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I bought my first car this past fall... a 92 Volvo 240 wagon. I paid $750. I'm the 3rd owner, the previous had it for at least the past 15 years. He was an outdoorsy type and he used the car hard. He maintained everything that was necessary to keep the car rolling, but the bumper cover was hanging on, and some of the trim is missing. And the rear driver side door doesn't open. And the driver's side window doesn't go down. And the gas gauge doesn't work at all, so you have to remember to fill up frequently.
For all its quirks, I love this car. It is a freaking tank, so I have named him Sherman.
I didn't mean to fall in love. I thought I was buying a junker to run into the ground while I learned to drive, and then sell for scrap when I got a "real car." But Sherman has grown on me. I can't imagine throwing this perfectly good car away when a little TLC could rehabilitate him.
I am lucky to know a great mechanic. One of those legendary mechanics that is honest and fair and so good at what he does that people drive from other states to bring cars to him to work on. I scheduled a month in advance to have him give Sherman a once over and an oil change. He called me to come take the car away, and only charged me for the oil he had put in.
"There's no hope. It leaks oil in several places and there is rust on the transmission mount and fixing all that is going to cost more than the car is worth. I'd have to take the engine out and replace a lot of stuff and it is going to run into real money. Learn to drive in it, keep an eye on the oil level, and junk it when it comes time for inspection."
That wasn't what I wanted to hear. I've been reading online about this model and I'm not convinced that the situation is hopeless. For a second opinion, I called a Volvo specific mechanic and told him my sob story... but as soon as I said who had given me the first opinion, he stopped me. My mechanic has such a good reputation that if he says that it is a no-go, his competitor doesn't want the business.
I just don't understand how a car that runs fine has to be junked just because the repairs might be pricy. So, I bought a Haynes manual and I've been reading and trying to teach myself enough about cars in general and mine in particular that I can fix some simple (cosmetic) problems myself and maybe persuade my mechanic friend to let me push some money into his hands to fix the mechanical issues.
Here is what I figure... If I switch cars, I'm going to want another Volvo just like the one I have. I have seen better maintained versions of Sherman on the local market for between $4-7000, same model and years between 90-93. So, the way I figure it, if I can put between $2-4000 into Sherman now, plus an additional 1000-1500 of annual maintenance, that is a better deal than junking him and buying one like him.
From what I have seen, parts aren't that expensive. Labor is going to cost, sure, but I expect that. The mechanic isn't saying the car isn't fixable... he is saying that it isn't going to have as much resale value as the work I put into it. But I don't want to drive resale value. I want to drive my lovely clunky brickish Swedish tank.
So... am I totally crazy? Could it really cost more than about $3000 to rehab a running car's mechanical bits?
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