Hello all. I am new here to the boards so be easy :) Anyways, I posted a question the other night but wasn't as specific as I should have been so here goes:

I have a 02 C70 that has recently overheated. I have taken it to 2 mechanics and both are stating the same: Replace the radiator, blown head gasket, and all the other parts that go along with it. They are both talking somewhere in the area of $3,000 to change out everything, and that does NOT include the head if it needs to be replaced which they have said that would be another $1500-2000. Now, i'm up to $5000 on a car that is probably worth $6k. The car is paid off w/ 113,000 miles.

My question is, do I spend the money (almost more money than the car is worth) to fix it, replace the entire engine with a used engine, or cut my loses and sell it wholesale and try to get a couple grand out of it?

How many miles do these cars generally go for? It is the 2.3 Turbo.

Sorry to be long winded, but any info or advise would really help out.

Thanks again,
Newby

My sympathies to you.This is a headache that we have all faced at one time or another and there is no easy answer.
The things i would ask myself are:
Do you really like the car ?
Anything else likely to fail on it in the near future
How much have you spent on it since you owned it ?
If you got another car it will need repairs at some stage

Would you be able to sell it for 2 grand ?.If you only manage to sell it for say 1 grand you would end up no better off than if you had your repairs done.
You could try and get a cheap C70 write off with a good engine,swap engines and keep the rest for spares.Whatever you decide to do is gonna cost you.Cars are not a good investment. they will all take your money weather its in a lump sum or a steady trickle

You are asking a question that really can not be answered. You have to decide if it is worth it too put the money into the vehicle. IMO find a better mechanic, changing everything out is not a diagnosis of a problem. The forums have plenty of people with the 2.3 motor with far more miles than your own. Head gasket problems and radiator problems are not talked about much. If you want help why it is overheating I would describe how long the problems have been occurring and what exactly are the symptoms. Good luck either way.

6000? I'd think you'd be able to get a couple thousand more than that ---unless the body and interior are both in horrible shape.

The big question to me would be:"how much do I like the car?" If you really don't like it, get rid of it. I don't think you'd have any problem selling a 2002 c70, there aren't that many out there. I drive an 01 with 66k miles, and at least once a month someone asks if I'm interested in selling. It's hard to find a convertible with as much cabin space.

As for lifespan, it's a Volvo, you should be able to get at least 2x the mileage out of it---and likely a lot more if it's been taken care of.

If you decide to dump it, and buy something new with the 5000 dollars you'd spend on repairs, what do you think you're going to be able to get for that cash? Or would you put that 5k down on a much newer car, and find yourself paying 300, 400, 500 dollars a month for the next four or five years? In this current economy?

I agree with MKC70 ---find a shop that can tell you why there's a problem. Are you in an area with lots of Volvo owners? Find out who's servicing all the older models, and check out that shop.

(and let me add that I'm just a driver. I don't fix 'em, I'm not mechanically inclined---but I do have a bit of common sense, and wisdom that comes from being frighteningly close to old. er. older. )

all three responses are spot on. it all boils down to you. now, my R, which is also a 2.3 5 cylinder and boosted on the high side, is on the original block, no rebuild. you can get a completely rebuilt, better than factory rebuild for like $4K. and that is with an overbore making it almost a 2.6 5 cylinder, with a warranty. i agree with the findings of why it overheated and how long it was doing it. is the block warped? why the new rad? did they ever tell you why and how can a mechanice give you an estimate and not know if the heads need to be done? did they open it up or just eyeball it? those are the questions. are these two mechanics dealers or outside mechanics? certified to work on volvos or just neighborhood guys?