new owner, not-so-new car
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new owner, not-so-new car
I joined this forum via volvo-forums.com. Early this month I bought (for $1500 cash) a 1995 Volvo 850 GLT sedan, non turbo, automatic, dark green (close to what used to be called "British racing green"). Body wise, it looked good, except for minor scratches and a missing lens from the front turn signal. The previous owner had studded the headliner with tacks to keep the cloth from falling. (Apparently they smoked; the ash tray had a couple of butts.) The sunroof still works. The leather seats are OK except for the worn driver's seat.
The dash lights didn't come on (the problem lay in the rheostat dimmer; I jumped a couple of connectors and the dash lights came on again) and one of the heater hoses is cut (the other is disconnected). Otherwise it runs great (over 260K miles).
I took it to a garage because I thought it needed a brake job; I kept hearing a grinding and scraping while in motion. The mechanic, showing rare honesty, told me that the backing plate on one rotor had bent and was scraping against the rotor. He merely bent the plate back and all was well. Later, I replaced the turn signal lens ($60 from the local dealer).
This is my second Volvo; the first was a '73 240DL wagon I bought cheaply in the early '90s. Only had it for a couple of months before the automatic transmission (Borg-Warner) died.
The dash lights didn't come on (the problem lay in the rheostat dimmer; I jumped a couple of connectors and the dash lights came on again) and one of the heater hoses is cut (the other is disconnected). Otherwise it runs great (over 260K miles).
I took it to a garage because I thought it needed a brake job; I kept hearing a grinding and scraping while in motion. The mechanic, showing rare honesty, told me that the backing plate on one rotor had bent and was scraping against the rotor. He merely bent the plate back and all was well. Later, I replaced the turn signal lens ($60 from the local dealer).
This is my second Volvo; the first was a '73 240DL wagon I bought cheaply in the early '90s. Only had it for a couple of months before the automatic transmission (Borg-Warner) died.
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