I was offered this vehicle for a very attractive price. It needs a new steering rack. The transmission was replaced 5 years ago.
I read the Edmund’s reviews and the Tranny is a weak spot. Some people love them some hate them. My questions are:
- Would a new transmission installed 11 years after its mfg date have any improvements over the original design?
- How hard is it to R&R the steering rack. Can a handy person do it themselves.
3.What other problems should I be looking for?
I am not a big volvo fan or a fan of AWD but for the price I may be interested.
Thoughts appreciated?
I’d run away from this troubled Volvo. Big $$$ ahead.
1 Like
Unless you are a car fan who has just won the lottery, stay away from this vehicle. Even if you got it for nothing it will still be expensive to keep running.
Agreed with the others.
My sister had a 1998 Volvo S80(?). Total money pit. There was nothing cheap, affordable, or even reliable about it.
Well, I guess the mechanic got “reliable” boat payments every month.
Good luck.
Did you not just answer your own question?
I have a Volvo but it was new, no way I would ever buy a used so called luxury car with All Wheel Drive. And if your asking how hard it is to replace a steering rack the answer is you should not even try.
+1
Unless the OP can verify that, over the past 16 years, the tires were consistently rotated as per the mfr’s maintenance schedule, that they were always replaced in sets of 4 (rather than one or two at a time), and that a temporal spare was never used for more than very short distances, then the potential for very expensive repairs to the AWD system are probably in the near future for whoever buys that old car.
re Steering Rack
I’d guess about an hour labor to adjust, or 4 hours to replace the whole unit.
OK…I pretty much had my gut feeling confirmed.
Thanks.
For about $200 a broken 17 year old Volvo may seem like a good buy but for what you will pay to have it repaired you could buy a drivable car.