Which is the better deal?

[froggy]

I'm a first-time poster, and about to become a first-time Volvo buyer, so please be kind, and speak in words of one syllable!

I'm looking to buy a V70 diesel, and have been quoted 'final' prices for the following 2.5 D V-reg 1999 manual cars.

£8650 for one with 90,000 miles, two previous owners, and they'll throw in a year's free road tax;

£10995 for one with 67,000 miles, one previous owner.

Otherwise the spec. is equivalent as far as I can tell. Both cars were originally offered without the two rear-facing seats; the prices above include the cost of fitting these.

Which one is likely to be the better deal?

[George Holmer]

Are they both V70 Classic?

1995 Volvo 945 LPT Auto

[froggy]

I think they are both Classic, ie. the basic model not SE or anything. Both are manuals.

[bigandquick]

The V70 Classic is the old shape.
There is a very nice '98 V70 Classic 2.4 TDI on ebay at the moment.
Slightly higher mileage than you've found (119k) but with FVSH and the seller is one of the more reputable ones.
Item no is 4529841554 if you want to have a look and draw a comparison. He's asking 6295 for 'buy-it-now'.

[cootuk]

Can they justify the extra £2500 cost for 20000 miles less?
Do they both have full service history?
Do you like the colours of both?..is one in a less desireable colour hence the price?
Have you rung the previous owners or checked the vehicle reg at a Volvo main dealer to see what work has been done?
Are you going to keep this till it dies, or will you sell on within a couple of years?

To be honest the £2500 saved on the cheaper one would buy a lot of petrol...or even a lot of diesel

[froggy]

Your first question is the one I've been asking myself, too. I'm starting to think that the cheaper one may be a better bet, but wasn't sure what effect the extra mileage would have on likely reliability. All the volvo-lovers I've spoken to seem to think that 90K is nothing for a diesel.

Both have a full Volvo service history and are known to the dealers concerned. I prefer the colour of the cheaper one (blue) to the more expensive one (silver). The 90K one has had a new filter fitted recently, but also appears to have been towing, so may have been working harder.

My plan is to drive the car till it goes to the great forecourt in the sky, so resale value is not a big issue. I just want something that will keep doing its stuff with minimum hassle. Both cars are diesel, so the fuel economy should be pretty good.

[imac]

> All the volvo-lovers I've spoken to
>seem to think that 90K is nothing for a diesel.

90k is nothing for a Volvo, let alone a diesel! My local specialist, Charlwood Volvo have their Volvo 940 D with 660,000+ miles on the clock and still going strong! :)

[don kalmar union]

Froggy,

I would have advised looking at the later cars that have Volvo's own D5 engine. This particular engine has been very well received by the discerning motoring press.

It looks as if you are thinking of buying from a Volvo Dealer.

Their prices are allways high with little to commend them otherwise.

There are many Volvo non-approved dealers arround the country with particularly fine reputations carefully built up over the years....regretfully few 'proper' dealers like that!

I don't know where you are, but Braydon Motor Company in London E5 are such an outfit...worth 'phoning Matt on 020 8985 0336.

Maybe, even check the Ex and Mart.

The one thing that proper dealers are usefull for, is that if you find what appears to be a good one offered privately, those dealers can give you a print out, free, which will give all work carried out by the Dealer network...services etc..they only need the reg.no.

Don.Norchi.

www.kalmar-union.com

TME engineered software UK distributor.

[froggy]

Thanks for that recommendation -- I've called Braydon Motor Co. since I'm actually just round the corner from E5, so will drop past and check out what they have on offer.

[George Holmer]

I could not fault Braydon, they are great!

1995 Volvo 945 LPT Auto

[froggy]

Wow, two recommendations for Braydon! As it happens I went round there this am as it's not far from me. I had a little test drive of one of their used V70s (petrol, automatic, as it happens) and liked it very much. I've now added two possibles from there into the equation, the front-runner being a S-reg 2.4 170 bhp car with 71,000miles, previously owned by the Dad of one of Braydon's managers, and only serviced by them. I figure a car won't come much better looked after than that -- it's like Volvo heaven in there!

Many thanks for that input, it's made a real difference.