My $4200 point is - Take what you can get from the Insurance co, and since you are considering spending a boat load of money to fix the 30 year old Volvo - Take that boat load of money (that you probably don't have in cash just waiting to be spent on a 30 year old Volvo) Add the insurance money and your boat load of money or car loan - and purchase something else - maybe something that's not 30 years old requiring European car maintenance and where the wiring insulation is not falling apart. (speedo jumping problem) It might not be as bad if there was a reasonable service person for the OP's car (or he could do this stuff himself) - but the experience with the struts replacement was not reasonable - the "technician" working on the car was not familiar with the car and as expected caused more problems costing $$$. Retail repairs on a 30 year old Volvo - IF you can find someone who will work on it - are going to be very expensive.

I would understand fixing it if this were a toy - but I have a feeling this is everyday transportation, and needs to be reliable.

For bring a trailer - sure a perfect 240 might bring $$$$, but this car has been t-boned - it will never be worth $$$$ with it's history.

 

Old cars, old Volvos, don't make sense to own as daily drivers unless the owner is handy and willing to do a lot of the repairs and maintenance himself. They are relatively uncomplicated which makes it possible to do that but still, not everybody is ready, willing and able. The simplest repairs today, water pumps, Tbelts, brakes, steering racks, etc. cost many hundreds even thousands if you go to a shop, costing more than the whole car unless there is some sentimental reason to hang on. You can get into a new Jetta for $99 a month, for the vast majority of the public that's an unbeatable deal, and there are many more like it.

 

geez, $99/month? what's that, a 10 year car loan? I'm remembering my payments on a 1989 Jetta were closer to $400/month, and that was after I put about 25% down, on a 4 year loan.

insurance on a new car for a young driver is likely going to be more than $100/month.

 

Wow, '89 Jetta MSRP was $9,000! $400X48, +25% down = $21,450, looks like somebody got taken!

These current $99 and less deals are mostly leases, but the point stands!
https://carsplan.com/99-car-lease-no-money-down/

 

mine as the GLI 16V model, fairly loaded, I think it was about half again more than that base price from the totally stripped model. maybe I'm confusing car payments, I'd also bought a 1989 Volvo 780 Bertone V6 the same year, which sadly, was wrecked in 6 months, that car was around $30K new. The Jetta was my 'sane' placement car.

 

hopefully the OP can find some doors from a junkyard (ideally silver!!!) and then make a deal with the truckers to somehow save this one
without spending a ton of $$. at least up here in the northeast a 240 or 245 is getting to be a very rare sight indeed.....

 

hey pierce we had a '89 Jetta 4dr, son bent a control arm.. was worth fixing.. later on the car would save his life
after rolling on I-95...

 

yeah, never rolled mine, but was tail ended on highway 17 once, at the front of a 20 car pileup (I stopped for a BMW that slid out of control on the damp mountain highway, mercedes behind me stopped, suv after suv piled into the back of the benz who was pushed into the back of my jetta over and over. minor bumper damage on jetta and bent exhaust. totally smashed mercedes. the insurance adjusters took months to figure out who paid for what, but I got my deductible back, althought hey weaseled me on the exhaust, claiming 'betterment" since a 60K mile exhaust is 60% worn out (BS, it was all stainless)

ended up putting 250K miles on that car in about 6 years due to my commute. new tires every winter.