1990 Volvo 240 Station Wagon, 5-speed manual, CLEAN Southern Car in NY

1990 Volvo 240 Station Wagon, 5-speed manual

YV1AA8257L1880180

Up for sale is a beautiful, smoke-free, rust-free, 1990 240 station wagon with 5-speed manual transmission. Sold new at Sunny King Volvo in Alabama, this car spent most of its years in North Carolina and is free of structural rust. The engine and trans are strong, even peppy. This car is the classic 240 dream, a wagon with a manual 5-speed and fresh black cloth interior! It should last you another 20 years easily. The car is a reliable strong runner. It even includes the original window sticker!

I have driven the car daily since 2015 and gotten it in tip-top condition. In the last 3,000 miles I have installed many new parts, they include: fresh tune-up (air filter, plugs, wires, cap rotor), 4 new Hankook tires, new tailgate wiring harnesses, an entire new exhaust (a special sport system from IPD with a little extra growl) including cat, Bosch voltage regulator, Bosch O2 Sensor, battery, and other updated and new parts. The car has working cruise control. There is also a nice Alpine CD player with jack for iPod and aftermarket speakers in the front doors.

The odometer was broken when I got the car, but I have repaired it with a new gear from IPD and I estimate actual mileage at about 300K, it may be lower but it is impossible to know. I added a tachometer to the gauge cluster and eliminated the temp compensation board with a jumper. The car does not leak or burn any fluids. The clutch has lots of life left in it. The engine bay is impressively clean!

I restored the interior and converted all but a few pieces to the preferred black cloth, the pieces that I did not have in black still match well since the body is gold/tan. Both front seats are freshly rebuilt and reinforced with clean covers. There is a good driver’s side door pocket (blue, but not noticeable) but not a passenger side one. The dash board is really nice. Both tail lights are new aftermarket units. I updated the windshield washer squirters to the double nozzle style (most 240’s have single nozzle) for better windshield cleaning.

The body is in great condition but has a few dents and creases (see pictures). The paint is original and has held up pretty well overall. The car was bumped in the left rear, by the tail lights, and has a very small scratch/dent in the left rear quarter and scratches in the 2 front door sills: I painted “chassis saver” black paint on each of these spots to prevent rust. The right side has as a pair of crease-dents and the right rocker panel is dented underneath from someone trying to jack it in the wrong spot. I had the windshield pulled and freshly sealed.

The body is free of any worrisome rust. The scratch and dent spots aside, this car does not have the rust common for these cars. Examples of clean, rust-free areas on this car include: the inner front edge of the hood, the floor pans, the rear-most edge on the underside below the rear storage cubby (behind the gas tank), the lower corners of the doors, and the lower edges of the tailgate, just to name a few.

The issues that I must mention are: the heater fan squeals loudly when cold. It runs strong on the top 2 speeds and gets quiet once it warms up, but I think a replacement is inevitable in the coming years. It may be possible to lubricate it and I have not looked in to that solution. The labor to do replace the blower motor is high ($500 at my local Volvo shop), there are tutorials on the web if you want to DIY, and I am including a brand new aftermarket heater fan with the sale. When I drove the car this winter, I just let it heat up before I turned on the fan and it wasn’t an issue. Also, the AC does not work and I haven’t looked into it. I had the car checked out by our local Volvo-only shop. They said the car is very solid and only mentioned the AC and heater fan in their report.

Overall this car is great to look at, a pleasure to drive, and in very good condition. It is a strong runner and reliable. The car was recently featured in Ithaca NY’s famous Volvo Ballet as seen in my last picture.

Bidders must keep in mind that it is a 27 year old (antique!). I have restored it to the best of my ability and fixed or disclosed everything on it. It shows evidence of having been well maintained throughout its life and it benefited from mostly Southern climates. I am confident with the car. It can be a great daily driver or, with a little more attention, a true show car. I have owned over 20 240’s and this one is truly great!