The deal is, if I do the work it needs to pass enhanced inspection, he’ll sell it to me for $1,400. I’m only repairing/replacing what’s absolutely needed to pass enhancement. I’ll work on the other stuff as I go once I get it. It will have a reconstructed title for the cosmetic damage due to a deer hit.
Carfax shows it had 2 owners. The original owner was on point with maintenance, and always at a Volvo dealer, for the nearly 12 years they owned it. It shows the transmission fluid was changed/flushed at 77k miles, and cooling system was flushed/changed at 104k miles. New alternator and battery installed at 98k. All major services done on or before recommended mileage.
I found a donor front bumper to get the driver’s side lower corner and fog light (and white headlight washer cover). I’ll repair the rest of the bumper for now to make it look decent. I have to finish pulling out the dent on the front of the hood on the driver’s side in an attempt to install the grille. I may see if I can have the hood fixed by a body shop, or just find a replacement and have it painted. The rest of the body is in very good shape, minus a small blemish on the right rear lower door. The A/C condenser is pushed in quite a bit. I pushed in the low side A/C Schrader valve, and it’s maintaining pressure, shockingly.
The oil drain plug was leaking, so I bought the stuff at work to just change the oil before attempting to start it. A new proper AGM battery was also installed. I was able to accomplish those yesterday before the storm rolled in. The core support needs pulled out about an inch on the driver’s side. I’m hoping to get that done today, as well as cleaning up the headlights. Once I get the grille installed, it should be ready for enhancement.
When I was changing the oil, I discovered a plastic end cap from a previous oil filter still stuck in the filter cap. No clue how long that could’ve been in there. I was able to get it out. Probably one of the Walmart jobs the last owner had done. That seemed to be their place of choice for oil changes. On a brighter note, the oil wasn’t horrible when I drained it. It looked somewhat fresh.
When I started it yesterday for the first time, it started right up. It was showing a warning for stability control being temporarily disabled. I connected my scan tool, and it was loaded with errors. All seemed pretty superfluous, so I cleared them. The only thing that immediately came back was for the TPMS system being disabled, but the light isn’t illuminated on the dash. To my surprise, the A/C actually started to cool. It needs some charge, but I was shocked it actually works, given how damaged the condenser is. Also, the battery light was on, with a charging system warning. That went out after a few minutes of running. I’ll have to keep an eye on that.
Other observations: front tires are extremely bald. Rear tires have great tread, but are cupping, which tells me the alignment is out. I’m going to guess the front control arm bushings are probably toast. I still have to crawl under it to see if the driveshaft spins by hand (angle gear failure). I’m not sure if the previous owner may have had 2 rear tires installed, but they are the same tires as the fronts.
Brakes seem to be fairly new. Other than the rust on them from sitting, the rotors look like they were recently replaced front and back.
I should be getting it within a week or two. I’ll keep everyone updated on the progress.
He also got a 2005 XC70 2.5T with around the same mileage. Clean title, overall great condition. He believes the starter is bad. I could probably have it for the same price, or not much more. I’d prefer the ’90, but that ’70 is awful tempting.
