The seller of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Volvo 264 claims it was once a special order diplomat car. We’re going to have to see if he’s presently being diplomatic about its price.
Do you think anybody here looked at last Friday’s 2003 Subaru Baja Limited and said, ooh baby, where have you been all my life? Yeah, with its excess of bumpy plastic trim, overall awkward proportions, and, in that particular car’s case, a color scheme out of The Fifth Element, it wasn’t going to win any aesthetic achievement awards regardless of how it performed in the bikini competition.
That didn’t mean that it lacked advocates, and in fact a narrow 53-percent of you even went so far as to award its $7,500 price tag with a Nice Price win. Way to go, Baja!
You know, we all like winners, right? We especially like come-from-behind, underdog winners as they seem to have tried their hardest to achieve that ultimate success. Those who have success just plopped in their laps seem wholly less deserving, not just of our admiration but of that success as well.
Volvo has over the years tried their damnedest to succeed. They took a unique path toward that goal, building a reputation based on safety and dependability and earning the loyalty along the way of professorial types and sensible hipsters alike.
Something happened though. At some point, Volvos lost their boxy goodness and they became both less durable and at the same time less functional. The company is today attempting to dig themselves out of that hole of cookie cutter sameness with competing brands, but if they haven’t gone far enough for your taste, perhaps this 1980 Volvo 264 GLE will fit the bill until they do.
The seller of this silver over black three-box four-door is one that’s familiar to us, that being the One-Owner Car Guy, who is based in San Diego, California. Despite being a So-Cal homie, he likes to cast a wide net and hence the explanation for this Volvo being advertised in Las Vegas. The car is claimed to be a former diplomats ride, and, as such, to have spent a good bit of its life and its 113,000 miles cruising around Europe.
That cruising is made possible by a 2.7-litre PRV (Peugeot, Renault, Volvo) SOHC V6. The “Douvrin” V6 was good here for 138-bhp and that poop gets sent in this car’s case through a four-speed manual with separate, and knob-switch operated, overdrive.
The car looks to be in pretty good shape, with some minor chipping in the silver paint, some fading on the horizontal surfaces, and a bit of aggressive surface rust in the rear valance. A set of factory alloys underpin.
The interior is likewise a mix of the well preserved and your typical wear and tear. The dash is in remarkably nice shape, and features an ashtray and cigar-lighter cleverly hidden in the plastic lip molding on the center console. Facing that are seats that look like they’ve seen better days. Some of the chrome-plated plastic trim is also in need of attention.
What else is not to like here? Well, somewhat cryptically, the ad notes that, while the car did duty in Europe and at home, “it has been sitting in storage for a couple of years and will need a few things to make it run and drive again.”
What are those few things? How big a deal will each be? That’s kind of the herd of elephants in the room, but you can watch this 32-minute video of the car and maybe decide for yourself.
So yeah, it runs and drives. It does have an engine note that might be indicative of a blown exhaust gasket, but other than that it doesn’t seem to emit too many too-terrible noises. The car comes with Wisconsin plates and stickers galore. You also apparently get a “Tourist & Diplomat Special Delivery” keyfob because who doesn’t love those.
The price of this fancy Volvo is $1,995, and while the PRV isn’t the most popular (or reliable at this age) engine Volvo ever offered, withe the stick shift it could offer an engaging driving experience.
What’s your take on this diplomat’s Volvo? Does $1,995 seem like a decent price for it as it’s presented in its ad and video? Or, for asking that much does the seller require diplomatic immunity?
You decide!
Las Vegas, NV Craigslist (although the car is in San Diego), or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to v8corvairpickup for the hookup!
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