Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Mine was a 1994 Volvo 960 station wagon. Purchased in 1997 for about 20K.
We had just had our third child and needed something safe, reliable and big. This car had 7 seats. It was a lovely shade of eggplant, just a hint of purple if you looked close enough. Leather seats. One owner, our neighbors, who had recently returned from living in Europe and had bought the car there. Just 20K miles. What could go wrong?
It was the car from hell.
It was rear wheel drive. This meant that it could not handle snow or icy roads, which we have a lot of. I couldn't go more than about 15 mph if there was a threat of ice, as other drivers zoomed by me. I had to abandon it in the neighborhood a few times because it couldn't negotiate the streets, going to retrieve it when the ice melted.
Question: How much does it cost to replace a rear seat belt? Answer: About $100. I know this because the seat belts broke out of the blue. Twice. Whoever heard of a broken seatbelt?
It had something called a "Transmission Lock Override." What's that, you ask? Well, for no apparent reason, the car would refuse to shift out of park. When this first happened, I tried everything and then called a tow truck. The Volvo mechanic told me that when this happens, you have to push this little unlabeled button on the shifter, and that will allow you to shift out of park. Which means that Volvo *knew* about this problem and chose to put that little button there rather than just fix it. So every time I lent my car to someone, I had to tell them about the little button.
It drained batteries and no one knew why. It frequently refused to start, stranding me with little kids.
Best of all was the time I was driving along at about 40 mph with my three kids strapped in the second row seats. All of a sudden, I hear the rear door open. It seems that older daughter dared younger daughter to open the car door, so she did. I pulled over immediately, cursing myself for forgetting to engage the child safety lock. Surprise! No child safety locks on a car purchased in Europe. I re-arranged the children to put the baby on the outside, near the door so it wouldn't happen again.
I finally decided to trade it in for a mini-van in 2003. The dealer would only give me $2500. Gawd.
I decided to sell it myself. I got it to pass safety inspection. Finally, a guy came by saying he was looking for a car for his wife and new baby. He loved it -- a nice, safe, big Volvo. He bought it for $4000. I felt terrible selling it to him, but . . . I made sure to tell him about the little button, so that's something.
Cindy -- who will never, ever buy another Volvo. Ever.
We had just had our third child and needed something safe, reliable and big. This car had 7 seats. It was a lovely shade of eggplant, just a hint of purple if you looked close enough. Leather seats. One owner, our neighbors, who had recently returned from living in Europe and had bought the car there. Just 20K miles. What could go wrong?
It was the car from hell.
It was rear wheel drive. This meant that it could not handle snow or icy roads, which we have a lot of. I couldn't go more than about 15 mph if there was a threat of ice, as other drivers zoomed by me. I had to abandon it in the neighborhood a few times because it couldn't negotiate the streets, going to retrieve it when the ice melted.
Question: How much does it cost to replace a rear seat belt? Answer: About $100. I know this because the seat belts broke out of the blue. Twice. Whoever heard of a broken seatbelt?
It had something called a "Transmission Lock Override." What's that, you ask? Well, for no apparent reason, the car would refuse to shift out of park. When this first happened, I tried everything and then called a tow truck. The Volvo mechanic told me that when this happens, you have to push this little unlabeled button on the shifter, and that will allow you to shift out of park. Which means that Volvo *knew* about this problem and chose to put that little button there rather than just fix it. So every time I lent my car to someone, I had to tell them about the little button.
It drained batteries and no one knew why. It frequently refused to start, stranding me with little kids.
Best of all was the time I was driving along at about 40 mph with my three kids strapped in the second row seats. All of a sudden, I hear the rear door open. It seems that older daughter dared younger daughter to open the car door, so she did. I pulled over immediately, cursing myself for forgetting to engage the child safety lock. Surprise! No child safety locks on a car purchased in Europe. I re-arranged the children to put the baby on the outside, near the door so it wouldn't happen again.
I finally decided to trade it in for a mini-van in 2003. The dealer would only give me $2500. Gawd.
I decided to sell it myself. I got it to pass safety inspection. Finally, a guy came by saying he was looking for a car for his wife and new baby. He loved it -- a nice, safe, big Volvo. He bought it for $4000. I felt terrible selling it to him, but . . . I made sure to tell him about the little button, so that's something.
Cindy -- who will never, ever buy another Volvo. Ever.
