a dealership in NJ has some likely suspect vehicular replacements.

they show a photograph of the new timing chain on every single volvo they're selling, one less worry. if the same amount of bankers boxes fits in the back of a v70 as did in the 940 (hard to fathom) then one of their choices should work.

I drive over in the 940 of course, and trade it in(?), only 165K one it but every one of them difficult.

Must have been towed by the city at the very least a dozen times. Compressor dead, drivers side door scraped so that entry must be achieved through back or other side, handle gone, ditto mirror. Every now and then entire contents of radiator can be heard burbling out onto the street. front signal lenses stolen every month or so, one side had bulb hanging by cords for a couple days, like old eyeball, then someone took bulb. ignition replaced twice with parts from ignitions r us. second time locksmith took 3 days. now garage folk (escape from rapacious nyc tow trucks) cannot start vehicle. only i have the touch. cruise control works but only after about 40K of seeming dead. SVS light stays on 1 out of 3 starts, disabling windshield wipers, oem stereo, and a thing or two more, engine light burns like it has for years it seems. the engine makes a throaty porsche-like sound upon starting which is always on first go, the shifter sits a bit askew. took keys with me one night at garage by mistake and final approach to move car involved what appears to have been a pitched battle between men armed with hammers and the 940's stalwart defenses. shift lock override button es muerte, va a con dios. rubber gasket housing breached but extant.

each and every lens on exterior- head, side, brake, etc, cracked and cratered. replacement is futile. at some point years ago fluids became part of the texaco's brief. or at least I told them to take the lead on that point. the attentive prevent maintainence routine never really played to their strengths however. They do the annual nyc inspection for the car, passed every time. I'd ask about the exhaust, the brakes, no no fine fine. the language barrier was no help. they had some very skilled mechanics though, willing to think way out of the box. there is no box.

theres a tiny switch just to left of steering column, it's bespoke. on-off for the compressor, when it worked, allowing decision whether to replace dead or broken thermo-dealy dials on dash to be postponed. . All AC distant memory.

bought it originally from little old couple in NJ 10-13 yrs ago, when it was perfect. religious about visiting same dealer for long while, then upheaval led to vehicle just one more victim of the collateral damage of divorce.

Spooky response to same though. zero complaints, creaks and rattles but nothing else.

year in year out. complete reliability. vroom vroom, settling in, as always around 85 on the freeway, quite comfortably for hour after hour, dull roar soothing and familiar by now.

Seems almost ungrateful to toss it away like so much used tissue, but as I write this realize sensitivity to that kind of treatment obviously more centered in me than in vehicle. pretty sure about that. mostly.

look forward to first cupholders in adult life, zoomy key thing lock-unlock from a distance, quieter ride at speed.

will miss ability to win at urban chicken with anyone and everyone, and I mean every other car on the manhattan streets, taxis and step vans too. Not muni-bus of course, the drivers know they'll be sacked and pension gone, disgraced, if a fellow MTA brother ever spots one them giving way. nobody even tries any more.

no mountain of our family's junk, however absurdly high it grew there on the sidewalk, towering over everything was ever able to avoid being completely swallowed up in the what must be the largest cargo area known to man.

the car was somehow larger on the inside than it was on the outside. the size of the cargo area, like the speed of light, approached infinity.

i appreciate the all the advice. nice group. cheers.