Would you buy a car without a key?

1433 Views 11 Replies 4 Participants Last post by TrboBrk, Aug 31, 2001

TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · Aug 30, 2001

Well, I was cruising down my local car district, looking for a Toyota AE86, a blue car caught my eye. I was looking for one of these a while ago, but gave up. It was a Volvo 240 turbo, 4 doors, and a manual. It looked in pretty good shape for an 18 year old car. The interior was clean. The dash had a couple of cracks on it. The rims were in good shape. I don't know the milage, but the car was priced at $1,400. Heres the kicker, it doesn't have keys.

Does anyone have any check up tips? Things to look for, problem spots, funny noises, etc?

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #2 · Aug 30, 2001

Oh!!! Come on guys!!! Ive gotten more help from vortex!!!!!!!

Is the 240 turbo reliable?
How much does it weigh?
Are there any problems with the 240 series I should be aware of?

HELP!!!!

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[email protected]

· #3 · Aug 30, 2001

There are a few less people on this board, so have patience. If I were you, I'd run CARFAX on the car and see what comes up. At least you know it is clear.

There are some guys on this board who know the 240s much better than I so I'll bow out to them, though I will move a copy of this to the 240 section as well so that they might spot it.

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Jordan

· #4 · Aug 30, 2001

Ooo Ooo

I know 240's. i've got lots of em. a turbo modle eh? you need to check out the turbo. pull of the hose taht goes from teh turbo to the intercooler(if equiped) or the throttle body. wiggle the shaft inside the turbo. it should barly move. if it moves lots, its got a bad turbo. if you buy this car you should probably pull the entire turbo system off and clean out all oil lines etc. is it a watercooled turbo? is the engine dirty? be weary you want a car thats been taken car of. rust is a problem. around the wheel wells, on the rocker panels, and for somereason on all my cars a circle on the front passenger door. those are ok if you don't mind the apperacne and wanna get it fixed. check the floors, some windows leak and the water sits in the carpet and floor boards. hows the interiour? you can buy pads to cover the cracked existant dash. hows the exhaust? if you want performance you'll probably go to a 3inch custom exhaust from the turbo back. get a compression test done, burn oil? smoke? what colors the smoke? sunroof? does it open? and close? check the miles. its a volvo so they don't really care.

for some sites on performance is www.turbobricks.org

maitnance www.brickboard.com

the car weights probably around 3100 pounds, if its intercooled it has 160 horsepower
non-intercooled 130 horsepower you can get the intercooler kit from www.ipdusa.com
or find it in a junk yard, way cheaper that way.

is it auto or manual? a manual tranny can only hold up to 225 horsepower, but it makes for one quick brick. the auto is about the same.

if you have any more questions just ask

Jordan

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #5 · Aug 30, 2001

its got 120k miles. The interior is in pretty good shape and the seats barely have any wear. I saw the engine and it looks pretty clean. I haven't seen it run.

How reliable are the turbo's?

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 30, 2001

I forgot to add, would it make a good daily driver?

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towerymt

· #7 · Aug 31, 2001

quote:

Originally posted by TrboBrk:
How reliable are the turbo's?

They can be very reliable, and there are lots of people who depend on a 240 Turbo as a daily driver. However, it all depends on how it was cared for. At 120K miles, the turbo could be shot or it could be at less than mid life (I know of a 740 Turbo with the original non-watercooled turbo, still going at 270,000+ MILES). Definitely see if it smokes at all while running at idle and under load (WOT/under boost), and definitely check for play in the shaft on a COLD engine (I'm not sure what it's called, but it's mentioned above).

If it does smoke, white is water/coolant, blue is oil, and black is gas (running rich). If after a hard drive, the exhaust manifold is glowing red, it's running too lean. There are lots of Turbo owners who post at brickboard.com (you'll want the RWD forum) who can help you with the finer points.

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #8 · Aug 31, 2001

I dont plan on keeping the stock turbo for long....

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[email protected]

· #9 · Aug 31, 2001

I just found another GLT sedan FS in NoVA. I was surfing Yahoo, but copied it to our forums. You may want to check it out if you are in VA.

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #10 · Aug 31, 2001

Oh... This always happens.

Im in arlington TX. Its 30 min west of Dallas. Thanks for looking though. I went to see the car today because it rained, and I thought it would be a good time to check all the seals. I opened the door and it was dry as a bone.

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[email protected]

· #11 · Aug 31, 2001

Sounds like a nice car. Now if you can just get a key huh. Kinda hard to testdrive without one, unless by chance you care to hotwire it

. Doubt you'll wanna do that though. What does the owner say about the lack of keys?

[This message has been edited by [email protected] (edited 08-31-2001).]

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TrboBrk

Discussion Starter · #12 · Aug 31, 2001

Nothing, Its in one of those nasty car lots, but the way I see it, if a mechanic says its good, and the price is right, I can go ahead an just pay for it in one sitting.

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