Hey everybody - I've been lurking on here for awhile, but finally want to ask for some general input.

My dad gave me his Volvo S80 2.9t (150k on it) before he passed away, and my son has been driving it for about 2-1/2 years. (he's in college now.) I've never really been one to work on my own cars, and this one is more complex than I want to learn on. I'm repairing his old Jeep for my mom, but that is way, way simpler and my S80 problems haven't looked nearly that easy.

It had been sitting a bit, and I had the transmission replaced in 2021 with a warrantied rebuilt one for about $3500. I figured that was sort of like a purchase price, and a good deal for that. Random maintenance stuff last year. But this year the issues are coming in fast. New power steering reservoir, pump & hoses. Brake lines look brittle but are holding on--keeping an eye on them. Most things work well on it except for the following (estimates are from my mechanic, who I trust, and the costs are slight below another shop I like):

She needs a new front passenger axle - $300; new front strut assemblies (struts, bushings, mount plates, sway bar links) - $1625; lower control arms & ball joint assemblies - $1032; upper engine mount - $350, mostly labor. This is pushing me close to 5k for the year.

I figure another slightly newer used car will run me around 5k plus maybe 1500 in unknown repairs. Or 8k for a Toyota/Honda and maybe slightly less repair over time. So I'm tempted to just fix it all and keep driving. But every time I've done that with a car in the past something else has bitten me right after. My dad would say it's just a car, but I have to admit this one has some sentimental value because of him.

You guys know these cars well. Any input anybody wants to hand out? Car was driving great until now. I expect some of y'all might say I need to learn to work on a car like this, and you'd be right, but I need to get through the next couple months.

thoughts?

 

You can check book value of the car on KBB.COM - as noted your mechanic has recommended about $3K worth of repairs which is proabably in line with the car's book value. If you can do some of this work yourself you can cut the costs but if you rely on having a shop do all the repairs then you have to make a decision on whether to invest another 3K knowing there will be other repairs due to the car's age. You'd also want to consider how the car is being used - ie daily driver (what do you do when its in for repairs)? local or longer drives? Can you take on some of the repairs as a home project? For example google around to see if you can find some "quick struts" (preassembled struts that can be installed by someone with moderate skills/tools. Will your mechanic allow you to provide parts? If so, shop for parts at some of the better known Volvo friendly web strores - FCP Euro, EEuroparts, IPD USA, AZ Autohaus are a few that I have used. Other stores like Pelican etc should carry after market parts at a reasonable price vs your local foreign car parts store.

 

Not a daily driver. I've come to terms with the need to get my son something cheap, reliable and boring, and make keeping this one a separate decision from that. That give me more time. I'm handy with tools but more used to building things that repairing them. The driveway is going to be blocked by my mom's jeep for the next few months as I work on that one, but perhaps the practice there can get me ready for the S80.

Went ahead and had them replace the axle so I can drive it home. Gonna look up the "guick struts" idea, since that seems to be the car's most pressing issue right now, and see if I want to take on doing that myself. Thanks for that idea. The struts can wait a bit but I probably don't want to do any highway driving with them like they are.

I'll check for repair videos, but any idea on whether someone can do the upper engine mount work with moderate skills and tools?

 

Which mount do you speak of?

#14 front (of engine) down low on the subframe right side - they sag/tear and transfer engine vibration to the subframe. Sold hundred and hundreds of those, fixed many complaints. #12 - it's a hydraulic mount, fluid leaks out, can split in two and once again transfers vibration once sagged (is that a word?) #33 - hydraulic also - and never sold one - they don't seem to fail (but hey the cars 2x years old now, many vendors offer them in mount kits, DIYers buy them and complain how hard they are to install!) #20 a lower torque mount bolted to the trans, keeps engine from twisting too much - yes they wear but really no big deal if they are.

And #24 - the upper torque mount - the one everyone likes to sell because - they break, very visible, easy to get to and for a garage - it's profit. Many cars come in with the upper torque mount torn. I would sell them if the customer had a related complaint, (the metal bracket can "clang" sometimes) but not just because I saw it torn (because they were all torn and did not cause a problem!)

To answer your question - 24 the top torque mount, 14 the front (of engine) mount, and 20 the lower torque mounts are easy to replace. #12 have to jack engine up and/or lower subframe, (can be a pia) and don't even try to replace #33 unless it's shredded.

 

#24 -- Looks like maybe I can do that one!

 

As I mentioned - many cars came in with a torn upper mount (and left without me selling them a new one) because if there was not a complaint I would just note it was torn. Does not really cause a problem worth spending money on in most cases.