In the 1970s TV show "The Immortal," stuntman Ben Richards is pursued by an evil rich guy who wants to harvest his blood for its life-extending properties. Like Ben Richards, today's Nice Price or No Dice Volvo looks younger than its years and has a reputation for longevity. Let's see if we would chase it down at its asking price.

It's been 13 years since BMW chose to align its automotive products by name and number of doors. That now gives us the logical delineation of even-number two-door models and odd-number models for those with four doors. When you wander into the X model territory, that logic gets thrown out the window, as they are all five-door wagons and are variously odd- and even-numbered. There's also the 4 Series Gran Coupe, which, despite its even-number nomenclature, has two doors on either side. Come to think of it, maybe BMW doesn't really have a lock on its naming conventions.

The 1995 BMW M3 coupe we looked at on Wednesday came from a simpler time, and was presented as a superb example of that era. Offered with low miles, a DINAN supercharger, and various recent maintenance updates, the only thing that M3 lacked was a killer price tag. At $33,500, it came across as about $10K too high, based on your comments. In the end, that resulted in a hefty 84% 'No Dice' loss.

A basic box

Few cars wear "boxy but still foxy" as proudly as the Volvo 200 Series, and this 1986 240 DL wagon looks like it's spent the last four decades patiently outliving various fads, fashion changes, and probably its owners' New Year's resolutions to drive something fancier.

Rocking a beige-over-tan vinyl color scheme and just 97,559 original miles, this Volvo presents with a lot of appeal. A two-owner history, clean title, and a fresh-ish round of maintenance — brakes, belts, fluids, wheel bearings, and a smog pass all within the last year and a half — ensures it's ready for whatever comes next. 

Under the hood sits the venerable B230F 2.3-liter four, good for a leisurely 114 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque, routed through a four-speed automatic to a 3.73 rear end. This is not a car that's going to embarrass anyone at a stoplight, but it will absolutely outlive everyone at that stoplight. It's also claimed to be a California car, so rust shouldn't rear its ugly head, even if old Volvos didn't laugh at rust.

Blend-in beige

That beige paint may not be the most exciting hue known to humankind, but it's remarkably clean and tidy nonetheless. Exterior-wise, this boxy Volvo's got the full period-correct wagon kit: luggage rack, mud flaps, rear wiper, black trim, and 14-inch steelies wrapped in modest 185/70 rubber. Nothing here is going to turn heads, which is sort of the point — this is a car built for people who'd rather be noticed for their sensible demeanor than frivolousness. This car is rarely panic, mostly disco.

The interior is also peak '80s Volvo comfort-over-flash: heated front buckets, a folding rear bench, crank windows (because power windows are for people who don't trust Swedish engineering to last), a simple AM/FM cassette stereo, and a claimed 41 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row. The one noted flaw is a crack in the dashboard on the driver's side — about as common on a 240 of this age as gray hair on a 70-year-old.

A simple decision?

As is our penchant, we now need to consider the price: $11,000. Over the years, 240 wagons have become legitimate collector items, and clean, low-mileage, two-owner examples with documented service history — especially ones that haven't been "improved" with an LS swap or other malarkey — do command a premium these days. Having a clean presentation and all the recent maintenance work is nothing to sneeze at, either.

That said, $11k is squarely in "you'd better really want a 240" territory. Excellent examples have traded in this neighborhood, but plenty of solid, driver-quality 240 wagons still change hands for $6,000–$9,000. It really depends on how nice a car the buyer wants. This one is plenty nice.

What's your take on this 240 and that $11,000 asking price? Does that feel fair given the car's sensible "it" factor? Or is that asking too many bucks for this brick?

You decide!

San Francisco Bay Area, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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