Hello everyone, first off i'd like to thank everyone on this forum for their advice and repair tips i've gotten over the years, this is my first time posting but certainly not my first visit. I'm trying to help my parents out of a bad situation and could really use some advice. Two years ago my parents, (long time volvo fans) decided to upgrade from a 240 to a 1998 V70 with around 200,000 miles at the time, and loved it so much they bought another used 2000 S70 a few months later.

Two years later both cars are now junk, which in a weird way is a relief because they did more damage while they were "running" than they did by dying. The V70 was a black hole for money whose greed would impress most politicians. In two years they spent around five grand in repairs, and most parts were installed by my father and/or myself to cut down on cost. The S70 ran like a champ for two years and then one week my parents were stranded on the highway from a bad alternator, they took it to the nearest shop which replaced the malfunctioning alternator, a day later it failed to start again so they brought it back to the repair shop, (they cant remember what the problem was this time) but they told the mechanic to replace the timing belt while he was under the hood. Two days later the cog/wheel that the timing belt runs on cracked in half and when my parents brought the car back a 3rd time in a WEEK, they were told the engine would need between $1500-3000 in repairs to fix it again.

Two months later the head gasket on the V70 bought the farm. The kicker was that while all this drama is going on with the newer volvos, my 1992 240 has been like the energizer bunny (it keeps going, and going, and going) So now my parents are going back to the 240 model, and have given up any thoughts of spending thousands of dollars to get either vehicle running again for fear that they would continue to be money pits. So it seems like stripping both vehicles and selling the good parts is the only way for my parents to get a little money back from this catastrophy. So i thought it was best to ask the pro's on volvo forum for some advice on which parts are worth salvaging on the 70 series? Most of my knowledge about cars are from old models between 1980's and early 1990's so i have no clue if some of the more hi-tech things on these more modern cars are worth salvaging.

Thanks for any advice, and sorry for ranting, its been hard watching my folks being plagued by one automotive problem after another, i'm just hoping i can get them a few bucks back.

 

I asked a guy who parted out a lot of them this question, and his answer was "anything with a harness plug". I think this is good advice, in that these things can be easily shipped, and therefore sold on ebay.

To be honest, there is nothing wrong with taking the electrical system apart and putting one piece at a time on ebay for $1 at auction (not buy it now). Then you don't have to ask what things are "worth". You can just mail them out for whatever the high bid is.

 

I am sorry for the problems your parents have had.

To some extent I think their problem was one of expectations. You just can not expect to buy a 15 year old car and then happily drive around as if the vehicle was new off the dealer's lot.

If you want to drive a 15 year old vehicle for more than a year or two you have to make the effort to research its known problems and idiosyncrasies and fix them. It's also important to make sure that important work like a timing belt change is done by a competent mechanic.

I think your S70 died because the tensioner roller for the SERPENTINE belt broke in half. This is a plastic roller and in my opinion it's a design defect as plastic is an inappropriate material for this part. When this roller fractures, the serpentine belt can derail the timing belt and kill the engine. On your car it's quite likely that this roller broke due to rough handling by the mechanic who did the timing belt change.

So the serpentine belt tensioner roller should be replaced on older cars even if it appears to be fine with a good bearing.

Same with hoses. These cars overheat very rapidly with loss of coolant so all hoses should be replaced even if they appear to be fine.

Keeping a 15 year old vehicle running requires commitment.

 

That sounds like great advice Firebirdparts, thank you.

I think you're right migbro, i think they were spoiled by the never dying 240 models and expected that to carry on to the next generation but were sorely mistaken. And yes, there is no doubt in my mind that it was the mechanic's fault why the roller broke. Unfortunately there was no way to prove that, and of course they werent going to admit that they wrecked the engine. I know my old man did some research on the 1998 V70 before he bought it, i remember him telling me about all the rave reviews he read about them. Frankly the only positive review i've read about them is "it's great when its running" i think it was a case of wishful thinking.

 

I'll confess I know very little about 240s but it's my impression they're from the golden age of Volvo design when the cars were simple and rugged and very little under the hood was made from plastic.

I just put $1,600 into my 2000 V40 which is maybe worth $2,000 on a good day. Struts, springs, sway bar bushings, brakes. Now I'm going to replace all the hoses, etc. that could cause a sudden and unexpected catastrophe.

 

I don't know how long you expect a car to last when you buy it with 200,000 miles, but that really depends on the previous owner. I've seen them with 350,000 plus miles. I've also seen them worthless with 90,000 miles.

But yes, the 240 is much simpler... Much less to fail. If Volvo made cars like the 240 now, they would never be able to sell them in the US and the majority of people wouldn't buy them anyway.

 

Very true, you cant expect much from a vehicle thats 17 years old with 200,000 miles. There were a few factors that impaired my old man's judgment on the V70. The previous owner was a mechanic (and probably expected that he babied the vehicle) problem #2 was national pride, my old man is a native of Sweden so of course he wants to believe that Volvo makes better cars than any other brand out there (a common mistake most people make about their favorite brand) and once he read a couple rave reviews about how amazing the V70 was, he convinced himself that the V70 was the next 240. It was a costly reminder not to let emotions cloud your judgement unless you can afford to pay the consequences of bad decisions. But i see this happen all the time with friends/co-workers that think "Any Ford is a good Ford" or whatever their favorite brand is. Sooner or later they discover that's not always the case.
On the bright side, i dont think my folks will forget this anytime soon. But unless anyone has a better suggestion, it still seems like salvaging the new parts they paid for, and anything else of value off both cars and selling them on ebay/craigslist is the best option at this point? Is there an auto business of note that buys used parts?

 

To be honest your story doesn't sound that bad.

$5,000 in repairs in two years on a 17 year old car is nothing.

You're going to pay one way or the other. New car payments or high maintenance on a beater. There's probably a sweet spot buying a three to five year old used vehicle but even then there will be maintenance. There is no magic solution to this problem other than becoming your own expert mechanic. Even that is no panacea as I have become tired of working on my own cars in less than ideal conditions - lying on my back in the driveway.

If they were my cars I'd try and find a trustworthy mechanic (I know, I know,) fix them and motor on. This is particularly true if they have a good body and interior. Parting them out will be a huge PITA and will only net you a couple thousand dollars.