Hi, I'm a little out of place here as my choice of auto is an old aircooled volkswagen. But I've been looking for something to get me back and forth to work while I put the beetle up on jackstands for some renovation work. I found a 97 960 with 100k miles on it. The gentleman just drove it from new york to kentucky to visit his sister and is heading south and wants to sell the car this week before he goes. He's asking only $600 but it has some body damage, it looks like the car was swiped while it was parked on the street but from the pictures and drive by it looks like there wasnt frame damage. The one thing that worries me is that he said hesaid it has had regular maintenance and his ny mechanic said that it would be fine for a while but would need tranny work down the road. I asked him about this and he said the the tranny slips sometimes in city driving, no problems on the highway.


What would a new tranny run for one of these? Any good main. books that would cover doing that job? Any good maint. books on these cars in general?

How bad can I expect the gas mileage to be? If this goes through I'll probably be around here pretty often asking for help.

 

Also, if I cant get it into the a volvo shop(only one i can find is the dealership) today to get looked over, what should I look for?

Also, its listed or best offer, should I try to take the price down some?

 

What year is it?

How many miles?

 

as i said in the first post, its a 97 with 94 k miles on it. the body is rough on the outside, the interior paneling on the doors is coming off in some places. I drove it today and it seemed to do fine, the up arrow was flashing, and the light seemed ot be flashing back and forth between the w and e by the shifter. Auto trans. PNP switch might be the problem? maybe? hopefully?

I think Im going to get it. He had it priced at 600 or best offer. I offered 500 he lowered it to 450 because a headlight went out today. Sounds like he had planned on trying to keep it on the road for another two years but his sister offered him a newer volvo, so he drove from ny to lexington ky to pick up the new car and it made it here just fine. I was driving it in 3rd as he said that worked better for city driving in his experience, but it didnt want to change gears unless it rev'd up real high first, so im going to stick with D. A lot of the car parts are new to me, as I'm used to a no frills 72 vw beetle but im hoping I can cope.

What are the possibilities that I could do a tranny swap myself if it came to it. I imagine its more than the 4 hour job that it is in a beetle but otherwise? Im hoping it just holds together to get me to work and back while I do body work etc on the beetle. If it does I figure Im probably stealing the 960 and can use it for beater use for some time or sell it for a profit to a volvo fan.

 

Sorry somehow missed the Year and milage.

I would buy it in a Minute.

The Transmission is fairly easy since it is Rear wheel drive.

Most likely the Arrow is a Bad PNP switch.(Very common)

There is enough Info on the site that can answer most of your quiestions if not then someone may know the Answer. And if no one Knows it we can figure it out.


And yes it is a Great Steal.


(Why Can't I ever find Deals like that?) LOL

 

600 DOLLARS?!1//1!?!?? WTF................ dont you mean 6k?

 

She's mine

He said $600 or best offer. I had to try so I offered $500. He knocked it down to $450 because one of the headlights went out today.


Here's her bad side. I'd like to get some pictures of all the little interior problems.



Now for the questions.

The molding on the interior drivers side door is busted up, perhaps from the accident. I've been rolling down the window to shut the door, as pulling on the molding just removes it from the door. All the buttons still work but the entire grey molding piece comes off easily. Will I be able to stick this back on with some glue and gumption. Would it be feasible to try and search a pick lot for a door off a junked car and just swap out the entire door or will wiring be a hassle? Oh, and my cupholders are busted, is that an easy replacement or is the console a one piece unit?

Which manual/manuals are the best to get for this model?

Currently my up arrow flashes, and the W S E, the E is depressed and the light flashes between the W and the E. Been told this may be the PNP. Can I do this myself? Where do I get a new PNP? how much will it cost? Is it worth doing now or waiting until things go crazy? What is the proper use of the W S and E buttons? Should I run this heap in to a shop to have a going over and should I be paying for that? How much

My passengers headlight is out, do i need to be concerned about what brand etc I get to replace it? Is it pretty straightforward?

My oil light is on, PO says the oil is probably a little low. Claimed that it didnt burn up a lot of oil, but he did just make a 1000+ mile trip so I'm willing to give this area some consideration. I'll probably do an oil change this weekend, what type is recommended/what filter. Do I need to get a volvo filter or can I get aftermarket (I prefer Wix). On that note, I know that regular maintenance is important on these cars, but I prefer to do as much as I can myself - what are the do's and don'ts here?

My ABS light is on, the PO stated that its happened before and its because the ABS fluid is low. The car stops decently now but the pedal is a little soft. Any guidance here? I just recently upgraded from all around drums to front discs on my old car - ABS is a new technology to me.

Oh, and my wiper light is on, is there a Volvo specific wiper fluid that cost $50 that I have to use or is blue gunk good enough?

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I would have a shop look at it and give you an estimate.

Have all codes cleared and see what comes back.

Mahn filters are same as Volvo filters.

The washer fluid can use what ever you buy.

Not exactly sure which molding you are talking about.

You should be able to find a green door pretty easy. It shouldn't be that bad to swap out.

Sorry if I forgot something Long post and getting Dizzy going up and down.

 

Here we are at the end of the month, did you buy that project? from what I read in your post it needs a lot of work.
Recently we bought a one owner 97-960 for $1900 since then I've been able to find lots of information on fleabay.

Search for Mitchell's repair manual

Gluck and take care

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The body is bad but if you can work on tranny, then go for it.
I'm not sure it will pass the inspection though