Not long into my freshman year at the University of Arkansas, I had decided I needed something to drive to class, and not care if I got bumped into or not. This would leave my XC90 safely parked in the garage, and ready for inclement weather. What did I decide to get? Well, I had my heart set on an older Mercedes as there was a very strong Mercedes presence in Fayetteville, and you can find them for sale. After looking realistically at my budget, and the prices of used Mercedes, I came to realize I needed a different car.
I was a college student with limited funds, and still rebuilding the engine on my 164. At this point in time you could still pick up Volvo 240’s pretty cheap, and still have a nice car. I did a quick search for 240’s near me, and found a 1988 240 GL in Memphis, TN. It was an Ebay ad, and the seller was a salesman at a Lexus dealer in Memphis. It was his son’s car, and they bought him a newer car. He told me that if I brought $1200, the car would be mine. I quickly said “deal”, and planned a trip 5 hours south.
That weekend I got about 45 minutes into the trip, and the seller called me to tell me he had a higher offer on the table. At first I was kind of upset thinking that is not the way you do business, once you make a deal, it’s a deal. He quickly followed up saying that he is holding the car for me as long as I was still coming. Relieved, I said yes, and I would be there in the afternoon.
I got to the Lexus dealer around 12 or 1, and was pleasantly surprised with the car. It was a white GL, with the original paint that was perfect. The seats were a tan tufted leather, but were badly ripped. It had roughly 250,000 miles, and it ran like a champ. The AC cooled better than most newer cars, and as a bonus I got the service records.
I brought my mom along with me to drive a car back. She loves doing road trips with me, regardless if she has to drive a car back. The drive home was really uneventful thankfully. I replayed in the back of my head what the seller told me when I said I was driving it home 5 hours, “I had told my son not to drive it 2 hours to Nashville, but he did.” Once we got on the other side of Alma, Arkansas we hit a torrential downpour. It was to the point where I saw many cars in the ditch due to hydroplaning. This 240 did not have great tires, in fact, one was almost slick, and another had a bulging sidewall. Looking back, the tire gods were watching over me. We made it home safely without a break down or blowout (looking back I would not do this again. I was a bit more gutsy in my younger days).
The GL trim is the top of the line luxury for a 240. You get Corona aluminum wheels, and real deal leather with buttons! The “GL” stands for Grand Lux, and made you stand out from the average 240 buyer. Of course, you could get a 240 GT or GLT, but those are a bit more rare. Weirdly enough the GL trim in the bigger sedan, the 740, was the lower end. You had to step up to the GLE or Tubro in the 740 to get some luxury.
Now, looking back this was one of the cars I should not have let go. I had some real fun with this car. It was the most reliable car you could ask for. The sound the doors made when you closed it was satisfying. I love the sound that they make when they start up, and the chime that you get, is very 1980’s Volvo.
I had a euro style front license plate made that said “88 Brick”, so I stood out in traffic. All of my fraternity brothers loved piling into the car, and taking it from my dorm to the house in the mornings. I always felt safe and secure in my 240, regardless if it was quite a bit smaller than the lifted trucks around campus. I recall one time pulling up to a stop light, and seeing another 240 across the intersection from me. We made eye contact and waved, kind of like we had something no one else on the road had.
In the end my relationship with the white knight was short lived. Not because I wanted it to be, but because I had a friend fall in love with it more than me. A Volvo club member that lived close to me had seen the car at one of our Volvo get togethers, and loved the way it looked, and drove. He texted me later that night, and asked if it was for sale. I told him everything was for sale for a price, which in retrospect I should have just said no. He told me he would offer $2,200 for the car, which for me was a big profit after I put tires on the car. For some, $700 profit on a car might not be a lot, but for me I was fired up. The next day he met me to pick up the car, and sign the title, and that was it. He drove the car for a number of years, and loved it more than I had. When his family grew he needed a wagon, so he sold it. The gentleman that bought it, really changed it. Later he sent me a picture of it, and it had some new rims, completely overhauled interior, and a manual transmission. I was so glad it was passed along to someone that loved it again. In the end, it was better off with new owners so it wouldn’t have to suffer a life in college parking lots. I still miss it, but know that it is still loved.
Connor,
That was a good story and you had a fabulous automobile in that ’88 240.
My daily driver is a 1993 240 wagon (final year!), with the M47 5-speed manual. It was a one-owner car that I bought from the original owner’s estate for $1,500. It now has 203k on it and runs like a champ, because the first owner always, and I mean always, had it serviced at the dealership. I do my own maintenance work but still…
Believe it or not, I have had 5-figure offers for that car and I’ve turned down all of them. I will never sell it.
Loved your story! See, my first car was a 1965 Volvo that I bought in 1975, for $500. I had it about a year, and though I had saved a bit of money from a good summer job, I planned to keep the Volvo at least until I graduated from college the coming Spring. And, truth be told, I had spent a good chunk of change on a new-used motorcycle. Then one day a friend, who had always loved my 122S, showed up at my front door with $1000 in cash. A quick sign-off of the pink slip and the car was his.
Postscript: a few years later he sold me a 142 for about $1000, but within a few days I decided I didn’t like it and he took it back … we hadn’t done any paperwork so I don’t really consider that 142 to be on of my COALs.
Reminds me of my grandfathers 1981 GLE. Exact same color combo. It had been his last company car that he chose to take him through retirement. I always wanted that car. By the time he was ready to part with it I had purchased my step father’s 1981 280zx. I couldn’t see swapping my silver t-topped chariot (yes, I know ZX’s are total sleds) for the white brick with guardrail bumpers. Plus, by that time I was aware what a turd the PRV V6 was.
I want one of these so very, very badly in a stick but would take a automatic. Wish I could run across one like I ran across the local Taurus Ed bought.
I’ll grant you that, but raise you this:
Being old, saw TOTO, didn’t know if the band TOTO, or ‘Wizard of Oz’ TOTO, stick the key in and get ‘ARF, ARF, ARF, ARF’ Once had a 1976 Cadillac limo, the prior owner had changed the ‘DING-A-LING’ for an endless Elephant loudly trumpeting, loved that key reminder.
Had a 164 sedan, silver w/black interior, should have kept it. A close friend had five Volvo’s, 144 through Turbo wagon, when Paradise, Cal. burned he lost all but the wagon he drove out in.
I have a box of buzzer relays collected over the years, first thing I remove when a get a car.
“The AC cooled better than most newer cars…”
R12 vs. R134. The AC in my ’88 F-250 could freeze me out of the cab.
That is a myth; R134a refrigerant does not necessarily mean poor cooling and R12 refrigerant does not necessarily mean good cooling—see here for data.
Assuming a system in proper repair and properly charged and operated, two main factors determine whether the system cools well or poorly: if the system is appropriately specified for the task, it will cool well. Otherwise—especially if the condenser or (less commonly) the evaporator is underspecified—it will not. And if the cabin is poorly insulated and/or the windows are poor at keeping heat out, the car becomes a solar oven impossible for even a very high capacity A/C system to keep cool.
The “R134A is poopy, it doesn’t cool as well as R12” idea comes mostly from poorly-done R134a conversions, often on systems that were marginally specified to begin with.
Very nice! When I was that age I changed cars early and often. Only later would I learn to hold onto a good car for a long time.
College is no place for a good car. My son’s 89 Grand Marquis was an extremely nice car when he bought it, and less nice when we sold it after a couple of years at college. A couple of parking lot scrapes, a broken hood ornament from a drunken idiot in the parking lot, and things like that are what happens to a college kid’s car.
The end of your story was heartwarming – a succession of loving owners who have kept the car and improved it. This does not happen often.