If the title line was long enough, I'd have included 'financial' too...
My Volvo S80 (2.4 petrol) has now reached 135k miles (it's a 1999 reg), and is still - hopefully - running well. When I bother to wash it, it looks practically brand new :-)
However, there will no doubt come a time when the engine and/or gearbox will start 'complaining'. The car suits my needs very well, so would it make sense - financial or otherwise - to completely 'refurbish' it. By this I mean replacing or completely overhauling all moving parts: engine, autobox, driveshafts, wheel bearings, brake assemblies etc.
It would 'cost more than the car's worth', but I'd end up with a car which I like, am used to, and which would carry on for another 150k miles.
When I were a lad (and it's not that long ago, really), people used to fix things rather than just 'get rid'.
Am I simply behind the times, or do latter-day labour costs rule out this sort of approach?
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with a good service schedule and a bit of luck you'll still have 100k miles left in the car.
start saving now and in 3-5 yrs time you'll have enough money to replace the car with a good clean 3 yr old one with a low milage and start again.
i dont think it would be financial sense to spend all that on an 10 yr old car
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Morning all, back from Lille.
Overservice it (change the fluids earlier the the recommendations) and replace bits as and when they break. This is the approach we´re taking with the Astra, as recommended on here, and touch wood it´s working ok so far. Oil every 3k, oil and filter every 6k, and the expertise of a trusted independant local mechanic annually is proving a successful and reliable approach.
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It only makes sense to strip, inspect and re-build for really critical components - which is why aircraft are subject to rigorous, time/event based work. It makes no sense on a car.
The solution is to put real money into a replacement fund so you can afford a sensible replacement when this one becomes expensive.
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I don't think it makes sense to refurbish things just for the sake of it, but I do very definitely believe in keeping things in good working order and replacing bits as required. It is always better to stick with the one you know, and keep it serviced and reasonably tip top.
What I would do is make a notional budget of all the various things you have listed as possibly worth replacing/refurbishing, with a very rough timetable, and then just carry on using the car. Then if one of those components does wear out, you can just replace it with an easy conscience, because it was on your list and you had planned for it.
I only know about older Volvos, but presumably yours is pretty well made too, in which case it has still done a very small mileage. If you intend keeping it indefinitely, because you like it, it would be worth improving the service schedule a touch. Do oil changes more frequently, and change any transmission oil too. Give the cooling system a thorough flushing out, and keep it maintained with good fluid, changed every two years. Watch out for longer term deterioration of things like hoses. Flush out the brake fluid. Flush out the steering pump and rack.
In other words, do a sort of mental refurbishment, by looking thoroughly all over and asking yourself how often, if ever, a component gets checked or serviced. Then, if it seems OK, put it on the list, and make a note to monitor it in say 50,000 miles time.
I think an ongoing rolling programme of checking, servicing, replacing, makes more sense than neglect followed by sudden refurbishment.
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Thanks Cliff - sounds like a very sensible regime :-)
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BUT
After spending time and money on refurbishing the car, if it's crashed, stolen or vandalised, the insurance will pay the listed value for a car of its age no matter what you may have done to it.
The same applies to immature little prats who spend loads of time and money tarting up an antique Fiesta/Clio etc.
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No short journeys, have the autofluid analysed, use an independent auto specialist with Volvo expertise to change autofluid and filters/screens if required. Don't rev it until it's up to operating temp. Try and plan replacement just before catastrophic failure (ha!). The days of rebuilding mainstream cars disappeared several years ago, even if you DIY to conceal labour costs.
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I agree. Over servicing an older car is not that expensive, and always pays dividends. Materials are cheap and a car like this may give 6 or more years with little trouble. Depreciation is the killer, with any new car. The point about insurance is very important. Spending anything on a car will never be returned. Servicing, and a double polish, twice a year is the key.
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Buy your engine oil in France (up to 50% cheaper) and that way you'll be happy to change the oil at low intervals! Buy good push bike for journeys of a couple of miles if possible.
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If it ain't broke don't fix it. Just change that engine oil regularly and have the normal servicing done and keep your fingers crossed. Could last for years.
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Does refurbishment make financial sense?
No, I'm afraid it doesn't. On an older car, I think you have to take the bangernomics approach the previous posters are advocating: mind it well, keep it as long as its serviceable, but replace it when major work looms.
On SWMBO's 120K miles '94 Cavalier, that "major work" was corrosion around the windscreen and heater matrix. The car would - literally - have an inch of water in the footwells on wet mornings. We couldn't' fix it ourselves, and the cost to have any bodyshop do it far outstripped the value of the car. It made more sense to accept a good deal from SWMBO's local Opel dealer on a newer MPV.
It's not to say I don't miss "Helga", especially on long lazy drives, so I appreciate where the OP is coming from!
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A friend recently had a body-off refurbishment done on a 15 yo Morgan. £13,000 with labour.
Some body panels replaced and general cleaning, derusting and replacement of parts where needed. Plus a respray. Looks as new as a Morgan ever did now.
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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I had a car that was going on for a lot longer than it should have, I had a similar delema of paying to keep it going for even longer. I opted for counting my blessings and taking the time on offer while the car was functioning and still had a second hand value, by giving a good runner to a good friend or the local vicar, to give me the time to shop around look for a really good deal on a replacement and saving the money on it. It took a while but I never regretted the decision. There is also the running costs economics to consider as newer cars as well as being more reliable tend to use less fuel.
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I would never consider refurbishing a vehicle unless it would definitely leave me in pocket.
I and other people here take the same approach with houses. It makes no sense to spend more money on something than you'll get in increased value, unless there is some other benefit to be gained that you could put a value on.
I did get an engine changed in a Citroen Xantia that I was given. I spend more on that project that I got for the car - not a good investment.
I should have stripped the car for spares or sold it for spares or repair.
I have found that if you have a good car that is doing well and is not unusual, ie it can be replaced with something else that fulfills your needs - like more or less any production car on the roads, it is worth maintaining it but there comes a time when it is simpler to change the car rather than change any major mechanical components.
Thanks to the greed of most car breakers.
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A lot of reliability problems start when mechanics strip things down, and then don't put them back together properly.
I'm of the firm belief that a reliable car is a self-fulfilling prophecy -- ie. if the car never needs to be touched, it's less likely to go wrong. Conversely one that's always being tinkered with is a slippery slope.
Factory-built components and vehicles are assembled to very close tolerances. A bloke with a spanner and a couple of hammers can't hope to match that accuracy.
As others have said, if it ain't broke...
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Never a truer word said.
The job is nearly always rushed (short cuts taken), parts not fitted correctly / with care.
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