Became a two Volvo guy..

[GaryB1]

I also posted in the V50 forum. I just bought a 2008 V50 3 weeks ago, my first Volvo since my late lamented '78 242 in my teens. Saturday my wife came in and said, "Guess what?" This is not, generally speaking, a good sign. She had just bought a 2000 S70 as our soon to be driving son's first car. This poor car has been through at least two previous teen drivers and is very tired but she didn't pay very much and it's not returnable. I told her there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Volvo. I'm hoping for relatively easy fixes, but I know how that works! The right front has a clunking sound at every bump in the road and the dash lights are lit up like a pinball machine and the interior looks to have been occupied by a family of ferrets with switchblades. The radio just flashes the word, 'CODE' The paint was at one time dark blue, now it is unintentionally more of an urban camoflage. Anyway, I'm just hoping I haven't taken on more than I can handle!

[scot850]

You are correct on there are no cheap old Volvos! Ask me how I know. I have had 2 recent P80's that had poor recent maintenance history and in the case of the current 2000 V70, so many broken and damaged parts I have never seen on previous cars. This car is bleeding me dry and currently driving me nuts with various warning lights. Have to dig out the old Vida and Dice unit to try to see if I can find what is going on. Otherwise, much of the interior has been replaced from PnP, including seats, and most interior panels. Still looking for a good LH front carpet.

I wish you a lot of luck, and we are here if you need help.

Neil.

[850 LPT]

I think your wife would have been well advised to consult you BEFORE buying this car. Sounds like this could be a long and painful journey that involves serious resources both monetary and time on your part to bring this car back from the brink. Anyway, I certainly hope that it's not so and wish you lots of luck.

[theWIFES_S70]

I told her there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Volvo.

Can we get Matt to put this somewhere on our website? Truer words about our cars have never, ever been spoken...

Good luck with the fixes. Only after two years have I been able to do away with most of the P.O's lack of care and maintenance. Stage (mostly) zero is kind of nice. There are still a few things that need to be taken care of... (Some my doing of course...)

Hey, look at the bright side, at least down south you won't really have to deal with much rust. Cheers!

[GaryB1]

Thanks for the encouragement. We have a good and very honest mechanic who really loves Volvos otherwise I wouldn't even consider it. I brought my V50 to him to check out before I bought it and he whipped out pictures of his newest baby, a 2000 S80 that he just bought with 10,000 miles on it. Though I can do some work, we've moved to an apartment so there isn't really a place for my tools or for working on a car. I'm just hoping to make it a safe first car for a 16 YO to drive a few miles a day to school and a job. Maybe as we go, we can add cosmetic improvements since the car is rust free and has only a couple of fist size dents on one side and sun-fried paint. Once he graduates, he plans on getting a degree in animation, buying a RV and going to work for animation or video companies. Then I'll have a second Volvo to keep as a toy.

[JRL]

I told her there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Volvo.

Has been.
I wrote this quite a few times

[precopster]

If ABS and engine light is lit as well as a flashing up arrow you need a 5/64 or E16 e torx socket so you can pull out the ABS module and send it to Midwest ABS. Matty will look after you.

Most likely issue with front end are spring seats. Look up here on MVS about how to diagnose. Other front end culprits are sway bar links, sway bar bushings, control arms (they have built in ball joints).

The latter 3 are relatively inexpensive front end parts. Control arms can be pricey if you go for Lemfoerder (OEM) but you can try Meyle for far less dollars if on a budget.

Your local Volvo dealer can provide you with the radio code if you provide VIN and ID details if radio is original. If it's a replacement head unit from another vehicle push in the side tabs and remove the radio completely to expose the head unit's serial number.

Is the ETS light also on?

[GaryB1]

I just went out to check the ETS light and guess what? The battery's dead too. It's supposed to be a new one. I'm going to jump it Saturday and get it over to the mechanic's. He's probably going to be able to make a few boat payments when he sees me coming in!

[GaryB1]

[quote="850 LPT" post_id=443480 time=1499361064 user_id=38855]
I think your wife would have been well advised to consult you BEFORE buying this car. To be honest, I wasn't mad because this car is almost exactly the same color as the 242 that I sold when I went into the Navy. I'm just hoping we can make it safe without breaking the bank because this is the first time I've seen my son show any interest at all in anything that didn't involve Pokemon or Transformers. He even went and bought a Pokemon key chain for all two of his keys!

[rspi]

I just went out to check the ETS light and guess what? The battery's dead too. It's supposed to be a new one. I'm going to jump it Saturday and get it over to the mechanic's. He's probably going to be able to make a few boat payments when he sees me coming in!

Man, have the battery replaced, park it in the hood, running with the door open like a bait car. Only leave the signed title in the seat with $200 cash on the dash. Tell the wife you sold it and giver her $900. If you have to pay someone to fix it, you'll need another job.