I have a '98 S70 that won't start (I'm not sure why - see below). I'm pretty sure I can't afford to repair it, and I don't need a car at the moment. I originally got the car to commute, and I've since changed jobs so I barely drive it.

The good: four nearly new tires, interior is in good shape.

The bad: no a/c and some new engine issues. A few weeks ago, the car wouldn't start. It looked like the problem might've been the battery terminals, so I cleaned them and jumped the car and everything was fine. Then I was stopped at a red light and when the light changed and I pressed on the gas, the engine died and the dash lights all lit up. I was able to put the car in park, turn off the ignition and start the car again. That happened more and more frequently, and I noticed a pattern where the engine would die if the car was idling for longer than a minute or so. I thought I might at least take it to a mechanic for an estimate, but now it no longer starts at all.

Is this a car that could be saved with a little TLC, or am I looking at parts/salvage? Any advice is appreciated.

 

Cars are money pit, don't put any money into it if the end goal is just to get rid of it.

 

I wouldn't be so negative :-) the 98s are pretty much an 850 with a fresh body style - which have a fairly common set of problem areas. The stalling sounds like a fuel pressure issue - Common causes are 1) fuel pump relay ($40 part ) 2) fuel pump ($100 part but needs some skills to install (note a fuel pump drawing too much current and burn out the relay 3) fuel pressure regulator ($80 part, just did one on my daughter's 850 Turbo with similar stall/start issues). AC problems are typically either clutch gaps (symptom is it chills when first started but then goes warm) or low freon pressure. You can try a recharge but its not uncommon for these cars to get a leak in the evaporator (a major 10+ shop hour job that requires disassembly of the whole dash). To fix the clutch gap you need to reshim but not sure how easy on that model - requires removing the serpentine belt then disassembling the AC clutch to get at the shims. Most common big ticket repairs that force retirement of would be 1) blown head gaskets 2) transmission problems (ie no reverse, slipping or shifting errors) and 3) bend valves due to a timing belt fail. To tryingbe's underlying point, if you can't take on any of the repairs on your own, any 19 year old car is going to get expensive as they will require repairs over time.

 

The engine problem will turn out to be extremely minor, so it seems to me that selling it running would make the most sense. However, to do that you need to find somebody who will fix it. Check prices locally for similar cars on craigs, running and not.