Hi!
My first message here on Brickboard...a useful resource. Got my first volvo on October 2002, a single owner 1988 740GLE fully loaded, babied (in a heated garage for all 14 years of it's life) 147,000 km (91,340 miles) for $4500 CDN.

Anyway, lately I've been having problems getting it to start in -20 degees celcius (-4 F). I find that I can get it to start if the car is plugged in and I pump the gas really quickly. It's really frustrating and I'm not sure what to do. Being a girl and taking my car to a mechanic is really intimidating especially since I'm not sure if they're taking me for a ride or not.

As well, when it's cold out and when I first start driving my car, it switches to idle whenever I slow down or stop. (which I assume is normal) however, when I try to get started again, the engine doesn't engage until I hit about 2000 rpm which is pretty scary when I'm trying to do a left turn.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'd love to keep my volvo, but if this keeps up I'll have to go buy something else!