The car is a coupe, in pretty good body conditions, not perfect. I
drove it and it feels great. (anyway .. that's easy with a 238 HP)
I'm ready to accept the not perfect body.
What I would not like is buying the car and figure out after 2000
miles that there are major engine/transmission problems.
Anyway, I'll definetily ask for an external inspection. I'm using
Edmunds, I think is the best website for that
I don't know that much Volvo. Of course I know about the reputation of
Volvo cars but I don't know how much could be the life span of that
engine/transmission. Would be too much asking the engine/transmission
to stay alive for other 60.000 - 70.000 miles?
Whether it will run for another 50,000 or 200,000 miles really depends
on the care that was given the car for the first 160,000 miles of it's
life. Given that there were two things to repair and that it is in at
best well used and average condition the price would seem a bit high
to me. Still, you might have some negotiating room with the seller if
you know what is wrong with the car. I can't emphasize this enough -
you need to get a mechanic who knows something about Volvo cars to
evaluate the car and give you some sense about whether big problems
are just around the corner.
For example if the transmission fluid has never been changed
transmission problems are soon to come. If the owner was not
scrupulous about oil changes the turbocharger may be nearing the end
of it's life. If the brakes were never flushed the ABS master cylinder
may be getting ready to give problems. Etc., etc.
By way of background I bought high milage cars (Volvo, Saab & Toyota)
for my kids to take to college and they all performed as needed. But
I had them all checked out by a mechanic beforehand. And we excluded
several along the way because of hidden problems.
)