I had asked in a previous post about a '91 240 sedan, 120K miles, asking $5K that I saw in the paper weeks ago. I looked at it today. I can turn a wrench, but I'm no expert and this is the first Volvo I've looked at. Original owner had it serviced by the local dealer up to 90K miles. I saw the dealer stamps in the owner's manual. The best I can tell the 1st owner's health declined (now deceased according to 2nd owner) and the car was neglected for 20K miles or so. The current owner has had it for 7 months. Before I drove an hour to see it he had told me that it was pristine in/out and mechanically. Note - I don't care too much about the car's appearance. I'm more interested in a solid driver.

-Current owner claims new tires/rotors/pads/CD player. The tires are "Sonar" brand, which I imagine are dirt cheap. He also had the roof (only) painted due to bird droppings. The rest of the paint appears to be original - some scratches and the paint has kind of faded, no dings, no rust, no apparent body damage
-It still has R12 in the A/C, the compressor takes 5-10 secs to start after hitting the a/c switch (is that normal?), I heard what sounded like bearing noise when the compressor kicked on, so I imagine that will need to be replaced soon, it did blow cold ($600-$800 or so for repair + conversion?)
-Last timing belt was at 51K miles (dealer sticker on belt cover), so it needs one plus drive belts and water pump now ($500?)
-Multiple oil (or ATF?) leaks – top of flame trap looked wet, valve cover (dried up oil only), wet oil in area on top of water pump under t-belt cover (a leaking front seal?), trans had a fresh drop of motor oil (or ATF?) hanging on the plug and trans pan was slightly wet with oil or ATF (maybe RM seal at $500 or so?)
-Did the flame trap test on oil fill cap, a little oil spurted out, then cap rattled away, no suction from what I could tell
-There was an electrical connector loose, kind of a clear looking tube mounted to the side wall under the washer fluid tank, what is that? The wire/connector was dangling near where it should be plugged in. I didn't plug it in to see what would happen. Owner didn't want too either.
-Little things - radio antenna was grinding but went up/down, rear bumper on both sides was separated about 1/8” from the car's side body on both sides (normal?), headlights had yellowed, splash shield was missing, appears to have the original plastic neck radiator, several power windows were slow up/down

I guess here is the good - Oil/ATF looked fresh, no noise from interior fan, ABS brakes felt good, felt solid and straight at 80mph, no rust, no warning lights, very clean interior. I'm a rookie, but I think I quickly found about $2K worth of maint/repair. Am I wrong on this and what do you think is a fair price?

Fair Price: compare with what's listed on Autotrader.com for your area. I think you're right about the engine rear main seal which is going to be in the $800-$1,000 range if you are going to pay someone to do it. The A/C noise could just be the belt but you will have to make the R134 conversion at some point. I'd pass on this one - it's not worth $5,000.

Right on, seriously not worth 5K. Wait a little longer and find something better. Just the fact that you have to convert the a/c and having a rear seal to be replaced would have had me running the other way. Good luck in finding a better vehicle.

I think I got away with one, picked up a 92 240 a couple of months ago for my daughter for 700. The guy I bought it from wanted a 1000 but thats all I had and it was for my daughter so he let it go.
So far I've replaced the plugs, oil, air filter, coolant temp sensor, exhaust. Still need shocks, the windshield is cracked, and I have the same oil leak you described, then I should be good to go. Oh ya, it's got 168,000 miles on it, and so far it's running great.
Whoops....new problem with it, brake light fuse blows when I shift from drive to park :unsure:

If I were you, I'd tell the seller that $5k is top price for a top condition car. His is not. If he had spent the proper money on maintenance and repairs on that car then he could get the top price. Since he didn't, I'd tell him that $5k less $2500 in repairs leaves him $2500. If he takes it, take the car and have the work done knowing that the money spent by the first owner for all of those years wasn't undone by some jerk who owned it for 7 months. If he doesn't take the $2500, then walk away and look for another car.

Perhaps it is because I live in New York, but it is far and wide that I see a car actually sell for what the price guides (internet or not) list. The one exception that comes to mind is when you buy a used car from a new car dealership. Typically those cars have been gone over pretty thoroughly and they come with a warranty.

Don't forget to check www.cars.com and www.craigslist.com to see what others have for sale in your area and what prices are 'typical' for those cars. It's nice to be able to tell a seller that his car isn't as nice as the other one you just looked at on craigslist and let him look it up himself and then reduce his price or lose the sale.