I Bought An Old (And BROKEN) High Mileage Winter Daily Driver

I recently bought a 35-year old, high mileage classic car intended to be used as my new daily driver for the winter - more specifically, a 1986 Volvo 245 Wagon/Estate with a modest 382,000 km!
In this video I introduce to you my new addition to the fleet, how much it cost, and the thought process behind buying this particular example and model. I also discuss what makes a classic Volvo so good and why it is still, in my opinion, a suitable winter daily driver even in 2022 - despite being based on an archaic platform dating back to the early 1970s.
Thank you for watching the video! Please consider liking and subscribing if you want to see similar content in the future.
-----
Contact - [e-mail]
Twitter - / auto__lore

[@GentilsGarage]

That shape is unmistakable and these can go forever! I have an S80 that has an insane amount of miles.

[@EnriqueLopez-hb5jn]

The car maybe 35 years young, compared to some newer cars these cars are easy to work on, you can personalize them at your own taste they do not use a lot of computerized gadgets like the newer cars, which is a plus, parts are readily available, and are interchangeable like the 240s not like the newer cars the 240 which was made from 1975,but 1993 are proof that you can get a basic 240 model, and if you have access to a GL ,or GLE model put all the electronic options on like power mirrors, windows, dash lights, interiors, etc.

[@Auto_Lore]

You make very good points; this model is much easier to live with than most newer cars, despite its age, due to its simplicity and that it is designed to be worked on easily by the owner. No complex electronic systems to worry about, cheap interchangeable parts and the fact that the car is built to a high, durable standard - it is a great car to own and will seemingly last forever. Thank you for watching!

[@justinvoelker9781]

My 240 has 270k miles on it and still going strong! They’re wonderful cars

[@jacobfleming565]

Keep up the good work on the videos man. It'll pay off soon

[@Auto_Lore]

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words!

[@ivokiller2000intel]

At 9:30 I was thinking you were going a bit to fast, but as you were talking about analog and rwd driving I thought you were going to drift thought that corner, boy was I wrong. Luckily it looks as it was just a bit of a scare. Congrats for the new daily, in my country Volvo's are one of the most difficult brands to live with

[@Auto_Lore]

Haha, its characteristics certainly make it a good drifting car but in the clip I underestimated the road conditions and had too high entry speed into that corner - it really highlights the importance of driving at appropriate low speeds on these kinds of icy, slippery roads. I also believe the uncontrollable understeer was a result of braking too late and sharply on the bare ice that I didn't see at first, causing the wheels to lock up due to no ABS. Luckily the car was completely unscathed and it even narrowly avoided the snow pile by only an inch or two - a miracle, really. Had I driven 10-20 km/h faster than I did I would have most likely ended up crashing into the tree and seriously damaged the car. Definitely a scare and a wake-up call that day, I have learned my lesson and will drive much more carefully with the Volvo from now on. Thank you, I am definitely looking forward to spending the rest of the winter with it. What country are you from, if you don't mind me asking? Also, thank you for watching!

[@ivokiller2000intel]

@@Auto_Lore I'm from Argentina, Volvo started it's presence here in 1980/1981when the market opened a bit and sold some 200 series but in 1982 imports were mostly closed and remained that way until 1990, this made really hard to obtain spares (hurting image). During the 90s imports were welcomed again, but ford made an awful job providing spares, so they were expensive to run and still a pain to get spares (also their car prices were quite expensive compared to the competition), this only was further expanded by the 2001 crisis and subsequent closing of imports. All this made Volvo's depreciation huge which further hurted sales and today they're a niche brand. If something scares the heck out of the Argentinean buyer, that's spare parts availability and price, sometimes more that they should. Volvo has one of the worst reputations about this, having one is a labour of love, same as having a Rover, a SAAB, or a Subaru to a lesser extent. As you can see, we had many crisis

[@Auto_Lore]

@@ivokiller2000intel Nice to have an Argentinian viewer, thank you for explaining the situation you have had there - unfortunate that the spare parts availability situation for Volvos has been difficult for you as it is almost the opposite in Europe. I find it very fascinating that the Volvo 200 series was also sold in your region - it definitely seems as though Scandinavian cars are a bit "exotic" and niche there based on what you described. I can imagine the scarcity of parts is only getting worse as the model is getting older, but perhaps it is possible to buy some online these days, e.g. eBay? Assuming the shipping costs are reasonable, of course. I can really relate to the struggles of finding parts, especially for some of the older classic cars that I own. Certainly makes the ownership more challenging and daunting.

[@ivokiller2000intel]

@@Auto_Lore Imported cars were always seemed as "exotic", specially as most have a heavy tax and import cuotas were quite restrictive. It's remarkable that Volvo still exists here, bigger brands such as Mazda and Lexus left our market (the later one came back recently) .The tricky part is that importing used car parts it technically illegal which makes some parts really difficult to get, on the other hand new parts can be imported (generally via an importer) and internet made owning "rare" cars easier than ever although waiting times for spares are pretty long due to customs (usually from 1 to 3 months). Definitely rebuilding components such as alternators or steering racks is way more popular here than in Europe or USA and so is the art of adapting parts from other cars. One youtuber here had an 750i E32, once part of the rear bumper broke, it ended up being easier and cheaper to buy a broken E32 with missing title only for the bumper than to import the bumper itself (The channel is "Lucas Abriata") SAAB was a quite expensive brand the few years it was here but also left the country after the 2001 crisis, leaving existing customers as orphans (like Renault in the US) and further depreciating it's vehicles (ans SAAB itself dying worldwide only made it worst).

[@strogmsk1174]

Hej, roligaste motorn ju! På insuget finns faktiskt en lättåtkomlig tomgångsskruv till höger om den cylinderformade grejen som sitter på insuget. Den heter tomgångsventil bara för o tillägga. Om du inte har en vakuumläcka i nån slang eller packning, så ska det bara vara o skruva in skruven lite för att dra ner varvtalet på tomgång.

[@Auto_Lore]

Hej, stort tack för tipset och detaljerna! Jag är ännu inte så kunnig om dessa äldre Volvo-motorerna, så mycket uppskattat! Jag ska prova det och försöka sänka ner tomgången lite grann, jag misstänker att den har varit inställd för kallare Norrlandsklimat.

[@EnriqueLopez-hb5jn]

I had a 1981 240 GL, and had a 1983 240 DLWA, put in the dash from the 1983, which was in perfect condition, rims or alloys, door, I had 3 other doors as spares, also when the transmission from the 1981, said no more, I put in the 1983 with overdrive, fit perfectly without any modifications

[@Auto_Lore]

Very nice, it is really convenient how you can mix and match most parts between model years and trim levels - makes the 240 so easy to live with.

[@mindspinn311]

Does the engine block heater not help much with the cold starts?

[@danielagrijalba7789]

Ohhh amazing 😲😲😲

[@jacksonkjilberg8686]

Here I didn’t even cross 200K on my CRV! 😨

[@Auto_Lore]

That's also a bulletproof model, I'm sure you will be able to drive twice that mileage without issues if you maintain it well! Thank you for watching!

[@samyadav006]

@@Auto_Lore now im gonna keep mine after your words! I got mine with around 80K now! And I can say if I were you even I would love to buy this volvo!

[@Auto_Lore]

@@samyadav006 Very nice, that is definitely a solid choice. Best of luck with your ownership, I'm sure you will have many more trouble-free miles to come with that car.

[@antonaberg5238]

Snälla rostskydda denna pärla med något linolja baserad produkt!

[@antonaberg5238]

Det roliga är att jag köpte själv en ljus brun 1986 DL 245a med 47,5K mil i höstas och håller på att restaurera den just nu

[@antonaberg5238]

Hörde i videon att du hade högtomgång. Detta är förmodligen antingen låg på förgasarolja eller så kan du skruva ner tomgången manuellt med en plattmejsel. Dina start problem vid kallt väder är lite udda (såg din andra video). Jag bor själv i Västerbotten och då har dom alltid kickat igång direkt även vid -30c utan motorvärmare. Om du vill kan du testa vid nästa kallstart att antingen spruta in en skvätt startgas för att se om det eventuellt är ett "såppa" problem att du förlorar din "prime" i bränsleledningarna (därför måste den gå runt som fan för att få fram bensinen för du har en mekanisk pump) annars kan det vara tändningen som spökar