Hoping to be a new V70 owner
 

Hi all,

New here, for the last several years I have dwelt on AlfaOwner, with the many challenges that Alfa ownership entails.

However, I'm now growing out of owning a sports car, and in need of something more practical, hoping in the not too distant future for a dog and a family, and I've always loved Volvos.

I have a budget of about £4000, therefore I'm looking at roughly 2010 cars with 120-150,000 on the clock. In the Alfa world, this means the car has gone to the moon and back. In the Volvo world, I'm aware you guys see things rather differently.

I'm looking for something comfortable, reliable and that can lug a load, ideally a 1.6D as I need the fuel economy and would prefer a lower tax band than the £340 a year I fork out for the Alfa Spider. Is a V70 a good choice? And should I be nervous on a relatively small budget?

If anyone can give any advice on whether:
- buying a decent V70 for £4k, £4250 tops is a possibility.
- what do I need to look for? I'm not totally useless with a spanner in hand and would fork out for an RAC inspection.
- can I rely on a 120-150k miler to get to 200k? I always service cars above and beyond the recommended schedule and baby them a bit.
- are there any good specialists in the Lichfield/Walsall/North Birmingham area? That would make me feel a hell of a lot better.

Thanks for your time and help, if anyone wants a 916 Alfa Spider let me know haha. The V70 (if you guys say go for it) will be bought, loved and driven until the wheels fall off - I always keep my cars for a long time.

V70’s are cracking cars. Yes, then can do 200k easily, but the car needs to have been & needs to be looked after. Look for one with good service history records. I wouldn’t touch that engine with a barge pole though. Sorry, but its not powerful enough for such a big car. My honest opinion would be buy a D5.

-Make sure the cam belt, auxiliary belt & air con belt has been changed. If not, replace them.

-Listen for any knocks & bangs from suspension. These are heavy cars, so its not uncommon to hear noises over bumps. With the mileage you’re looking at, I imagine suspension will be well worn anyway & you’d need to replace parts fairly soon (if they haven’t been replaced already).

-If buying auto, make sure the car shifts nice & smooth when warm. If its slow to change gear or feels a tad harsh when cold, this is normal. It should shift smooth when warm though. Factor in a transmission fluid change to prolong longevity.

-Windscreen bonding is common to fail. If you see water dripping inside or wetness near the gear stick, then this is likely the issue. Volvo will repair it free of charge, providing the existing windscreen doesn’t break upon removal. They have to remove the windscreen to re-bond it.

- Buy an “SE Lux” model if you can. SE’s don’t have xenon lights. Halogen lights in SE models are useless & brighter halogens make little difference. SE Lux is the one to go for, in my opinion. It’ll have literally everything you need equipment wise.

D5’s are the most economical around town, but they’re decent on fuel on motorway journeys. D5’s are literally bulletproof, providing they’re looked after & cam belts/other belts I’ve mentioned are changed.

So, I’d advise a V70, but not the engine you’re looking at.

Thanks for your detailed reply, really appreciate it. Yes I’m looking at FSH only for definite, and wouldn’t consider an auto box, I just like manuals. Are the manual boxes solid? What is the cambelt interval on a V70? Thanks

Manual’s are very solid. The clutch is obviously something you’d need to check, but I’m sure you’re aware of that driving manuals all the time.

Cam belt interval on a D5 is 10 years/108,000 miles (whichever comes first).

Auxiliary belt is every 54,000 miles.

I don’t know what the interval is on a 1.6D model. As I mentioned above, I’d stay clear of that engine.

I don't know enough about the 1.6d, except that it's a PSA unit (Peugeot Citroen) and is a little engine to haul a big estate. The real world fuel economy is therefore not likely to be that great. For more power, some of the D3 & D4 engines are very low tax in the manual versions, £30 to £130 ish depending on model year. I wouldn't get hung up about the extra £100 spread over the year, as an unreliable 1.6d (if that's the case) will quickly eclipse that in garage fees. But do your homework on the D3/D4's too, as there are some variants which have their own issues I believe. Plenty of threads on this forum.

As for the rest of the car, the sort of mileage you're talking about is unlikely to cause any significant issues. There was a similar thread a week or so back regarding the pro's and cons of a FSH... my view is buy a car on present mechanical condition and past usage, preferably from the owner, with evidence of oil changes a must, but with a view that a fully ticked SH isn't always all it's cracked up to be so you shouldn't necessarily avoid one without - for the right price of course :regular_smile:

Just for clarity, think that's a typo! Should be aren't...

Not much point buying a big heavy Volvo V70 if it's powered by a small peugeot engine.

Might as well buy an actual Volvo engine (D3,D4,D5) which is more reliable and more suited to lugging the bulk of the V70 around.

The 1.6 diesel actually doesn't hustle the V70 too badly. Its no ball of fire, but it keeps up with traffic and driven with restraint 60+ MPG is genuinely achievable. It's actuqlly not a bad little engine when it's working.

The downside is, as aforementioned, used hand grenades are less troublesome, and the 2 litre Ford unit isn't a whole lot better either. People who want Ford engines and the Ford experience could just buy a Ford in the first place and save a packet.

Stick to the 5 pots for the best chance of a nice car and a Volvo ownership experience.

The Ford/PSA 2-litre diesel engine is better and more suitable than the 1.6-litre engine (as many Mondeo drivers would probably attest) and will possibly see out 200,000 miles, but the Volvo 2-litre 5-cylinder diesel engine that replaced it is far, far better and longer-lasting.

So it probably comes down to a lower mileage (< 120K miles) 2.0D (Ford/PSA) or an early D3 (with the 2-litre 5-cylinder Volvo engine).

(The really early D3s were just labelled DRIVe, by the way.)

The D3 / DRIVe has the Volvo 5-cylinder engine in its sweetest form, delivering 161bhp and plenty of torque.

Please consider increasing your budget as it will currently probably land you with either a Ford diesel nearing end of life and requiring a new clutch and dual mass flywheel, or an older 2.4D or D5 with higher VED costs and poorer economy and possibly still needing a new clutch and flywheel.

Please also reconsider trying an automatic for the simple reasons that they are far more common as well as being very nice to drive and, if well-maintained, mightn't need any work on the transmission.

Looking at real cars, for £5k, I spotted this.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...hp201ps&page=1

I also found this

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...ize=2.0&page=1

and, for a bit more, this

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-det...us=1500&page=1

The Ford 2 litre is indeed better than the 1.6, but its all relative. In the grand scheme its still a troublesome unit.

It is indeed capable of high mileages, yet for such a common motor few seem to do so.

There are never guarantees, there are always exceptions to the rules, but overall the best chance of a long and happy ownership experience is a Volvo 5 pot looked after by someone that knows what they're doing.