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To Keep, or Not To Keep

Hi all,

Here's the deal. I currently have a 1998 V70 XC and a 1993 940 (non- turbo). I was offered by a wealthy relative a custom-built 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis Bayshore with not even 65,000 miles, all for free, provided I pay the simple registration charge (about $50 here in MD). But I can only keep two cars, it isn't economically possible for me to have more than that. But which should I get rid of?

The Mercury I love, and so far for my uncle it's been extremely reliable. It has a 5.0 litre Lincoln engine and any bells and whistles you could imagine, plus a full air suspension to boot. It also is probably the most roomy of the three with it's huge size...probably its main downfall. Here in suburban Maryland I'm just afraid its too big for most of the parking spots. I'm very comfortable driving it, etc, and I don't mind parking in the back of a lot, but I'm just not sure.

The 1998 V70 would probably make the most sense economically to get rid of, just this year alone I've spent about $1200 in repairs. However, the only reason I've kept it this long is because it's a very nice car for long drives and vacations, with it's wagon/SUV body style and comfortable seats. However, it does also have the worst gas mileage of the three.

The 1993 940 would probably be my first choice to get rid of, but my wife loves it. It has 137,000 miles on it and hasn't needed any major repairs since she was hit almost ten years ago. But I'm just not sure about how reliable it will be in the future. I've heard that the powertrain/engine/transmission is virtually bulletproof, but that's no guarentee for the next five years...

Any opinons? Which should go?

(I realize this is a Ford group, but I couldn't find a straight Mercury group and the Grand Marquis is pretty much identical to the Crown Vic...plus Volvo is owned by Ford now...so I figured this was good enough.)

Reply to
Robert
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Sorry I posted the same thing to a Volvo group. The '98 V70 and the '93 940 are both Volvos.

Reply to
Robert

Get rid of the V70. Judging from your recent repair bills, it usually just gets worse from there. Does the Merc has enough room to travel in? Is it comfortable? Probably, SUV it is not, but just tell the family its a retro thing, how people used to go traveling and take them a few miles down R66.

Don't touch the 940, you'll never hear the end of it, and is worth its weight in gold if she is happy.

My two cents.

Reply to
sleepdog

The Mercury would make an excellent long travel car, with the huge trunk and tons of room. The only problem is that my wife can't stand the floaty air-bladdered suspension, but that's one of the things I love about it and I'm hesitant to install anything else. I'm leaning towards getting rid of the V70 also --- with it's high repair bills and how it sucks up gas, it's probably the most expensive of the three.

Reply to
Robert

Volvos are made by Ford.

Reply to
Jeff

Yes, I know...I just wanted to make sure that anyone out there reading this group that didn't know what a 940 or a V70 was would know that it was a Volvo and not some wierd Ford model...though technically they are wierd Ford models :)

Reply to
Robert

I have a perfect solution for you. I'm in nearby Northern VA. Donate one to the non-profit i'm affiliated with, preferably the Merc. :-)

CJB

Reply to
CJB

Hey, just make a deal with her, she gets to keep her car instead of you keeping the V70, if she can deal with the air ride suspension on long trips. Not much to ask, really.

Reply to
sleepdog

I guess that's a vote for keeping the Merc? Nice try... :)

Reply to
Robert

I'd definitely keep the GM. I've never had any problems parking my CV in any parking space. And that trunk would fit 2 or 3 dead bodies easily.;-)

Reply to
Tim J.

You can donate a Volvo then. :-)

CJB

Reply to
CJB

What's your charity? If we get rid of the 940 I think donating it would definitely be an option, but the resale value on the V70XC is about $8500, and I don't know if we could afford to lose that much in profit; I have a son starting college next year and a daughter just starting high school, so the money definitely would come in handy. But like I said, if it's the 940 that goes that resale is only about $1500, not a big drop.

Reply to
Robert

Send me an email, and let's talk.

CJB

Reply to
CJB

Put some Bilstien shocks on it and that will tighten up the float.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

OK...so far, between this group and the Volvo group, I have five votes for getting rid of the V70XC, two votes for getting rid of the Mercury, and no votes for getting rid of the 940. Keep them coming in, I'll post as soon as we make a decision!

Thanks guys for all the support and guidance.

Reply to
Robert

Here's the latest update:

We've decided to take the Mercury and sell the V70XC (thanks for all the advice, guys). We're getting it titled tomorrow, and taking the V70XC to CarMax sometime soon...I'll update with whatever we get for it. We're looking for something in the $7,000-8,000 range -- we paid $9,000 for the car a little less than two years ago, and we've only put on 6,000 miles, so it seems pretty reasonable.

Look for an update soon!

Reply to
Robert

OK, long-due update 2:

CarMax offered us only $2500...apparently, and I quote, "AWD Volvos aren't currently in demand." This is the day after we have about half a foot of snow. Oh well.

So now we're going to attempt to sell it private-party ourselves. Anyone interested? We're looking in the $7500+ range.

Reply to
Robert

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