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Buying a 245 on EBay.
I've had several Volvos over the years, but never a 245. I had been wanting one for at least 10 years. What can I say? When you are a wagon man, nothing else will do. It is like a disease. (I've had a Datsun 210 wagon, Toyota Corolla wagon, have an XC70 now--a station wagon on steroids.) This year I got serious and started really looking. Locally, I looked at a few that were really beat up and decided to range out a little. After several weeks of on line shopping, I found one I wanted on eBay. I have seen friends and relatives buy cars on eBay and all had pretty good experiences, so I wasn't too worried about it. The car I found seeme perfect for me-- a 1987 245 with 188K. Best of all: a five speed manual. I had extensive pictures and couldn't see any rust. The dealer claimed it was a show room perfect car. I said "what the hay" and bought it. I paid the whole amount with PayPal, and sent them a shipping number—all paid up front. The dealer assured me that the car was ready at pickup for the 1000 mile drive home if I would rather drive than ship! I decided to ship anyway. For nearly two months I called every other day. The dealer just wouldn't get the car to the shipper (DAS) like he agreed. Then I found out why. There was a "problem." The emergency brake didn't work and DAS won't ship any manual transmission car without an emergency brake. The dealer offered to refund all of my money. I said "No." I already had a legal title by then. They sent me a check for $300.00—which seemed really bizarre. (I would have preferred they take the $300.00 and fix the car.)
They stopped taking my calls, wouldn't return calls or emails, etc. I began amassing a list of people to address this issue with: Better Business Bureau, Attorney General's Office, State of Maryland, etc. I couldn't protest through eBay since I bought the car on the "buy it now" option and took it out of the eBay area.
Meanwhile, I got a notice from DAS that the car was at the shipper. I never heard from the dealer again. Still haven't. I knew it wouldn't do any good to call them. They never returned my calls anyway.
About 10 days later the car arrived. I have to tell you, she looked good at first sight. I did a long check over.
• The oil hadn't been changed in years. (They indicated the oil had been changed just before they listed the car.)
• The car took nearly 2 gallons of coolant. (I have my own theory about that.)
• She did start-- with some trouble. I knew immediately that the exhaust system was gone. One exhaust pipe was tied up with a rubber bungee. (who does that?) I unwrapped the coat hangers I brought, and tied it all up. (Don't go anywhere without coat hangers.)
• Upon movement, I knew I had about 20% brakes.
• The AC didn't work (I didn't even expect that it would, but when I asked them to be up front with me and just tell me that the AC was not working they insisted that it was. ("Blows Ice Cold"...ever heard that one?)
• There were many more lies that were told to me about the car.
I took off on a wing and a prayer for the 80 mile drive home, my wife close behind. I stopped to fill up and check tires at the nearest station, and off we went. I had no temperature gauge and because I had filled the car with coolant, I was very worried about over heating. After about 20 minutes I started to relax. I made it in okay, and I immediately set out to get the brakes and exhaust fixed---all new stuff. I took the next week to go over the car carefully. The PCV was clogged more than I could even imagine. I took nearly 4 hours cleaning it out and installed a new flame trap. One hose was so stopped up I couldn't drive a sharpened coat hanger through it. (More coat hangers!) I replaced that one. Note: If you buy a 240 that you don't know, order a new flame trap kit from ipd and take it with you on pick up day. Install it right on the lot before you drive home.
Here is a list of what I did over the first few weeks:
Rotors and brake pads all around
New exhaust all the way back from the cat
Cleaned PCV (new flame trap and hoses)
Radiator flush and fill
New temperature sensor
By pass kit on temperature compensation board
Changed engine oil (Mobil1) plus new magnetic oil plug
Mann filter and the cute magnet
Changed differential gear oil to Redline gear oil
Changed transmission fluid to Redline MLT
Installed insulation on much of the wiring
State inspection sticker
After about a week of all this tweaking, I turned the key and the car sprang to life as if it were a brand new automobile. It ran so good, that I decided to wait on new plugs, distributor cap and rotor. I probably put $1000 in the car during that first week. I'm getting it to stage zero, but I've already started commuting in it every day (36 miles one way). I look forward to the 72 mile drive every day.
There are things to love about this car. It is rust free, except for two little spots that I can correct. It is tight, none of that "I'm riding on a bed of marshmallows" feeling you get with some of the 245's I've driven. I can open it up to 80 and it doesn't strain...shifts through all the gears like a dream. (After the Redline MLT the shifter is like moving through buttah.)
I discovered from the title that this car had been in the possession of one family for about 15 years. They signed it over to an animal rescue place and it was auctioned off later. Most likely the car had been sitting up for many years. It had been covered with a tarp for a long time.(It was in the back of the car.) Someone once tried to take care of it (magnetic drain plug, Mann filter, etc.), but the little things kept piling up and eventually—rather than fixing it---they just donated it to a worthy cause. I've done the same thing myself.
I am very happy with my car. But I learned some things. I am reminded of a scripture from the Bible. It is in the story of Joseph. Joseph, you may remember, was sold into slavery by his brothers. Many years later, he actually became one of the leaders of Egypt and was able to provide food during a famine to the brothers who sold him out. When he told them who he was, they were terrified. Joseph said, (paraphrase) "Don't worry about it. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good."
The dealer that sold me this car meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. I have no hard feelings toward them, just sort of a pity that anyone has to make a living that way. By the way, the dealer had a 94.7% POSITIVE rating on eBay. They were crooked as a bunch of snakes. A dealer will "sell you out" and never think twice about it. When you are 1000 miles away from them and they are shipping your car you are in a vulnerable position and you have very little recourse.
It is probably not a really good idea to buy a 240 on eBay unless you are willing to accept a product that will be much less than advertised. But if you are willing to put in the hours and the extra money and the extra money and the extra money, you could wind up with a nice car!
In penny Lane there is a fireman with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the Queen.
He likes to keep his fire engine clean,
It's a clean machine. (very mean!)
The Beatles
Attached is a picture of "Penny."
Wiglaf
87 245 - 188,292
95 850 - 249,400
01 XC70 - 111,000
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Wow, this post sure had my name on it. We have been driving 240's for well over 20 years, have had a bunch, and in the last few years have actually refurbished several cars for sale and sometimes we sell them on E-bay. We've converted relatives to 240s, friends, etc. Everyone loves them once they've had them for even a few months. I make several cross country trips a year to do equipment service and on these occasions I will often buy a car back East and use it to transport tools, parts and myself across the US to California with as many as ten stops along the way. Bless the 240s, they have never left me stranded--but for one incident. Several have come from E-bay, including my own 245 which I purchased in Delaware nearly three years ago--and love. Caveat emptor (sp?) applies heavily, but like you, I'm convinced it is possible to get a good car. In fact, we just sold our 85 GL which we bought here in L.A. on E-bay a couple of years ago as well. It didn't cost much because, quite frankly, the paperwork was a mess and the auction clearly said so. The seller was always on the road (wholesaler) and was difficult to reach, but returned my calls faithfully. He would have his lot boy check whatever I was inquiring about and call me back or send photos. Paperwork eventually held back the pickup of the car nearly six weeks, but it was everything it was promised to be--to the letter--and once cleaned up, tuned, timing belt etc, gave us flawless service. On the flip side of that, I bought a 90 sedan in Akron for a trip about a year and a half ago. Car was highly praised, represented as having certain problems that were minor and seemed just right for the planned trip. Unfortunately it was a disaster upon pickup, which was done by a friend, not by me (sadly). Rust bucket, leaking severely from several locations, electrical problems, flooded trunk, filthy, destroyed interior. In reviewing the correspondance, I found that all the things that thad been lied about had been done so on the phone. None of the things that were mis-represented were in writing, only the good stuff. Seller never returned phone calls or e-mails. Car was a fright all the way home. I was in Chicago with the car for the blizzards of January 2005 and spent a week of evenings in a freezing garage fixing leaking trans lines, broken fuel lines, bad crank position sensors, fried instrument cluster, blocked flame trap and separator, and that was the easy stuff! Worst car buying experience on or off the internet I've ever had, bar none. As to my wagon, purchased from a second-owner attorney, I've put 60k miles on it since purchase. I've added a bunch of stuff, but as far as maintenance, hmmm. Let me see: Alternator, front brakes, AC compressor--all after about 40k miles of use from purchase. Other than that, oil, filters, a timing belt--that's it. But I drove the guy nuts with questions and photo requests before I bought it. That seems to be the key. Don't hesitate to blitz the seller with questions. Nine out of ten times I'll bet we bricksters know far more about the cars than the sellers do and one needs to use that to one's advantage in investigating the condition. Most important, if there is anything the seller won't photograph, put in writing, describe in detail, or if they back away from sharing any information about titles and history, run away. CarFax is great, but not always perfect. Salvage titles can be risky, but not always (our V70 and '85 244t both have them and are super cars). Here in California, for many years, all of the charity donations required that the car be salvaged even though the car was fine. Of course there is the insurance value issue. Nowadays salvage usually means just that, car has been repaired.
Feedback is indeed the key. I've set a standard of never buying under 98% unless I can clearly see that someone was banged unjustly in the feedback department. I rarely buy from someone who has very little feedback whether it be a car, a part, a camera, electronic devices--anything. I think E-bay is a common sense forum. If you use it, you win. If you don't, you may win, but you roll the dice. Generally speaking I've been mightily impressed by the friendly demeanor and honesty of the E-bay community. There seem to be a whole bunch of sincere people selling there, but you need to be able to recognize them.
As to dealers, remember: In Penny Lane the barber shaves another customer...we see the banker sitting waiting for a trend.... Penny looks lovely though!
Enjoyed reading your post,
DS
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I guess Ebay can be dangerous, but personally I have bought three RWD Volvos in the past year or so on Ebay without a hitch. Two are 244s that had bad Fuel pressure relays that eluded the owners (and their "mechanics") and the third is a 780 turbo bertone (black). The 244's were both sold by their private owners and the 780 was sold by a used car dealer that had purchased it at auction. The 240s were each about 250 miles away and the 780 was 500 miles away - I rented a uhaul car transporter and hauled each of them home. I did not "buy it now" with any of them. I paid $510 for the first 240 (87 with 230K), $415 for the second (89 with 160K) and $1100 for the turbo bertone. In each case I put about the same amount as I had paid for the car into making to car the way I wanted it to be for use as a daily driver for myself and my teenage sons (brakes, wheels tires, upgraded sways, better upholstery from junkyard finds, etc.).
Personally, I can't wait to find my next ebay deal!
I am curious what you paid for your 245? It's a great looking car - I don't remember seeing it on ebay - lucky for you cause I would have been bidding against you probably!
Jim
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Give the bastard a negative rating. That way others will be aware of what they are dealing with.
Despite the initial problems it looks like a nice 245.
--
'89 245 'Haga'
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For an Ebay dealer, you done good. Anyone who has a rating of 99 or less on Ebay cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Putting $1,000 into a used Volvo is normal if you want it to look good and drive even beter.
As soon as I find someone who really wants my 1995, I will be looking for a 245, just like yours!
Klaus
--
The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)
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