2 Owner Wagon: 1978 Volvo 245 DL
Volvo wagons have historically been favored by a certain type of owner, usually a college professor or anyone else who can get away with wearing elbow patches on a tweet sport jacket. This often leads to a longer period of ownership and inspires a certain kind of loyalty between man and machine, and this 1978 Volvo 245 DL wagon has had just two owners from new. It also sports the old-school “dual round” headlights and a variety of grill badges, giving it an extra dose of character – which old Volvos are not exactly lacking. The seller is asking $12,000 in Bedford, NH.
The Volvo 245 is a significant vehicle in the company’s colorful history, capturing the essence of a brand many of us fondly recall. It is a memory, however, because the Volvo of the modern era isn’t nearly as concerned with the owner caricature I described above. Today’s Volvo is a tech-laden, high-end luxury model that isn’t nearly as concerned with anvil-like durability as its forbears were. This car is utilitarianism personified, with a squared-off shape, steel wheels, heavy-duty bumpers, and an engine and transmission combination that could withstand a nuclear attack.
The B21 four-cylinder engine produced 104 horsepower and 114 lb.-ft. of torque when new, and while it was hardly a powerhouse, it was highly reliable and cheap to maintain. If you had one of these in the garage next to a W123 Mercedes-Benz, you had a bomb-proof combination of daily drivers. The seller of this Volvo doesn’t tell us a ton about this car’s history, but given it’s a two-owner car, I’m guessing he bought it from the longtime caretaker. The interior remains in excellent condition, with very tidy upholstery and clean carpets and door panels. It also sports the optional automatic transmission.
Despite a wagon being ideally suited for family use, the back seat looks practically unused. And while it is in New Hampshire, I don’t see much in the way of rust, either. That potentially speaks to a long history of indoor storage and limited winter use, which would also suggest – if true – that the previous owner treated this 245 like a member of the family, as many older Volvo owners tend to. Incredibly, the seller mentions that there’s a healthy 180,000 miles on the clock, making its survivor-grade condition even more impressive. The big question is, would you spend $12,000 on a clean 245 like this? Check out the listing here on craigslist.
Comments
As you all know I’m a Volvo and wagon tragic, so I like this car.
But, I don’t like the headlights (we never got those here, so maybe I’m biased?). And it’s an auto, assuming it’s a BW35, means it also has the BW diff. The only week spot.
Interesting the taillights look identical to the ones on my Aussie 145?
No links to the add, as I wanted to see an engine pic.
Also had a 244 with the slant 4, 2.1L mechanical fuel injection and a 4 speed manual,
Those look like W123 window cranks without the inserts, and not Volvo 240 window cranks, which would be plastic. Volvo 140 series window cranks are metal, but do not have a cutout in the middle.
Nice find and write-up! Asking price is cheaper than a semester at some East Coast prep school.
I’m glad there aren’t any obligatory surfboards on the roof of this brick wagon. Better “props”, as alluded to by the writer, for selling any vintage Volvo would be a pipe in the ashtray, corduroy sport coat (with elbow patches) and a Momma’s and Poppa’s cassette.
Um, Homer, that’s supposed to be leather patches on a tweed jacket, ahem, anyway, my ’78 244 was this color and another of my favorite cars. When the brake repair cost exceeded the price I paid for the car,( in the 90s!) it was adios. Every hippie from the 60s that eventually joined the “establishment”, drove a Volvo wagon. Far out, man,,
To answer your question NO I would NOT drop that kind of coin on A old Volvo with a 180k on it. I know they have a cult following of people who love these things I’m not one of them, I would find a non runner and drop a Ford 4.6 in it For a demolition derby
‘flying brick’
a cheb or ford small block.
Lots done.
One of my fav’s. Owned an ‘82 silver DL waggy 18 yrs…
my 1st wolwo. Liked so much when buying a house benefiting from
FWD got an 850. THAT broke me of the line as just like MB (simultaneously)
they went dwn hill. MB may have come back. Not sure abt this co.
I luv these, but I too would rather find a beater for cheap if possible. A friend worked at a dealership, picked up a similar Volvo wagon from a trade in for cheap. I wanted that one bad.
no contact info ?
Nice $2,500 Volvo.
Nice 240 series wagon. I had 3 of them back in the 90’s thru the mid 2000’s. Better with a 5 spd or even a 4 w/overdrive. Allowed a hot rodder with a family & a couple kids in tow to still enjoy the pleasure of a judicious throttle, as long as there’s a stick to row.
As a woodworker I used mine for my work as well as a family car while having fun just plain driving, whatever the need. Good reliable daily drivers that can haul just about anything you can stuff in them or on top of them.
Modern Volvos offer me nothing. I’d still be driving a 240 wagon if I hadn’t stepped up to w124 merc wagons! Both rear wheel drive with large cargo capacity, but the merc takes you to a whole other class. I got mine for less than half what this 240 wagon is going for!
240’s, a breed of their own.
I had a yellow 78 245 DL I bought my last year in collage for 700 bucks. Best money I ever spent. It looked almost new and just needed brakes. I thought it would be a tempary car till I graduated and got a “real job” was still driving it on that real job 4 years later. Wish I had kept it. Latter bought a 84 245. Not bad but some how not as good. More rung out I guess. Both mine were 4 speeds with over drive.
I know the ask for this car is to high with that much mileage on the odometer. My mom sold her 1990 DL for that with 60K miles and it had leather seat in early 90’s.
I tend to feel like for a 46 year old car of any type , the mileage is kinda beside the point now. Being a Volvo 240 series , it’s just about half way thru its life mileage wise. Both mine were well over 300,000 miles when they got to be too much trouble expense to daily drive. Having said that , yeah 12 large is too much regardless.
You forgot to link to the ad. Of what’s shown and mentioned here, seems like a rare find, at least in the north east. Most of these have changed hands several times by now, have loads of miles and just plain don’t exist like this in the NE. Regardless, their miles seem to be irrelevant with even mediocre care being shown to them. Unfortunately, like almost everything now, their values have been escalating. If it’s as clean as it appears and everything checks out, the price isn’t too far off.
It sounds as if the ad is lacking info, which is another sign of the times. Frankly, I’m sick of it. If you’re selling something, write a thorough ad with actual useful info, good photos and with proper grammar and spelling to boot.
Found it.
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/bedford-1978-volvo-245dl-wagon-always/7788734866.html
And it was already featured on here ten months ago.
$12K is a lot for a car that is actually pretty rough. The interior is missing a number of pieces (notice the inside of the front right door…my guess is that the owner has restored the door cards with later-model parts and that’s why he’s not been able to get the inner door handles or speaker grills to go back on), the dash is cracked in two places, front bumper trim is messed up and missing, and parts if not all of the car have been repainted. Note the overspray on the underbody near the rockers. I’d check those rockers for bondo for sure…and if found, this car is practically worthless except for parts. Then there’s the matter of the automatic transmission (this car will be bog slow assuming it’s got the original engine).
It’s shiny. And if it has been repainted, you have to give the owner credit for dealing with all of that optional trim around the wheel wells, door edges, hatch. But beyond that, this sadly is a $1500 245.
This car appears to be cobbled together for a quick flip in hopes a quick buck!
I have a soft spot for these cars. I went on a tear for several years where I would make a killing selling the 3rd row seats on EBay. I bought them from the boneyard for $20.00 and sold them for $150-200.