I posted this already, very very sorry but not sure if I posted it in the right spot, I did not want to make a new thread, but thinking now it wasn't really pertinent to the conversation entirely....new to forums, thank you for your patience. So I repeat with a few edits and additions:

not quite sure how this all works, but hopefully someone gets this message. I have a 93 volvo 940 that I bought 3 years ago for 3000 Canadian$. It's been good overall but a whole bunch of dinky things have happened to it, some my fault, some others not....

1. sunroof not working
2. antennae broke off
3. trunk has dirt jammed in it and doesn't close properly
4. front blinker lens gone
5. back door doesn't always close
6. lock on gear shift is jammed, have to press it in hard to get out of park
7. side plastic on door broke
8. speedometer doesn't work
9. when shocks were done, a bolt wasn't put on tight enough and it rattles
10. muffler needs doing
11. side mirror is cracked

It sounds crazy that all these things happened to it, they are all most of them due to a mom that had a nervous breakdown and hasn't managed life well. My son is now 3 and things are starting to get better, a little anyway. I can tell you how and why all these happened if anyone is interested, but I am wondering now how much I could get for it. I was thinking of selling it and going without a car (in a town where a car is an essential- no bus service to speak of) and was on craigs list trying to find out what it is worth. The only car in the area that I came across was another volvo, same year, same model, for 3200$ canadian. Now I am thinking of buying it. I know it's high, but it was owned by a man who died at 90, it's hardly been used at 120,000, no one has even sat in the backseat, it lived in an underground garage and seemingly in near perfect condition. I was hoping to trade in my car but it seems like I still will have to pay more than I can afford to upgrade. I know I have to fix the speedometer and muffler and mirrow and front lens minimium, so I figure that would cost me 1000$ canadian anyways, but I am guessing I could get 1000$ for mine???? Does anyone know if that is reasonable? Is it also reasonable to offer 2000$ for the other one? I am concerned of the plastics breaking down in the car that hasn't been used much too. Any advice? Much appreciated, thank you.

 

Welcome to the forum. That is some story, sorry you have had some much trouble with the car. Did you post this up in the 7 series section?

 

hi, thanks for the reply. I don't have much time for the computer, so no I don't think I posted it in the 7 sections part (???) not sure where it is or what it is, no I posted it as a thread to a 940.....and don't have alot of time or know-how to research how much to get for it....just basically a good running 940 but alot of dinky things wrong with it, good for a mechanic type guy that could fix these himself....does anyone have an idea? Does anyone think 3200$ canadian is expensive for the other car, even at only 120 000 km on it and lived in an underground garage? Is offering 2000 too little? Is asking 1000 for mine too much? I figure I would have to pay 700 anyhow to fix speedometer, light lens, and muffler anyhow ......I am writing with toothbrush in mouth and need to run...thanks for the help!

 

Fix what you have, it will surely be cheaper than buying someone else's problems. If you can't afford to maintain what you have now, a newer car isn't going to be cheaper to maintain.
You need to take your car to an independent mechanic and get an itemised quote to repair what is wrong with your car, a lot of it is simple adjustment and maintenance.

 

I agree with Typoon. A new car is going to cost you more and once you have these issues taken care of, you will have the car a lot longer.

 

thank you so much for the advice, I am leaning that way as well, except maybe now that I again have a few minutes literally to explain more about the "new" one: it was inherited this year by her great uncle who died at 90 years of age, and he bought it new in 93. The backseat hasn't even been sat in, and when he died his friends didn't even know he had a car, he drove it only for groceries etc . It has been completely maintained by a volvo place and apparantly the girl who it was inherited it to took it in to fix some cooling system, which the mechanic said was only because it had been not used enough, so the problems would come more from not being used enough...I'm thinking plastics drying out and that sort of thing, but still, I was thinking the same thing, right now I really don't have any extra money at least until my son is in school and I can work again. But again, just wondering if the cost of the necessary repairs will equal out the difference in price to selling mine and getting this one. But unless this new info changes any of your opinions, I will take your advice and just fix mine. Thank you again. Grateful and appreciated, Melanie

 

A lot of little things can be annoying for sure, and certainly add up $$ wise. But it sounds that nothing major is wrong. As said earlier, much cheaper to deal with the problems you've described than the "could be"s. The "devil you know versus the devil you don't." Good luck!

 

thank you very much everyone....I went and got a quote to do all or most of my repairs and like you said, it's not as bad as I thought. I will go to speedy auto for my side mirrow (kids broke it playing hockey), glue on a new lens myself (must have fallen off), my mechanic fixed my trunk on the spot (completely my fault jamming garden plants in and getting dirt stuck), and the speedometer (old mechanic turns out was dying of cancer and made some mistakes when fixing ignition that burnt out since old owner held alot of keys on it from real estate business) and muffler (wasn't muffler, something under car that broke when I went over a construction metal thing and bottomed out) and stuck gear (figures a penny or crayon fell in) and sunroof (was sticky and my 2 year old was crying as I drove down the highway from the wind and closed it in haste and jammed it) and broken door (slamming door against baby seat to get it to close properly) he says he can fix for a couple of hundered!!! Yeah! thank you. So I will just keep saving for when I need to really buy a new car, maybe hopefully by then I can afford something better. Thank you so much everyone, really really appreciated. Warmly, Melanie

 

To be honest, if you want an easy to maintain, reliable car that will go forever, you have all teh car you need right now! Glad those repairs turned out well, it's often easy to think a car is a heap with lots of little, annoying things wrong with it, but the time spent making it good is always worth it.

 

thank you!

ps serendipity your box if full! Thanks for the quote, Buddhist, no? Not quite sure why you picked that one out for me, guessing I need to be more gentle with myself, figure I am pretty honest with myself, to a fault. Or at least honest with the parts of me I don't like