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80 Posts
There is a lot of context needed here. I got this car from a previous owner four years ago and have only really put like maybe 8k miles on it in that time because it was at like 172k to begin with. They’d lovingly maintained the thing but then gave it to their teenaged daughter when she went to college and by the time she graduated it was well worn with torn seats, broken plastic electrical covers, etc. Otherwise okay, or so I thought. The reason I got it for 1500 registered was bc the ECU is bad and the previous owner had been quoted $2500 to replace it and so the SRS airbag system is disabled, so the car constantly flashes warnings about that, if it’s not flashing warnings about brake failure, which of course is false both due to the observed capability of this vehicle to brake effectively but also measurement that the brakes are at 4mm, which is dicey, but I’ve got a little left until I need to replace them. Especially given that since the pandemic, the maximum I will drive the thing is maybe 10 miles around town a day on a weekend, usually just the 6 mile round trip between home and work. So I’ve just been keeping it topped up with fluids after its recent repair and it’s gone okay. The thing is I had to pay $350 plus use up a roadside assistance occurrence for the tow because my fuel line started leaking, because my shocks are so worn that I’ve bottomed out on speed bumps and the like so many times that the fuel line was actually ruptured and needed repair. The part was like $80, the rest of the charge was all labor they did without me asking lol, not going back there again.
The shop charged me like $200 to recommend this $3000 of maintenance that they didn’t do, to replace the shocks and the struts and Do a transmission fluid flush and a power steering fluid flush, because both supposedly looked contaminated and in need of replacement. I believe them that my shocks and struts need replacing. But can it be done on my basic as heck base model volvo v70 2002 without me spending a whole $3000, twice what I paid for the car? The folks at that shop didn’t even recommend I have the services they were offering done, their receptionist told me to buy a used Subaru Forester instead. & while I appreciate that they are the Japanese volvo or whatever I am one of those Volvo Wagon Guys even though my wagon looks like garbage. I do too though, we look like trash together and could both use a paint job and sunroof cleaning.
Another important point of context is that I am very poor. I work 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year for an hourly wage that amounts to about $32k a year after taxes, on which me & my spouse both depend. I live in one of the most expensive states in the union, WA state, and have terrible credit. However bad you think my credit must be it’s worse.
This is why I bought such a problematic volvo, because rarely can I afford more than a $200 car repair bill, let alone buy a new car. But I love this awful thing and I want it to be truly road worthy. I have always driven it in the slow lane on the freeway because the shocks are so bad, but the shop that wanted $3k said even that was risky. I do want the steering wheel to stop shaking at low speeds, it evens out once you get going, but it still worries me for sure.
The shop charged me like $200 to recommend this $3000 of maintenance that they didn’t do, to replace the shocks and the struts and Do a transmission fluid flush and a power steering fluid flush, because both supposedly looked contaminated and in need of replacement. I believe them that my shocks and struts need replacing. But can it be done on my basic as heck base model volvo v70 2002 without me spending a whole $3000, twice what I paid for the car? The folks at that shop didn’t even recommend I have the services they were offering done, their receptionist told me to buy a used Subaru Forester instead. & while I appreciate that they are the Japanese volvo or whatever I am one of those Volvo Wagon Guys even though my wagon looks like garbage. I do too though, we look like trash together and could both use a paint job and sunroof cleaning.
Another important point of context is that I am very poor. I work 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year for an hourly wage that amounts to about $32k a year after taxes, on which me & my spouse both depend. I live in one of the most expensive states in the union, WA state, and have terrible credit. However bad you think my credit must be it’s worse.
This is why I bought such a problematic volvo, because rarely can I afford more than a $200 car repair bill, let alone buy a new car. But I love this awful thing and I want it to be truly road worthy. I have always driven it in the slow lane on the freeway because the shocks are so bad, but the shop that wanted $3k said even that was risky. I do want the steering wheel to stop shaking at low speeds, it evens out once you get going, but it still worries me for sure.
