TouzinFish
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2017
- Location
- Boise, Idaho
September 25, 2024
Why do I do this to myself?
Every day, I look at Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for cars I certainly don’t need - especially now, with my Amazon fighting me and gobbling my money.
Yet here we are.
When I got off work today, I opened Facebook Marketplace while I was riding in the elevator to head home, where this had popped up for sale:
So what did the ad tell us? The 240 was obviously getting towed, so it was safe to assume it didn’t run… and it was a parts car. Perfect!
I told my wife, who, being the awesome wife she repeatedly is with these projects, asked me to go look at it. She liked the color and wanted a beater wagon for us to use this upcoming winter.
I had a brief chat with the seller on the phone, and then there I was, driving out to see a 240 wagon.
When I pulled up, the 240 was still up on the tow truck. I was able to ask the seller the story, and here’s what he relayed to me:
A elderly lady up in McCall, Idaho had been using the car to get around town for years and years. They didn’t have a whole lot of money, so her kids did a variety of cheap DIY repairs as the car inevitably bumped into stuff as her eyesight worsened (plexiglass rear window is a perfect example). Around 2019 or 2020, she finally was unfit for driving, so the car was parked. As simple as that, the car sat from then until September 25, 2024 (today). It was then that they called a tow truck driver to take the Volvo away as junk. The tow truck driver did intend to scrap the car, but he decided to throw it on Marketplace for fun, while he stopped for dinner on his way to the scrapyard.
So yeah, this car was seriously about to die.
Anyway, he admitted he was a bit surprised that I messaged him, and didn’t know “Volvo enthusiasm” was a thing, but invited me to take a look at the car and mess around with it. After sitting for four or five years, the car did not run and had some moss growing on the roof. But being a 240, I stared at the engine bay for a few minutes, saw the crank position sensor unplugged, plugged it in, and then asked the seller if he had any spare batteries in his tow truck. Sure enough, he did! So I plopped in a battery, turned the key, and voila - the car was a runner.
I asked him to drop the 240 from the tow truck to see if the transmission would engage. Considering he dollied the car 70+ miles on its rear wheels without disconnecting the driveshaft, I kinda expected the automatic transmission to be toast. But it worked! The car went into gear and buzzed up and down the street just fine. Sold! I took these right after I paid:
Being a towing company, he offered to deliver it back to my place, which happened a few minutes ago:
What’s the goal with this car? No clue. Tomorrow, I’ll get better photos and dig through the interior.
Wish me luck!
Why do I do this to myself?
Every day, I look at Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for cars I certainly don’t need - especially now, with my Amazon fighting me and gobbling my money.
Yet here we are.
When I got off work today, I opened Facebook Marketplace while I was riding in the elevator to head home, where this had popped up for sale:
So what did the ad tell us? The 240 was obviously getting towed, so it was safe to assume it didn’t run… and it was a parts car. Perfect!
I told my wife, who, being the awesome wife she repeatedly is with these projects, asked me to go look at it. She liked the color and wanted a beater wagon for us to use this upcoming winter.
I had a brief chat with the seller on the phone, and then there I was, driving out to see a 240 wagon.
When I pulled up, the 240 was still up on the tow truck. I was able to ask the seller the story, and here’s what he relayed to me:
A elderly lady up in McCall, Idaho had been using the car to get around town for years and years. They didn’t have a whole lot of money, so her kids did a variety of cheap DIY repairs as the car inevitably bumped into stuff as her eyesight worsened (plexiglass rear window is a perfect example). Around 2019 or 2020, she finally was unfit for driving, so the car was parked. As simple as that, the car sat from then until September 25, 2024 (today). It was then that they called a tow truck driver to take the Volvo away as junk. The tow truck driver did intend to scrap the car, but he decided to throw it on Marketplace for fun, while he stopped for dinner on his way to the scrapyard.
So yeah, this car was seriously about to die.
Anyway, he admitted he was a bit surprised that I messaged him, and didn’t know “Volvo enthusiasm” was a thing, but invited me to take a look at the car and mess around with it. After sitting for four or five years, the car did not run and had some moss growing on the roof. But being a 240, I stared at the engine bay for a few minutes, saw the crank position sensor unplugged, plugged it in, and then asked the seller if he had any spare batteries in his tow truck. Sure enough, he did! So I plopped in a battery, turned the key, and voila - the car was a runner.
I asked him to drop the 240 from the tow truck to see if the transmission would engage. Considering he dollied the car 70+ miles on its rear wheels without disconnecting the driveshaft, I kinda expected the automatic transmission to be toast. But it worked! The car went into gear and buzzed up and down the street just fine. Sold! I took these right after I paid:
Being a towing company, he offered to deliver it back to my place, which happened a few minutes ago:
What’s the goal with this car? No clue. Tomorrow, I’ll get better photos and dig through the interior.
Wish me luck!
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