So my aunt died and left me her car.

It's a 1990 Volvo 240 DL. But it has quite a bit of problems.

First off the front right corner lens is broken (the light also seems to be twitchy as the light-bulb on the dash goes nuts when I put the right turning signal on).

Both rear tail-lights have cracked lenses, the backup lights are twitchy (if I fiddle with them I can get them to work but they stop working quickly), but the directionals and brake lights all work. The right license plate light doesn't work (not sure if it's just the bulb)

Next the front passenger shock is leaking oil, and the front drivers wheel is weirdly starting to bald (all four tires were purchased at the same time and the other 3 are fine just the front driver wheel is balding).

The front Grill is cracked and rigged together with duct tape, and some cord.

The AC doesn't work (I believe this is because my aunt god rest her soul mixed R-134 with the R-12 that was already in the system).

The car only has 93k miles and she was the originally purchaser.

Oh also the paint is starting to chip in some places and some of the black gaskets around the door are cracking but these are mainly superficial problems.

Should probably get the wheels aligned and balanced as I don't think this was ever done.

Anyone have any idea how much this might cost me to fix? I asked the mechanic when he was changing the brake pads and replacing the oil how much it would cost to replace the front shocks and he said not to worry about it as long as I don't driver at highway speeds, that I won't notice it, but that if I did want to repair it, it would be like $500 due to the labor (the shocks are only like $100). He said the whole front has to come apart to replace the shocks which is why the labor will be so expensive.

Times are kinda tight and I could only put like $500-$750 into the car right now. Recommendations?

 

93k miles 240 should have a lot of life left in it, and if you do some prudent shopping around you should be able to resuscitate it. From this forum you should be able to glean some insights and as long as you don't mind getting involved, the budget you have should be plenty.

 

The car has obviously been under maintained. Any front end shop could look at the front end and the tire wear and tell you what the issue is. The lighting is usually no big deal but do you have a wagon or sedan? Start hunting on eBay as many of these parts sell cheap! your car will use the same lights and grill as any 86-93 Volvo 240.

 

Its a sedan.

 

Would purchasing these items

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo...ht_2905wt_1576

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo...ht_2905wt_1576

Fix my taillight problem?

Has anyone purchased from this website? http://www.vlvworld.com/

They have the Front right corner assembly for $20 on ebay the cheapest is $40.

Any suggestions on what to do about the license plate light?

 

Those are fine... The lic plate light sounds like the bulb... Take it out and put a new one in.

 

I've used vlvworld.com often. They're great. So is our sponsor, fcpgroton.com I've also used that eBay seller...I believe they're in Florida. They always did right by me.

 

I just checked out fcpgroton.com and I have used vlvworld.com too and all my parts got to me quickly and in one piece