Hello all.... I'd like to start by offering an apology if this forum is an inappropriate place to post this question.
I have a 1995 850 that I am looking to sell and am looking for advice on whether or not to bother attempting to sell or just junking.
194,972 miles and yes, the oil has been changed regularly.
However, she has not been driven for a year and fails to hold a charge. When connected to a battery she starts immediately but as soon as shut off the power disappears.
I bought her in 2010 for $2300 off of Craigslist from a man who was a mechanic at a Volvo dealership so she was in tip top shape but since in my possession has declined. I only ever had money to put into the maintenance to pass inspection (we are in Pennsylvania) and for anything that was obvious (for example the exhaust pipe once fell off). The tires are Bridgestone Ecopias and have ~11,000 mi on them. The check engine has been on for at least five yrs and the SRS light turned on at some point in 2018. The inspection was up in October of 2019 and aside from this issue with the starter probably I have no idea what she would need to pass.
Anyway, if anyone would like to offer advice on if I should bother attempting to sell or just call one of those "we junk cars for cash" that would be much appreciated.
Thank you so much
Samantha

 

A few things. If you can drive the car to a junk yard, you'll probably get 200-300 bucks for the car. If you sell it on Craigslist as a mechanics special (ie don't fix the problem) you may get a few hundred more. If you can fix the problem then the value goes up, Mileage is not a big factor. The overall condition of the car and the nature of the problems will determine what you can get.

For example, your battery issue is a bit confusing. You say when hooked up to a battery (I assume you mean jumper cables?) it will start - that's a good thing. Does the car die as soon as you disconnect the jumpers? That says to me the battery in the car is totally shot. Next step would be to put a replacement battery in the car (doesn't have to be new, just working). Then get the car started and it should stay running for a bit. This is when you need to measure voltage at the battery (engine running) to see if the alternator is working. Now if you solve that problem with a new battery or alternator, time to move on to the check engine codes. The good news about the 95s is that you don't need a code reader tool, you can read the stored fault codes using the diagnostics box on the front left side of the engine. Volvotips.com has a write up with pictures on the how to, and the most common codes. That will tell you why the check engine light is on. If you have a good battery in the car, you should be able to read the codes before deciding if you need an alternator. The common causes for CEL codes on the 850s can be simple things like issues with the vaccuum lines. Similarly, there are also diagnotics codes that can be read to determine what is causing the SRS light to be on. (there's a different jumper port for the powertrain codes vs the SRS codes so you may need to google to find out how). Usually SRS codes are set because one of the airbags has a fault or more likely you have wiring issues (particularly if you are rural where mice can chew up your wires).

Not sure how your car can pass inspection with an SRS and CEL light on - excepting that maybe PA only does safety on a car of that age, so you'd need to make sure the brakes, emergency brake, suspension etc are in good shape as well. Considering the car hasn't been driven for a bit suggests they may need to be checked out.