This girl that i met in class has mentioned that she has been looking for a car. She has been looking at things like the toyota matrix, and the subaru forester. I told her for her money that she would save a lot of it and be happier witha volvo wagon of some sort wither 240, 740 or 940. She was reluntant to buy an older car with over 100k, but she drove it and liked it. The car has 160k, and is a one owner. The only issue is that the switch to turn the over drive off has been disabled. She said her mechainc said that was not needed. I think that I would want to have that function restored. We will see what that will take. I told her just becasue I like Volvos, does not mean that she has to to, but it would be cool if she does.

Do you guys see any reason why buying the Volvo over the other cars she has been looking at would not be a good idea as long as it has a good bill of health?
Thanks, Nick

Don't worry about the overdrive switch, they fail constantly and keep the car in third gear, it's a common problem with those cars. I'm ready to disable mine. It's not that you get a fifth gear with the overdrive, it shifts back to third. I don't really understand the reason for it, you can do the same thing with the shifter.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

1. Because their seats are the most comfortable and supportive car seats in the world.

2. Because (like Mercedes) in the mother of all accidents she would likely not only survive but WALK AWAY.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

The Overdrive problem is either the relay is toast ($20 on Ebay) or the wiring that is in the shifter shaft is broken.

The relay should either be behind the glove box or in the relay panel. Do a continuity check on the wiring at the switch but also check the wires where they come out at the bottom of the shifter tube-remove the screws on the front of the housing that hold the plastic shifter base to the floor frame and slide it back and off the locator lug at the rear. Look for 2 white wires comming out of the shifter handle and see if the insulation is cut, if it is or the wires are broken, tape new wire to the old wire going up the tube, pop the thumb switch out of the handle, pull the new wire thru and unplug the old wires from the switch and solder the new wires to the switch. Solder the new to existing wires at the bottom of the shifter tube and that should do it.

But 99% its the frikking relay.

This will cure it for good: Automatic Over-Drive Solenoid Bypass Kit from IPD. No more worries.

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1979 Black on Black, 300CD (sold), 1990 Black 300SE, Silver 1989 Volvo 780, 1988 300CE (vanished by the hands of a girlfriend), 1992 300CE (Rescue).

Well we had it inspected. It turned out fairly decent with only a couple of concearns. Their is evidence of a leak at the penion seal, It's going to need front brakes, and new exhaust in the next year. I think that it is pretty solid, so we are going to talk to the owners tomorrow.

I think that what is on it. I was thinking that it would be better to have the option to switch in and out of overdrive though.