Fix up or sell?

[Japedo]

Quote ...For me I refuse to drive a car that "looks bad". Also same goes for my wife. A few chips in the paint are one thing but no dents, no faded paint, etc. Just how I feel, I take pride in having a decent looking car, and keeping the interior fairly clean.

I wouldn't drive my wife if she looked bad either j/k

My 850 isn't mint but I take pride in getting my money's worth out of a vehicle and not worrying about it's looks.
But I think that perspective is common in atlantic canada.
However my wife's V70 XC is in good shape,she's a bit fussier.

Tha fact is a vehicle is the worst investment we make..... get your moneys worth unless u have money to play with.

Curtis

[atefitty]

Alright, so as I'm sure you all know by now, I've got a '98 S70 T5. It recently blew out the RMS seal on the engine after living with a clogged PCV system for about a year. I also apparently cracked the turbo intake pipe containing the PTC nipple, so the mechanic wants to replace that as well. Now the question arises, do I fix it, or look for a much newer car.

I've found a 2007 Honda Accord and a 2008 Civic in my area for $13 and $14K respectively, and I figure putting the $1200 down that I would be spending to fix my Volvo at the moment, I would end up paying about $280/mo to purchase either of them. Both have a 6-year/100,000 mile warranty on them from the dealer. There's a 2004 S40 I'll be looking at tomorrow too, but it's from an independent seller.

Back to my car.

The good:
-Runs like a top. Turbo boosts well
-Fun as heck, good in bad weather, decent gas mileage...
-Only 165K miles (nothing for a Volvo, right?)
-Best-kept and looking interior of any of the 850/-70 generation I've seen. All interior parts, sunroof, etc work.
-Great exterior - no dents, shiny paint, a few scratches, no rust even on underbody
-Brand new set of tires.

Replaced already:
-air pump
-2 front axles
-timing belt @ 140K
-thermostat & ECT
-front suspension components - control arm, spring seat
-parking brake shoes & cable
-MAF sensor
-PCV system (too late apparently)
-fuel pressure regulator
-dist cap, rotor, wires, plugs
-all the basic maintenance stuff - synthetic oil, K&N filter, tranny flush, etc.

The bad:
At some time in the near future, after replacing the RMS, it is going to need:
-ignition switch
-PNP switch
-heater fan's dying according to the ECC (have a replacement already, just waiting on it to go)
-brakes (rotors are fine)
-alternator (I'm pretty sure it's dying)
-new battery
-evaporator's shot
-heater core
-right CV joint is leaking (again)
-new struts
-new spring seat, passenger side
-door check & rear door latch assembly
-possibly a radiator
-transmission might be dying

I've had it like almost 3 years now (2 years, 9 months), and it's been great to this point. It's not like I haven't done everything I can to take care of it...it's just old. I just don't want this car to turn into my old one, where I spent ~$4000 on it only for it to break something else expensive again a month later. I just can't deal with another money pit.

I'm weighing between a car payment and the cost of parts to fix it up. I'd like to keep it, or sell it to someone who can fix it up, as it's a great car, so I wouldn't be trading it immediately for a new one. But right now I just need a car that's going to keep working and not let me down.

What do you guys think? Should I keep it? I really do love this car...more than I do most people, but I just don't know...I'm trying to get as many people's opinions as possible before jumping into anything, and I figured I'd ask some car people as well as friends who don't know anything about them.

I appreciate anyone's thoughts on this matter!

Have you thought about which car you would rather be in during an accident?

[jblackburn]

I think at this point I'm going to keep the Volvo.
(and don't worry, you're not going to lose a moderator to a Honda forum...the people on those have the maturity level of the people that leave comments on Youtube videoes)

I looked at the silver Accord today while I had mine in for service. It's just too...grey. Bleh. I like my car's interior probably the best of any car I've been in, and I'm not just saying that because I own it. The seats are great, the visibility is great, and I'm comfortable with the size of the car. For a 12-year old car, it drives pretty darn good too.

Safety-wise, the Accord is every bit as safe as the older Volvos, if not moreso. They have come a long way since my 88 model, which smushed up like a sardine can when I backed into an SUV. It has 5-star crash ratings, side airbags, front airbags, curtain airbags, and rear airbags, and gets 34 mpg on top of it all. We had a family friend T-boned in a 2005 model by a Suburban, and they walked away without a scratch, and bought another. It's a solidly-built, reinforced car. But it's just awful in snow...after successfully driving 30 miles in a blizzard, I got stuck in about 5" of snow trying to get back in my parking lot today, even after having the tires with tread on them rotated.

I looked at the used Jetta a bit too...I know the older Jettas were shoddy reliability-wise (nicely designed though - my roommate's was just always broken), and I'm not sure about the newer 5-cyl models like that one. They're very nice on the inside as well, but I haven't heard much about the reliability of them, so I'm not sure I would want to jump into that either.

If I buy a brand-new car, it's going to be one I'll keep for a long time and then driven until the wheels fall off. My parents have leased cars in the past, and it seems totally pointless to me when you spend all that money and give it up after the lease is over. I want to have something I really like and can stand owning for that long, and more time to research what's out there. I'd prefer to have one that can be worked on by myself, but I think that's rapidly getting to be a thing of the past.

[peacock]

If your really on the fence that much i have just two words of importance to add.

"Heated Seats"

[atefitty]

Honestly your volvo is probably worth 4-6K at the most. You could put that $280 a month into the volvo for a few months to get it back right and then no car payment. I think the car is worth it at this point, even with the evaporator issues we all ponder. Of course your fuel cost will be lower with the new Honda but insurance may go up. The Honda will hold value well so I can't say you would loose alot on depreciation. I would keep it, but I'm also capable of fixing most problems that come up. It helps to be a mechanic if you own a older Volvo. Parts are expensive but I use local junkyards at my disgression. I've had my 850R since it had 26K, it has 140K now. Sometimes I want something different but it drives so nice and I know its safe.

[boosted5cyl]

Have you thought about which car you would rather be in during an accident?

Don't get me wrong, I love my V70, but its an old platform in a frock. Safe it its day for sure, but compared with a lot of cars today its average at best. Look at the crash test videos around, the S70 isnt so hot in frontal impact.

Gratnted, real world collisions are more complicated than a synthetic test, but still you have to go by something.

[matthew1]

The seats are great, the visibility is great, and I'm comfortable with the size of the car.

Interesting you bring up visibility. That's the first really remarkable thing I notice when I got out of my '97 Accord and into my '97 850: I could see behind me so well.

The rearview mirror in my 850 was for some reason far, far better than the one in my Accord. Small, weird point to make, I know, but that day was more than 9 years ago and I still remember that revelation. Hey, I'm a car nut.

Changing oil on my ex's 2000 Civic was a near-engine-destroying disaster. The filter is mounted SIDEWAYS in a very hard-to-reach area up in the bay. I put it on ramps, drained, removed filter, oil everywhere, new filter back on, new oil in, done.

Next day she calls me driving to work. THE OIL LIGHT IS ON. She is a smart one and called me seconds after it came on. Luckily she was 1/3 mile from work, and work was 1/8 mile from Honda dealer. She drove to the dealer and that day they found that the gasket from the prior oil filter was stuck to the block, and when I put on the new filter the seal was broken and oil drained out.

Next time I do an armbreaking, blind filter replacement I'll know to look for this condition. If you want to point fingers, point one at me because I was responsible for the oil filter, not anyone else, but you may also point a finger at Honda because they put the filter in a difficult place. The Civic was just a less DIY-friendly car than my 850.

[polskamafia mjl]

Matt you're right about the rearview mirror. My girlfriend has an 08 BMW 128i and I can't see ANYTHING through the rearview mirror. The 850 has great visibility.

[jblackburn]

Well, I've been re-united with my car, and couldn't be happier. I figured it was the RMS because it was dripping oil off the transmission and everywhere else, but it was just the rear cam seals. That area's a tad bit hard to have a look at on a turbo model, so I hadn't taken a good look there.

The RMS still leaks, but not horribly, and the best part of all is NO MORE SMELL!!!

While they had it in, they changed the sway bar links and it now drives much tighter, and my dad changed out the rear brakes, which no longer squeal!

I feel like I have a new car again. And you guys are right, it's much more exciting to drive than the Honda was...now if only it were a stick

[wheelsup]

Buy a '98 5-speed swap the trannies over and sell it with the auto in it, basically a free swap.