Hi All -

I have an ongoing problem that is costing me a fortune, and I'm hoping someone here may have some suggestions for me.

I was gifted my 1995 960 station wagon by my late father. Barring bankruptcy, I am going to try to keep this car going. It's the only possession I have of my dad's, and I really want to keep it. It only has 98K miles on it (60K of it put on by me in the last 5 years). It's a wonderful car, a pleasure to drive and since I do most of my driving on the highway, I feel completely safe in it.

Recently, the automatic transmission started to slip a little bit when going from park into drive (first). The engine revs higher than normal, then jumps into gear. About a month ago, the check engine and transmission fault panel lights came on, and all 3 transmission mode selector lights started blinking on and off. I drove the car to the closest Volvo dealer (2 hours away!), and they did the following: 1) replaced leaking oil cooler and lines; 2) replaced PNP switch, micro switch and performed a transmission fluid service; 3) replaced leaking radiator; 4) replaced faulty front 02 sensor. My total for this, plus brake service, putting on my snow tires, a replaced turn signal lever and rear hatch pistons was just under $4,000.

One day later, the car would not start. I called and was told to put it into drive, then back into park, then try it again - and it started. The car still does this.

Two days later, the engine and transmission warning lights came back on, along with the flashing transmission mode selector lights. The left turn signal stopped working and the speedometer failed.

So, I've brought the car back to the shop. They made sure I understood that there was no guarantee that any of the repairs would definitively fix the transmission (yes, they told me that in advance, but also said that they were almost 100% sure their work would fix the issues). Now they seem puzzled, and I have to say that I feel worried that I was and am being taken advantage of. Worst of all is that the car is obviously in need of repairs that it's not getting.

Any advice, suggestions, referrals and/or helpful hints would be much appreciated. Please don't tell me to get rid of it, I really don't want to do that :) THANK YOU! PS The photo was taken after the first snowfall last year melted on the hood of my 960 :)