Minuit's Hus of Volvo

[Minuit]

Owning a late 2000s European car out of warranty. What could possibly go wrong?

or

I bought one of them furr'n cars and didn't even piss my dad off!

 

If you cruise the pub very often, you may know that I've been looking to change cars recently. To put it short, I'm tired of driving vehicles that are either 1) entirely unreplaceable (my never-sold '91 Comanche), 2) kinda ratty and increasingly hard to find parts for (my also never-sold '96 Thunderbird), and in both cases lacking any safety features other than basic front airbags on the Thunderbird. I recently lost my brother to a car accident, and safety suddenly rocketed to near-top of my list of needed features in a vehicle.

 

Anyway, my list of requirements and price range landed me right on the 2007-2009 Volvo S60. In the interest of keeping maintenance costs down and fuel economy up, I wanted a 2.5T front wheel drive - all wheel drive and the more powerful T5 engine subtract MPG and add maintenance headaches. But I also wanted heated seats, rain sensing wipers, speed sensitive steering, and the premium audio system (with factory auxiliary input - of course). Naturally, it also had to be in good condition and at a relatively low mileage. That meant that I was looking for a pretty specific car in what may be the most disrupted used car market in history. It took several weeks of looking, a handful of disappointing test drives, and 600 miles of driving to finally find the right one, but I did it, and here it is.

 

 

Finished in Ice White, with 122,747 miles on the clock before the trip back home to Tennessee, and featuring every option available on a 2.5T except all-wheel drive, it's exactly the car I wanted. At first, I wasn't crazy about the white paint (I was hoping for the right car to be either dark blue or silver), but it's grown on me - especially since there's almost no black trim. I think that for a white car to look good, it should commit to being white. That does mean there's now three white cars in our driveway.

 

Anyway, this generation S60 rides on what Volvo referred to as the P2 platform. These cars represent basically the midpoint of the current Volvo and the old boxy cars. They still have the solid build quality and feel of the old boxes, but they don't feel so much like farm implements. Even 13 years later, the doors still close with an authoritative thunk, the panels still line up just as well as on just about any new car, and pretty much everything makes a solid noise and has a solid feel. Even plastic quality, an area where Euro cars typically don't hold up so well as they age, ain't half bad - a step above pretty much anything most of the domestic brands were putting out back then.

 

The engine is a 2.5L turbocharged inline five. It produces 208 horsepower at 5000 rpm, and 236 ft-lb of torque from 1500 all the way up to 4500 rpm! And yes, it does sound just like a very quiet Dodge Viper (the turbo muffles a huge amount of the exhaust noise, so this thing is actually very quiet at full throttle). While not exactly the sportiest car in the world (not that I wanted it to be), it'll get up to speed plenty quick and do a quarter mile time in the low 15 second range. This example has a very smooth five-speed automatic with manual mode. Manual transmissions were available but rare on these cars.

 

The interior is in good shape overall, including the leather. The seats could use some leather conditioner and there are a couple of spots where the driver seat could benefit from some dye, but all in all, it would have been hard for me to do better. There are a couple of broken plastic parts, but nothing major.

 

 

The back seat is a little on the small side, but I fit OK in my own driving position.

 

 

Since this car has the 325 watt premium sound system, it has a built in 6-CD changer. It works! And you know what, for a factory sound system, they did a damn good job.

 

The trunk is big for a car of this size, and the seats fold down for even more space - easily enough for me to sleep if for some reason I had to. One of the little things included with the premium package is this neat fold-up grocery bag holder.

 

 

The car is in overall excellent condition for the age and mileage, but there's still a couple of things that need to be fixed - the only "important" one currently being the multi-function switch, a $120 part that takes less than 10 minutes to replace. It's also due for its 120k mile service (timing belt, water pump, fuel filter, transmission fluid change, among other things), which I intend to complete ASAP. Among the many firsts this car represents, the fact that it's an interference engine with a timing belt that's 3,000 miles past due is the most worrying to me. A timing belt set has already been ordered and is on the way. In the meantime, I'll be taking it quite easy.

 

This car first popped up on my radar several weeks ago - it was actually one of the first cars I saw online prior to me locking in the S60 as the model I wanted, listed at a considerably higher price than I eventually paid. Noting that it fit all of the criteria as far as options and mileage went, I saved the car on Autotrader and didn't think much of it, figuring it would disappear. It was only after driving a few disappointing S60s in Tennessee that I began to truly consider the need to drive so far to find a good one. This car looked absolutely stunning in the pictures, and it really seemed like this one could be the one. I pulled a Carfax report and found nothing alarming, which prompted me to ask a long suffering and very good friend of mine if he'd be willing to drive to Georgia so I could have a look at this car.

 

He agreed to take me down to Georgia to look at the car in exchange for food, gas money, and some help with his newly purchased 2001 XJ. A good "bro trip" only happens once every few years, and this one turned out to be a good one. The return trip was pretty good too. This car handles extended driving like an absolute champ, with a tight but not firm ride, wonderously comfortable seats, and no vibrations to speak of whatsoever.

 

The test drive went well, and we managed to negotiate enough off the price to make me feel pretty good about what I paid, considering the market.

 

 

The previous owner, bless his or her heart, must have been a sports loving die-hard Christian (every single radio preset was either sports radio or Jesus), but they weren't the most efficient driver. In the little bit of city driving I've done since buying the car on the 27th, I've averaged 20.6 mpg! On the drive home cruising over the mountains at 80, I managed 27 mpg even, and I think I could almost touch 30 if I tried to save fuel. Which I might need to consider, because this car takes premium. Another first for me.

 

The first picture I ever took as the owner of this car - at the gas station filling up for the trip home.

 

You can't see it, but this thing is ridiculously dirty in this picture. Like, industrial fallout clung to every panel dirty. I do not believe it had been washed since the dealer got it several months ago.

 

Gotta fix that:

I love foam cannons so much.

 

Much better:

Did I mention this thread may contain some detailing content? That's another thing I'm super excited for - I finally own a car worth pampering! And believe me, I'm gonna. I worked hard for this car and I intend to protect that investment. I need to get a coat of Collinite on it soon to hold me until I have time to decontaminate the paint (there's lots of little specks stuck in it and a couple of little spots I need to touch up) and polish it.

 

Things that need to be addressed, in rough order of importance:

120k mile service - parts already ordered as of 11/28:

Timing belt - I'll also be replacing the water pump since it's right there

Oil change - it was changed about 3,000 miles ago, but I want to get it on a clean slate

Transmission fluid change (not technically in the 120k service, but it's probably a good idea)

Power steering fluid change

Brake fluid change (should have been done every 37,500 miles but I have no evidence it's ever been done)

Cabin air filter

Fuel filter

Spark plugs (technically in the 127,500 mile service, but whatever)

Serpentine belt

 

Various broken or scabby stuff on the interior:

Turn signal/trip computer stalk - it works, but sometimes you have to hold it just right to keep the turn signals blinking. Part ordered.

The cover for where the seat belt goes into the passenger seat is broken. Part still available new - another first for me.

The paint is chipping off of the interior door pull on the driver door. The part is replaceable, and is still available.

One of the center dash vents is broken and is stuck pointing straight out. I think I have to buy the whole piece that includes both vents.

 

 

As always, my goal is to maintain the absolute hell out of this car. A well maintained car is a happy car, and a happy car is a reliable car.

 

This represents a departure from my normal output in so many ways, and I hope it will at least be entertaining to someone.

[Pete M]

I think you're going to like it  

[JMO413]

Looks like a nice ride. Will be following along to see how it goes. 

[Limeyjeeper]

I had a V60 for a while, by far the most comfortable car I have ever driven. The 5 cylinder engine is pretty bulletproof too.

[87Warrior]

Wow that thing is cleeeean! And I bet its a blast to drive.

 

Have you tackled and of the detailing yet? I am looking forward to watching your process. 

[Minuit]

7 hours ago, 87Warrior said:

Wow that thing is cleeeean! And I bet its a blast to drive.

 

Have you tackled and of the detailing yet? I am looking forward to watching your process. 

It strikes a nice balance between comfort and fun to drive. It's not sporty like a BMW, but not floaty like a Buick either. And it's not extremely fast (although it'll easily embarrass an MJ or my Thunderbird), but it's got torque whenever you want it and the turbo is just noticeable enough to be pretty fun.

 

I also got 30.1 mpg without even really trying on my first tank driving to work and back... and that's essentially keeping up with the 80mph flow of traffic in the morning and stop-and-go in the afternoon.

 

I haven't done any detailing yet besides that first wash. I have done the timing belt and a couple of small things so far though. I'll do a few more things before I post another real update.

[Minuit]

A Bit of Mechanical Catch-Up

 

Just because the car was pretty doesn't mean there wasn't things to do.

 

First, the passenger side mirror was about to fall off. It spent the entire drive home flapping like crazy. This is a common problem on pretty much any car with glued-on mirror glass and heated mirrors, as far as I know. The heat cycles just eventually melt the glue.

 

Since the OEM glass is roughly $100, I figured I'd try some epoxy.

It's already flapping again. Ok Volvo, fine, I'll buy the OEM part. I could've guessed that this car wouldn't be tolerant of hackjobs.

 

The half-working turn signal switch wasn't going to fly. Fortunately, it might be the second easiest turn signal lever change ever, second only to our MJs without cruise control. Three screws and the steering column clamshells open like this:

 

Afterwards, the switch pulls straight out. Unlike our trucks, the lever actually contains the switches on this car. Installation is the reverse of removal:

 

Next up, this particular S60 has an extra-thick activated charcoal cabin air filter. If I were a betting man, and I am, I'd bet that filter is way past its 1 year/15,000 mile expiration date:

Ew.

 

It's a little bit of a tight fit getting the new filter in. The previous genius to install a filter did this:

 

My new filter was pre-cut to make installation easier:

 

Prior to putting in the new filter, I wanted to make sure there wasn't any unpleasant surprises hiding inside the HVAC box. Fortunately not.

 

Next up: T-T-T-TIMING BELT!

The interval for replacing the belt is 10 years or 120,000 miles. I'm 3 years and 3,000 miles past that, and considering the possible consequences, I wanted to waste exactly 0 time tying up that loose end. It's sometimes considered good practice to replace the water pump while you're in there, although the factory Aisin water pump is reputed to easily last for 2 timing belt lifespans. My kit came with it, it wasn't very expensive, and I needed an excuse to change the coolant and get an eye for the condition of the cooling system, so what the hell.

 

Step one: jack the car up and remove the right wheel?

Yep, this car uses lug bolts. Fortunately, you get a generous centering ring on the hub. I don't mind the lug bolts so much - it makes it easy to clean the rotor face. More good news - the brakes are in like-new condition.

 

The timing belt process is a largely unexciting task, and I didn't take many pictures. Including the water pump replacement, it took me just over 10 hours start to finish, and at least a third of that was screwing around trying to figure out the right way to install the new serpentine belt... I still don't own a serpentine belt tool. Maybe I should. With a serpentine belt tool and knowing what I know now, I think I could do another one in an afternoon easy.

 

If you really want to know exactly what I did, here's a video:

 

Timing marks replicated on the top of the timing cover:

 

I don't have the special VVT hub holding tools either, so I had to take special care to ensure nothing moved as I wrapped the belt around the intake camshaft, the tensioner, idler, water pump, and then manually extended the tensioner to get the belt around the exhaust camshaft. How many times did I have to start over? At least 1. At least.

 

Here's the coolant. It looks even more delicious than usual. Absolutely no smell to my nose, oddly enough. Better get used to measuring fluids in liters.

 

Some time later, a running engine!

 

Gotta finish off the job in the official way:

 

By the way, any Renix lovers recognize this?

 

With the timing belt sorted, it was on to slightly less urgent things. For instance, the gas cap whose tether had literally turned to dust:

Ew.

 

I wonder which number is bigger: the number of countries that supplied at least one part for this car, or the number that didn't?

 

 

And then it was time for some delicious Genuine Accessories!

 

 

Damn, that's a satisfying fit.

 

Next, it was time for some fluid changes. Pep Boys was the last to sink their claws into this car, changing a battery, oil, and air filter in the couple of years before I got the car.

 

Let's see how many bolts are left in the splash guard?

I guess 4 out of 7 ain't bad for a Pep Boys. Two of the mounting points are missing entirely. Frankly, I'm surprised the guard was there in the first place. An OEM replacement is still available and not even that expensive, so I'll probably replace this at some point for no other reason than to satisfy my OCD.

 

As soon as the splash guard came off, there were obvious signs of a leak from the drain bolt. It has a crush washer that's supposed to be replaced with every oil change. I wonder if I took off the original, or at least the one the dealer put on the last time this got a dealer oil change.

 

Good thing this part number works for the transmission, because I accidentally bought three... two in another order, and one in the order with my oil and filter

 

I'm used to spin-on filters, so this oil filter took a little figuring out... and the realization that I needed to buy an 86mm, 16 point socket for it. The number of channel-lock marks made it clear that my precursors didn't care so much.

(in this picture, I still haven't realized I need to take the element back out, lubricate it, and push it on further for the assembly to actually fit back onto the engine)

 

I took this opportunity to change the oil fill cap gasket, which crumbled the second I touched it.

 

Here's our oil for this change. The engine ended up taking just under 6 liters, with an extra liter left over for topping off. That's more than a 4.0. Damn!

I immediately noticed that the engine sounded happier on this expensive synthetic oil, as it damn well better should. Previously I noticed a very faint tap sound once the engine warmed up, which seems to have disappeared entirely. Add this to the list of engines I have personally experienced having a preference for synthetic oil. The other being the also-DOHC Cadillac Northstar.

 

Just like the vast majority of our Jeeps, the transmission is an Aisin-Warner unit, the AW55-50SN. Unlike the AW4 and AX-15, this one might not be considered among their greatest hits for reasons that aren't entirely its fault. In the earlier years, that was mostly down to servo covers and programming, but all of them have their useful life cut down by "lifetime fill" JWS-3309 transmission fluid that's extremely expensive ($15 or more per liter! - you need 12-16 for a complete exchange) from the Volvo dealer.

 

And here we have the biggest automotive lie of the modern era.

 

Guess what it really is? Toyota Type IV. Which, being typical ATF red, might be the only conventionally colored fluid in this car. The oil literally looked like maple syrup.

 

Here's what came off my dipstick:

Let's capture some of that as it drains:

Yeah, it's time. Oddly enough, this car got a transmission fluid change at 10,000 miles according to the Carfax.

 

Sadly, changing the transmission fluid is not exactly for the faint of heart on this car. Let's start off by discussing the fill location, aka the dipstick tube.

That's about 3 feet down the engine bay. You need two funnels to add fluid, one tiny one to make the (small) dipstick hole usable, and a super long one to actually reach. Of course, you have to pour very slowly to prevent spills and take everything out to actually check the fluid. This took forever. And guess what, that's just the first of 3 spill-and-fills!

 

While I was taking a break in between quarts of transmission fluid, I changed the top engine mount. While I was doing the timing belt, I discovered mine had completely separated. Oops. Easy peasy to change, though - just remove 2 bolts from the intercooler hose, the ignition coil cover, and the strut tower brace and it's yours.

Is supposed to look like this:

 

I also was noticing a very slight groan noise from the power steering on very-cold start only. I found it brown and slightly low, so I sucked out the power steering fluid and replaced it. Just imagine me pouring some green (yep) hydraulic fluid into a black reservoir. The factory specifies the same green CHF-11S fluid I used, so I imagine it got replaced with the wrong stuff at some point.

 

I've also decided to centralize my maintenance logs somewhere portable - in this case, a phone app called Simply Auto. Previously, I used clipboards and paper, but that was just... clunky, which led to me not doing it after a while. It keeps track of fuel costs and economy, as well as recurring maintenance with reminders for both time and mileage. I can also add non-recurring maintenance such as the turn signal switch.

 

I'll leave you with this card I found in the glove box when I bought the car... I bought the car from a dealership and it was the only thing in there besides the owner's manual, so I assume this was addressed from the previous owner to me!

 

I shall go and conquer the world in your honor, my poor MPG-getting, sports and Jesus loving friend.

[Gjeep]

Nice looking ride and great job rehabilitating her! Keep it up!

 

[Minuit]

14 hours ago, Gjeep said:

Nice looking ride and great job rehabilitating her! Keep it up!

 

[Jlindsey86]

Nice ride!

[Minuit]

I'm pleasantly surprised at the amount of interest this is seeing! Thanks for reading!

 

I flushed the power steering reservoir again. I make that sound a lot more involved than it really was - sucking the fluid out with a Mityvac and pouring fresh CHF-11S in until what came out looked all minty and delicious instead of like old transmission fluid:

It's green. It took about three suck-fill-turn wheel a few times repetitions until the fluid on the dipstick was green. I'll probably have to keep doing this since the manual lists the capacity at 0.9L, and it seems like I've used about half of the fluid.

 

Here's another common P2 thing: the trim on the side of the seat was broken:

I don't think I've installed a part that was made in China yet. Oh, sweet bliss.

 

That yellow trim removal tool sure looks like a rip in the seat, doesn't it?

 

A T15 in the front and a sharp tug in the back had it right off:

The control switch module has an absolute ton of surface mount parts on it and seems to be way more than meets the eye. Probably has to do with the CAN bus interface - pretty much every electronic component on this car is actually a module that talks on the CAN network. That adds a lot of complication, but it also unlocks a lot of neat functional and diagnostic opportunities. You just wait til I unleash the proper Volvo "scan tool" on this thing. Anyway, it must be unplugged underneath the seat and transferred to the new trim piece.

 

Three T25s and it's done... these Swedes really do like their Torx.

Now, passengers entering my car won't have to look at a somewhat unsightly part that they probably wouldn't have noticed anyway. Ownership of a "nice" vehicle is really just a big excuse for me to go wild, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

Some Detailing Content Ahead

 

On the way home from buying it, I noted that much like the radiation levels in a small Ukranian town in 1986, the headlights were "not great, not terrible"

 

They photograph fairly well, but in real life the headlights are starting to get fairly foggy. The pre-facelift (01-04) S60s actually have glass headlights (and headlight wipers), and the housings can be made to fit facelift cars with a relatively simple wiring modification.

 

Some posters on here may know that I'm a big fan of E-code headlights, especially their high beams. European car.... hmmm...

Nah. Plus they look kind of dopey, and I've got a night-time trip coming up on Christmas day. We need Detailing Content, and we need it fast! The lights on my car have 123k miles worth of pitting and road rash, so I'm leaving the option open in the future though.

 

My preferred way to polish headlights is to treat them just like paint, using the full suite of polishing pads and compounds... and wetsanding in case a very aggressive cut is needed. Since the passenger side wasn't as bad, I thought I could skip the aggressive wetsanding cut... turns out I just wasted my time polishing that oxidized surface layer when I really needed to take some more material off.

 

Since I generally treat headlights as paint and polish them in more or less the same way, time to bust out a rarely-seen member of my cast of characters:

We're doing everything different in this build thread. Switching to a 3" backing plate and pad from the usual 6" unit is perfect for keeping the pad on the headlight instead of getting stuck on the bumper.

 

First stage product: Meguiar's PlastX on a Griot's Garage orange "correcting pad" - a medium strength combo, but not really up to the task of removing the medium oxidation on this headlight.

improved only slightly to:

 

Let's move on to the other side. On headlights in this shape, I start off with 1000 grit lubricated with quick detail spray to break up the moderate oxidation. Ideally, I'd follow up with 1500 or 2000, but I don't have any at the moment.

 

A couple of hits of Meguiar's M105 (a quite aggressive compound normally used on paint) with the orange correction pad to begin correcting the scratches from the wetsanding:

We can see the optical clarity beginning to return, now without the "faded clearcoat" look on the top where the light has seen the most sun. However, M105 isn't going to get the headlight clear again, so it needs to be followed up with something lighter.

 

In my case, that was Meguiar's M10 Clear Plastic Polish on a softer black finishing pad:

After seeing this side-by-side, I immediately decided I was going to wetsand the passenger side too. But not today. Also, it goes without saying that a protectant of some type must be applied to the headlights regularly to keep them from fogging again.

 

Also, I need an idea for a front license plate. I can't remove the front plate bracket without having holes in the bumper cover visible, so I might as well find something that isn't giving a dealership 300 miles away free advertising.

 

While doing this, I was applying some leather conditioner to the seats, steering wheel, and the leather trimmed sections of the door panels. Overall the leather isn't in bad shape at all for the age, but the seats are feeling a little bit papery in spots, and could benefit from some lotion:

 

Based on the condition of the seats, I'm going to guess that this car transported a front seat passenger rarely, and a back seat passenger almost never. That does make sense though - you've seen in the pics the laughable legroom this car offers in the rear.

 

The driver seat bolster is the only area that shows any meaningful wear.

Everywhere else, I think it just needs a rub down. I'll see if I notice a difference after a few applications of conditioner.

 

I'm applying a product called Pinnacle Leather Conditioner. I don't have enough experience with it yet to know what kind of long term benefits it brings, but it is applied by massaging it into the seat with a fabric applicator pad, left to stand until it soaks into the seat, and then buffing with a microfiber towel. It's not a product I would smell for the fun of it, but it complements the natural smell of the car's interior and isn't overbearing. It smells kind of like freshly shined shoes.

 

I was worried for a little while, because when I first applied it it left this cheap looking Armor All looking shine on the seats. Fortunately, after the product soaks in and I buffed it off, the shine went away:

 

Did anyone really want to read this much about some dude rubbing his dead animal skin car seats?

[watchamakalit]

3 hours ago, Minuit said:

Did anyone really want to read this much about some dude rubbing his dead animal skin car seats?

Just finished reading the entire post.....

Although I don't have any leather interior cars I am curious how someone can go about restoring them.  So to answer the question, I am the guy who wants to know about rubbing dead animal skin. 

 

I am not surprised your getting a lot of interest in this.  Your attention to detail makes many of us cry, and think about how we can strive to do better.  To this I say thank you for the motivation and inspiration to become more detail oriented.

[89 MJ]

I too, enjoyed reading about the dead animal seat massaging. It was very therapeutic. 
You’re making good progress on it. 

[scguy]

As a mechanic at a shop that doesn't work on Euro cars, I've always had a soft spot for Volvos. They just seem more reliable/safer/better designed than most other Euro options, especially Saab. 

[Pete M]

hmmm... are NOS seat covers possibly still available?  based on how fast nos MJ stuff gets snatched up, now's the best time to look into that.  

[Minuit]

On 12/24/2021 at 6:16 AM, watchamakalit said:

Just finished reading the entire post.....

Although I don't have any leather interior cars I am curious how someone can go about restoring them.  So to answer the question, I am the guy who wants to know about rubbing dead animal skin. 

 

I am not surprised your getting a lot of interest in this.  Your attention to detail makes many of us cry, and think about how we can strive to do better.  To this I say thank you for the motivation and inspiration to become more detail oriented.

Thank you for the kind words, and I am glad you are finding motivation in this

 

On 12/24/2021 at 9:01 AM, 89 MJ said:

I too, enjoyed reading about the dead animal seat massaging. It was very therapeutic. 
You’re making good progress on it. 

Noted. I will try to include as many therapeutic things as possible. It needs a few spots of paint touch-up (genuine Volvo touch-up paint ordered), a full paint decontamination, and paint correction as there's swirl marks EVERYWHERE. I know there's some therapy value in that for me.

 

On 12/24/2021 at 10:17 AM, scguy said:

As a mechanic at a shop that doesn't work on Euro cars, I've always had a soft spot for Volvos. They just seem more reliable/safer/better designed than most other Euro options, especially Saab. 

A few years ago, owning any Euro car would never have crossed my mind. So far, I've been very impressed with the level of engineering on display. Don't know if I'd be ready for a BMW or Mercedes just yet. I feel like it's very beneficial to adopt a different mindset when it comes to maintenance. I think any European car will eat you for breakfast if you follow the typical "drive it till it makes a noise louder than the radio, then fix at lowest possible cost" philosophy that most people who see cars as nothing but basic transportation follow. It brings me joy to take care of my things. I think that's how I managed to spend the last 10 years driving around in 20+ year old vehicles without serious reliability problems.

 

Make no mistake, I had to wade through multiple Volvos that were neglected. This one had its downsides, but critically they all fell into the category of "13 year old car stuff" and not signs of severe neglect.

 

On 12/24/2021 at 10:45 AM, Pete M said:

hmmm... are NOS seat covers possibly still available?  based on how fast nos MJ stuff gets snatched up, now's the best time to look into that.  

The official Volvo parts site seems to indicate so:

 

But damn! I might look into getting a partial re-dye job on the bolster instead. But like you said, if there are a few NOS covers left in the system, now's the time.

 

Let's take a moment to discuss some history of this car. I'm the fifth owner. It was produced in Ghent, Belgium on 14 November 2007, and shortly thereafter shipped to the original dealer in Birmingham, AL. It actually spent the first part of its life as a corporate vehicle in Seattle, WA, maybe as some executive's company car or something like that. The unoffensive color scheme and the high level of options would track for some mid-level exec's company ride. I was concerned at first, as this technically makes this a "northern car," but P2 Volvos are well rustproofed and my car is essentially spotless underneath.

 

In 2012, it was sold at auction to a dealer, who sat on it for two months before selling it off again at auction to a dealer in Georgia. I don't know what people saw in this car to take it first from Alabama to Washington then back to Georgia, but it happened. Owner #2 only had it for about two years and drove it less than 7000 miles per year. At this point, the car has reached 50,000 miles. They then sell it to Owner #3 in March of 2014, who keeps it until the summer of 2018. They drive about 10,000 miles a year.

 

Owner #4, our Sports 'n' Jesus loving friend, drives about 9,000 miles a year until trading it in some time before May of this year. They also get the oil changed... a LOT.

The dealership I purchased the car from acquired it in May and sat on it until a month ago when I bought it. They did a pretty good job of cleaning it up, and probably could've sold it way sooner by doing some of the things that I've since done to it. Fun fact: only 16 miles worth of test drives were put on this car. However, they were located in a surprisingly ritzy part of town, so a 2008 Volvo might not have been the right choice for the local customer base. Their original asking price, $7700, would have been considerably out of line before the COVID madness. I paid quite a bit less than that, and I came out paying about fair market value for the car. I didn't get ripped off nor did I get a screaming deal, I did "ok" considering the market conditions.

 

Anyway, more stuff!

One of these products is quite important, and one of them is... not.

 

 

The 12V plug port cover is not retained by anything and is thus quite easily lost. This is just a plastic plug, and definitely not a cigarette lighter, and the owner's manual specifically points out the fact that this car does not have an ashtray. I don't smoke, I'm good with that. I do think it's kind of funny that they went out of their way to make their car smoker-unfriendly. Installation difficulty: 0.1/10

 

I forgot to include this in the last update - the cupholder rubber insert was worn out, ever so slightly reducing the holding effectiveness of the cupholder. A guy sells repair kits on Ebay, and the installation is super easy - just pop the top half of the cupholder off and set the rubber in place.

 

!!! - a new OEM shift boot costs $118. Place your bets on how long it takes for that tiny rip in the leather to annoy me enough to shell out the cash.

 

My attempt to re-glue the mirror glass back on to its backing plate failed shamefully, and within a week the mirror was flapping around again, so I just pulled it back off.

 

I then donated roughly a hundred bucks to FCP Euro in exchange for this. Face reveal time!

 

Installing the mirror is very simple - it comes attached to the heating element, and just pops into and out of the housing. As a result, the only tool needed is a screwdriver to pop the old mirror out of the housing:

Here you can see the heating element and the associated wires. They just slip on with quick-connects. The white plastic things are guides to keep the mirror in place.

 

Not mann enough? GET YOU A MANN FILTER!

The other thing is an airbox clip to replace the missing one.

 

The previous air filter was just replaced, but it's beginning to come undone:

 

I was going to spend some time screwing around figuring out how to install the new airbox clip, but I decided to come in and eat Christmas dinner instead. I'll figure this out later.

 

 

[AMCJeepMJ]

Good choice on the Mann filters, as well as the detail of your progress. IPD and FCP Euro are your parts friends.

[kansashogan]

What a great read. Keep us up to date.

[knever3]

Sweet!  I can't get my wife to buy a Volvo, she says it reminds her of another anatomical word of the female species.  I just love the brand and the Dynaudio stereos in the S80's were fantastic!  If I search out an online forum she's in for a surprise!  They don't make a minivan with stow&go seating though...

[Minuit]

Well, guys, it's been a while. Guess I should update with what happened to this car since I haven't posted on it in a while.

 

 

...I went on a junkyard rampage last week, mostly seeking parts for my '89. I came out very well there, but I also found some Volvo stuff - including the roof trims and a couple of other small items from this car, which was just like mine except missing a bunch of options.

 

I have not done much to it since the last update, mostly because I don't need to. I have done some maintenance items:

Changed some spark plugs,

 

Topped off the A/C refrigerant,

Bought a dedicated "shop computer" along with the software that makes up the "dealership scan tool" - it's awesome. Deep dive on that coming up later, but what I can report is that there are two fault codes in the entire car: one for a burned out front marker light bulb (ARGH - I can't keep bulbs in this car, and the front ones are a pain to change), and an occasional code for a TPMS sensor that's starting to die.

 

A long time ago, I changed the busted air vent and just forgot to put it in one of the updates. How many of you guys can find the thing in this picture that's bugging the $#!& out of me that I can't find a replacement for?

 

I just changed the oil again, 5650 miles after my first change. Here's the dipstick BEFORE I changed the oil:

That made me very happy to see.

 

I have some goodies including a set of factory mud flaps to install, but all I really need to do is give the car a nice detailing and apply touchup paint in a few spots. Oh, and the windshield. It's gonna need a windshield, because of course I can't have anything nice.

[Minuit]

Look ma, I'm on the Google!

[Pete M]

famous now!   

[Minuit]

Used oil report!

 

This oil change consisted of a lot of short trips and a lot of stop-and-go, so I'm not really worried, but I will be changing my oil more frequently in the future.

[Minuit]

On 11/21/2022 at 8:09 AM, Pete M said:

famous now!   

And best of all... my moment of fame will be a left turn into a cheap BBQ place after work.

[Minuit]