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I had a 78 and an 87 (both wagons). These are great cars, and I always look at rust-free ones floating around. Rust is a key thing to look for. Pull up the carpets, look in the trunk under the carpets, look in the door sills and under the piece of trim that rides the seam between vehicle and bumper. You want to go on the brickboard and look up flame trap. IPDusa is a great source for parts and upgrades.
The $900 estimate seems very inexpensive unless you're buying and installing all of the parts yourself. Header replacement, tires, exhaust? The exhaust has a muffler and a resonator in addition to the cat, plus pipes, hangers, etc. Starla makes a good kit. Often, people install non-stock exhausts for $$ savings which then make emissions difficult to pass. Sometimes a muffler shop will chop out the parts and install something else. If the car you're examining is very cheap, you might not end up too upside down on it. An almost perfect example can probably be found in the $4-$6k range, and will already have tires, brakes, exhaust, timing belt, etc. I routinely see nice ones without major issues for less than $2500.
Blower fan, evaporator core and heater core are all possibilities down the road if not already done.
As with MBs, there are enthusiasts who love these old 240-series volvos. That the guy/girl doesn't want to be asked questions would indicate to me that he/she isn't one of them. Care can suffer on cars owned by non enthusiasts.
Some suspension things require volvo-specific tools. Of course, most of the time there is a work-around, but it's easier with the correct tool.
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