I all, I have the chance to buy a 84 242dl..with 38,000 miles!! The asking price is $1800 and the dealer will finance. Its clean, very,very little rust. The catch is that I was told I cant test drive it because it's not inspected. But it will have to be inspected by seller before the sale, per MD state law. I want to tell him thats a deal breaker, I did ride in it and it is SMOOTH. Second thing that worries me, just a little, He won't let me take it to my mechanic. But I guess thats reasonable, He couldn't have all his cars going to mechanics all the time. A freind says just buy it and if something is wrong just fix it. On the milage issue, how can I find out if it accurate? just check the seal on the speedometer? I beleive it has been in a slight fender bender and repaired, seems look off at the driver door. Is there a way to tell if the engine is orignal?..(and od/speedometer?) Any other tips on this purchase would be a appricated, any ideas? Thanks folks!!!
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Franco79 ---- 1979 245DL -M46, Virgos, Primer Grey, Boneyard Upgrades 220K

Hi everyone, Thanks for responding. The dealer called today, I told him without my Volvo mechanic looking at the car, not a chance. He told me prior would-be-buyers had done things like switched tires, and broke things..etc..during trips to the mechanic,thats why he dosent do that anymore. I mentioned that if he was intrested, I'd give him $500 cash money for it, he didn't even acknowledge the offer(I meant it as a polite insult) I guess you can afford to pass up paying customers when you do business in a travel trailer under an interstate overpass..what was I thinking even stopping? I am a very trusting person, and I almost got taken. Thanks for stopping me from getting the shaft. I have to admit, seeing a sweet looking 242..I caught the vapors.. Well the search goes on....
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Franco79 ---- 1979 245DL -M46, Virgos, Primer Grey, Boneyard Upgrades 220K

P.S. If anyone would like to see the car in question..e-mail me, I'll give you the dealer info. I have the VIN# also if you want to check it. I will be away from my computer until Tuesday eve, so you won't get a response until then. Thanks again all!

Can't drive it because it hasn't been inspected? Thats a lot of BS.

Used cars in MD only have to be inspected when there is a title change, and that inspection can be done by the seller or the buyer. That car does not have to be inspected until he someone tries to title it again.

If he could give you a ride in it you could have driven it also, correct?

You said it may have been in an accident. That thing probably has a bent frame, and pulls so hard he didn't want you to drive it.

And if it is a good car leave it for some other BRICKSTER to enjoy. You can find a donor engine for a lot less than $1800.
--
Bruce S. near D.C.

Sounds to me that the car has a flaw. Working at many used car dealers, I find that cars do have twisted/sloppy repair work done to the uni-body. This will hinder a dealer from selling a car. The twisted uni-body cant even be sold at an auto auction. Most trade-ins go threw a inspection before any DETAIL work or adversment at all. It is quite normal, as long as if car fails inspection you get back all of any money given to dealer.

The "legal inspection" consistes of: brakes&brakelines, seatbelts, parking brake, suspention, glass and the most inportant is the uni-body and chassis depending on the type of car/truck.
Inspections for engines, trans, tires and crap like that are pro bono and are for the benifit of a sale.

There are also times when a car gets repoed and has to sit untill clear to resell. Released from prior buyer.
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Kevin * HONDA spanking,1985 240DL * VOLVO ON!!!!

There's no such thing as "dealer plates" in your state? The car sounds nice, but the dealer sounds a little fishy.

A few months ago, I saw a Mazda Miata that I was interested in
buying at a Suzuki dealer in South Jersey. Despite the fact that
the car wasn't current with inspection, he let me take it for an
hour-long test drive along. I'd suspect that if the car had
dealer plates on it, the police wouldn't care too much about a
current inspection sticker. He also put it up on the shop lift
so I would be able to check the underside for rust or any other
damage. I didn't buy the car, because it had an oil leak and
was missing some of the bellhousing bolts, which led me to suspect
poor maintenence - the price was also too high. However, I would
expect *at least* that level of service from anyone from whom I was
buying a car.
.
Cheers,
-b.

I think that you should walk away from the car if you cant drive it. I can also tell you that once I read where you said the used car lot would finance a 1800 dollar car--id watch out-belive me--most of those types of used car lot operators are for lack of a better usable word-low lifes--think about it--they want to charge you TOP dollar for a car -that you cant test drive or have a mechanic check out--and wonder what kind of interest rate they are going to offer you-probably the same as a credit card--or worse. I know it may be hard to walk away from a car that you just-have to buy--BUT-think it through--and tell him to go rub salt in his____-you take it from there. Good luck-you will do better finding a car from an orig owner or 2nd owner thru a classified ad in the price range you are talking about.

You can't test drive it, and you can't get it inspected by a mechanic?

I would have told the dealer to (politely put) "go fly a kite."

Also, if it does turn out that the 38K mileage is original, the car probably sat somewhere for an extended period of time. This is not good on a car.

I would second clbolt's suggestion of trying to contact the previous owner. Ask him/her why s/he sold the car, first and foremost.

My self personally though, I wouldn't even bother with a dealer that won't let you drive the car or get it inspected by another mechanic.

That car would also have to be completely rust free if I were to spend that kind of money on it. Very little rust means that there is still some rust on it somewhere.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

Hi, Thanks for the response, What would the problems be if it had sat for awhile? A thought I had in the back of my head was that I could use the motor in my '79 245(rust-free). Is that reasonable idea? $1800 is asking, but I would like to get it down a bit. I am a little flustered, It's such a nice looking car, and I love 242's..I kinda wonder if I am jumping the gun on this one.Thanks
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Franco79 ---- 1979 245DL -M46, Virgos, Primer Grey, Boneyard Upgrades 220K

Don't even think of buying the car as a donor. There are plenty of reasonably low-mileage good 240 engines available for a couple hundred dollars. If you only want the car for the engine, it's not worth it.

As for what goes bad when a car sits, it depends. Engine, transmission, and rear-end seals, actually any rubber parts on the car, the brake hydraulic system, and the cooling system can corrode. Depending on where it sat, an unused car can actually rust much worse (from condensation) than one that's been driven regularly.

2 stories here. I once bought a 74 BMW 2002 from it's original owner. It was the typical way I get cars, I drove around looking for obviously non-op cars and expired plates. This car had been sitting in one spot on the cul-de-sac for 4 years. I got it for $250, oiled the engine down, bled the brakes, and drove it home. Within a couple of weeks, the springs in the seats started breaking from rust. The sunroof had leaked, a little at a time, and kept the springs damp till they rusted away. All that without rusting the floors out. No biggie, I got a couple of big blocks of foam and wedged them under the seats to hold the occupants up.

The other car was a 1968 Ford Fairlane Cobra, a 428 Super Cobra Jet Drag-Pack car. I looked at it in 1989, when it had literally 20k original miles. The original owner had parked it in a carport with an unsealed concrete floor, and through the years that sweating concrete floor had kept the lower half of the car very damp. The body was unrestorable. It did have a complete ram-air system, 9" locker rear end, and the cast iron tailshaft C6 tranny, in addition to the 428 engine. Unfortunately, in those pre-ebay days, I just couldn't justify spending 2 grand for a parts car.

Today I'd jump all over it. What a difference the internet makes.
--
1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.

Run a carfax report on it. It's not infallible, but that should give you an idea if anything obvious has happened with the mileage, a severe wreck, or flood damage. If it passes that, pay a mechanic to come look at the car where it sits. There are guys who'll do that for $50 to $100. If the seller won't let a mechanic look at the car on his own lot, pass it up, he's hiding comething.

It's because of cases like this that it's a bad idea for some people to buy old cars when they don't know a lot about what makes them work. I'm the friend who everybody else calls to look cars over before they buy them.

BTW, the interior on that car should give you a lot of clues as to the actual mileage. Wear to the pedal pads, carpet, door handles, glovebox lining, etc, can all be a better indicator of actual mileage than the odometer. Also, look in the glovebox to see if there's any clue as to the identity of the previous owner. If so, call them and ask about the car.
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1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.

Hey Franco,

Glad to hear you were able to look at that 242. I would be careful to someone that want to sell you the car before test driving it or letting your mechanic look at it. Post the VIN on the brick-board and see if one of the fellow bricksters can help you out with their AUTO FAX account. If all checks out looks and touch as much as you can on the car before handing over the cash. Best Of Luck with the new addition to your family!!!

Sincerely,
--
Julio Meza

1979 264GL B27F 122K

Features Added:

BW55 To M46, Central Locking System, 25mm IPD Front Sway Bar, 81+ Dash W/ Oil & Ambient Temp Gauges In C, Oil Pressure, Volts

Next Project:

+Cruise Control

I would not buy a car unless the seller permitted me to take it to a machanic. Maybe you can work out a deal contingent upon a inspection that you would aprove of. If he did not let you take the car to have it inspected, I would wonder what he had to hide with the car. Most dealers are more then happy to let you have the car inspected by a third party.

Good luck and happy bricking!