You gotta be kidding me. I have the holy grail of performance wagons and it had a bad ecu. I sent it to a guy to repair it... and it got lost in the mail. No ****... I'm beyond crushed. I bought it with a bad ecu that caused fuel to spray constantly from one injector...which caused hyrdo-lock and a bent rod. I fixed the rod and replaced all sorts of goodies on the way out of the engine while the ecu was getting fixed...and lost.
On top of that the tow-truck operator lost the only key I have to it. grrrr
So I have no key, no ecu, and a car that has low mileage but is pretty beat-up given the miles. Someone lived like an animal while driving their kids around...int. is toast...ext is dinged and nicked all over...
The question is this...knowing you can replace interior and live with dings. Knowing that the low mileage T5 and 5 spd combo are worth a mint... would you part it out? Would you bite the bullet and hit the dealership for a new ecu and key? That's probably a $2000 job. OR.... would you (question is really "can" you) find a parts car and snag the ecu, the electronic throttle module, the ignition and key.
Read this in a forum...
" Looks like you could get away with a ECM swap if you also swap the Electronic Throttle Module, ignition, and keys, from the same car you are sourcing the new ECM from".
I hate to dismantle such a rare car. I hate to spend $2000 at a dealership. I love to fiddle with parts cars and the feeling of being a "macgyver" is what I'm living for. Kinda gave away my answer there...whats everyone elses? Also, is the donor car thing really doable?
Thanks for reading and any help!

 

bump

 

In my opinion, you are nuts buying a junker like that in the first place. There are plenty of nice Volvos around that you could enjoy from day one. The dog that you bought will always be a dog and you can replace crap until the end of time and still have a dog.

Makes absolutely no sense. Money and time down the drain.

By the way, this car is not the "holy grail of performance wagons". It is simply an 11 year old car. Nothing special. I sell them all the time.

 

If mileage is accurate at 60k, should have many many miles to go. That's from a "use" standpoint. From a value standpoint, old (non-collectable) vehicles always cost more than they're worth. From a financial analysis perspective, old used vehicles cost less. Ex: Consider the cost of $2400 a year in repairs/maintenance vs new vehicle annual payment. $15,000 over 5yrs at 5% is $281 a month, or $3372 a year. The big difference with old vehicles is you can't always predict "when" that repair payment will come due. It all comes down to a personal choice.

 

I have driven 10+ year old Volvo's since '98. I can say that they cost me less than $600 per year in repairs and maintenance. That's putting about 30,000 miles per year on them. I figure that most people put $75 per month in their cars if they go to an indi shop and put about 15,000 per year on their cars.

As for this car, it could be a nice car is it was 1/2 taken care of. Probably only had 5 oil changes in it's life prior to the new owners. My mom went nearly 20,000 miles once between oil changes and she was at least 2 quarts low when I opened the hood and checked the oil. Most cars can be cleaned up with a little time and effort. I personally would not part it out. I'd get the parts and try to get it running then keep or sell it.

 

You'd never find a dog like that on my lot.

 

well I must say that I am glad to get some responses. I especially like the ones from the guy in alabama. An apparent troll who is somehow a senior member here. I'll not bother with an emotional response to the insults as I believe that is what a troll is trolling for.
I love tinkering with these cars and own more of them than I'm comfortable admitting to. My hyperbole got pretty thick with the
"holy grail" stuff but that's how I roll after some Starbucks coffee; and truthfully, I get excited about my silly projects. These are cool cars and I'm a dork.
Anyone who considers themselves a Volvo enthusiast would have to say that the 01 (and newer) T5 with the reworked detonation control that used ignition timing rather than lowering the turbo boost is a pretty bad-assed set-up...add to that a 5 spd and remind yourself (yeah you darrell, and your brother darrell) that this is a freaking wagon. You've got an old girl worth being enthused about. At least that's how I feel about it.
I have got to clear up the simple question that I made so hard to follow in my goofy first post. The 01 and newer came with ecu's that are "married" to other components within their original car. They cant be swapped into other cars even by the dealership as they can't be re-flashed to recognize components that they aren't "married" to. No strange for you! (and darrell, that means you could only bang one of your sisters, remember "bottom bunk" when your tiptoeing across the hall)
The question I have is this. What are the components (modules) that it's married to. If it's similar to my beloved pre 01 cars; immobilizer, key etc then no biggy...if too crazy I have a great motor tranny to stuff into something else. All fun either way.
Please understand that what the car is "worth" (or if it's a good idea to own 7 to 10 of these at a time ) is not the question. If that's what you want to talk about there is a d-bag enthusiast group somewhere that awaits your wisdom and senior membership is just the beginning for you there. President is a more likely designation.
Hope everyone is having fun with their Volvo's!! Yeah, even the d-bag!

 

I could get 8-$9000 for a NICE 2001 V70 T5 MANUAL with those miles.
Deduct ding repair and interior work and that's what it's worth, (retail)!

 

Huh? Parting it out vs keeping it would seem a financial question. Good luck.

 

I fail to see the value or joy in buying a junker.

 

"Troll"... As described on wikipedia. In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Seeing the joy and value in things is important. Coming up short in that endeavor leads to trolling. Kindly refrain from posting in my thread.

 

In other words, you only want to hear what you want to hear.

 

I have the same car you have and I love it. I would say if you are willing to rebuild it for yourself then go for it. I purchased mine from a dealer auction and the interior was not ripped up but dirty and stained from kids. The cleaning I have had to do is well worth it, I came out of a 1998 S70 to this 01 v70 t5 and I have not looked back. I have found a few parts for mine at Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market for reasonable prices. These parts come off of used or wrecked cars but they have worked fine for me. Good luck with your rebuild.

 

"The Holy Grail"

 

I want to apologize to everyone who took offense to my disparaging remarks about the south, used car dealers, trolls, and tony the hater. I'm sorry I insinuated that because tony is from alabama he must tip-toe across the hall to his sisters room for some dirty lovin. He is a d-bag to be sure but that was not called for.
My question has been lost here. Probably due more to do with the way I posed it than the distracting troll. I'm going to start a new thread with my question laid plain.
As far as the whole Volvo enthusiast thing goes I think I have heard from a couple and I'm sure there are plenty on this forum. I hope with a new thread with a clear question (and no troll hopefully) I will hear from even more smart and helpful people. All the best!
In a forum such as this it's important to pose questions and get them answered for the general good of the group. The ecu marriage to other modules in these 01 and newer Volvo's is the topic of questions that I have found in many places with no clear answers. I don't usually post questions as much as I search out already answered questions in order that I don't clutter up the forums with repetition. Getting these answers will be a valuable addition to this forum