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With Volvo, there's a sticker that is provided in the timing belt kit that shows the service interval. It is usually affixed to the timing belt cover. However, I would only trust it if it were from a dealer as you could verify the service was performed by VIN by calling the service department of that dealership, or having a local dealership look up the records. If there is no sticker, or it is a generic one, I would have the cover taken off during a pre-purchase inspection to assess the belt's condition. If the car has 125k miles and the belt looks original, or is worn, it would need to be replaced, for example. The Volvo will be a little more expensive to own/maintain, but if it is in good condition at the outset, that's a good thing, and had many safety features, so it is a decent consideration.
The Golf is not the greatest car here, for whatever reason, especially with the automatic. After a certain age/mileage, they are not reliable, and do require frequent maintenance. Parts seem to be priced out of proportion with the value of the vehicle. I know someone who went through issues with a Golf before getting rid of it, and she owned it from new, babied it, and it barely reached 100k before it needed a good amount of money for repairs before she threw in the towel at a $1500 ABS repair.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
With Volvo, there's a sticker that is provided in the timing belt kit that shows the service interval. It is usually affixed to the timing belt cover. However, I would only trust it if it were from a dealer as you could verify the service was performed by VIN by calling the service department of that dealership, or having a local dealership look up the records. If there is no sticker, or it is a generic one, I would have the cover taken off during a pre-purchase inspection to assess the belt's condition. If the car has 125k miles and the belt looks original, or is worn, it would need to be replaced, for example. The Volvo will be a little more expensive to own/maintain, but if it is in good condition at the outset, that's a good thing, and had many safety features, so it is a decent consideration.
The Golf is not the greatest car here, for whatever reason, especially with the automatic. After a certain age/mileage, they are not reliable, and do require frequent maintenance. Parts seem to be priced out of proportion with the value of the vehicle. I know someone who went through issues with a Golf before getting rid of it, and she owned it from new, babied it, and it barely reached 100k before it needed a good amount of money for repairs before she threw in the towel at a $1500 ABS repair.
Thank you for your help, will check the Volvo and get here back with what happened.
The 70 series is the newer 850 lineup, in fact until 2000 most mechanical parts were interchangeable.
After 2001-2007 the 70 series was updated. 2005 saw a slight exterior update. The benefit with a 01-07 model year Volvo is a long run with lots of used parts available.
I honestly can't believe you're looking at a C70 with a kid. You are the poster child for a wagon. The FWD wagons (V70, not XC70's) are dead nuts reliable as long as mx has been kept up. Some issues do pop up, don't expect a money free car for a decade, but once fixed they are good. The issue with the timing belt isn't so much the belt itself (105k or 6 years IIRC) it's the rollers and tensioner or water pump that tend to fail, and those had no replacement intervals. Also look for one where the transmission fluid has been replaced.
I'm not gonna lie. A Toyota or Honda would be cheaper to run most likely, but the Volvo will reward you with much better safety and comfort.
I never pay more then $1500 for my vehicles and put about a grand into them and drive them for at least 5 years without worries. All i buy is gm vehicles and i'm very mechanically inclined and do my own work.
Bought a 1997 chevy tahoe about 2 years ago with 180,000 miles on it.
I rather pay money for a repair that is infrequent vs a monthly car note payment for years and higher insurance. Then if you miss a payment it gets repo'd and you lost all that money. I have the title for my vehicle no worries of a repo. I also don't need the most expensive full coverage insurance that a bank requires.
Using a car for 5 years for $2500 sounds like a good deal. How cheap is the insurance?
Why do you buy all GM? What about for someone who is not mechanically inclined, what do you suggest for them? How long would it take to get mechanically inclined to fix the car?
Um, no. They may say all the bushings need replacing when they dont just becaeu they are old. They may say that the brakes are all shot when they just need pads. iv'e seen it way too many times that cars with years of life in them in their present condition are considered junk by mechanics. Cars YOU like to own especially.
I picked up a $400 '84 Cadillac from a friend that had years of serviceable life left in it, and when I went to sell it (fr $500 after a year of driving it all over), the PPI on it that the buyer wanted said that it needed a complete exhaust ($1000) due to a "pinhole" in one muffler (that couldn't be seen or heard), new mirrors due to a screw being "loose", a new steering column due to the tilt adjuster being imperfect, and a complete cooling system overhaul including water pump and radiator because, and I'm not making this up, it smelled like coolant and was old (another $1000 estimate). The mechanic also said that due to the age and mileage (180k and 20 years old) it would most likely need a complete transmission service and rebuild or a new trans, even though the one in it worked perfectly. So of course the buyer passed, because he listened to advice like yours on a $500 car. The next buyer (another friend of mine) had no such qualms and bought it. he drove it for another 3 years before selling it on to someone else.
In this price range, the cars can be completely serviceable without trying to bring it back to showroom new condition, which is what the mechanics will try to tell you needs to be done just to drive them.
Does that mean you can buy a $500 car without spending any money on fixing anything and it will still run for years?
Does that mean you can buy a $500 car without spending any money on fixing anything and it will still run for years?
I bought my 1981 Cutlass Calais for $550. The 3.8 V6 runs great, the THM200 shifts great, air works. Give it a few pumps to get some fuel through the Rochester Dualjet, and it'll fire right up every time.
I bought my 1981 Cutlass Calais for $550. The 3.8 V6 runs great, the THM200 shifts great, air works. Give it a few pumps to get some fuel through the Rochester Dualjet, and it'll fire right up every time.
When did you buy it? What is the key to getting a cheap car like that that runs reliably? Would you ride it on the highway?
my point was that those model years didnt fall under "well, every car has to have them done" logic. They had a well documented history of premature HG failure in alot of those 2.5 motors. That's why I said that if I were buying used(and I have) and looking at one of those models that used the 2.5 from 98-05(those were the most prevalent years for HG failure), a prerequisite would be that they HG's would already have to be done.
We have a 2.5 most Subaru's do it's their staple engine.
Hello, I need a car sedan or suv under 3000$ that is my limit, If I let myself to choose I will choose a german car specially BMW or VW why? because they are fun to drive but it will cost me a fortune to fix something.
I want a reliable car, good on the snow I'm in PA!, gas-efficient, I have a wife and a daughter. so any recommendations? and where to buy I was thinking of Craiglist because it is cheap. Thanks.
No such thing as a cheap, reliable, and fun German cars. They don't know how to make such car. It's always fun + not cheap or fun + not reliable pick your poison.
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