Volvo Repair: 850 with 97K miles, philosophical answer, napa auto
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Followup To
Question -
Up to recently we were very happy with our 1995 850T that we bought with 47K miles in 1998. However, the brake light started coming on on a trip to Phoenix (87 miles of freeway) and we refered to the book which said to stop and check the reservoir. I stopped at a NAPA auto store and found the fluid to be half full, so I bought a can of DOT 4 and topped it. I noticed the pedal going down slowly at stops. While in Phoenix several days we had to refill it several times. I Called Rogor Olssen of Viking Motors, our mechanic in Prescott and he told us to stop by on our return. We did and he said it looks like the hydrolic valve box to which the ABS "brain" attaches was leaking and had to be replaced, He checked on the price of the part and it was $1,600 and this requires a bit of labor to replace. We are now wondering if we should keep the car. We like it as a second car. We are getting a used 2002 V70 with 26K miles in a few days as our prime vehicle.
Can you give us any advice?
Answer -
this is really a personal choice you need to make.the car will be a good car once fixed providing it was maintained well.but do you really want to spend that kind of money on it.or would you prefer to just get something else and hope it is better.
That is a philosophical answer. I was hoping for a technical answer. This has been a waste of my time!
Answer you asked for advice not specifically technical advice.there really is no technical answer to should we keep our car or not.it is not like asking for a torque spec. ,or how to check for diagnostic trouble codes in the engine control unit, or how to change brake pads.although the answer was both philosophical and somewhat technical.the question of whether to keep a car or not can somewhat be based on your feelings.I said the car would be a good car once the ABS is fixed providing the car was maintained properly,but the question always remains do you like it enough to spend that kind of money on it.I get asked often at work if it is worth it to keep a car.this question is not as simple as you think.this question can be based on many factors.worth can be somewhat subject to to personal feelings also.maybe you are sick of the car and would rather buy something else rather than put the money in this one.maybe you can not afford this type money out of pocket and it would be easier to trade it and finance something else.also maybe there are other items that need fixed on the car which may also influence the decision of whether to fix it or not.these are the types of things that can be considered when you are considering if a car is worth keeping.I am not saying all these circumstances apply to your situation ,but these are some of the things some peaople may have to consider.maybe you want to look at it in an investment type of way. while considering the NADA book value and what it will be worth after the repair.is it worth any money after it is fixed so when I sell it I can recover some of the cost put into it or will it be a better finacial decision and save more money to trade it for something with better value and less problems.
I am sorry you wasted your and my time.
in the future instead of just returning a letter with an ignorant statment you may want to try to explaing what you are looking for in more detail and work with the person (who does this for no compensation whatsoever)to come to the type answer you are looking for.
