I know this is a continually recirculated problem but I need a direct answer and I cannot piece it together from all of the other SRS oriented threads.

I am trying to sell my 97' 855 which is in pristine condition - the SRS light just having come on, and it is a major deterent to would-be buyers. I understandably cannot in good conscience take the bulb out, which was my initial impulse. So my question is, what should I tell a buyer- expense? implication? I wish I could just find someone that realized they were buying a 10yr. old car that was otherwise like new and be an adult about it.

Your 1997 can only get the SRS error code read and cleared by a Volvo dealer. Go ahead and spend $100. I would never buy a car with the SRS inoperable or with the light not coming on when the key is turned to the on position.

Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)

I'm speaking as an adult (almost 61 y.o.) and someone who has bought many used cars (almost all 240s) over these many years, and I'd say that I'm wondering why you think that prospective buyers should ignore or overlook this.

You're not putting yourself in the mind of a potential buyer -- you're thinking like an owner who's trying to unload a car with a problem and just rationalizing that it's the buyers who are in the wrong.

You may not think that the SRS system is important, but others might disagree. The SRS system is important for safety (one of the main "draws" of Volvos, and especially the 850, since it isn't as d-i-y-friendly as 240s) -- and it could be expensive to fix.
The SRS warning light is not a suggestion (e.g., for an oil change) -- it is a warning that the SRS may not protect you in a crash!

Yes, you and I both don't know why the warning light came on, but why would I (as a prospect) take the chance that it could be *very* costly to get the system to work. Yes, I'll assume that your car is otherwise immaculate and well-kept -- but I would think that this problem is even more likely serious (i.e., expensive) because it's a glaring exception to an otherwise perfectly maintained car ( which equals, in a buyer's mind, 'it must really be costly for such a fastidious owner to ignore or fail to fix this').

Any prospect would, unless he's a complete idiot, have to subtract a possible *worst-case* cost of a repair to that system from the price you're asking -- and undoubtedly that's in conflict with what I suspect is a high price (above average market price?) that you're asking for your otherwise "pristine" car.

I don't want to offend you, but if you really want to "move" that car, you should consider either (1) taking your car to a dealer for an estimate, and be prepared to show a prospective buyer that written estimate so that they can consider it in negotiating the price, or else (2) lower your price to take into consideration the worst-case cost of whatever repair might be required.

Remember that as nice as your car might be (other than that warning light), there are others for a buyer to choose from. They don't have to buy your car, and there's absolutely no reason for anyone to spend "top dollar" for a pig-in-a-poke (which is what that warning makes your car, regardless of anything else).

And regarding your contemplation of "pulling the bulb" ... I'm glad you wisely decided not to! If the subsequent buyer is injured in a crash because the airbag didn't deploy, and his lawyer or Volvo (he'll undoubtedly start by suing the latter, who will then investigate the car's system) finds that the warning was disabled, they'll all come after you as the previous owner and you can find yourself fully liable! And your homeowners/renters and umbrella coverages will all have grounds to disavow their coverage for insurance protection of "personal liability" because you essentially *defrauded* that buyer!

Good luck.

Nice job... Seems like "RhobeIslandVolvo" is basically an honest guy with some integrity that doesn't really want to hose the buyer of his car. This is a admirable trate. Alot of folks seem to put their honesty on the back burner when it comes to selling their car. But he's stuck w/ a serious problem, as you've pointed out very well. He's either got to fix it or drop the price alot and we all know that there's not alot of "price dropping" room for 850's. If it's not fixed and it's legal to sell the car like that, which it may not be is his state, then the fault sould be clearly described in the bill of sale. I believe his state does have an inspection program and it definitely is not going to pass w/ the SRS light on.

Well Ken, you certainly said it like it was, I am not trying to "unload" the car as you say, I own a 142, a 144 and an 04' Passat and decided perhaps I would sell the 850, the srs light came on after I advertised it and has, as I mentioned, complicated my ability to sell it. Kelly Blue book quoted $5500 for private seller value, I was asking $4800 to move it because I generally find the car selling process unpleasant. After the srs light came on I changed to $4300 obo, which is $1200 below book and should accomodate for any catastrophic expense incured by the srs dilemma, if not, I reason that the this is part of the built-in expense of buying an older car. I have been given a generalized set of figures from the dealer for service without putting myself out the additional expense for diagnostics.

Sorry that you took umbridge of my admittedly poor choice of words, "unload". I only meant that you're selling a car with a problem, and I do apologize for the negative connotation in the word "unload".

I certainly don't doubt that you started selling it before the light came on and that it's just a unlucky coincidence -- just as it would have been for anyone to have bought it before it lit up and then found it lit up after the sale. Bad timing, either for you or for the buyer, is just a matter of chance.

But this time you're the one who's stuck with this problem, and you have to cope -- that's life. And it's *you* who has to deal with it, rather than buyers who, you lamented in the first post, are (paraphrasing) too immature to accept that a 10-yr old car is going to have problems. Right now, you have to deal with this just as you wished some buyer would deal, instead of you.

Answer? As I previously suggested, either have it fixed, sell it at a commensurately (worst-case cost) lowered price, or (if you don't want to make the investment of money and time), get the estimate and reveal it (for good or bad) to customers.

Ironically, doing the latter might really impress a buyer, myself included. Anyone can understand that someone such as yourself may not have the time or cash to have the problem fixed -- no one is blaming you for that! But to be shown such an estimate, and have you willing to adjust your price down from average market price accordingly, would mark you as especially honest and forthcoming, and would strongly indicate to me that there's nothing else wrong with the car -- i.e., a good deal -- and that I shouldn't be afraid to buy the car from you, knowing (or at least trusting the dealer's acumen that he knows) what the repair will entail!

And I do take note that you have lowered your price. I can't comment on the amounts, however, being admittedly unfamiliar with the cash value of an 850. It's your thought that counts, however.

Bottom line: don't blame the buyers for worrying about the SRS system. It's not their fault (any more than it's your fault) that it's broken -- it's just the way things go, and you have to make the most of it.

Good luck.