Well, a heater core is about $300 or less and should have only required 1 hour of labor. A DIY job will take 2 hours to replace. Plus some antifreeze of course.

Because the car is only used 'around town', ask your kids if they ever rev the car past 3,000 rpm. Ask for an honest answer. If not, I suspect a stuck valve is your problem and easily fixed.

Only driving short distances in a Volvo at low rpm is not good for these engines. They never get the engine oil hot enough to burn off the impurities nor fast enough to cause the valves to rotate and stay clean.

Tell your Ex to wind it out in 1st or 2nd gear when the engine is at operating temperature.

Call Volkswagen and ask them their hourly rate. The parts cost the same as Volvo, but doing anything complicated on the car requires taking the entire front of the car off which adds to the labor cost. The old VW Beattle was simple, the new ones are quite complex.

What you really need is a very good Volvo independent service garage. I have seen too many shops diagnose a dead engine when there was nothing major wrong.

Klaus
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Proud owner of a 220S. If I had more room, I would have more Volvos.