Hand me down from my parents, went through 3 siblings. Still in pretty good shape just want to make it newer.

Minor issues: -Steering makes noise when taking sharp turns
-exhaust in the back starting to fall off (needs hanger)
-plastic on trunk and sides weathered (talked to a dude at pep boys that said i could use disel fuel to change it back)

Overall: want to tune up the engine if anyway possible, not looking to spend too much money on all these things but only for necessities.
ANY advice is much appreciated, let me know what i can fix or if the car is just old
70k miles

 

1. steering noises - is it a clunk or a grinding sound? does it happen the same to left as right? for the exhaust, is it the hanger or did the metal hook come off? You may be able to use a hose clamp or exhaust clamp to create a hanger. If its the rubber part, easy to find, check out FCPEuro/Eeuroparts/tascaparts etc.

2. tune up - oil+filter - consider going to synthetic. You should be due new spark plugs but other than that, not much to do if you don't have a check engine light.

3. cosmetics - are you talking about black or colored trim? Yes there are products, just google for what you want to do.

 

I have a 2006 S60 and when I went to change the brakes, I noticed that my tires had rubbed on the little metal panel on the inside of the wheel wells when turned to the max. You might be experiencing similar thing going on.

Also, I used to have a 2002 S60 that had black trim in the bumper and on the doors. I used a product on it called "forever black" it basically dyes the black parts black again - looked sharp after that and it stayed black for years til I sold it. Not sure if 2004 had black trim or painted.

Any muffler shop should be able to get you all fixed up for minimum $ if all you need is a hanger put on.