1989 760 turbo advice

I am looking for an inexpensive dependable car and have come across a 1989
760 turbo wagon. The body looks great, it has 248K KM on it. I am just
wondering what I should be looking for with this model.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

The car has only done 155,000 miles. You need to see a full service history
with all appropriate cambelt changes done and recorded, full history of
brake services and evidence of suspension bushings having been checked
and/or replaced. Test drive it and check for any odd happenings. Ensure that
Air Conditioning works as it should, plus gearbox & overdrive, engine and
drive train. Ensure that ABS works correctly and that booster does not show
any abnormalities. Check for odd noises and action from power steering and
that electric sunroof works ok. There should be no signs of water ingress
throughout the car. If your inspection says the car is great then go ahead
and get it after ensuring that the seller will put right any wrongs
discovered within a reasonable period (say, three months). The turbo is the
best of the 760s (apart from the turbodiesel that is).

All the best, Peter.

700/900/90 Register Keeper,
Volvo Owners Club (UK).

 

Lots of bells & whistles, but it's new enough to not have the dreaded vacuum
operated climate control or biodegradable wiring harness and it's relatively
low mileage. Maintenance records would be nice, though you can usually get a
good idea of how well it's been maintained by looking carefully under the
hood and under the car. Check the turbo for shaft play, condition of the
hoses and under hood wiring, and test out all the electrical accessories.

 

Not only do 760s have the vacuum operated Electronic Climate Control but so
do 940s and 960s and S/V90s and most of the recent generations of Volvos.
There were three options of Air Conditioning apart from the standard heater
arrangement. Manual Climate Control, Automatic climate Control and
Electronic Climate Control.

All the best, Peter.

 

Perhaps that's true in the UK, though I find it odd, but in the US the last
year of the troublesome vacuum operated climate control was '88 at which
point they went to an electronic system. It still uses vacuum to control the
duct dampers but that's controlled by a solenoid valve bank and the system
is much more reliable than the old one. All 700 and 900 series cars came
standard with air conditioning and there were two options, manual controls
and ACC.