I have a friend who’s family is giving away a 93 Volvo 960 with an Asin auto transmission. 163k miles. Rear suspension is visibly sagging. The other issues they know of: might need radiator fluid reservoir and water pump work. In California so should be no rust. They said the repair could total to the thousands. I might be able to do some minor work myself and save, but I’m guessing the suspension is the killer. I should mention that this will be my first car at 24, though I will have my mom and my sisters car to drive should I need it. I know those old volvos are ultra reliable, but I’m just not sure if I should spend the money to make it roadworthy again even if it’s free.
but I’m just not sure if I should spend the money to make it roadworthy again even if it’s free.
This.
I should mention that this will be my first car at 24
This isn’t the ideal first car, if you’re going to have to empty your savings to get a 30yr old car running again, when you may be able to find something else which runs and drives fine for the same ‘few thousands’.
If I were you, I’d say thanks but no thanks.
PS. Now, if you wanted to fix it up 1 step at a time as a weekend project car, and then flip it for a small profit, by all means..
I wouldn't bother with this at all unless you won the lottery.
why would you buy an old jalopy if you won the lottery?
I would for the right jalopy but I'd use the winnings to pay someone else to restore it!
Aside from anything else, the PRV (Peugeot/Renault/Volvo) V6 engine in those is pretty awful - trouble-prone, difficult and expensive to work on. (It's the old 4-cylinder Volvos that are reliable and durable. I might be tempted by an old 240, 740, or 940.)
After 30 years who knows how much work that thing will need that could well cost a fortune. I'd pass it by.
I’m pretty sure 93 has an inline 6…. Best way to tell is to go look at it I guess lol. Will be doing that soon
Could be, I'm going from ancient memory, easy enough to tell if it's an inline 6 by looking under the hood.
So PRV engines were in some of the early (or should I say , the even earlier) 960s. This one has an inline 6. Btw you guys probably have seen my recent posts but I did end up getting this car, but as a second car.
Sounds good. Those PRV V6 engines were junk.
No. Do not buy a fixerupper for a 1st car. Especially a heap like this one.
They said the repair could total to the thousands
Sure sounds like it.
I should mention that this will be my first car
A niche European car that's 5 years older than you with millage is not the kind of first car I'd recommend.
(Good first cars are: Toyota Corolla 2010-2013, base model 2014 Corolla with the 4 speed auto, 2014-2018 Mazda3 naturally aspirated only, 2015-2020 Mazda6 naturally aspirated only, Mazda CX-3 preferably a 2.0L engine, Scion iA / Toyota Yaris, Scion iM manual, Toyota Camry made after jan '09 and the end of '11 with the 2.5L (some of the best cars ever made - avoid the AZ 2.4L, get only the AR 2.5L.), most Camrys with the 3.5L V6 engine, 2006-up RAV4 with the 2.5L or 3.5L, 2009-2015 Honda Civic, 2006-2016 Honda Accord (excl. 2008), etc. - but all of those can get quite pricy nowadays, as a budget option - consider the 1st generation Pontiac Vibe)
BUT if you do NOT want a commuter car, but a fun European toy - and especially if you want to work on it, might be worth a shot (Assuming it's running, driving and shifting well)
You need a skilled mechanic to inspect the car and find everything that's wrong with it - if things check out and it only needs fluid services (DO NOT FLUSH, only drain and fill), springs and shocks, maybe a few other minor repairs, BUT the overall condition is good - I'd go for it.
And do not forget about that timing BELT.
I'm assuming it needs at least $3k of work done to it, assuming you can find parts and mechanics who know how to work on it.
So again, it's only worth it as a TOY.
I did end up getting this car
so .... how's it going
TLDR it engine runs strong and it runs and drives ok but it needs quite a bit.
Picked it up late August. Before I picked it up, my friend used one of their 3 AAA tows to tow it to a shop, and while they were at it AAA gave us a new battery under warranty. At the shop I had the coolant leak diagnosed and it was an upper radiator hose so that was replaced there. Also paid for an inspection, coolant top off so that they could do the head gasket test (because it had like no coolant at all) since it did have cooling issues. The shop was also a smog shop so I had a pre-test done there since my friend had lost the paperwork from the last smog test. Failed by just barely. The mechanic said he could guarantee it to pass for $450: spark plugs, fuel injection, decarbonize engine, intake & cat cleaner, and the smog retest and paperwork itself. I knew I could do all that labor myself for less, but then no guarantees so I opted to pay the extra money and it did pass. Total $745. Drove it home about 5 miles with no issues. About a week later I noticed the coolant was still leaking so I took it back and had them rediagnose (for free ofc) and they said radiator. I’ve put Bar’s stop leak concentrate, but since I’ve barely driven it since it brought it home the second time while waiting on parts, I don’t think it’s had the chance to get to full operating temp to seal it, so we’ll just have to see if it works. It’s a very gradual leak. Also turns out the spark plugs were practically brand new but I didn’t know that until my friend gave me the service records afterwards.
The registration was late by almost 2 years, so I paid for 2022 and 2023 with late fees, as well as registration through oct 2024, and also lost title and the transfer fees. Total: $382+198 in credit because my friend had already paid for 2021, but due to it failing smog the car was not properly registered. The mileage on the car was 159,487 and not 163k as previously thought.
When I got the car, there was a stack of paper dixie cups holding the headlamp in on one side because it kept popping out of the socket of the lens. It was pretty funny but hey, it worked, and it didn’t catch fire! But as it turns out someone simply forgot to put the thing that screws the bulb back on. I compared it to the other side and found the part inside the cabin. Both of the turn signal lenses were cracked in the front, so I popped in two new ones for stupid cheap and new LED bulbs because apparently they cracked due to the intense heat of the incandescent bulbs. Only problem is the LEDs will make the turn signals flash faster because they use less voltage so it thinks a bulb is out. If anyone knows a way of tricking it to be normal lmk.
I went to fill the washer fluid reservoir and it all just came out, so I thought oh I’ll just jb weld it, but turns out it was just a rubber hose that fell off. Now it’s full of fluid but it still doesn’t squirt. Haven’t gotten around to figuring that out yet. There’s a light on indicating a fault in that system.
Later, I left the dome light on for 24 hours, and it still started right up so I turned it off and left it alone. A couple of days later it would not start, and we tried a bunch of things after a jump didn’t help. As it turns out, the measly 590 CCA battery in my daily (09 Taurus) wasn’t enough to jump the 730 on this car. Put it on a trickle charger overnight and it worked. One of the things that happened though when we were trying to figure it out though, was we swapped a horn relay with another relay (ignition or fuel pump I think). When it finally started up, the horn didn’t work, so I went to swap the relays back around, which worked, but in the process I pulled the wires out of the relay housing. I thought I’d need new relay housing, so I taped them up with electrical tape so that they wouldn’t short out, but that caused some confusion because the wires were all mixed up.
I wrote everything above a while ago and there was more to that story but I forgot to finish and don't remember what I was gonna say. I did end up fixing the horn and we just put the wires on the relay without the housing and it drove fine so I ignored it until today when the horn broke again. As I was fiddling around with the relays, I started it up and got a transmission fault light. I messed with the relays a few more times and started it up each time but it still didn’t fix the horn or the transmission code, but I decided to see if it would go into gear and reverse which it did. Since it did, I was ready to give up on the transmission fault and ignore it, and when I started it up one last time the light went away. Horn still broken tho.
The coolant leak seems to have either been sealed or gotten smaller I can’t really tell. The original radio with cassette still works, along with the electronic retracting antenna. I did have to call the dealer for the radio code, and they told me you can try #### but the radio was replaced under warranty in 94. So I tried it and well, it worked! Thanks to those mechanics in 94 for resetting it to the same thing. Now the speakers are a different story: some of them cut in and out but smacking it or the radio sometimes fixes it. It also tends to work best at max or near max volume, which thankfully isn’t crazy loud.
Some other issues it has: the leather seats in the front are cracked and torn and the paint is rough, and there’s caked on dust that I can’t get off. Haven’t gotten around to cleaning the very dirty carpets either. The power windows and power sunroof get stuck sometimes. There is a pen stuck in one of the driver’s seat tracks so the seat will sort of pivot instead of going forward and back lmao. Transmission sometimes shudders when going in and out of reverse. The cruise control actuator broke off right before I got it, but I’ve got more important things to do so I won’t be replacing that anytime soon. There’s a steering noise when I make sharp turns and a leak in the rack, so I’m going to try changing the fluid and putting in at-205 and see if that fixes it. There’s a crack on the top of the radiator fan housing but it hasn’t fallen off yet (I think it’s still bolted on at the bottom) so idc. A/C doesn’t work either (might just need refrigerant) and sometimes the heater when it decides not to blow any air. There was a slight fuel smell sometimes when I shut it off but it might have gotten better recently. Hood struts don’t work but it has a locking mechanism that keeps it from falling down. Trunk struts are also shot and that one is a death trap because it could either fall on you, or it’s old enough that there’s no emergency release inside (if anyone wants to kidnap someone… wink wink). Apparently it loses oil but I have yet to see if it really does. As I mentioned, the rear is sagging but it drives fine so just going to ignore it for now. Rotors, diff oil, and timing belt need to be done soon too, but my garage is currently occupied while I try to salvage my daily which went over train tracks. This car was not supposed to be my daily but it is now…
I also lost my coolant reservoir cap once and drove without it 17 miles to school and back XD