'96 Volvo 850 airbox bad = $500?

Looking for comments, confirmation, and opinions on the following:

The check engine light on my '96 5sp 850 wagon came on.

Took it to the local volvo independent garage for an oil change and
asked them to read the codes for the check engine light.

They said that my airbox is bad. It would be $500 total to put a new
one in.

I would need to do this a few weeks before my next car inspection in May
because the new inspections done in upstate New York actually READ your
car's computer. After replacing the airbox it would take a little while
for the car's computer to clear out the error codes.

Does this all sound on the up and up?

Where can I find a replacement ashtray for my volvo?

 

I would imagine you probably mean air mass meter, not airbox? I can't
imagine what would go wrong with an airbox, except being broken in an
accident, I doubt the price is anywhere near $500, and it can be changed
out easily in 5 minutes.

There must lots of good ashtrays in 850s in wrecking yards.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)