My son's $2 car taught him more than college

My eldest had wanted a car through most of his teenage years, but as a full-time student he and we repeatedly decided it wasn’t the right time to spend a few thousand dollars on an uncertain purchase. We provided transportation while he walked, biked, and caught rides with friends.

Then a family friend offered a deal he couldn’t pass up: a 20-year-old Volvo wagon, crumpled from a deer strike, undrivable and without a title, for $2. He spent the first summer putting money and time into repairs, straightening the front radiator support with a winch so parts would fit, replacing the radiator and flushing the intercooler, and finally limping the car to a storage barn for winter.

The next summer it became his main project: he installed a new radiator fan, bought a new battery, replaced two tires and had them aligned, fitted a headlight, did bodywork, cleaned it inside and out, and a few days before college found a salvaged hood that matched the car’s golden hue.

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