The oily engine doesn't concern me as a prospective new owner. In fact, it says the car isn't primped for sale, but probably just suffering the ordinary lack of TLC that occurs once a vehicle is relegated to "second car" after a quarter century. You can fix this yourself.

Look under the left side of the front, behind the wheel. Does the control arm look much like the one on the right? Even in Atlanta, rust can kill a car if it starts from a leaking or outgassing battery. In addition to the usual rust spots in the rear quarter, look carefully around the windshield for bubbling. I once pulled a sill from the driver's door opening to check under the carpet, to a seller's consternation (I've never broken one yet).

Rust is just about the only reason to pass up one of these wonderful 245's.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

Rust shouldn't be an issue if the car spent its entire life in Atlanta. Plus, the later 240's have much better factory rustproofing than the early cars which can be rust buckets. If you are unsure, have a professional check it out for rust. Some places to look for rust include spare tire well, rear quarter panel lips (edges), rocker panels, door bottoms and trunk lid (especially wagon). To be thorough, have the car put on a lift and look for rot and signs of structural damage underneath on the unibody.

One word of caution regarding the duct hose that connects the exhaust manifold to the air filter box. If Georgia has an emissions inspection, the removal of that hose might be a cause for an emissions failure. In some states the inspector will look for the hose to be connected as it's considered part of the vehicle's emission control system. Personally, my 240 passed the Mass. emission test with the hose totally removed but I understand that may not be the case in other states. A possible solution would be to have a duct hose available and only connect it prior to going in for your inspection...:)

Hello,

I see that you are a newbie or at least your handle seems to be. Welcome to the 200 series side of the Brickboard.
This appears to be a low mileage car for that year so it might be a good buy. It looks to have the a decent set of ignition wires.
Just from what I can see, the engine looks normal for an oil leak from the upper cam seal and that could be caused by a dirty or clogged up flame trap hose.
The seal can and should be addressed when you change out the timing belt if you can determine it is due for a change.

The hose is off for a very good reason if the air filter box has not been modified to close of heat from going to the Air Mass Meter. A Very costly item to replace OEM new is about $400 and even when rebuilt it can be $100 to $150.
There is a air flap inside the filter box, that is controlled by a $12 wax type thermostat, that has a high failure rate that will destroy the AMM.
Since its undone and the car runs well, you are probably safe on that issue.

I cannot advise you on rust as I live on the west coast and do not see these cars close up enough to know much.

Phil