Finally got my 940 turbo wagon, large pics, gripes, questions, comments...

Finally got the car today.

The Bad: I'm a little frustrated in that the dealer told me at the last minute that the car was never in an accident yet I learned after I put down the money that the front bumper was "misaligned". It's misaligned quite a bit! Looks like it got hit in the front driver's side as there is a dent at this location. Other things: He says that its common practice for a dealer in Illinois not to keep titles and that the state will send the title directly to me. I have heard horror stories about this kind of thing, should I be concerned? Add to it the fact that I learned from the truck driver that this was a cash for clunker trade in. Does that mean the title I will get will be a salvage title??? If so, I am going to have a legitimate claim against the dealer as there was no mention of this possibility at anytime during the purchase. It goes without saying if I can only get a salvage title for the car then I would have a reasonable beef since a car is worth less with this kind of title. But I need to know the facts before I jump the gun, does anyone know about this?

Here is another gripe, the dealer said he was going to give me a seven day temp plate, but then when I called today after receiving the vehicle (transported to me from a trucking firm) and asked where it was he says he ran out of them but will mail it to me on Monday. So I have a car with no temp tags, no title of course so I can't drive the thing or register it. The guy I dealt with was a nice enough salesman (they all are, right?) but I do have lots of questions. I hate buying used cars from dealers, especially sight unseen over the internet, it was a risk I took knowing full well that there might be some surprises. Never had a problem when dealing with private individuals. Minor gripes: Looks like someone had a phone in the car previously and to fill in the holes where it was mounted, someone just drove a bunch of screws. Plus, there is a loose wire hanging from the dash. Not sure what that is all about.

The Good: I drove it anyway. Took it on the highway and it ran fine, felt very good in fact. There is no rust on this car, it feels solid, everything works, the mileage certainly seems accurate, no smoke, starts up, brakes in a straight line, looks all original. Also looks like I could very easily take off the goofy pinstriping.

Verdict: Even though "the bad" is longer than "the good", overall I'm happy, I've always wanted one of these cars.

sure looks clean... wish my inteior looked like that haha

hope all turns out well... volvo wagons are great... add a ball/spring boost controller and they realy get a lot quicker (even if you don't add but a psi or 2 of boost)

can't wait to get mine back on the road :)

thanks. My upcoming mods include the manual booster controller, a better boost gauge, ipd springs and some suspension braces. Then maybe a better exhaust. As far as the exterior, I hope to get this front bumper straightened out, get rid of the pinstripes, and have a mild tint job done on it.

Can't be a cash for clunkers trade, the dealers have to destroy the engines in the cars.

I've never bought a car from a dealer and not immediately gotten both the title and a temp tag...

Call me old school, but am I the only one who would never pay for a car before I had seen, driven, and examined the paperwork? BTW, good luck with the car, I've been a volvo enthusiast for years.

http://www.swedespeed.com/

good resource

volvo wagon + dark tint = pimp :)...

if you don't mind me asking... how much did you pay?... i REALY would like a clean example for the family... they are one of the most comfortable cars i've ever driven... nothing better for an interstate cruiz :)

In reply to Datsun1500:

Pray that the trucker is clueless and this isn't a cash/clunkers deal. The car was 17/20 city/hwy and 19 combined with the new system. If it was, then this car is worthless except for parts as it can never be titled for the road again.

www.turbobricks.org and the brickboard are awesome sites for these cars, I had a 93 944T and would love to have a 945T like yours. They are great cars and the culmination of 20 years of rwd engineering.

Up the boost a bit, and change your hoses and she'll last forever. How many miles are on her?

Great cars. I sold my modded 760 Turbo wagon to one of my employees with 320K on it. It now has 400+K and is still running well. I have a 940 Turbo GT now and it is also an amazing ride-minor mods and the full IPD suspension set-up have resulted in a 13 second quarter, great handling and comfort, good economy and invisible to the law when blasting the interstate. All that for a very cheap total cost.

VERY clean from where I am sitting.

Datsun1500 wrote: You need to find out immediately if it was a cash for clunkers trade and registered as one. If the dealer put it in the system and got the rebate the car can not be titled, even as a salvage vehicle. I hope not, it looks very clean.

Can the dealer be fined for that?

Not necessarily fined, but he can get a full refund from the dealer since it was a fraudulent sale. Cash for clunker's car's are supposed to go to the crusher.

The dealer would be fined $15k if they didnt refund the money. Someone bought the syclone that got turned in for $4800, but then they had to give it back becasue someone had already sent the paperwork in. From what i understand though, some of the dealers are selling the better ones if someone wants them and the paperwork hasnt been sent yet. Hopefully everything will turn out ok, although IMO in this case paying for it without a title in hand was a mistake.

The car was 17/20 city/hwy and 19 combined with the new system.

CFC requires that vehicles traded in get 18mpg or worse. Your Volvo was not a CFC car.

In reply to docwyte:

Lets hope you're right, but the dealer said the guy traded it in for cash for clunkers, that is, he said this when I called him to ask about the truckers comments, so wtf?

In reply to donalson:

$4300. I mentioned in another post that I may have overpaid, but the cheaper ones all seemed to have a lot more miles, this one has 78,000 miles. Im anti pimp, don't want to get too dark.

In reply to Datsun1500:

I've been on the turbobricks site and I am aware of the ease of the 5.0 swap but I was thinking about working with what I got for now.

In reply to captain_napalm:

I will take them to court and I will win if this turns out to be the case. Again, I just need to wait till monday and I will call, I already sent an email.

In reply to Travis_K:

You might be right. Well find out together!

Travis_K wrote: From what i understand though, some of the dealers are selling the better ones if someone wants them and the paperwork hasnt been sent yet.

I would think that to be the case. Or that the dealers are paying for the cars out of their own pocket then selling them. But in either case I do not understand how they can do this and have the paperwork sent.

Don't go with a 5.0 if the stock stuff works. From what I have felt after buying Junkyard Dogs 945, a stock 5.0 isn't going to add much to the 2.3T with a manual boost controller, some chips and a few mufflers removed. If you drop in a build 5.0, then sure, but unless you want 300 HP+ stick with stock stuff.

Just my opinion from driving this thing and reading a lot.

I truly hope this gets resolved - it could get messy.

I put a 5.0/T5 Ford in my 240 wagon. I wouldn't say that it dropped right in, but it sure was a fun car. The turbo motor with minor mods should more than suffice.

CFC cars can not be titled. They must be destroyed and there's nothing that can be done about that. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think you are in a very bad spot. You need to contact the dealer and demand your money back. It's too bad as that car seems very nice.

One more thing.......never buy a car with out tags or title. With out them it does not belong to you.

What they said. And you paid too much, even before considering that it was a sight-unseen purchase.

nderwater wrote: What they said. And you paid too much, even before considering that it was a sight-unseen purchase.

Well, maybe you're right. I may not have searched hard enough for a better deal, but when I checked autotrader for a similar, one owner, black 940 turbo wagon with 78,000 miles, I did not turn up anything. I've seen a few on craigslist but usually with a lot more miles.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchresults.jsp?num_records=25&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&search_type=used&distance=0&address=41011&marketZipError=false&style_flag=2&body_style=WAGON&make=VOLVO&model=940_MODELSCLASS_SERIES&make2=VOLVO&model2=740_MODELSCLASS_SERIES&make3=&start_year=1981&end_year=2010&min_price=&max_price=&seller_type=b&transmission=&engine=4+Cylinder&drive=&doors=&fuel=&max_mileage=100000&color=&keywordsrep=116117114098111&keywordsfyc=dHVyYm8%2C&keywords_display=turbo&sort_type=priceDESC&body_code=128&certified=&advanced=y&highlightFirstMakeModel=&showZipError=n&default_sort=priceDESC&awsp=false&systime=&rdm=1251084643006