'99 V70 - Fix and Sell or Donate?

Braz · Post by **Braz** » 02 Sep 2014, 15:51

I am in need of the advice of the assembled experts. My wife bought a new car to replace her faithful "99 V70 with 115,000 miles. Our plan was to sell the Volvo rather than trade it. Cosmetically the car is very nice.

But, the very day she brought the new car home the Volvo went into transmission failure mode with the flashing arrow and the very sluggish forward motion. (How do cars know when they are being thrown over for a new one?) So my trusted independent Volvo shop tells me it needs a transmission control module ($800-900). It also needs a new throttle body, which it has needed for a few years now but still runs more or less OK. It also needs a door lock mechanism in order to make the courtesy lights go off when the doors are closed. (I now have all the door jamb lights pulled out to keep from draining the batt overnight.)

The total to fix everything is prohibitive given the "street value" of the car ($2,500?). I'm thinking, spend the $8-900 to fix the tranny so it drives and another hundred or so having it detailed and list it for $2000 and hope to get $1500. The other option is to donate it to a charity and take the tax deduction.

So, opine away. What would you do?

John

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 02 Sep 2014, 17:17

I would find out what the exact code(s) for the transmission are. I don't think I've actually ever heard of a TCU failing. More importantly you can source a used one for much, much, much cheaper. But again, without knowing what the actual code is there's really no way to diagnose the problem correctly.

In my experience, when you tell a shop you have a transmission problem they immediately identify the most expensive component and try to replace it regardless of any evidence suggesting something else it the problem.

I would keep the car and fix it up, especially if you have another car you can use while the V70 goes under the knife.

Post by **tryingbe** » 02 Sep 2014, 17:31

Donate it.

Post by **kahl** » 02 Sep 2014, 17:51

I would put it on ebay.

Braz · Post by **Braz** » 02 Sep 2014, 18:01

polskamafia mjl wrote:I would find out what the exact code(s) for the transmission are. I don't think I've actually ever heard of a TCU failing. ... But again, without knowing what the actual code is there's really no way to diagnose the problem correctly.

Thanks for your input. The shop has the car at the moment and they did pull the codes. We were hoping it was the PNP switch but, apparently, it is in fact the TCU.

A few years ago it would have been a "no-brainer" but I have gotten to the age where working on cars isn't that much fun any more, and I still have an Alfa in the garage which uses up most of my remaining fun energy.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 02 Sep 2014, 20:04

Gotcha.

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 03 Sep 2014, 00:08

I would expect a good running, relatively low mileage '99 V70 to fetch
considerably more than $1,500. 115K is nothing for this car - It's barely broken in!

The biggest thing, IMHO, is the condition of the body/interior.
If it's in good shape, has good compression and is well kept,
most of the other issues that you mention are worth checking.

If this JUST started, it may very well be something very simple.
A second opinion may be in order... Any other Volvo shops around?

Post by **precopster** » 03 Sep 2014, 06:10

Well on a '99 you can't just swap the TCM over from a used parts lot being a "networked" car. Is this a non turbo car? If so even more reason to hold on to it. Turbo cars have way too many vacuum hoses and sensors to be reliable transport for a non-enthusiast.

I would repair the TCU, get a timing belt set fitted and get an XeModex ETM and keep it for another 5 years, just my 2 cents

Post by **rmmagow** » 03 Sep 2014, 06:44

Donate it. Zero guilt and somebody will fix and make some bucks for the charity, you'll get a deduction and the car is gone without needing to worry some wack-job's gonna come back and shoot you since you sold him junk! (little paranoid sometimes:-)

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 03 Sep 2014, 17:05

precopster wrote:Well on a '99 you can't just swap the TCM over from a used parts lot being a "networked" car.

Good to know. I was aware of the ETM change but I didn't realize the TCM couldn't be swapped out like on the 850's. With that being said, I've still never heard of the TCM actually going bad so I stand by my previous statement that something much simpler is likely at fault.