Thinking of buying a v70

[vloov]

Hi all, hope you all had a good Christmas.
Thinking about getting a newer Volvo, I have a 92 K 940s estate at the moment.
Got my eyes on a V70 2001-2004
I need to check a few basics first, like the size in the back when the rear seats are folded down, is it any smaller than the 940.
Are there any major differences.
Any problem things that I should keep an eye out for.
Any help would be great.
Many thanks

[micken]

IMHO you are potentially buying a great vehicle, but you should read all the stickys in this part of the forum and if you are thinking about the D5 then read the diesel section too. Don't know about comparison with 940 'coz never had one.

[vloov]

Cheers Micken, I have read through a couple of hundred posts now and am surprised at the amount of problems people have, but thinking about it, any car can be like this.
I noticed that for a few other models someone has produced a buyers guide of points to look out for.
Has anyone done one of these for the v70 2001 onward.

[Rossi-fan]

Hello. A V70 can be a great buy, but they don't come without their own common problems when buying an 8 - 10 year old car. Suspension and electrical problems are what knocks these cars most. You may buy a V70 that has had its usual faults sorted, therefore, you get a great car that will last another 10 years. They certainly arn't built like the older Volvo's were, and i believe a V70 is not as big in the back as the older 900's.

[david philips]

Originally Posted by Rossi-fan

Hello. A V70 can be a great buy, but they don't come without their own common problems when buying an 8 - 10 year old car. Suspension and electrical problems are what knocks these cars most. You may buy a V70 that has had its usual faults sorted, therefore, you get a great car that will last another 10 years. They certainly arn't built like the older Volvo's were, and i believe a V70 is not as big in the back as the older 900's.

i only had one v70 and it was a great car but i went back to a 940 some years ago , the v70 is a much more modern and better driving car than the 940s but as said the v70 is much smaller than the 940 and has a more complex electrical system .

[Jim314]

For maximum length when the rear seats are folded down the rear seat bottoms are removable just by prying up some latches. I have use this feature to sleep in the back of my V70 in state park camp grounds. It gives an extra 18 inches of length or more, if the front seats are moved forward.

I met an owner of an older RWD Volvo wagon who opined these were much superior to the FWD models. I decided not to counter with the fact that the newer models are much more protective in a crash (especially with the side head-curtain airbags), but instead pointed out that the FWD models were much superior on ice and snow. He claimed that his RWD Volvos performed well in Colorado winters with extra weight (maybe 200 to 300 lb) over the rear wheels.

[Rossi-fan]

Hello jim, what do you make of your XC90? They have'nt had very good press over here.

[Jim314]

Originally Posted by Rossi-fan

Hello jim, what do you make of your XC90? They have'nt had very good press over here.

I have no complaints about the base model 2007 FWD XC90, but a minivan would have met our needs better than the XC90 and at lower cost. The XC90 is extremely comfortable on the highway, but it is some trouble to get our aging dogs in and out due to the interior floor height with seats folded down.

We did get what I thought was a good deal on this US base model XC90 from dealer inventory. About 20 years ago my wife decided that Volvo was her car company (for its safety and lowest cost of a European higher end brand, i.e., significantly lower in cost than Mercedes or BMW) and says she would have gotten a Volvo minivan if Volvo made one. Given the danger on the roads I feel compelled to accept her strong preference for Volvo.

My approach is to consider a wide range of manufacturers and models with the result that from the time I start looking it can be several years for me to actually buy. She won't look until she is ready to buy. I made the mistake of taking her over to the Volvo dealer on one of my 'just looking' trips and she bought the XC90.

Her immediate concern was that her 2004 base model V70 did not have dynamic stability and traction control and she wanted one which had it. She had become aware of the advantages of DSTC, but in 2004 the base model V70 did not have DSTC. She had rolled her 1996 850 wagon following an emergency swerving maneuver on a multilane divided highway. She avoided hitting other vehicles and she was uninjured. She replaced it with the 2004 V70.

Her approach to car buying for the last 15 years has been to get the cheapest Volvo that met our needs. She has bought three of them all from the same dealer. Possibly they know that when we show up we have done some research on what we should have to pay, and are ready to close the deal if they have what we want. Each time their first offer has been at or below what I thought we would have to pay. The base model Volvos are seemingly not in demand by the Volvo buyers in our area and this may account for our getting good deals. (I can't explain why the dealer would have base models on their lot.)

[coughlanc]

Hi. My 1st Volvo was about 10 years ago. It was a 1991 760 Turbo Sedan.
I had another about 6 years ago. This was a V90 estate, 3.0l 24 valve rwd estate. Great car in my opinion.
About 7 months ago I bought a 2001 V70 T5 estate. Best one so far I rekon.

I personally love 'em. No doubt that they have their faults like any other car but they seem to look great regardless of age.
Buy, buy buy !

[RM955I]

I'm also thinking of buying a used V70, likely to be 2003/2004 with 100-120k on the clock.

I know that all older cars will have their problems but I'm starting to get cold feet about the idea of a V70 as there seems to be a lot of disgruntled owners and a short but rather expensive list of possible faults mainly centred around ECM issues (I should be OK with that on a 2003/2004); Auto transmission failure perhaps to the supposed lack of required maintenance, (which gets portrayed as terminal for the vehicle due to the cost of replacement transmissions and the inability of anyone other than Volvo to repair/replace the unit making it economically unviable); Air Con problems - compressor clutch, evaporators, leaks; worn valve guides. Then there's the minor stiff like engine mounts, track rod ends, etc.

The other car I'm considering is a Subaru legacy - maybe it's the lower volume of these cars on the road but the only issue I can seem to find is that some suffered leaking head gaskets but more of an external weep than a full blown internal leak.

So, is what I read really reflective of the vehicles?

I really, really, want to like the V70 and a friend has an 04 2.4t SE with 100k that he only wants 2.5k for which seems cheap to me.....possibly too cheap although it has history and receipts: maybe I'm just naturally cautious.

I know that no 8 year old car will be without risk and problems but I just want to be prepared and know what I'm buying