What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[RickHaleParker]

I have never understood the idea to fertilize and water lawns so they grow faster and then you need to mow more often.

Lawns were invented as a status symbol. You had to be loaded in order to waste the patch of ground growing useless grass. Everybody else used whatever ground they had growing food.

As for fertilizing and watering lawns to grow faster ... so you can waste more money and show off.
Same concept as the original lawn idea, "Look at me .. I can afford to waste more than that guy" .....

[Stu70]

Unless of course you enjoy creating and working on and in a nice manicured lawn that only you and drones can see.
I’m able to have a food garden and a lawn - but climate and social norms are different the world over


It can always be said that one mans folly is another mans passion...

[Sveedy]

I think Frank Lloyd Wright said something regarding our home environment as " Creating a world unto ourselves ".

I discovered that using my old front strut spring seats, even temporally, with the new struts and anti-sway bar links, is no good. At speeds over 60 car started to shake like the wheel was falling off. Can hear and feel the knock on bumpy road as well. When it was all apart I was able to see play between the bushing and the rubber so really no surprise. Parked and waiting on parts...

[bmdubya1198]

I look at cars much the same way I look at shoes. I wouldn't want just one nice pair to handle all my needs. Work boots, hiking boots, knock around, dress. So with that goes work truck, SUV, project, and Volvo. All probably accomplished for less than 6 months of new car payments.

Yup! While you can buy one car that can do it all, it's not going to be the best at each thing. My V70R is a great car on the highway, great for hauling things, but it can't tow (probably could, I've just never used the hitch that's on it) and it's not much fun on the twisty roads. My Mountaineer tows really well and can haul just a tiny bit more than my R (hilarious that a P80 wagon barely has any less space than a mid size SUV, huh?) but it's slow and not that much fun to drive. My E30 will eventually be a lot of fun on curvy roads, but it can't haul anything.

That said, I pretty much only wear one pair of shoes... the universal shoe... my Avia sneakers. Never been a shoe guy. I really need to get a good pair of boots though, it would be helpful around here where it's become a swamp!

Our fleets reflect our thinking - more toys and less shiny.
volvolugnut

Precisely. Looking at my fleet, I'm a quantity over quality kinda guy

[Cookeh]

Some interesting input there, thanks. I shan't be buying anything new, that much I can assure you. I can also assure you I'm not one to treat my car as white goods, and I also am not bothered by image.

I have no doubt the 850 would be excellent for commuting, as it served me just fine for commuting 12k a year (+7-8k social) for the last three years. Its comfy, it's relatively well specced, and it eats the miles. $10,000 on fuel is an awful lot though, and we all know that these cars need to be afforded time and money in preventative maintenance. All in all this means it isn't viable to commute in personally. I know the car could do it, and Abscate has several examples showing that.

As far as multiple cars for multiple roles, I couldn't agree more. But where does the 850 fit in? We've established its not ideal as a commuter, its not ideal as a project car on our local roads (CAs 'canyon roads' appear to be less technical and wider than Welsh A-roads), so where does that leave us? Its got boatloads of space, and so is great for carrying gear, but if the commuter car was an estate then that role is already covered.

I love the car, it is fantastic and its been a privilege to own one of my dream cars. It was also my first foray into automotive DIY and I've learned an awful lot. The Volvo community is also a wonderful place to be, full of wisdom and guides. Sometimes I'm beginning to feel like I'm running out of things to do on it, short of an engine rebuild and slapping a bigger turbo on I've pretty much 'been-there-done-that'. That would give me something to do on it but tuning these cars is prohibitively expensive relative to other cars, and improved straight line speed wouldn't exactly be dreadfully useful on my local roads. Which loops back to the question of where it fits into a multiple car lineup.

[abscate]

Hmmm, my thoughts

600 miles a week is about 30,000 miles a year, that’s heavy driving by any standard. Well over 2x our average !

Using formula, 600 miles by 25 miles per Yankee gallon (YG) , gets 12 YG perweek, that would cost us about $36 per week, so you would twice that or $72, annual fuel cost of thus $3600

You could halve that with an economical diesel or hybrid, if you got something a bit newer you could keep the maintenance cost of 1500-3000 down , too.

Your T5 would be a fine back up car if your commuter is in the shop, and would also let you DIY repair both, which would keep your maintenance down.

Liverpool and the Magpies are breaking my heart this year, but Home is where the Wolves howl.

[Cookeh]

681mi a week, at 28 miles/English gallon is set to cost me £129 in fuel (fuel cost here is averaging 118.9p/L - or $4.75 per YG). Annual fuel cost would hence £6340 (assuming I'm a good boy and take all my available holiday), or $8870. Previous sums neglected holidays, silly me, and understated mileage (68.1mi each way), even sillier me.

Spending $2000 on a cheapo diesel that does 60mpg is the current idea, which would effectively halve fuel costs (£2959.60 per annum, or $4148.). Of course the commuter would then take 6 months or so to pay for itself, and I'd have a new-to-me car that would require stage-zeroing. I'm currently eyeing up C30s so I'm not straying too far from home! Sadly to get 60mpg I'll need the garbage 1.6 PSA engine, but hey ho.

Napkin maths, possibly some dodgy stuff in there. Yes, would hate to be a L'pool fan right now!

[abscate]

We can’t even get the diesels over here , of course, our fuel is so cheap those savings matter much less.

That’s a big commute for Britain!! Hope it’s an exciting new job !

[foggydogg]

"... Which loops back to the question of where it fits into a multiple car lineup.
[/quote]
Left unexamined here are the unknown tax issues you folks yonder have to ponder . In some places on our side of the big waters, cars of a certain vintage are no longer taxed, and license renewal fees are waived; I added an old Chevy Square Body to my fleet last year and it raised my insurance by $35.
My guess is there are yearly license and added insurance numbers to add to the napkin factoring to keep the car in your fleet.
Careful with the fluids in the glass on said napkin, single malts have been known to cloud judgement.

[Cookeh]

Tax is per vehicle based on CO2 emissions. As an example the Volvo costs me £250 pa. Beyond that there is a yearly MOT (£40). Vehicles over 40 years are tax and MOT exempt. Insurance is a factor, but the 850 qualifies for classic insurance. I am not eligible for it currently due to the miles I do, but if it became a second car I could go down that route. Then insurance will be between £50 and £150 depending on how many social miles I accumulate.

Most diesels Im looking at (anything Euro4 or newer spec) are taxed at £30-120, and come in around £350 insurance.