I love my black on black, 5-speed S70, Year 2000.

Today felt a little like going to the vet and being told your 12 year old Golden Retriever has cancer.

A/C stopped working recently - estimate $1430 mostly due to labor because it's a freon leak where the whole dash would have to come out.

SRS light came on too.. only 1 airbag is faulty but that shuts down the whole passive restraint system I'm told... another nearly $700.

For a car this age and market value, I may not invest further though it has been a terrific car with very few repairs in the 7.5 years I've had it. I bought it as a certified used car with 40K and it now has 120K miles on it.

Anyone know any tricks or shortcuts to fixing these issues?

Anyone want to give offer me a better price than what I can get for tradein? Tires are new, brakes almost new, it's been truly an awesome car but this is definitely a crossroads.

 

It only has 120k miles on it?!?! Keep it, that car is barely broken in. Plus manual S70s are pretty hard to come by.

 

keep it there great cars.

 

+1.... I would keep it! You own a super reliable car... BTW, was your quote from a dealership??

 

Yes, quotes are from the dealership.

The A/C issue is primarily labor - as I replaced the compressor a couple of years back. This time, it's a bunch of stuff to come out just to repair a leak near the firewall. I'm told it's not easy to get to the place without removal of entire dash I think they said.

Not sure about the SRS/airbag fault and why it's $700.

I'm in Raleigh/Durham area. I do want to consider independent repair and get some quotes.

Best time of year for an A/C unit to die - gives me time to explore options.

 

Found a local shop with good reviews online from customers and "A" rating from BBB.

Will take it there for evaluation -> P & A Smith in Cary, NC.

I have hope now. Maybe it will live on as it should.

 

Just make sure that they Specialize in Volvos or at least work on Volvos.... These cars are somewhat particular and finicky (as I have learned) and not all shops understand them not can they properly diagnose. Just a heads up so they don't make things worse.

 

QFT... ESPECIALLY on complicated jobs like the Evaporator (which is the A/C part that fails on these cars all the time) You want a Volvo or European car specialist. As S70 with only 120k is a good car. If you sold it and got something else, you'd be making payments on whatever you got. It's almost always less expensive to keep an older car running than it is to buy a new(er) one, especially when you're talking about a well- made car like a Volvo .

 

If you only lived in Florida you could have brought it into the shop I work at.

 

Thanks. Yes, this shop started with Volvo's in '86. The cost difference isn't huge though - they said around $1100 (vs 1400 @ dealership) if its the evaporator.

Haven't yet asked about their cost on the SRS issue.

Assuming I make it through these two issues, is it likely to cost $1000/year to keep this car running, or more?

What are the other costly components should I expect to fail soon - exhaust system? I've never even had to do the CV joints or clutch.

Timing belt was done at 90K and I think they replace water pump just for grins then.

I may hold on another year or two but I'm not one to keep forever (like new cars too much) yet I'd like to find a good enthusiast who will appreciate it when that time comes.

 

This enthusiast asks if u have any pics of the S??

 

Pictures, my S70. The captions messed up.

Only important caption - one of the pictures of the back makes it look as though I modified the tail lights to add a bright yellow bulb. I didn't.
They are standard RED taillights but, for some odd reason, the camera flash picked up only the reflective portion of one of the lenses, making it look yellow.

Tail lights are every day ordinary S70 variety. The pic is messed up.

The black leather interior is pretty much perfect. No tears or cracks. Just a slight wear pattern where I scoot in/out of the drivers seat on the outer seam. But I've been the primary driver and I am a small female so the wear is minimal.

I am still leaning toward selling rather than fixing the A/C and SRS system on this car so please contact me if you might be interested. I'm taking my time looking at what to buy and some days I come home from test driving various things thinking I'm just going to keep my Volvo. When it comes time, I prefer to sell to an enthusiast rather than trade it in. It works best for both of us and I'd be very happy if this car wasn't sold to somebody who just sees it as a $3300 "disposable" car.

See the album here on shutterfly -
http://lisas2000s70.shutterfly.com/26

 

Looks pretty good!

 

Don't you need another "test" vehicle to hone your procedure on?

 

No more cars for me I have 3 Volvo's already! And in a few years will have atleast one more.

 

I spend $1,000+ per year on mine, likely closer to $1,500 - of course each year is different. Mine is a 1998 with 192k right now. My experience has been that the engine and auto transmission are solidly built, and are holding up well with proper fluid changes in both, and corrosion protection on body panels is very good, but... lots of "minor" repairs are needed, and the cost of having them done (stopped working on my own cars years ago), is not minor. I also usually take it to a local shop that specializes in Volvo repairs, dealer is the last resort.

Of course with new cars averaging $25k+, and new Volvos running $35k+, $1500/year is not *that* bad. I like the luxury, I love the safety, I do wish it needed repairs like a Honda does - basically not at all.

 

Keep it
Love it
Spend it

A VOLVO is for life, not just cold air

 

Jeez Lisa, you're cold! Dumping that car in the prime of life>

Seriously though, my ;98 S70 has 190,000 k on it. I spend about 1500/year on it. wife's car untill '03. Oldest boy took it over untill '06, now the youngest has it. point is, it's everybodys favorite car in my family and I can't imagine getting that much car for 125 bucks a month!

 

You guys are really heaping on the guilt. I'm not going to trade it in like an old piece of crap. I do have more respect for it than that. Hope to find an enthusiast who will give in 10 more years but I don't think it's going to be me.

I don't trade every 2 or 4 years but I prefer the confidence of a newer car and the certainty of expenses that comes from warranty coverage (even if it is more). My S70 was purchased as a certified used car so it's only been out of warranty a year or two itself. I think I had 100K warranty on it.

It's also a factor of all the cars in our household are getting aged now. We don't want to have to replace all of them at once.

 

My dad has a 99 S70 GLT and has 150k miles on it. Still going strong, never know it had that many miles on it.

Your S70 looks like it's been well taken care of. Too bad it doesn't have that thing under the hood that makes it go pssssshhh though!