This guy has been trying to sell his 99 S80 for several weeks now and I started thinking if I should make an offer on it.

Here is his description of the problem:

I have not seen the car in person yet, but thought I'd check with the people in the know here if you could diagnose the problem a little bit as to what I might be looking at. Could it actually be the turbo or could it be just clogged PCV system?

I know the description is a big vague, but maybe you guys could at least steer me into some direction with it and whether it would make any sense to buy it. He is asking $1800 for it, but I would definetely not pay that much for it.

Thanks, guys!

 

That is too high of a price for the rapair that will be needed. It is a 4-6 hour book time job to repair. I believe the reason for the leak is that the gasket(s) for the turbo need replacing. Reviews on IPD.com have claimed that you can do this yourself in about an hour. My S80 will need it soon as well. Also, when you go to see the car in person, listen for a ticking noise from the engine compartment. If you hear it (especially if it is profound) then it is likely that the o-rings in the oil sump (in the oil pan) need replaced. That is also a 5 hour job. If these are present, you are looking at 8-10 hours in labor to repair the problem. Midas is about $80/hr and the dealership is around $110/hr or more. $1800 is too high if you have to dump upwards of $1000 into it immediately. $1000 to $1400 is more reasonable. In the end, it is up to you. The parts for everything from IPD is around $65 plus shipping.

Turbo Drain Pipe Seal
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S80-1999...6-576-589-667/

Oil Pan Kit
http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-S80-1999...-576-589-3364/

 

Thanks for the comments. I was actually also thinking offering about 1 to 1.2K range because I would need to get it fixed right away. I definetely don't want it to leak all over my driveway and/or garage.

Even though I do all kinds of other stuff with my cars, I don't think I want to attempt to do those repairs myself.

 

BTW, the car is otherwise cosmetically etc. in pretty good shape and has about 115K on it. So, if I have about $2K in it with the problems fixed, would you consider it a decent deal?

I haven't followed prices of the S80's lately, so I'm not sure. This just caught my attention a little bit.

 

Many have found that the transmission fails around 145K so just be prepared that that may happen. There was a TSB on that about glycol leaking into the fluid causing it to breakdown and fail. You may want to have a shop check the fluid for contamination. If you can get the car repaired and bought for the $2,000 to $2750, you are doing well. I paid $2,750 for mine and still need to fix the o-rings and gasket. I am okay with it though because I will probably do it myself. I am graduating and have a nice summer brake that allows me to work on it all I want.