house that he can help you out with to reduce his out of pocket?

Dan

Hi Dan,

For me the car is invaluable. I had planned to keep it until I was finished driving cars and so I never hesitated to spend money on it. I have believed for decades that this is the way to manage car ownership, that this is the most economical and sensible way to run a car. Find one that you like to drive and keep it for life.

I am hopeless at buying and selling cars. I always lose money on the deals. And I hate losing money to depreciation. I bought this car in 1992 because it was ten years old and most of the depreciation had already been wrung out of it. It has been a real soldier over the intervening 22 years of ownership.

But, because I like to fiddle with cars I have had its body repaired on a number of occasions whenever a little extra money came my way. I didn't have to spend the money but I always preferred to spend it on this mechanical companion. In general my wife agreed, if I spent the money on THIS car. I also bought and sold a Model T Ford and currently own a Citroen D Super and I lucked into a 940 last year that I picked up for three hundred dollars. As per usual I lost money on the Ford when I sold it on ebay. My wife does not want me to spend money on THESE cars.

I will do what I can to ease the burden for this young guy and just hope that he doesn't break my heart when and if he tires of it. I admire his work ethic. He asked me to name the price and said he would work through the summer to pay for it. I will surprise him with a return of some of the money when he comes to pay for it.

Thanks for your input, Dan.

I am the same way with my 93 240 I enjoy driving it so much I just don't see ever getting rid of it. Mine is a manual trans also and I have upgraded suspension with all new parts as well as IPD sway bars, strut braces, and Virgo wheels. I am about to switch to Hydra wheels as soon as I need new tires.

Perhaps you should make a deal with him that if he decides he doesn't want the car after he has had it for whatever period of time you both agree to that you want him to sell it back to you? He may really want it and it certainly is a good car to learn auto maintenance and repair. Maybe you could offer to help him out
with repairs that he is no sure of.

Good luck with this.
Dan

Hello Dan,

I had already come to that conclusion. He lives just around the block from me so I can keep in touch if he wants to. I will offer up support in whatever way I can and I will ask that he treat me as first buyer if he decides to sell after a couple of years. If it is longer than that I could be dead and not worrying about it anymore!

But . . . I will miss it greatly.

The 940 is beginning to prove itself. We drove to Puerto Vallarta last winter from here on Vancouver Island and it ran like a clock pretty well the whole way. Just lost a lower rad hose in Casa Grande, just south of Phoenix, but that only held us up for an afternoon. I took it because I knew I could leave it behind if necessary. I would never leave the 240 behind and that could get expensive in Mexico.

Bob

Wow. Vancouver Island to Puerto Vallarta. I'm impressed! Curious about how many miles your 940 was in before the trip. Sounds (to me, who grew up in the day of "road trips" as something to be looked forward to) awesome. I'd love to hear the details.

Really, that is cool that you did that. Kudos.
--
'85 240 DL with 37K miles, '94 940 with 191K, 40 linear feet of vintage jazz, r'&'b, funk and soul

Bob
You are a brave soul driving through Mexico, I don't think I want to do that!
Dan