Smooth Sailing at the Mechanics!

[Hermitladee]

Had the "check engine" light on. Went to mechanic, read the code, was showing catalytic converter issue. Hoisted the car up and found a vacuum line disconnected. I wasn't there, hubby took it in, but he said it plugged into something right before the catalytic converter. Cleared out the check engine light, drove for two days and it hasn't returned. One bit of good news.

Center brake light was out - hubby found a bad wire below the connection behind the speaker. Spliced the hot wire from the side brake light into the center brake light wire and it's lit up and gorgeous! Second bit of good news.

Auto dim mirror was dark and hard to see out of. We bought a cheap ($14) replacement stick on the windshield type manual dimming mirror. Cut off the plastic housing, took out the glass, glued it on the Volvo's mirror. Almost perfect match in size. Just about 1/4" gap on bottom corners. Now just a minor twist up or down and it's dim or daylight! Third bit of good news.

Mechanic changed our engine oil as we couldn't get under it. We only have one floor jack and it doesn't raise up high enough to get our jack stands under it. We brought our own oil and filter. He had a tough time getting the filter cover off - was screwed on way too tight! After he was done he only charged $15 for the labor of oil change and code reading on the engine light! Wonderful guy.

After reading all the issues with these cars we were encouraged with how smoothly this weekend of repairs went. Hope it lasts as the ride and handling of this car is the best we've ever had.[happy]

[Forkster]

I purchased mine used 7 years ago (it was a 3 year old lease-back) and so far, I think apart from the known wear-and-tear issues, I haven't spent more than $1000 a year in maintenance. Mind you, I do put money aside every month just in case, but also, I know it's no Toyota but the vehicle is very durable even with the known issues of mounts, springs, and control arms that wear out every 5-10 years.

If you keep up with all the recommended maintenance, the car can last you 15-20 years. The way I look at it, the car owes us nothing. And it's very safe from a collision perspective. And its an awesome winter vehicle. Super super comfy seats - like riding in lazy-boys on wheels. Even if the transmission goes, I'll be hard pressed not to just fix it and continue driving the vehicle. Body and the rest of the components are in good shape.

But then again, you'll be stuck with the same car for 15-20 years. For some, that's a really long time to own one car. :p

[Hermitladee]

I've had my Dodge truck since 1998. Our Hyundai since 2000. I like to keep things around.

The car had a lot of things already fixed before we got it. Transmission had the software upgrade and four fluid changes, engine mounts, front suspension, engine oil changed at 4,000 miles (we will do it 3,000),AC compressor/condensor, sunroof leak, window regulators/door locks, alternator, and more that I can't remember now.

I think the previous owner did all the hard work for us [thumbup].