If the girlfriend has a credit card use it to rent a vehicle and the OP pays for it and she lists him as second driver and away you go in a much better vehicle.
Volvos have earned a reputation for safety and sturdyness. While that’s true for the most part, they are not unusually reliable. They can be ok, sometimes poor.
A 1993 is a terrible year to consider.
Try finding a car built in last 10 years…
Or find a rental agency that allows for no credit cards. Basically expect to put a deposit down.
VDCdriver: I’m sure I have posted this elsewhere in the forum but it is certainly relevant here. Volvo commercials of the 1970s touted that 9 out of 10 Volvos were still on the road. A popular retort was that the breakdown lane and shoulder are technically part of the road.
VOLVO V70: I was wondering if the Girlfriend had a credit card. You don’t have to charge anything to the card except possibly insurance if she doesn’t have an existing full coverage policy. The card is basically a deposit for vehicle damage due to negligent or prohibited use. Think entering the Baja 1,000 or robbing a bank with the car suffering bullet hole and spike strip damage.
" A popular retort was that the breakdown lane and shoulder are technically part of the road."
My '74 Volvo seemed to be particularly prone to occupying those parts of the road…
Well, here’s the thing. You asked if you’re buying a lemon. We don’t know. Neither do you. And that’s the problem. Any car with over 200,000 miles on it that you are buying is a complete unknown. How was it maintained? Was it in an unreported wreck?
I’ve got a little truck with over 200,000 miles on it, and I’ve taken it on a long trip, but I did it only after having owned it for a good while because buying any used car and immediately going cross country in it is a terrible idea. You need to drive a car for awhile before you can trust that it’s in good enough shape for road trips. And even after I’d driven it around for awhile and figured it could make the trip, I still upgraded my AAA membership to the 100 mile tow package just in case.
So, even if you were about to buy a Toyota with 60,000 miles on it, I’d tell you the same thing: Buy it if you want it, then drive it around for at least a month so you can figure out if anything’s wrong with it before you go far enough away from home that a breakdown will become intolerably expensive.
All that aside, a 93 Volvo is not a car that I would buy for reliability, because it’s almost 23 years old, and any car that old is going to have reliability issues (even my 93 Toyota is down for repair at least twice a year, and I only drive it in the summer), and Volvos of that era are not nearly as reliable as Toyotas of that era, and they can be quite expensive to fix.
Even a meticulously maintained car that is old enough to drink and has 200k+ miles on the clock is a potential reliability problem child, which is OK if you stay close to home and can fix it, but not so OK when you break down 1,000 miles from your tools and have to pay out the nose to have it towed and fixed.
Tim, thanks for responding to the queries. I never realized that a credit card was an absolute requirement for renting.It's a whole bunch easier with one, but some co.s can be persuaded to take a hefty deposit. (You'll need a debit card, though.)
I have always heard that Volvo owners love their cars and they run forever. Maybe I've heard wrong.For your purposes, availability of parts trumps quality of engineering, or most else. A small-block Chevy isn't the highest-engineered engine ever, but you can get parts for 'em (and a knowledgeable repairman) anywhere in the US. Leaving aside the quality of your choice, you'd be much better off with a broken-down Chevy Caprice, at 7PM in Clovis NM.
Credit cards are now necessary for a lot of life’s necessities, including renting a hotel room in an emergency.
Tim, I respect your commitment to never get a credit card, but I hope you realize that when the time comes to do things like buy a house you’re going to need a good credit rating. A credit card properly used can help you accomplish this. Credit should be used for emergencies only… but in an emergency, or for life’s major purchases, it’s important to have credit.
I still think the car in question is a seriously poor bet… and could turn into a trip disaster without a credit card should it break down (and it probably will) during your trip.
I don’t have a CC, and I’ve rented cars and hotel rooms galore.
Are you walking around with a fat wad of c-notes in your pocket . . . ?!
A debit card works just fine…
At least I’m not Howard Hughes, who purchased a hotel chain rather than check out of his room for a scheduled guest!
No, just prior bankruptcy and student-loan debt. I do have debit cards with 16-digits and a MasterCard logo. They WILL get you a room, and may or may not get you a car.
But what if you don’t actually have the funds in your bank account . . . the one that’s linked to the debit card . . . ?!
Then the charge simply won’t go through. You can’t buy “on credit” with a debit card…unless you have overdraft protection.