The old question crops up again....

[capt jack]

Should it stay or should it go?

My V70 is getting troublesome. 1997 CD 2.5 10V auto, LPG conversion, 266,000 miles which I've had for 8 years and done well over 210,000 of those miles, and it's been the best car I ever owned.

But in the past few weeks it's started to develop niggly problems.

Lambda light (2-3-1 code) suggesting a vacuum leak somewhere, (hours spent over the past week or two playing hunt the leak, but the code keeps coming back) intermittent hesitation on both petrol and LPG when pulling away from rest, and an intermittent misfire at between 2500 and 3000 rpm (hairy if you're overtaking, or joining a motorway etc), MoT runs out in a couple of months, it needs a new cambelt and new front brakes, and will probably need new shocks for the test.

Curious rattling and buzzing sound from somewhere in the dash (unrelated to the blower motor) that's getting louder all the time, a buckled rear wheel so the car gets the shakes at much above 65mph.

The thing is, as much as I love this car I need it to be reliable - I know I've been spoilt over the years by it's near 100% reliability, but I need it every day for work, and I seem to spend more and more time of late scratching around under the bonnet. I can't afford to have it let me down, I don't want to start throwing money at one set of problems only for another to crop up. Even Volvos eventually get tired I guess!

I serviced the car only 6000 miles ago, and fitted new plugs, rotor, dissy cap and air filter.

In short I'm getting a bit fed up.

Even SWMBO is saying it's time for a change!

The question of course is, change for what?

An estate is useful, but a big saloon or hatch with drop down rear seats would be OK. We're a family of 5 adults, and I regularly carry big loads. The S40 and S60, V40 and V50 seem to me to be on the small side. It's got to be auto, and I'd plan to keep it for at least 100,000 miles, so it's got to be well built and comfortable. And it's got to be a reasonably good DIY servicing proposition.

Budget wise I guess that less than £3k is a bit too hopeful, nearer £5K more realistic.

I'm used to LPG fuel prices, so 45mpg and better is also a requirement. I've thought about moving the LPG across, but I've a sneaky feeling that some of my current troubles may be down to the fact that the LPG conversion has done well over 200,000 miles!

And sad to say, but I'm a bit underwhelmed by the phase 2 V70, so I'd even consider non-Volvo!

I have driven VW Passats at work, and do not like them at all, and so I guess that rules out the Seat, Skoda and Audi equivalents. I had a Merc once which was a lovely car to drive but nowhere near as well-built as my V70. I wouldn't want a Japanese or French car as they all seem so fragile to me (xenophobic generalisations abound in my noodle!). I do not want a 4x4 or an MPV.

The BMW 5 series looks great, but the price premium they carry is hefty.

Wandering through the interweb, cars that catch my eye are the Volvo S80 and the Saab 9-5. Both seem to be available at reasonable prices with good diesel auto availability. Both seem to take a big depreciation hit in the early years, which to my mind makes for a good second-hand buy.

I'm really not sure what to do for the best, all I do know is that I'm going to have to do something........

Any thoughts anyone?

Cheers

Jack

[GMad]

If it was mine, I'd weigh it in, but it's not!
None of the great unwashed on here can answer this. It depends on your level of finance, your willingness to fart about with an antique, your patience and so on and so on?????

[Paul240480]

Big ? cap'n ! Got a similar issue going on myself... Poss piston slap, if lucky a sticky tappet on my 182k 850.
otherwise the car is solid and lots done over the last 3 years.....
Yours mileage wise is 'getting there' if you go for repair, then it's a keeper BIGTIME! You'll need to spend..... But less than replacing! A replacement, well maybe you can find a low mileage TDI ( rocking horse poo?)
Not much help, but you are not alone in your quandary

[volvorocks]

Whilst I hate spending money on old cars (or spending any money for that matter!!), if you buy a 5k car you may be buying problems that require extra money to fix.

If you have the 3k to 5k - and whilst your car may not be worth spending on, why not spend, I don't know, say a good thousand or so on making it a cracker once again?

At least you know the car,better the devil you know than the devil you do not

Regards

[mixa]

I have to agree with volvorocks spend on what you have and know which as you say has served you well ,against spend a lot more on another motor then after a short spell have to start spending on that one ,possibly more than you now need to cash out on this one , in the end you will have spent x amount on a new car different model and colour may be but thats all

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by mixa

I have to agree with volvorocks spend on what you have and know which as you say has served you well ,against spend a lot more on another motor then after a short spell have to start spending on that one ,possibly more than you now need to cash out on this one , in the end you will have spent x amount on a new car different model and colour may be but thats all

Yes buying a secondhand car, unless one is fully aware of its heritage and history is always risky and can be expensive.

Take my classic s40.Yes Ok its not done that many miles in our hands, and it wasn't bought brand new, although if one buys a new s40 at the time,say 12k and look at what it is worth now, say 1.5 k thats a loss of 10.5k. Not too bad over 10 years or around £18 a week.First 3 years should need little say tyres and brakes and then hopefully not too much thereafter up to say 100k miles.

In that respect thats why I like new cars,as apart from buying todays Volvos new, it can be a reasonably economical exercise.

Regards