Remember when boxy Volvos were hipster hand-me-downs? Well, those halcyon days are looking long gone. On Monday, an early Volvo 245 DL hammered on Bring A Trailer, and the result is that someone paid $41,750 for it. That’s almost what a brand-new Volvo S60 costs, except for a 46-year-old station wagon. However, this isn’t just any 46-year-old station wagon. In fact, there’s a good chance it’s the nicest 1978 Volvo 245 DL in America.
To start, this 245 DL was listed with just 9,000 miles on the clock. Not 90,000, a mere 9,000. Slightly less, even; the photo set shows an odometer reading of 8,833 miles, which works out to just 192 miles per year. What’s more, it has seen just one owner from new, having been purchased at Jim Fisher Volvo in Portland, Oregon and kept until 2023, when the estate of the first owner sold it to the selling dealer.
Taking a look up-close, all the original stickers are present and accounted for, as is the original temporary registration form and the new car odometer disclosure form. One unexpected piece of documentation is the pre-delivery service sheet from 1978, detailing every inspection and tweak made by a technician to take this 245 DL from the car transporter to the road. Even the dealer stock number key tag is here, showcasing a truly obsessive level of attention to detail.
Unsurprisingly, this Volvo 245 DL looks like no other. Its Cascade White paint still gleams, its carpet still looks brand new, the nooks and crannies underneath its cargo area panels still boast original rustproofing, and its headliner shan’t dare suggest even a notion of a sag. It’s not quite perfect — the driver’s seat cover has a small tear — but a replacement seat cover is included, which ought to do the trick. Based on this, it shouldn’t be surprising that the car comes with several trophies from a Volvo Club of America national meet, including a Best of Show award.
So, this 1978 Volvo 245 DL has a solid chance of being the nicest one on the continent, but still, $41,750? While that may sound like an absurd amount of money, a comment by the winning bidder, who goes by the username LongJohn, explains it all.
What a dream come true getting a second chance to own a brand new ’78 Volvo wagon. Never thought that would come along again!
All the money in all the vaults in the world can’t buy more time. For some people, an absolutely immaculate version of a car they owned when new and loved is as close as it gets. It’s memory lane at 70 mph with Steely Dan on the airwaves, a motorized statement of adoration. Sure, $41,750 could buy some great cars, but a pristine Volvo 245 DL is one of the more imaginative picks.
Bravo, LongJohn, you hit the nail on the head with this one. Some peoples’ fantasies involve chrome G-Wagens, but others’ involve buying a new 1978 Volvo 245 DL wagon. I know exactly which group I’d rather hang out with, and it’s not the Benz-aspiring clout chasers. Fingers crossed this car makes an appearance at the odd Euro car show, where it should continue to blow the minds of everyone interested in boxy Volvos.
(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer)
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LOVE! That red interior. I don’t recall seeing another one.
I get this 100%. I learned to drive on a 1977 Volvo wagon with the 4 speed manual. It was an awesome car. I cannot quite put my finger on the reason I loved it so much, but few other cars cause me to double take like a 70’s Volvo wagon.
I totally get it. I’d always thought in the back of my head that if I could buy a brand new 91-94 Sentra SE-R, I would. And then exactly that showed up on BaT. But I’ve still got the one I got brand new. So if I *didn’t* still have mine, and one showed up…
Also the details on that Volvo are terrific – the color combination, the wheels.
Love that color combo!
I bought a new 76 Volvo 244DL had it for a few weeks stopped at a light in a little PA. Tourist town where it died and wouldn’t restart. Ran across the street to a pay phone called the dealer and the service manager told me to look under the trunk mat and see if a splice in a wire to the fuel pump pulled apart. It did because it didn’t have a screw down on either side of the splice. That and youre going to replace the HVAC blower motor every year that was expensive along with hours of labor tearing the dash apart to reach it. Sorry highly overrated
When you consider that the 245DL in 1978 had an MSRP of $7495 – then you add the Automatic, Roof Rack, Right Hand Rearview Mirror, Air Conditioning, Radio with 4 speakers, antenna and floor mats – Which were all optional – and would have brought the price over $9500…
…the buyer got a steal – as $8720 in 1978 dollars is worth more than the $41,750 the buyer paid for this wagon (excluding the buyer’s premium)
No manual no care
Jk. Glad this guy is living his dreams
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Mmmm, love me some K-Jet.
It was only a matter of time before 240s started to pull in real money. These are ~30-48 year old cars now, and far from unloved. Their value has been suppressed far longer than most similar classics due to the sheer number of surviving examples.
Sadly, two decades of cheap beater status has taken its toll, and the attrition is real. The days of opening classifieds to find a few 240s listed for $500 any given week are gone.
One of the painful parts of 240 ownership in the last 10 years has been the supply of parts. The cars lasted so long, the OEM supply of replacement parts dried up long ago- Yet the cars haven’t been worth enough to justify quality reproductions. Hopefully this situation starts to change as the vehicles gain a higher profile.
“So Irv, How many miles do you have on the 240 these days?”
“Oh, about 450k. She’s runnin’ like a top!”
“How about you Stan. You got a million miles on that Amazon yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting close. Probably next year I’m gonna take her over the Blue Ridge Parkway and I hope I hit it then!”
“Hey John, that 242 is a beaut. How many miles you got on ‘er?”
“Ummm, nine.”
“Nine million? That’s amazing!”
“No, ummm, nine thousand…”
(Crickets)
The headlamps still look wrong.
Round sealed-beam headlamps are never wrong.
The single sealed beams look better than the dual round or dual rectangular to me.
I was going to ask “which one of you people did this?” but it’s an automatic so I know it isn’t anyone who frequents this site.
Ouch, automatic and diesel… When slow isn’t slow enough!
(Still very nice though)
-Edit- nevermind that, unleaded gasoline only… The D in DL got me…
She’s a beaut, Clark! However, a low-mileage Volvo is kinda lame.
Was the 3rd row an option in ’78? If it had a 3rd row and a manual transmission, it would be perfect.
Manual transmission with Overdrive for the icing on the cake.
I’ve never understand the appeal of the 3rd row seat, and I say that as lifelong wagon enthusiast (with a concentration on Volvo wagons & 245s in particular). Adults can’t fit, I don’t have kids to tote around, and it wastes otherwise useful under-floor storage space.
I grew up in a 145S with the 3rd row and a 245GL without. The 3rd row was interesting, but it sucked, even as a kid. I always got dizzy the few times I sat back there.
No sunroof with a hidden manual crank?
Crack pipe…
I have a ’78 264GL with a sunroof. It has all the power options available for the day, including the mirrors. Sunroof? Nope, still just a manual crank.
Not sure that 240 wagons were available w/ sunroofs – because bolting on the roof rack took priority.
“Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.”
– Donald Miller
They might if the final scene was of the guy trapped in his wrecked Pinto just before the gas tank blew up.
Find out the truth about the Pinto blowing up lie that Mother Jones puked out in the 70s. The truth is that the Pinto had no higher instance of catching fire than any other car of the same rear tank design. By the time the truth came out, the world had moved on to the next lie.
Haven’t read the article yet, but based on the headline, I’m guessing there was $40K in a suitcase in the back seat.
OK, after reading the article and seeing the pictures, maybe there was only $30K in the suitcase.