crossroads

[Clemens]

I'm kinda stuck. I've been driving 850ies since 2011 and currently have a 96 R in very good condition, a 94T5 in mediocre condition and a 95 parts car and a huge pile of parts and spares.
While I really enjoyed being that Volvo 850 guy around town, I am starting to get tired of dealing with two of them. I will for sure keep the R, but am considering a used V90 with a maximum of 100.000 miles as a replacement for the worn ou 94 T5.
I wonder if this is really a good idea, especially since modern cars are full of electronics. On the other hand, I spent a good 5K this year alone on my two 850ies.
I have been driving 1990ies cars for 27 years, but I'm tired of constant tinkering and troubleshooting and huge piles of spares that I keep just in case.

Any ideas are welcome.

[volvolugnut]

While I do not have specific advice on your moving up from P80 cars, I have given some thought to my own automotive repairs future. My fleet is listed below. The primary drivers are the 2001 V70 and the E320 Mercedes. It takes quite a lot of time to keep every one going and some are not up to long trips at the moment. At 68 years and retired in good health I can still do the work, but other activities also need my time.
I expect sometime in the next 10 years I will give up on keeping older cars as the prime drivers. At that time I think I will move up to the 'old guy' plan and buy a new or just a few years old car with local dealer service. This will mean buying a domestic brand - not a Volvo or Mercedes since these dealers are both about 1.5 hours away. I will likely keep some or all for my current fleet for messing with. Or maybe purge them all.
volvolugnut

[BlackBart]

Could one keep a solid 122 running essentially forever? Assuming it’s not rusted. Simple machine, parts are available.

The same could be said about an old Beetle or American pickup I suppose.

[volvolugnut]

My question, and I think Clemens question as well, who do you find with the deep knowledge to maintain any of these old cars or pickups? Can a modern shop maintain carburetors and point type ignition? Can they troubleshoot without plugging in the electric diagnostic device? Would they want to do this work?
volvolugnut

[abscate]

When I get to that dreaded age, about 5 years from now, your driving falls to 2509-3000 miles per year.

You can live with pretty much anything that runs 50% of the time.

[JimBee]

If I were going the route of keeping a pre-all electronics car going forever I would stock up on parts that will eventually wear out. I kept a '67 Ford Econoline van dressed out as a camper (doubling to haul building materials during that phase) going for over 200,000 miles, over time replacing everything with moving parts, including the beasty 240 ci 6 banger that when new would lift the front wheels off the pavement on a WOT shift to second gear ( I long had that out of my system by the time it moved on ). It was rough ride, though, and I finally gave it up for a few hundred dollars to a local band member who lusted for it.

I do plan to keep at least one of my 3 850s going for as long as I drive, maybe another 15 years. I have a huge inventory of parts I've harvested from throwaway 850s that ended up at the upull, often with plenty of
serviceable replaceable parts. I realize many MVS members have done the same thing. I'm now down to my last spare starter (another post). Alternators are all new. Suspension parts, cooling system, brake lines, fuel pump, tires, brakes, axle boots, seals and most ignition parts and others were new when installed. These are good, solid cars, why not just keep them going! Volvo dealers are pretty much moving on to all electric and eventually most indies will move on to later models, so I feel like I'm pretty much on my own — I've just tried to prepare for that (hoping that the ECMs hold up).

[BlackBart]

When I get to that dreaded age, about 5 years from now, your driving falls to 2509-3000 miles per year.

You can live with pretty much anything that runs 50% of the time.

You make a good point - you're not driving alone 1200 miles across the frontier to visit kids - they'll come to you or you fly.

Another thought - a future simple electric might be perfect for errands and around town, short trips.

[volvolugnut]

When I get to that dreaded age, about 5 years from now, your driving falls to 2509-3000 miles per year.

You can live with pretty much anything that runs 50% of the time.

BUT, getting to 50% of your medical visits may result in 50% lifespan reduction.
The time comes when most of the miles are medical related. We have a decent hospital and medical care in our town, but no taxi or Uber.

volvolugnut

[454cid]

Don't forget that as time goes on what's new and mysterious (or a show stopping problem) usually gets figured out. There was a time when OBD-1 and 2 were new and no one but the pros could work on cars with all the new electronic gadgets, and now it's no big deal. I say that to mean that something newer than an 850 will eventually be comparable to an 850 today. Learning a newer old vehicle will help keep the brain going, even if you're not pulling engines and transmissions anymore.

[scot850]

I agree with the sentiments on what is new is old now and the hard to fix stuff like OBD 1/2 are now mainstream. The harder part is the repairing of the huge amount of electronics on newer cars. For those of us with no electrical background, have you ever tried to follow a CANBUS wiring diagram for a P2 car? I find not only are the wiring colors often wrong, but there is no logic to what colors are used for what purpose. You can't follow a signal as you have no idea where it goes to. Now maybe you electronic geniuses can do that, but it is no longer obvious like older wiring diagrams. The mechanical side of things are also being designed to prevent home repair without buying tools that the dealer either will not or is reluctant to sell you. When doing the 13 XC60 trans we had to buy 4 tools at around $450 US just to replace seals and even to be able to turn the crank to disconnect the flex plate bolts.

Mechanical stuff is also becoming ore challenging as more and more sensors are being used. I am trying to learn to work on tis newer stuff but there is less and less information available as fewer are working on the newer cars. Now we have hybrids and electric cars. Again some of the mystique has started to fade on these but more fancy equipment is needed for diagnostics. Heck, todays' mechanics can't diagnose simple stuff, how are they going to do the more complex stuff?

I keep thinking of a newer car, but just can't find anything I either want or even consider. The idea of the small local electric car is possible, as for city driving they are generally ok, just as long as we have electricity..................

Neil.