Another current thread, "RIP, Sven" initiated by 'Sven's Maintainer', set me to thinking about my own sad thoughts on almost the same subject.

Having already retired, and my wife expecting to do the same in the spring, we've been planning a move across the the country (from NJ) to Washington (outside Seattle in a as-yet-rural area between Puget Sound and the Cascades) to pursue our shared interests in camping and trailer boating (and to be 70% nearer our L.A.-based daughter, because living in CA is out of the question :-). We've got three 240s, an '84 worthy of retirement by now, and two '93s (including one that I've put a lot of time and effort into, viz my Rolling article on LED lights and other custom mods, that it is almost pristine condition, literally never having been driven on salty roads) -- sadly, all are sedans, because I've really wanted a wagon but haven't found any around here that aren't rust-buckets. And the cost of shipping the two '93s cross-country is daunting if you want an enclosed transporter (can't bear to see the better '93 stone-chipped).

But especially with parts getting harder to get, I'm torn by the question of whether it's worth the expense and trouble to take our cars with us. I'm planning to add a metal building to our new property to house our trailer boat (we're selling ours here and buying a new one out there, boat shipping being far more costly than car shipping), camper, SUV, and snowmachines (not to mention our tractor, show throwers, chippers, etc.), and also have a real "garage" lift installed to work on the cars' underside in a more comfortable manner, given my age. But for how much longer will I be able to keep up these cars.

I really like working on these cars, prefer new parts (emphasis on "new", and implied that it's genuine Volvo-brand) to p-n-p, and consider it my hobby rather than merely a life-or-death need. But having gotten a recent "underside" job done (center driveshaft support bearing) at my dealer (but which I could have done myself if I could stand under the car, my aged back not being good for crawling under the car like it used to be), I was warned that there are some growing leaks (the tranny's rear cone's seal and bearing) for which they no longer have parts, and that the list of what they no longer have is growing.

Is that a sham, just to get me to consider getting a newer car, or an honest assessment of how much longer we can keep these cars?

I've accumulated tools (including those special to Volvo) that would be respected by many mechanics, and it's not as much disliking the newer FWD/AWD cars as it is being unable to really get the necessary manuals for them -- I've always bought the complete factory (for Volvo, the "green") service/repair manuals for all the cars I've ever owned (going back many decades), and yet for the new cars it's as if the service manuals are a state secret. I know about emissions concerns and protecting proprietary information, but it seems as if they really don't want customers to maintain their own vehicles (as if they ever did :-).

Anyone know of any makes that will sell their factory repair manuals, and that don't need a computer to plug in them in order to work on them? If I left Volvo, one make I'd consider is Subaru, but I don't know anything else about them yet. Any other cars a possibility for a do-it-yourselfer?

Any input?