I'd appreciate anyone's advice on a potential Volvo purchase. I need to buy a car and have about $2,500 to spend. One option is to buy a 1987 740 turbo for $2,000. The other option is to buy a 1984 pre-intercooler 244 turbo for $600.
This is what I need. A reliable car that will primarily function as a few days a week driver. In a few months the car will have to pull a small U-Haul trailer 1,200 miles to my home in Philadelphia.(I am moving from Texas which is the reason for the purchase. I don't currently own a car). I really want a turbo because the non-turbos seem so slow as to be dangerous for highway driving.
This is the info on the two cars. The 740 is in good shape cosmetically. It is super-clean, perfect interior, exterior is very nice. All electronic work. Mechanically I can't say. The current owner knows little about Volvos and has only owned it for a short time. The brakes shake when stopping, after a test-drive we lifted the hood and anti-freeze was spouting out all over the place. It also idles at 3 rpm's.
The 244T is cosmetically in poor shape. It has one of the worst paint jobs I've seen on a Volvo and the interior needs to be replaced, theres also no turbo rims. Fortunately, the current owner is something of a Volvo expert and I think very honest and straight-forward. The owner explained the mechanics to me and they are sound. I checked all the advice on buying a 240 turbo and everything checked out. New timing belt, Good overdrive, no smoke from tailpipe, brakes are good, transmission is clean(its manual), wiring harness has been taped, heater fan is good. It does need rear-end bushings and tires.
Now finally my question is one of philosophy if anyone has read this far. Do I buy the 740 and hope nothing goes wrong? Or do I buy the 240, knowing I'll put $1,500 into it? It seems strange to put $1,500 into a $500 car. Also, I'm not really mechanically inclined and all non-cosmetic work would probably need to be done in a shop.
I've gotten lots of great advice so far from the postings already and if anyone has any advice I'd truly appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
Doug
douglasgiuliano@hotmail.com