Volvo: buying a 1990 Volvo, volvo engines, flame trap

Question
Hey.  I am buying a used car for the first time, and don't know
much about cars.  I am looking into a 1990 volvo for $1200.  I
would appreciate any advice you could give me about how many
miles I can expect to get from a volvo and whether usual
maintenance is really expensive or reasonable and anything else
that is important to check  out on the cars before buying...Or, if
you have any advice on what year volvo tends to be the most
dependable (under the $4000 range), that would be great too.  I
really appreciate your time.  Thank you very much.

Answer
volvo engines last longer because the crankshaft is made of vanadium, a super hard metal and the piston rings are nickel etc.  About what to check? well since i can do the work on a car myself (i think the prices to have your car worked on is outright piracy), if i was buying a used car and the brakes or something needed work i wouldn't care, i would do it myself but if you don't do work on cars i would have a mechanic check out the car, but if you don't want to do that: i would find out when the timing belt needs to get done (a sticker on the engine, needs to get done every 50,000 miles).  Start the engine first thing, in the morning, engine should be cold to the touch (let the person know you want to do this) and make sure it starts up right away and listen for metalic banging or rapping noises and take it out for a ride on the highway if possible to see if it shifts ok and to listen for metalic noises in the engine, a volvo can last over 300,000 miles easily, mine has 227,000 on it, it had 164,000, i bought it out of a junk yard-started right up (the significance of "starting right up" means that the fuel injection system is in working order, and spark plugs are ok). i would change the oil/filter, air filter, spark plugs and ignition wires and cap and rotor right away (quite important). and of very special importance is the "flame trap" this can get clogged and cause oil leaks, most mechanics won't know about this so try to have a foreign place do it. there should not be any blue smoke coming out the tailpipe (highly unlikely on a volvo).