Take a look at this '93 240 wagon on Ebay. Can you believe the low mileage? It has been bid up pretty high already.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2411853946&category=31877

I noticed that the passenger side door pocket has quite a chunk out of it. Notice the seller didn't mention that. Maybe he did, I didn't read the whole thing. No way would I pay that much for any car. Plus, with miles that low, you gotta wonder why and cars do not do well when they are not stored properly. Remember, oil turns acidic after its run through an engine, and loves to etch bearings and break down rubber. Sure looks sharp though, ya' think that's leather of vinyl. Either way, sweet!
--
1981 Volvo 244 GL w/ 225K Original B21F and 3spd. auto

Super low mileage is not necessarily a good thing. It could mean:

a. A car that did a lot of city driving / idling (a lot of wear per odometer mile, compared to a highway cruiser).

b. A car that sat for long periods of time without being driven.

c. A car used only for short, cold start trips (a lot of wear per odometer mile).

d. A car that may not have had sufficient maintenance as things deteriorated by age (e.g. someone might have seen "change the brake fluid every 45000 miles" but not remember the "or every 3 years" part, so the brake fluid may be 10 years old, full of moisture to cause poor braking and corrosion in the brake system).

e. Odometer fraud.

Wow - nice car, but WAY overpriced at $9K+!!! Don't forget it's 10 years old, and unless you're there to poke, prod, smell and listen, that's a HUGE pig in a poke.

I bought a 90 240 18 months ago that had 62K carfax miles on it. Since then I have dÆmped about 1.5K worth of parts into it by replacing seals, sensors, and just about everything that could leak. The 89 with 235k miles that I sold didn't leaka drop. However, it's sure good a real clean body and drives very nice.

A shame thay have no pictures under the hood. The seat really does look like 44K miles though. It is possible... but they also do seem to want top dollar for it. I don't care if it is a California car, it could still have rust/leaks or accident damage. Buyer beware, I wouldn't drop 10 large on a car I couldn't go and inspect.
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '86 244DL- 215K, 87 244DL- 230K, 88 744GLE- 198K, 91 244 180K

I'm starting to wonder about some of the cars on ebay.

This one and others with low mileage, might be totally legitimate. My grandmother drove about 2000 miles a year. The last car she had was a piece of junk at 25k, because all the seals were dried out and the CV boots were cracked and the belts and hoses were all rotten. But that's how it goes with super super low mileage cars that are old.

There was a car discussed on this board--can't remember the username but it wasn't registered--that had something like 30k on it. It was a 240 sedan, and it was listed as a no-accidents vehicle. One look at the front end alignment of bumper and trim, immediately showed otherwise. Not that I'd care, but when someone is dragging premium price from a vehicle that is represented as a premium (perfect) car, I expect it to be as said. Having a bumper improperly aligned with the lower headlamp trim and grille, immediately raises questions. I have a very sharp eye for that kind of thing, having worked in a body shop that did a lot of Volvos.

Who knows, though. This one could be good. My mom had an ultra-low mileage 240 before, and it was legitimate as well. My black 940 was bought at low miles, but it was just a suburban runner at about 7000 miles a year.
--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.

I watch the volvos on ebay religiously! And actually bought one about two weeks ago - a 89 240 for a $1000. I am happy with the purchase. Private owner who was close to my area had it. Not sure about some of the dealers putting cars out fishing for high prices and listing them several times.

However, as I watch some of the cars and prices on ebay - it's not logical. Seen several decent 89-94 240s and 740s go cheap and others are astronomical. There have been some very nice cars recently in Long Island of all places??

It seems to me to be a pattern of decent 740s, 240s and 940s available on the east coast for lower prices than the midwest. Maybe more were sold there, I guess. I still think the best bargain around is an 1989-93 240 or 740 with around 100k and about $3000. That's always been my game - never paid more than $3000 for a Volvo and hope to never have to!!

Bob Weber

after cleaning a 262c at a dealership i worked at i fell in love with it i got it for around $300 and it ran fine never put money in it except a rear window c/window and that i did not do my father did after he bought it from me me i did not care about a window i drove it a year never anything went wrong i did not change oil well except when i got it no dents good tires great stering good brakes clean lether no rips mint interior i guss the deals come from people and dealers who dont know what they got i tried to sell 262c at another dealer and told them $100 and they turned it down my father owns it now as i hatted the seats and low roof wish i could of traded it for a 242 oh i did not test drive just bought it and it was a good car so cheep volvos are from people who think that there out dated and any used car will break down even new cars break down so its always a gambile even if test driven better to gamble on some thing cheep now my 85 240 did not test drive i looked at it as a detailer and how good it will look after some love and would it be worth to repair upto 1000 or so. I looked at it for 3 min in miami said its worth it got home 4 hour drive called and bought it had it deliverd via transporter and it is fine every thing works althow the in tank pump was bad and it needed a tire oh i paid $800 for it un tested wich is not cheep considering $300 for 262c

Wow; that's impressive. I've never paid less than $3500 for any Volvo (that one had 175k) but I get them in *really* top condition.

Well, that isn't totally true. I got a 5yr old 240 for nothing, once. And put 200k on it. But that was kind of a hand me down thing.

I think Long Island is probably home to a lot of suburban cars that are pretty lightly used, and not driven too much. It would make sense that there are a lot of them. But the scary thing is, like here in Chicago, there are a lot of super low mileage cars, that sit in traffic all day long. Those cars need hourmeters, not odometers.

I'd buy a car on eBay. I wouldn't buy a lot of them that I see there, but I've bid on several. Some of the ones that go sky high, though, I don't bother with. After all, I'm looking for a deal!
--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.