I found this advertised on my local Craigslist – it’s a scrap car that the seller has been throwing metal into for the last few months; apparently it is completely full and now he just needs the whole thing gone. $200 takes it all, which actually seems to leave some upside if you hauled it to the crusher. This is a depressing end for what was once a fine station wagon, I like to think I can see the broughamy red interior too. The visible rear wheel looks like it was from an early 80s 240, but could have been a 740 version as well, I don’t know what they looked like without hubcaps.
Craigslist Classic Outtake – The Saddest Volvo 740 Wagon In America
– Posted on April 22, 2015
Poor Volvo. 🙁 I guess sometimes being boxy with a ton of interior space has its drawbacks…
This is sad. But she is looking trim and no rust to be seen.
Back in the 80s I rented a white Volvo like this wagon regularly for my job. I’d ask the rental agency to let me know when it came back. Fat old salesmen in my company wouldn’t touch a car like this, too liberal. But when I’d park it in my NYC neighborhood it (and me) got a lot of respect.
So..respect.
No rust, that’s usually the case. If a Volvo ( especially older wagon ) shows rust, I can’t imagine how much road salt they use. Around Detroit metro, where they dump so much salt that it feels like gravel road sometimes, many beaten Volvos with many dings only start to show slight rust in these years. ( I mean, 25+yo Volvos )
The bodies of my 740s and 940s didn’t rust at all after years in Chicago.
BUT the wheels, axle supports, electrical grounding studs, steel tubing, and other misc metal pieces all did!
I just lost my last 940 Wagon last year when the steel tube that returned fluid from to the steering rack rusted thru. Alas, the only way to repair it was to remove the rack and hope the tube would unscrew — or pop in a new rack.
Either way, it just wasn’t worth it anymore.
Does anyone else wonder the past history of a car when they see it in this pre-death state? Who the original owner was, where it traveled to, was it loved by the previous owners, etc. etc. etc.?
Good to know I’m not the only one.
Someone loved that car enough to buy it new – and now…..
Yup. That’s what I like about many of the TTAC/MM “Junkyard Find” stories.
My guess would be that it donated some parts to another car- note the missing hood. There is no way that someone in the scrap metal business would remove a metal part unless they could resell it. Judging by the rest of the panel conditions, I doubt that it would have been sold.
Sometimes, something has to die so another box can still live!
Tests and Son gave us $208 or so dollars for getting rid of a 96 Subaru Legacy Estate and that was after a $45 towing fee. I would totally buy this Volvo for $200 and make some money off of it. I’d even try to remove the Catcon before hand, but I do not know how valuable Volvo Catcons are.
Best out of the 4 Volvos wagons I’ve owned: ’86 740 Turbo with a 5 speed O.D. trans. Wish I still had it.