Over the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to own a series of wagons from different manufacturers. Sadly, I have sold them for legitimately good reasons, but I find myself missing the unmatched convenient of a wagon you can drive every day. The car shown here is an excellent example of the good wagon life, a 1985 Volvo 245 GL with the desirable and somewhat rare manual transmission. The seller has made some sensible updates to improve both the driving experience and the aesthetics, but there’s still some relatively minor room for improvement. Find the Volvo here on craigslist in Iron Horse, Texas for $7,500.

Truth be told, I’ve been looking at wagons again, now that I’m over a year out from selling my last long roof, a 1995 Audi S6. But the one that still gives me some regret is a 2011 BMW 328xi wagon with the coveted six-speed manual that I sold to a nice gentleman a few years back. I just ran a Carfax on it for the heck of it and saw it was sold at auction this past August, almost two years to the month he bought it from me. What’s shocking is he paid a very top-of-the-market price during the COVID surge that was more than I paid for the car several years earlier. It seems like a sudden and sad end to a vehicle he seemed very interested in owning. Regardless of my past regrets, the seller of this clean 245 is apparently ready to move on, despite rebuilding the brakes and installing a slick Bilstein/Lesjofors suspension setup, along with wheel spacers.

The 245 is one of those cars that you simply live with the limited engine performance (unless you find a turbo) and focus on what you can easily improve, like the suspension. The interior is ridiculously comfortable on a Volvo of this era, with seats that offer little in the way of bolster support but will keep your back in good shape for hours, if not days, of driving. The seats show some wear but nothing I’d worry about. The seller notes he performed the difficult job of replacing the blower motor but that the A/C compressor will need to be replaced. If it’s anything like the struggle I’ve had to find a suitable replacement compressor for my 1987 BMW 3-Series, I’m not surprised he hasn’t attempted to source a new one. They’ve gotten hard to find.

The engine is mostly unkillable, a 2.3L inline-four good for around 114 horsepower. These cars were never about speed but rather safety, utility, and long-term reliability. The cavernous interior will swallow more junk than you ever thought possible and the car itself will also give you entry to a wonderful community of enthusiasts. The seller lists out a variety of other issues which are generally small in scale but his disclosure offers a fair amount of confidence you’re buying from an honest seller. The asking price seems fair for a clean wagon with lots of recent work, and thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the tip.