Hello to all!

I'm days away from making a purchase on a 1989 245. It has been well cared for by the owner of the last five years. I see Mann filters, Bougicord (new) ignition wires, and the owner just had the A/C compressor replaced. He states that all the shocks and struts have been replaced and there is a set of nice looking, all matching radials tires at all four points. The odometer reads 113K and the speedometer works as well as the odometer. Is the 89 prone to the odometer gear deterioration problem? What about the wiring harness? This one appears intact, however, I do notice one wire has been cut from the harness and spliced with some kind of little nylon device. At what year do the deteriorating harnesses end? But most importantly, is the 89 generally more susceptible to mechanical and electrical problems than the 90 and up? I want to know this as I'm giving up a 1990 wagon with 166K on it (maroon) to purchase the 89 (white) with 113K. I don't particularly care for the maroon as the car stays much warmer here in Florida than the white cars. The owner is asking $2,500 for the wagon. No tears in seats, well preserved all around, no body damage or history of accidents, and I think I can get $2,500 for the maroon one when I go to sell her soon. Thanks for any input. I just want to make sure that I'm not giving up a particularly dependable car 1990, for one that will make me regret my decision (1989). Someone here noted that most of the no start, hard to start, sudden death, run rich, run lean problems all seem to revolve around the 89. I actually thought this was a particularly good year, but what do I know.


Thanks to all who respond.

JBeechcraft

I would say snap it up. The price is a little high, IMO, but sound like it's been maintained well.
I picked up my '89 245 w/5-speed 6 yrs ago for $2850 with 150k miles from the orig owner. It now has 265k mi and has been exceptionally reliable. I did have the 561 ecu rough start prob, which a $100 used one fixed, (also picked up a back-up 951 from a '94 940 n/a for $50 at a Pick-&-Pull, but so far, the used one is OK for the last 35k).
I'm very impresed at the longevity of the mechanicals. I still have the orig brakes, A/C compressor, evap, condenser, alternator, ps pump, tranny, drive train, all orig. Nothing major has gone except the ECU and had to replace the AMM last yr for $250.
I've driven this car across the US 11 times in the past 6 yrs, and not babied it either. A juant of 1k miles in a day from Dallas to Phoenix is normal for this car and at 100 mph it still get almost 30 mpg. Tops out a ~32 mpg if I bring it down to 85. One of the best Volvo's I ever owned (I've owned over 30 Volvo's in my past 25 yrs), and replaced a '92 245 with this '89 245 after I traded it in on another Volvo. Much better.

Lead foot in TX
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'89 245 Sportwagon, '04 V70 2.5T Sportwagon

I'm driving an 89 244 that I picked up about a year ago...it had been abused and severily misstreated...Abandonded actually! at some point it was in a pretty serious wreck and poorly repaired...strut tower is quite bent. i picked it up at a sheriffs auction for $125 I think....resolidered the fuel pump relay and threw in a set of decent seats I had stashed and tuned it up

It won't ever be much of a car again but I have not had any trouble out of it yet...everything but the odometer works...so I'm guessing that was still an issue in 89 but the wireing harness got better I think in mid 88.
Bret
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rust free in west Texas

The '89's are good. The only issue is the ECU...from what I keep reading. I am the original owner of my '89 244. I have spare ECU's and AMM's but have never needed them in 246000 miles. I believe the AMM failures are due to Bad Thermostats in the airbox causing them to get too hot. I don't think they are prone to failure by themself.
The engine compartment Harnesses are good that year. Don't know what to say, I like mine.
Maybe someone can pipe in on the Rear light harness that runs through the Hinges on the 245's I can't speak for that issue.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

I second what Rhaire said.

I have an 89 which I got a year ago and I bought a spare ECU, actually I removed the original 561 (pink label) which was was working fine and I put in the "new" ECU bought off of eBay for 100 dollars (you can get them cheaper at bone yards if you have the time to go there and hunt for them). I also got a spare AMM for 75 dollars.

Have you done a Carfax check on the car? May want to do that just to be sure.

From what you say it seems like the car was well cared for. May want to find out when was the last timing belt done (should have been done twice already at 50K and at 100K miles).

For information I bought my 89 with manual tranny for 1500 dollars, but I had to put in new tires, front brake pads and muffler when I bought the car. Also all suspension is original, never replaced and I will probably need to do that soon. And the car had 155K miles.

Good luck.
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'89 244DL M47 162K miles

Nah, should not be bad at all, just pick up a spare ECU in case your car has an original 561. They fail fairly often. But they can be found in later cars as well so there is nothing odd about '89 other than the unique steering wheel. And get an AMM and a spare odometer gear. No harness problems in '89.