|
Here is a way to get a real nice Volvo for almost the price of a junker. It is a bit of a long story, but worth reading. So here goes.
Several months ago I was visiting the in-laws, and took the time to find a rust free Volvo to replace one that was reaching the end of its useful life. (Thanks to someone who could not stop at a stop light, and pushed in the rear end a bit.)
Searching around the area, I found the ususal over priced stuff at the dealers, and the semi-trashed stuff by private owners.
Saw an ad for one in the paper that caught my eye. It was for a 94 940T, "not running", only 127,000 miles, asking $2300. Since not running can mean anything from a dead fuel pump relay, to bad brakes, I gave the guy a call. Turns out the engine got fried from a coolant leak. One of the connections between the rubber hoses of the cooling system, and the adjoining pipe from the turbo charger had a slow leak. It had been doing this for a long time as evidenced by the scale collected on waste gate valve below the leak. Well, the coolant ran out one night, and the engine got over cooked, then died. The dealer mechanic said that at least the head was trashed, and who knows about the block. Note: this car was dealer maintained! It even had Volvo spark plugs and oil filter!
The poor owner decided that instead of putting anywhere from $1500 to $5000 into the car, he would cut his losses and sell it for what ever he could get for it. Bottom line, I picked up the car for $1500!
Had an engine block with the turbo from a recycling yard with only 85,000 miles delivered for about $1600. While swapping the engine blocks, I changed every o-ring, gasket, and seal on the block, did a full tune up, and put on a new water pump. Also replaced all the rad. and heater hoses. Dropped in the engine, hooked up all the wiring and hoses. Took about 3 days to do the whole job. Engine started right up. No leaks, no knocks, no sickening noises. Test drove the car for a total of 15 miles, then the next day I drove it 400 miles home with no problems. Over the next couple months I ended up replacing the radiator, exhaust system, and a very over priced temperature sensor on the EGR valve. This weekend I put in new shocks and strut carts., new conical bushings, and a few other little things.
In total, I have less than $5000 into the car. And, everything is now pretty much perfect. Next spring, I will have the few body dings taken care of at a detail shop. Kelly Blue Book recently listed the car at about $8000. NADA recently showed the car at almost $9000. Of course these are retail prices. Remember, most any car off the dealer lot will probably need some work within the next year or two. Well, all the stuff likely to give me problems has already been dealt with. All for less than $5000.
It was a lot of work, but an interesting challenge. And, man did I save a bundle on a car that has never seen a Rochester, NY with all the salt!
Worth doing again.
Gary D
--
Gary D
|
