1988 Volvo 240

245 DL Other

2.3L 4 Cylinder Gasoline Fuel

Automatic

yv1ax885xj1804097

Gasoline

Thanks for looking at my 1988 Volvo 245. She has just over 183,000 miles.........that's less than 8K miles a year. Please take the time to read all of the details below and look at all of the photo's. These photo's were taken this morning (10/23/11) after a quick wash. The car was dry when photo's were taken so the shine you see is not the result of being wet. I've tried to describe/show this car as accurately as possible. Yes the car is THAT clean. It will make someone very happy, probably the best car I've ever owned. I purchased the 1988 for several reasons but the main reason was that the wiring of the late 80's and early 90's 240's are much better and do not have issues like the earlier years. My intention was to make a show car out of it since it's a flat top 245 (No roof rack ever)...........and the body is in fantastic shape for an east coast car that's never had paint work. It would make an incredible project for someone who wanted a build a perfect 245 but would also be a fantastic car to just drive daily as I've done for the last 6 years. Either way it's a sure classic and probably one of the best cars ever made. If you're a volvo freak like me you'll know what I'm talking about. If you have any questions about these cars in general check out the forums Turbobricks and Brickboard. These are two great forums for learning about these cars. I am the 2nd owner and have owned it since 2005. I purchased from the original owner in DE, hence why the body looks so good. They do not use salt in the winter in Deleware. The car is 100% original exterior and interior. There has been NO bodywork to this vehicle so what you see is what it looks like after 23 years. As you can see the paint still has a pretty darn good shine to it after all that time. There is nothing to hide here and I've tried to show in the photo's where there are some dents/dings/scratches/touch ups. I have also shown the only 3 spots of rust on the car which are minor. The rockers are solid as you can see in the photo's. The "buttcheeks" are also solid with no rust. Options Include Auto TransKenwood AM/FM CD with remote and detachable facePower SteeringPower Brakes (4 wheel disc)Heated Seats (working)Air Conditioning (working)Cruise Control Exterior: First off........I have the carfax and it will show an accident record. Let me be clear about this...........the "accident" was a parking lot bump to the rear hatch. You can clearly see the dent on the left side of the rear hatch above the volvo emblem. A SUV bumped me (I was in the car) while backing out. I filed a police report so that the offender did not try to get away with it. That is why there is an accident record. That's it............dent still there in plain view and I am also including a 1988 red rear hatch (no dents/dings/rust) with the sale. The exterior is in good condition for being 100% original. The paint is a good "10 footer". As you can see in the photo's it's got a nice shine to it but when you get close you can see the scratches/rock chips from 23 years of use. The car is amazingly straight..........the only dent is on the hear hatch with some dings on the passenger doors. You can see in the photo's the dings on that side. They're concentrated in one area where the front door ends and the rear door starts. This was there when I purchased the car and appears to be the result of a very light rub from another parking car. I have 2 mint passenger side doors that will be included with the car if you want. My intention was to replace the passenger doors and rear hatch and then have the car painted. If you want them with the car they're yours. There are 3 spots of rust on the car. Two of them are on the rear hatch just below the window glass. One on either side. They'll be gone if you use the included hatch. The third is on the drivers side rear down low where the rocker meets the wheel well. Again I've included a photo of this too. That's it........no kidding. NO issues around the windshield and the wheel wells are good. The car was really well taken care of. The color is a dark blue and again the paint is original. Interior: The interior is probably the best part of the car. It's like a time capsule. It's so darn clean and almost everything works. I'll let the photo's speak for themselves. The blue "pleather" interior is just amazing. I rebuilt the drivers seat last winter. It has new back seat foam, new lumbar kit, new seat heater. There are NO SPLITS/RIPS in this interior. People get in are think they just took the hot tub time machine back to 1988, it's that nice. This car has front seat heaters which work well. I also installed a gauge cluster up high (vacuum/oil pressure/volts) and moved the radio (3 year old Kenwood CD with removable face) down below. Speakers in the front were also replaced w/ Kenwood units. Rear speakers are original and work fine. I also installed the center armrest between the seats for comfortable cruising. The center console is perfect, no cracks and even the light facing the back seat works. Look at the door panels.............NO SAG in the material, and when was the last time you saw those plastic front door pockets without damage. I even replaced the visor clips. Manual windows crank up and down perfectly. It does have a central locking system operated from the drivers door. Car has cruise control and works good. I replaced all of the gauge bulbs with LED's several years ago so they're a little brighter than original. You'll note the mileage being listed about 700 higher than what the gauge cluster photo shows. Again I'm trying to be honest. The very common odometer gear issue occurred 3 years ago. I got a new gear from IPD and fixed it but 700 miles did pass between the time the odometer stopped and when I fixed it. I know because I have to keep mileage records for work expense reports. So the car does have just over 183K miles and now the odometer should not have issues for a long time. I also fixed the very common "compensation board" issue. That means that the engine coolant temp gauge works right. Oh yes and this car has AC and IT WORKS. I had the compressor and evaporator replaced last year and the system is now 134a. It could probably use a charge before next summer but heck that's a $6 can at Autozone. Car also comes with 2......yes 2 keys. It also has the owners manual and I have some receipts for various service items. Now for the bad......if you can call it that. The headliner could use a cleaning and it has a very small rip right above the passenger rear door. The rip is less than 1 inch. The light on the shifter does not work (lights up D, P, N, R). Lastly.........the oil pressure gauge does not work. Don't worry, there is plenty of oil pressure but about 3 months ago it stopped working. I believe it's the gauge and one can be had on ebay or one of the volvo sites above pretty cheap. Brakes: I replaced the brakes about 3 years ago. At that time I changed the brake fluid and installed 4 new discs and 4 rebuilt calipers/pads from FCP Groton. The brakes are very good, no issues. You'll probably need new front pads in another 10K miles, the rears have a long way to go. Suspension: Here is the great part............I replaced ALL rubber bushings with Superpro polyurathane bushings ($250). I mean ALL..........I have the bill from the install of over $780, not including the parts. As a result the car is tight, no slop at all. To make it even tighter I junked the stock springs/shocks and installed Skandeix 245 specific lowering springs along with KYB Gas adjust shocks ($250). Then to complete the package I installed IPD front and rear swaybars ($340). Needless to say the car handles unlike your typical 245 and the stance is really nice without being too low. The ride is firm and responsive and no more worry about all those old rubber bushings wearing out! The suspension alone between parts and labor cost $1700. Trans:The center driveshaft bushing was replaced 3 years ago. I have also installed a volvo transmission cooler from a 740 turbo car. It sits in front of the radiator (which is brand new) and uses the stock volvo hardlines to connect to the radiator for extra trans cooling. The transmission is the stock AW70 and shifts well. I also flushed the trans fluid when installing the cooler. Exhaust: The exhaust is the IPD non-turbo sport exhaust ($200). It's 1 year old and as you can see in the photo, still in great shape. Now for the bad..........the car will need a catalytic converter. The stock unit is there but where it connects to the mid-pipe the flange has cracked. You can buy one from summit racing for less than $70 and have a local muffler shop weld it in. That's all the exhaust needs. Engine: The engine runs strong and has no vacuum leaks. NO smoke when starting, even if sitting for a week or more. The engine is stock except for an "A" cam from a Canadian car. The "M" cam that the 1988's came with were horrible and died above 3500 rpms. The A cam is much better and allows the motor to rev higher while not effecting the mileage or emissions. It was professionally installed 3 years ago. At that time (when the car had 145,000 miles) my shop also did the timing belt, water pump and thermostat. I also installed a volvo oil cooler (from 740 turbo) which is mounted under the bumper and gets direct air from the holes in the front airdam. It connects to a remote oil filter as the stock location of the oil filter on the block just puts oil on the motor mounts and is hard to change. Oh.....both motor mounts were replaced 1 year ago. The engine also received a tune up 15K miles ago which included new belts (all).......new plugs...........new plug wires..........new distributor rotor and cap and also a new flame trap kit. This past summer I also had the bushings for the alternator/AC compressor and power steering pump all replaced so no issues with belt alignment. Lastly............the radiator was replaced 3 months ago and at that time the system was flushed. I've also installed an electric fan instead of the direct drive fan. If you want the old fan with clutch I'll include it with the car.........but the efan works great and does not pull power/mileage from the engine. Tires/Wheels: The car is riding on stock 14 inch "steelies" with some nice early 80's trim rings and caps. The tires are stock size, 185's. The car will need tires in the near future. They're fine to drive on but getting worn out and will need to be replaced in the future. If interested I have another set of 15 inch alloy 5 spoke wheels with almost brand new tires. Email me for a picture of them on the car. They're staggered, 205 tires up front with 225's at the rear. The car looks great with them but they're being sold separately. Can be purchased with car but are NOT part of this auction. Only the wheels in the pictures are being sold as part of this auction. Needless to say the car has had a ton of work done to it in 6 years and it had oil changes every 4K miles. I really took care of it but now it's time to find a new owner. I have too many projects that need finishing. The reserve is very reasonable and I hope I've covered everything. The car is for sale locally so I reserve the right to end the auction at anytime. There is NO Warranty on the car, sold as is with parts described in this listing. I have the clean title in hand for the sale. Thanks for looking at my brick! On Oct-24-11 at 04:44:18 PDT, seller added the following information: Had some questions about whether this car is a turbo. The answer is NO, the turbo gauge in the upper cluster is just showing vacuum, no boost. I wanted a way to keep an eye on vacuum and used a volvo turbo gauge but please note the car is not turbo'd. ThanksOn Oct-24-11 at 06:39:21 PDT, seller added the following information: Also wanted to note............the Dash does have the typical dash cracks you see on 240's but it never bothered me enough to get a dash mat. On Oct-24-11 at 14:14:35 PDT, seller added the following information: PLEASE ONLY BID IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT OWING THIS CAR. Thank you.On Oct-25-11 at 10:06:05 PDT, seller added the following information: I wanted to list all of the "extra's" that will be included with the sale. I went through my shop and found many items that will be included with the car. They are: 1. Red 1988 Tail Gate (no internals but great shape)2. Blue (not an exact color match) passenger side doors with no dents/rust. Includes window glass, you get both passenger doors, front/rear (Great Shape)3. Stock radiator fan with clutch4. Passenger side front turn single lense (Cibie: new)5. IPD tail gate wiring kit (brand new in plastic, left and right sides)6. FCP Groton Flame Trap kit (entire kit brand new)7. Haynes Repair Manual for car8. Poly end link bushings for front IPD sway bar (new)8. Various relays, fuses, nuts/bolts.