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.
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