I have a 2002 Volvo S60 (non turbo) with about 128k miles or so on it. I maintain the car pretty well with oil changes, new tires, brakes, etc., and I already had the timing belt replaced (at about 110k).

Ths issues I am having now are as follows:
1. driver side door handle dioes not work from the inside. I need to put the window down and open the door using the outside handle in order to get out. The Volvo dealership looked at it and said the hook inside the door brok eand that the door panel needed to be replaced. I believe the price with installation was about $650, give or take. A separate V olvo specialty shop can do it for about $400-450.

2. Passenger side window is acting up. If the window is already up and I hit the up button on the driver side door the passenger side window goes down about two inches. Sometimes it does not work at all. On a few occasions it actually made a bunch of grinding type noises and the outside temp guage on the dash read "---F' instead of an actual temperature. When the noise stopped the temperature guage and window worked again. Weird...

3. Warning indicator for burnt out bulbs goes on quite frequently, "Position bulb" i think it says. Sometimes I can find a bulb that is out and other times it is not out.

I also heard that what I reference in #2 above may have to do with a computer that needs to be reokaced and that it is expensive. It was the Car Talk radio show that mentione dit but they did not give an estimate.

At any rate, any thoughts/suggestions on how to fix these probelms and associated costs would be appreciated. I like the car and want to keep it butif it's going to cost an arm and a leg going forward I may need to get rid of it...

Thanks in advance!

 

Post car notes, old cars do cost money to keep them on the road. Keeping the car and fixing things that break, may cost you money but newer car payments cost money as well.

So, I would pose this question, are you tired of the car? How long have you had it? Heck, I would guess that you could find a wrecked 9 year old car and replace the door for a lot less than $650. I'm thinking about $300. Other than that, newer car payments cost an average of $500 per month. How many months can you put $500 into your car before you run out of things to fix? But if you are tired of the car and can afford monthly car payments and higher insurance, get a new car, there are lots of nice deals out there.

 

rspi, thanks for the comments. Definitely not tired of the car and the things you mention are exactly what I have been contemplating. Got a little worried when I heard that the computer replacement would be expensive, would still love to get an idea on that cost. I heard that the windows can become inoperable and even go up and down on their own so i should probably get it checked out soon.

I SOOOOOOOO would not like to take on a car payment again....especially since my wife's Saturn has been having some problems as well (recurring oil leaks)....

Thanks!

 

Volvos are like pets, once they are yours keep them until they pass..., then you get to buy a newer one. At 128K its barely broken in and probably still has a respectable book value, keep it and replace the Saturn.

 

How handy are you with a wrench? Volvos are not that hard to work on and the door is doable. Electronic gremlins can be trickier , of course. That car has at least 70,000 more miles in it! +1 on selling the Saturn.

 

1) if u could found a match door panel from a used one, that's great. all u need is the panel on the inner door opener part. u could switch them out by yourself.
3) bulbs out, it happen to any car, just replace the faulty bulb.
2) the concert is that it was only the windows fault or some other electrical fault. that you need someone to look at. I would get a proper diagnosis first before I give up the car.