i was referred here by member bc, he said u guys could help me.
what should i look for when buying a volvo
i found a nice cantidate for 500 cash
it is an 81 244 dl and it has automatic transmission
is this transmission good? and will it take well to abusive driving, (my brother cant drive well)
the owner said it needed a left front strut, brake booster, and exhaust hangers. can i get these used, and what are potential costs.
it has a set of mag wheels as well. the motor and transmission have been rebuilt less than 10,000 miles ago.
is this a good price?
wjhat other things should i look for?
thanks alot
Kyle

To me the main killer of a Volvo (next to an accident) is rust. Check as AyeRoll suggested. Don't be shy to get on your back to look under and tap the floor and frame for rust-through.

at $500 and the work you discribed if you like it and its in good shape ingeneral than you should ask your self is this car worth putting a motor or putting a trans in it or doing body work or commpleat brakes. As these are top doller items and at the cost of a engine or trans (500-$1000) Than no matter whats wrong with it should not be a prob fixen it. Is it worth putting that money in it. If drivetrain is good and needs body work are you willing to wate while it gets done ether by you or shop. Basicly i look at a car if after i spend 1000 to fix would i still have a peice of sht or would it be worth it. Usually volvos are cared for by post owners so all i can say is look at it if you like it buy it. As far as what to look at well the cowling under front window is notorious for rust so is the front window gullys as these places rot,also look in wheel wells for rust or rot make sure the rear tail/brake lights work as these cars have cheesy tail lights althow cheep to fix. Listen to blower moter these to are cheesy and noisy. When test driveing feel/listen for a clunking sound from rear as the trailarm bushings could be bad (usuualy around a turn). Feel for a fast smooth trans ingage park to first,first to reverse hope this helps good hunting enjoy

You need to look really closely for rust in the floors, rocker panels, and the spare tire arches in the trunk. Also the trunk floor against the bumper.
The BW55 transmission in this car originally is pretty lousy (that's a 3-speed with no OD switch on the shifter). IF it's been swapped for a later one, they're pretty tough. I know my AW70 automatics put up with some abuse.
Recommend no matter what you do, replace the motor and trans mounts. They're fragile and probably old and soft.
If the car's a rustbucket, WALK AWAY. There are better ones out there- compare with the cars on www.bargainnews.com
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '86 244DL- 215K, 87 244DL- 230K, 88 744GLE- 198K, 91 244 180K