I have a 2001 Volvo S70 Station Wagon with 170,000 miles. My son just drove it home from a 300 mile trip and it is making a racket. The left front spring is broken. There are no other signs of trauma. Can anyone tell me if this is normal wear and tear. is this a big job for the mechanic.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

I'm not about to say that a broken spring is normal wear and tear, but it's not unheard of. It may even be more common on our Volvos than other cars based on a quick Google search.

Any mechanic will be able to do the job. Replacing only the one spring is possible but it would be best to do both. Also if the struts/strut mounts are original they are likely due for replacement. Same goes for the lower control arms.

-Will
'15.5 XC60 / '06 Odyssey

I went through all sorts of control arms driver side for my 850 and they failed quickly, Try to find OEM quality, I just installed a Lemforder arm
and am crossing my fingers. The passenger side control arm is original and still OK at over 200K. There are some garbage after market rotors and suspension parts
for sale.

You should be okay with Lemforder. It is OEM for many Volvo and German car suspension parts. I used Lemforder on my 850. No problems...

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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

Not normal for a Volvo spring to break. Have the front struts and strut mounts already been replaced? The strut and spring will have to removed to replace the spring. If the struts and strut mounts have never been done they should be replaced too. They are overdue. That will obviously make the job more costly.

For example: Fcpeuro.com has a front spring for $81. You do need to replace both front springs together so $81• 2 = 162. A mechanic will mark up the price further as they want to make a profit on the parts as well as the labor. So expect more than $81 per spring. Don’t know the labor charge but I’m guessing 2-3 hours to do both sides. Pricier if struts and mounts also need replacing.

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Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

No such thing as an "2001 S70". nor an S70 station wagon. It will be hard to find replacement parts for that car.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Thank you very much. I believe the top half of the struts were replaced.