Is it time to ditch my XC ?

[wmboon]

Hi folks,

I need some serious advice. So don't hold back.
I've got an XC70 2.5L, T5, 2004. Done 250,000kms, and now is having some serious issues with steering, suspension, wishbone, cambelt, water pump, sensors, brakes, blah blah blah.....the long and short of it, will cost $3500 to fix it all. Maybe $4,500.

The car's been regularly serviced, and cosmetically, it looks very good and well kept. Use is a mix of road and off road.

If I fork out all that cash, how much longer will I be able to use the XC before something major happens (Transmission goes? crankshaft break, engine blows up?) and I would have wasted $4,500? 100,000km? 200,000km?

Is it time to not waste money on it anymore and move on?

Thanks so much.

[Reverend]

What ELSE can you get for that $4500. Can you get another Volvo that will have all those issues fixed?

There's a bit of the devil you know. If this car looks and drives nicely, you might consider spending the money and keeping it around for another 10 years. The money amortized over that time will not be much (compared to a car payment - if that's your option when getting rid of this).
Look at FCP and their PCV kit, timing belt kit (with water pump) and suspension kits.

Anything else could blow up at any given time, but how likely is it and even so, it might happen to a new(er) car too.

Or maybe this is your excuse to spend that money on top of another car and get into a later model? :D

[ncxc]

Have you looked into doing any of the light work yourself to help offset costs and learn more about the car? Could save you some serious cash and may help you decide to keep it. +1 to reverend. No car payment is my favorite reason to keep a car!

[Forkster]

That was my dilemma I had this time last year. Do I purchase a newer Volvo or repair my current one. So far, I've spent around $3k - did half the work myself and now it's working good. If I had of purchased a newer XC60 that I was planning to, it would of cost me $5-7k a year in payments for 3-4 years. And even if I have to put in a new transmission, its still cheaper to fix than to buy new/newer car.

Wanted a durable and safe vehicle for my family. I plan to keep it at least another 2 years for a total of 12 years ownership (I purchased it used at 3 years old). And if I can keep it longer it's all gravy when it comes to car ownership costs. The only reason I would upgrade now is to take advantage of some of the new safety technology - auto cruise control, city auto-brakings, BLISS, lane departure correction etc.

[sanfelice]

I'm in a constant state of "should I sell and buy another slightly better or keep and fix?"

I am rather certain many of us here (or at least those with older models in the fleet) ask similar questions on a near daily basis.

My situation is 200k MI on a 2004 that has its share of woes, mainly that the trans is starting to develop the 2-3 flare when cold. It does not bother me all *that* much but it does bother me. Mostly, this is my wife's car but it's also the one we take on long treks during vacation. So, if you are a 2-vehicle (or more, ahem) family, you may want to keep this as a backup and get something with fewer woes. If you are a single vehicle owner for the time being, I would still say many issues on these cars are feasible for the home mechanic, if not slightly expensive, so i vote to keep and fix.

[wmboon]

Thanks folks for your replies. Much appreciated.

I think doing the repairs myself is out, for many reasons, so cutting costs that way is going to be pretty hard. This is the 'second' car, actually. The other one is alas, another XC70 ! (2008 model).
So, it looks like fixing may be the way to go. But before I consider that.......

What about the transmission ?
When does the transmission go down hill on these XC70 models? (And assuming the cost is pretty high?)
Sanfelice said you have had some 'flares' on cold days....what does that mean?


Thanks !!