Hi. I haven't been around for a long time. Glad to be back.

I have a 1996 850 Turbo wagon, and I am having a tough time maintaining my love for it. I am feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole thing right now.

Its issues:
the radiator is leaking
the check engine light is on and I haven't taken it to figure out why yet
the A/C doesn't work and is not taking much of a recharge lately
there is a horrible "clunk" when I go over a bump
there is a bit of a squeal when i try to turn too tightly to the right
the odometer stopped working several thousand miles ago
and now I need 4 new tires.

At what point do I give up and trash it? I paid 6500 for it 2 years ago and am trying not to regret it. I really do love my car...but it just feels like it keeps costing me so much money...

How much is too much to put into an old car? Is it worth spending the 2000-3000 to get it all under control? How long is it going to last if I do? I don't have that money right now...so it would have to be done one at a time...


Remind me why this is an awesome car and I should hang in there with it.

Louise

 

I'm gonna go with..2 years ago you waaaaaay overpayed for that car, no way it was worth 6500...unless it was really low mileage..tires are maintenance so thats not an issue, your always gonna have to spend for tires,,clunk over a bump, well the car is 13 years old..power steering is old, try not to turn quite so hard..odometer needs a cable if thats what runs it,,, and you may have to do without AC this summer..actually these are all normal, they just dont generally hit all at once...Rog

 

well it did have very low miles...about 90,000 when we bought it.

I don't think I can live without A/C this summer...my daughter is just turning 2 and runs REALLY hot...she just screams the whole time we're in the car...

The mechanic said the clunk was a loose mount of some sort...

is it worth taking it somewhere for a second opinion?

and on the A/C front. is $2500 unreasonable for replacing the A/C evaporator? I know they have to pull the engine...

thanks.

 

I am way off here,,only have 100 miles on mine,,but I've never heard of a car the engine has to be pulled for any kind of AC work...do more searching here,,please, I dont have the answers you need,, I am a miata guy,,..all sounds fishy, but I could be wrong....did you have AC when you were 2?,,she'll be allright for a while,,,Rog

 

Sounds like it would be the power steering pump, which is not hard to replace. Your AC might just have a crack in a hose somewhere, could be an easy fix. I don't remember the last time my A/C has worked, it doesn't really bother me because I never use it anyways, I prefer the windows. CEL could just be an O2 sensor which most of the time it is. Odometers not working is usually just a little plastic gear that wears out over time and I think they sell kits to fix them, mine stopped working at 206,000, don't really care. Clunk could be an engine mount, but I'm guessing it's something in your suspension, when my engine mounts went out on my car I wasn't getting any clunking. And the whole pulling the engine thing is not necessary for any of your problems.

 

Yes $2500 for an evaporator is about twice as much as it should be. You get to the evaporator by removing the dash and console. It's a big job, but has nothing to do with removing the engine. My son in law did his and I have had two of mine done for around $1300-$1400.

The clunking noise is probably end links or spring seats. Both very easy to do and you should do both at the same time. Shouldn't cost more than $250 to do both sides. You have to take the struts out, but that is not near as hard as some make it out to be. I have done it myself, and I am not a mechanic by any means. If you or you know somebody that is mechanically inclined they could do the job for you.

The real key to keeping these cars is doing as much as you can yourself, and not paying for a Volvo mechanic to do the work. I trust my own work way more than chain places like NTB and Meinike or other places like that. If you can find a good independent mechanic that may be your best bet as far as getting it done as inexpensively as possible.

 

Volvos are very good cars when properly maintained. I agree with Rog, sounds like you paid to much 2 years ago and 100k is not LOW milage. I picked up a '97 960 around the same time for 6k that had 53k. Anyway, can't change the past.

The price of owning an older car is getting parts and sometimes a wall of things at the same time. That is how I got my 850, someone was faced with several things at once and bailed. When is it time to throw in the towel??? When it cost more to fix the car than it is worth and/or when you can afford it.

It is possible to get another car with more miles and less problems, just have to weigh the cost. You may be able to get a car with a little body damage for next to nothing. People just don't like getting body damage fixed on older cars that are not classics and that really kills their value.

My guess is that the following will cost you a little, see below what I would recommend:

Its issues:

• the radiator is leaking - A must fix item, likely to cost $400 - $500.
• the check engine light is on and I haven't taken it to figure out why yet - Stop by Auto Zone for them to ck for you.
• the A/C doesn't work and is not taking much of a recharge lately - Sounds like a must for an Ice Queen, between $450 and $950 unless you are sure it's the evap coil??? Not sure if so.
• there is a horrible "clunk" when I go over a bump - Clunks can wait.
• there is a bit of a squeal when i try to turn too tightly to the right - Squeals can wait, don't turn so hard.
• the odometer stopped working several thousand miles ago - Odometers can definately wait.
• and now I need 4 new tires. - You can get used tires for $25 each.

I know of people that put 400,000 to 500,000 miles on their 850's with little maintenance. A lot of it has to do with how you drive and the driving conditions.

If you can sell this one for $1,500 and replace it with a better car for $2,500 to $3,000 do that. If you ask and look around I'm sure someone has a decent car for that price. But don't forget, the new one will need upkeep and repairs soon as well.

 

You can get a radiator online for about 175 bucks, if your able to do installation yourself, you'll save a lot of money.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/se...name:Radiators)