Do I put more money into it?

[volvoid]

Ask yourself - what is the cost of REPAIRS as opposed to routine maintenance ?

I dont count things like bulbs, tyres, wiper blades, servicing, brake pads as repairs, just ongoing costs that one gets with every used car.
Take what view you like on batteries, exhausts etc.

If real repairs are below 2 or 3 hundred a year then youve little to worry about

[andy_d]

i take the view
it Is better the devil you know than the devil you dont, up until the point where the cost for Needed repair is higher than the market value of the car

if you had a 18year old car, value Approx £650, and you know it Needs a £1000 job doing to it, (be that Just the parts costs and do all the work yourself, or parts+labour costs for getting the job done,, or any mix of) "time to sit down, work out the exact costs of whats needed Now , Add in the other things you Know will need doing within the next 12months,, then choose which devil your going with

yes that means a "high £ newish car" is going to get a Lot spending on it, a £400 car,, isnt



i went to look at a 2001 S80, 2.4 petrol, £400 asking price,
it Needed 4 new tyres , yes the black round things had tread on to be legal, but mixing tread patterns + brands on one axle isnt allowed never mind both,, and not one of the tyres matched any of the others for brand, tread pattern/wear,, £380 right there,,
it hadnt been used for 12months,, needs a Full service before using ,, and that is without Fixing the drivers door glass that drops when you press the button,, (a needed repair) or the other mechanical items it needed = Walk away time,, yes its cheap but A single Needed job = the £ of the car,

shame as it was / is a honest S80, but the work / cost /time needed to get it to a motable state never mind "nice to drive",,, walk on and Next !

[jgjones095]

Having bought my now 18 year old v70xc 5 years ago on 120k, and spending the last few years maintaining and working around the autobox issue..

Now on 155k i crossed your bridge 6 months ago when i just sunk 1.5k into it at the start of the year having the HG, radiator sorted. So I feel I'm stuck with her for a few more years and there is always a list of jobs to sort... including the autobox!
Just wished it was d5 not 2.4t due to the mpg!
I did consider another car and even view a local xc90 in manual but being am eariler model it had awd, pas issues to name but a few.
At the end of the day is it better the devil you know?

Any to add to that volvo issue 6 months ago ... our 20 year old 2nd car (1.6focus) engine decided to give up the bottom end... so the 15 yesr old 3rd car (1.2 clio)was revived with a HG change after being sat for 3 years.

[chrisfr]

Used turbo is the way to go. Keep the costs to a minimum. Check evrything you can and try to resolve any issues before they become bigger ones. Good luck.

[Longhouse21]

Like others, I don't think you should include routine costs (service items, tyres, brake pad & disc replacement, etc) when calculating repair costs as these are things that any car will need at some point in the normal course of events. Repairs I consider items that fail or non-planned events (intercooler, radiator, alternator, head gasket, turbo to name a few).
These Volvos are generally quite reliable and long lived cars if maintained properly.
I myself however, do factor in costs like tyres, battery, exhaust, brake pad wear along with potential or real faults on a prospective purchase when looking to change - after all, if the presently owned car has a decent set of tyres, known service history, etc those costs have already been met and they do represent potential negotiation points.
I was once given the advice "the cheapest car you'll own is the one you've already got" on the basis of the above points.
If it's sticking turbo vanes on your current car and the bearings & seals are in good order, then removal, strip & clean / decarbonisation of the VNT mech is fairly easy if a little labour intensive (think it took me 4 - 6 hours start to finish on my V70 IIRC) and doable by anyone mechanically minded.
ARB clunk may just be drop links which are very easy & cheap to do.
Good luck whichever way you decide to go

[Brendan W]

In the same boat here. Clutch starting to slip, 189k. Car worth nothing without. Clutch is 1600 incl DMF, 1100 solid conversion, no thank you and 700 without DMF but incl CSC obviously. DMF is sound. 9 months to run on tax ( €1080 pa ) and 9 months NCT remaining. Would get price of clutch back next spring and I know the car backwards so probably going for it for a last waltz just like I said last year

[aland]

Originally Posted by Brendan W

In the same boat here. Clutch starting to slip, 189k. Car worth nothing without. Clutch is 1600 incl DMF, 1100 solid conversion, no thank you and 700 without DMF but incl CSC obviously. DMF is sound. 9 months to run on tax ( €1080 pa ) and 9 months NCT remaining. Would get price of clutch back next spring and I know the car backwards so probably going for it for a last waltz just like I said last year

I did clutch and DMF replacement myself on my V70 D5. Took two of us a day on the drive with several tea breaks.
Parts were surprisingly cheap from Volvo (cheaper than motor factors!). I don't know if that's also true in Ireland, but worth asking your local dealer. Maybe also check price to import from England - I can recommend 'caffyns-volvo' on ebay - Chris there is very helpful with good pricing usually.

[Georgeandkira]

Hello, As many of you have read here, I've just gone through this.
The difference is that the car wasn't on the road. It had been given to me.

Go to and read the link below. It's the 6th post in a thread I started. I made it after closely examining the gifted car. The thread's first post regards me getting ready to inspect it.

https://www.brickboard.com/AWD/volvo..._96_wagon.html

[volvoid]

oh yes, the gifted car. writes its own operas

[pierremcalpine]

Originally Posted by big_ben

For me there is not enough information in your post to say yes or no. In general I don't count the prices of changing basic consumables (oil, brake pads / disks and filters) when making a decision like this as you will pay this for any car you have. I also do 90% of my own work so the killer of labor prices is also generally not a factor for me.

That said my V70 is also 13 years old and starting to give me stress. If I had the money now I would make a change but unfortunately I have to soldier on with it for a few more months if I can get away with it.

I think in age terms at 13 years the V70 is approaching it's average design life so if you do decide to change it not many could logically argue against you.

I agree with what is stated above. Beyond this period, if you are not doing the majority of your own repairs, you'll be in for some big expenses. On the other hand, the car itself isn't really worth much anymore so maybe the best approach is to keep driving it until that bill comes along that makes you wince and then you walk away.