My used Volvo shopping experience :-(?

[ev1go]

I was in San Diego today to look at a 1983 Volvo DL 240 $900. :-( The owner said he has had it for 2 months. 155,000 miles but he didn't tell me the odo. was broke. He told me the clutch was brand new and that it had been recently smogged. When I asked him to show the the recipts he then said there were none. The clutch was replaced by his brother who owns a shop and he has no idea what happened to the test results for the smog check. He then said I would have to get it smogged myself after the purchase to re-new the registration next month. He said if it didn't pass smog he would give me my money back but I didn't believe him. The drivers seat had a huge sag in it like the car had closer to 300,000 miles. My Taurus's drivers seat still looks near perfect at 130,000 miles so obviously the odo. and the speedometer has been broken for most of the cars life. Volvo seats shouldn't sag so soon. Was I smart to walk away from the deal?

 

[Patrick]

You did well indeed. You saw signs that something was "not right" and acted on your feelings. If more people would do that, there would be a lot fewer sob stories here.

 

[jusasnuffalagus]

Um yes, the guy sounds like a complete idiot and a scam artist. The car may sound good in theory but in reality when your paying to have everything fixed or it just plain doesn't start up in a few weeks, you'll be very happy you walked away. Congrats.