Hello all,
I've got this dilemma. I have an '87 240DL wagon with about 280,000 miles. The body has a couple dents, the interior doesn't look so hot but this is the thing. I've had the car for about 4 years and with only minimal maintenance it has been pretty reliable. It's only died and gone into the shop twice because it wouldn't start. This is what I'm wondering - it has a rust hole in the floor pan that needs to be addressed, steering is binding up because it needs at least one ball joint and probably both tie rods replaced, and the major thing is it wouldn't start over the winter because of a possible coolant temp sensor problem or something else, but now it runs and I'm wondering if it's worth fixing all the assorted problems or should I throw in the towel and just start over on another late 80's 240 wagon? The other thing that is a potential major problem is that it sat for about 3 months or more before it would start and run again so the rotors all rusted and now the brakes grab and shudder pretty badly. The thing is I don't know if it needs all new brakes or just needs the rotors resurfaced. It had a pretty extensive brake job about a year and half ago in which at least two of the rotors were replaced. What should I do to assess whether it's worth putting more money into this car? Now I do intend to go ahead and buy another Volvo in better shape but I'd still like to maybe keep this one around - then again should I cut my losses?
Thanks,
Matt Campbell