At $2,500, Would You Roll The Dice On This 2008 Volvo C30 T5?

The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Volvo claims it won’t start, so they “WANT IT GONE.” We will have to see if they have actually priced it to go.

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For me, seeing yesterday’s 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Q4 was refreshing. During the week I just spent tooling around Italy’s Tuscany region, I saw a grand total of one current-generation Giulia. The most common Alfa in that region seems to be the smaller FWD Giulietta, of which I saw dozens. Our Giulia presented as a handsome ride that seemingly needed nothing and offered reasonably low miles. Its $20,250 asking price proved equally attractive. At least that was the implication provided by the 55 percent Nice Price win the car received.

In stark contrast to Alfas of a certain age, Volvo’s older models maintain an enviable reputation for durability and longevity. The more modern stuff? Eh, not quite as much. That’s more due to the added complication with which the cars, like most others, are burdened.

Today’s 2008 Volvo C30 T5 Turbo is an interesting conundrum. According to the ad, it died and now won’t start. The seller — unwilling to undertake a diagnosis of the issue — claims that they now just want it gone.

This leads to an intriguing mystery as to why the car crapped out and what exactly it might take to make it a runner once again. There are entire YouTube channels devoted to such work, and you can bet that some enterprising soul might want to buy this car and tackle the no-start challenge for a kibitzing audience via a Go-Pro.

Of course, there’s little to go on in the ad as to what specifically might be wrong with the car. The seller does confirm the absence of a CEL on the cluster. That implies that the battery is good and that whatever is wrong didn’t throw a code. The ad also notes that “all fluids are good,” so the problem is potentially not hydro-lock due to intermix.

It would be very helpful to know what exactly the car was doing when it stopped doing it. Was it running and then simply shook to a halt? Was it off and then wouldn’t turn on? The issue could be anything from a bad shift position interlock to a fuel pump to… well, some really bad stuff. The lack of a puddle of oil and grenade bits under the car implies that it didn’t just simply throw a rod and punch a hole in the block. Grrr, I want to know what’s wrong with this thing!

The car itself seems worthy of redemption. The C30 was Volvo’s smallest entry during its reign, based on the Ford C1 global platform that was shared with the European Ford Focus and others. The two-door shooting brake design was intended to evoke memories of Volvo’s earlier sporty wagon, the 1800ES, and shares a similarly shaped all-glass rear hatch.

This one has what the seller describes as a “custom paint job,” which, oddly enough, included painting over the rear reflectors in the back bumper. Some chips and scrapes also mar the front bumper, but overall, the car seems decent. The interior is upholstered in leather, which also seems to be in serviceable condition. It comes with a clean Florida title and, according to the ad, just passed its California smog test a week ago.

Now it’s dead as a doornail, and the seller asks $2,500 for a new owner to work some Doctor Frankenstein magic on it.

What’s your take on what’s wrong with this C30 and whether or not it’s worth $2,500 to attempt to fix? Does that seem like a deal to solve this car’s mysterious no-start situation? Or is that too much to open this Swedish can of worms?

You decide!

San Diego, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to FauxShizzle for the hookup!

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