Ok so I just moved to Maine. They have a yearly vehicle safety inspection, and boy are they serious about it. The mechanics must have a strong lobby.

The mechanic (first time I'm using him, but he comes well recommended) says the front struts leak. The ME rules say that the vehicle fails the inspection if shocks/struts leak - I did verify that. If these things are indeed leaking, how long might it take until they fail to dampen adequately?

Now, mind you the struts function just fine at this point - no bouncing. I am annoyed because I do not want to repair something that is still working on a ten year old vehicle. I intend to keep this Vo-vo for a couple years, but then, a lot of bad stuff could happen to it within the next few months...

He wants $650 for the job (which may include the "seat/plate" I am not sure if he means the spring seat or the strut mount?). I can get a pair of Sachs OEM struts from FCP to my doorstep for $200. Spring seats add $50, strut mounts $160. In light of this, does $650 parts/labor sound like an ok price?

Sorry about the lengthy post, any comments would be appreciated.

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'97 850 n/a Wagon, 138K mi

Check the 850 E-Bay parts sight. FCP Groton has some strut "packages" for the 850 that seem to offer alot of savings.

If you have a garage where you can work, this is not a hard DIY job--you can get a spring compressor free. Here is an excellent pictoral set of instructions:

http://members.shaw.ca/heeeeee/strut/

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96 850T, Bilstein HD, IPD swaybars-HD endlinks

Thanks these instructions are fantastic
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'97 850 n/a Wagon, 145K mi

sorry, meant to say you can get a spring compressor free from Autozone...
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96 850T, Bilstein HD, IPD swaybars-HD endlinks

If they're leaking they're no longer functioning. Volvo struts don't bounce like normal cars...they will "crash" though over bumps if they are bad and you probably have that. If your mechanic is doing struts and shocks and related parts all around as well as alignment for that price, it isn't bad at all. Buying from shox is great! fcpgroton is also good but be careful of their ScanTech spring seats and other related suspension parts...they wear out quickly and are not good. At ten years old without any suspension work, I would imagine your swaybar endlinks are also bad...they aren't very expensive.
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1998 S70 T5 Emarald Green Metallic (125K), 2004 V70 2.5T Ruby Red (45K), Previous Owner of Black '94 850 Turbo Wagon (Sold at 140K and miss her). My cars have been running so well lately they've got me worried.

I think you got it good if you didnt replace your struts after all that time. The price seems reasonable and for safety issues I would get them changed because if they are leaking.. thats a sure signal they are ready to go.

Why risk bad handling which may result in an accident ..specially if your snowy winters are like ours!

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93 850GLT 430,000km * 94 850 300,000km * 86 240GL 360,000km

Thanks everyone for your valued advice.

I took the car to another mechanic today for a second opinion. They confirmed there is slight leakage, but they felt the struts were still functional at this time and they would not fail the vehicle based on the struts. There is some room for interpretation here.

I am happier b/c his way, I can take a few weeks to figure out what I want to do. I am pretty sure it handles fine for the time being. Also I do not know if they are original, bought the car in 2003 at 109K miles.

Now let's see how my 97 Neon does.....

Cheers.
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'97 850 n/a Wagon, 145K mi