Return of the abandoned Volvo

I posted here last summer about this abandoned Volvo 760 wagon which
was just sitting in a motel parking lot, unlocked, for about a year and
a half, pretty good condition, no rust or dents, can't remember how many
miles but it wasn't bad.
I tried to get the motel mgr to just let me take it since obviously
the owner wasn't going to come and get it. But he didn't want to do
that since it wasn't really in the way where it was sitting.
I tried contacting the owner by registered letter offering to buy it
but they never contacted me.
Drove by the place the other day and it was no longer there, called
them up and they said the motel has a new mgr and he had it towed.
Contacted the towing place and they said I could have it for $300.00,
but it would be up to me to deal with the title transfer and all that,
as it will still be titled to the original owner.
There's no key.
Do you think that car would be worth the $300.00?
Of course there will likely be things wrong with it just from sitting,
although one thing to condsider is that it obviously ran ok when it was
driven to the place where it was abandoned.
It's a pretty cool car, 4 cyl turbo intercooled, black leather, clean.
I have a pretty good background in auto mechanics but am totally
ignorant about Volvos, but I just really like those wagons, and hence
would rather enjoy tinkering with it.
What would your advice be? And what would it be worth if it were up &
running?

 

I have no idea about US car prices but it's got to be worth risking even
if you decide to break it.

 

Go for it. Sitting for a year and a half isn't all that long and
shouldn't take much to get it going again. Since you have a mechanical
background it shouldn't cost much to fix. I bought my 89 turbo wagon
after it was sitting for that long and once the battery was charged it
fired up and ran fine with 178K on it. It'll need work but there's
plenty of resources online and the labor is free. You should be able to
properly document it and become the new legal owner but it will
probably be a bit of a hassle dealing with the beuracracy. Even if you
end up selling it for parts you'll still easily get your money back.

Dave

 

I'd look into what it's going to take to re-title it before I put any money
down. A prior lien, for example, could be a major problem.

 

In <>,

He's talking about a 760. The last year Volvo made them was 1990.
You think there's an outstanding 15 year lien, and the bastards at
the bank haven't repossessed it yet.

AC

 

Used cars often have liens.

 

It can't hurt (much) to check and might save major headaches later.

 

Check with your local Motor Vehicles Division on the procedure. Around here
towing companies have paperwork that allow you to get a salvage title for a
vehicle. The title is branded but for $300, who cares? The car is worth
more than $300 in parts even if it never runs again.

 

Well I'd pay $300 for it, but it's not anywhere near me.

Running I'd say the value would probably be $1400-$2500 depending on how
good the condition of everything is and how nicely you polish it up.

Once you start working on an old Volvo you'll never want to go back.
Almost everything is so easy and logical, I never find myself getting
stuck like I did with other cars I worked on.

 

In general, if it's a European car, just take the UK value and multiply
it by 3-5X and you'll have more or less the value in the US, which of
course varies by location too.


I've also noticed that people's definition of condition varies quite a
lot, to some "no rust" seems to mean no visible holes rotted through the
body, and "no dents" means it hasn't been broadsided by a truck. Others
like myself are much more nitpicky.

 

No, the only thing about the body is I'm not wild about the color
(gold, somewhat fading).
If I am to get this car it may entail removing the driveshaft where it
sits, as it is in park and there's no key. Question #1: What tool(s)
would I need for this? Is it a two-piece shaft, etc? I'm not going to
buy a manual for it until I have it in my posession.
The car is about 60 miles away from my home but I have just procured a
trailer.
Oh the weather outside is frightening... well below zero and lots of
snow here, somewhat difficult to remove a drive shaft in a (non-paved)
impound lot.
I know that many times tow trucks will winch a vehicle onto a flatbed
with it in park--obviously not the best thing for a transmission but
I've never heard of it wrecking one either. They MAY have done that
with this one. Any comments on that?
I guess the first step is to check out the legalities of the title
transfer, and when I have the green light on that I"ll just give the
towing service the $300 and get it when the gettin's good.
Question #2: Perhaps when it get it titled to my name I can show the
title and the VIN to a dealer and get a key??
Since I'm going to need one anyway I may as well have it before I even
move it.

 

if you can't rotate the propshaft, you won't be able to remove the bolts.
But if you're going to jack the car up why not take out the clevispin in
the linkage to the transmission, and shift the thing in neutral from below



--

 

I one of my older volvos, I was able to "manually" depress the pin that
holds the shifter in Park. You could reach into the shift handle slot.

 

It's a two piece shaft, to remove it you'll need a few 14mm and 13mm
wrenches as I recall, might want to bring a set because the bolts may be
15mm at one end, I forget. You need to have the transmission in neutral,
rear wheels off the ground, and it *really* helps to have an assistant
to work the parking brake while you're underneath.

 

I just went back and looked at the car yesterday in the impound lot,
to make sure it was still intact, as I hadn't seen it in awhile.
It has 203K miles on it, BTW. What is generally regarded as the life
expectancy of those 4 cyl intercooled engines? (I know it's impossible
to say for sure without knowing what kind of care it's had).

 

Like you said, it's impossible to say. Plenty of them running around
with 300K+ on them though. Realistically, 350K-400K is the most you're
likely to get before it's getting a bit tired and in need of a rebuild
but the interior will usually be shot long before the engine is worn out.