I have a 97 Volvo 960 that I bought back in july, I got it pretty cheap as it had been hit on the drivers side door but ran fine.

It no longer runs fine. I'm not sure if it had problems to begin with or if an incident this weekend was the catalyst. The check engine light etc was on, the pnp switch needed to be changed etc. I was in the process of scheduling an oil change and checkup at the dealer as I didn't have any mann filters on hand yet. Well the oil got low, and yesterday I started to hear chattering, which poor, new at this mechanic that I am I believe means the valves were having problems. I added some more oil last night and it helped some but the noise was still there, especially at higher rpms. On the way to work today the chatter was bad, the acceleration was poor and then WHOOMP and white smoke and no more engine.

Incident this weekend was on a country backroad, I was coming to a sharp rise in the road, and there was no signage that I saw but on the top of the sharp crest was a railroad track and then a sharp dip back down, so the car moving at a swift pace went slightly airborne and made a clunk noise as it contacted pavement. I didn't see any damage though and no fluid was leaking, so I assumed I had been lucky and the frame took the hit.

So now I have a pretty much dead 960. I dread to even think of what the bill would be to have the engine replaced or this one opened up and fixed. My question now is what I should do with the car. I have some pictures of it online somewhere if I can find them, but it does have some body damage. Should I try to sell the car, and what would be a fair price. Or should I plan on junking it, and in that case what should I pull that people will need that I will be able to sell? I know I just had to pay a large sum for a used rim a month ago, just have to figure out how to keep all four if I junk it.

Thanks for any help, it looks like I'm going to be leaving the Volvo fellowship for a little while, luckily I just got my 72 Volkswagen running again, just have to wait for a fuel pump that doesnt leak to show up and I should be motoring again.