Which V70?

[kenb431]

I'm a new member although I do not yet own a Volvo. My 22 year old Jaguar V8 Sport is now succumbing to advanced corrosion and does not want to select any forward gear except 5th. Regrettably it must go. I am torn between another Jaguar and a large Volvo such as the V70. Volvo cars have a reputation for reliability and corrosion resistance and ownership of one in my retirement might be the best option for a suitable replacement.

I welcome any advice as to a suitable car in the V70 range with a maximum price of about £10,000.

Kenb

[oilit]

Originally Posted by kenb431

I'm a new member although I do not yet own a Volvo. My 22 year old Jaguar V8 Sport is now succumbing to advanced corrosion and does not want to select any forward gear except 5th. Regrettably it must go. I am torn between another Jaguar and a large Volvo such as the V70. Volvo cars have a reputation for reliability and corrosion resistance and ownership of one in my retirement might be the best option for a suitable replacement.

I welcome any advice as to a suitable car in the V70 range with a maximum price of about £10,000.

Kenb

I have moved from more modern stuff to the world of Volvo V70, and wished I had done so earlier!

I avoided the models with DPF etc - and decided i wanted something with a little less electronics to go wrong.

I originally had a D5 AWD - which was very sure footed, and very reliable, but I am not really a diesel fan - so after 12 months, I got the opportunity for an older T5 - which isnt as sure footed as the AWD, but is a delightfully relaxed car to drive.

The diesel is very strong engine with more than enough power for overtaking - I just prefer the solace of the petrol engine noise.

Pre 2007 and you should be able to find a great buy - there are some with high miles, and some with lower miles - the budget you have could get you almost anything you desire.

[stuart bowes]

I was concerned about the future tax implications of a diesel and I wanted to avoid any extra complications / faults from having a turbo so I went with the more standard 2.4 petrol, with an auto box

my original budget was £6k and I found a low mileage one (53k ish) in near perfect condition which i was willing to pay the asking for at just under £4k. i've been thinking maybe that was over the odds for no leather seats and all the most basic options, but then again every time i open the bonnet and see the immaculate bits under there I think no it was worth the money. and I was sick of fighting old bolts on older cars, on this one everything just comes undone smooth like butter

so.. £4k spent on purchase and now just under £7k including various repairs / servicing and about a grand on the stereo..

looking forward to taking it past 100k, which I expect to be around 5-6 years minimum.

love it so far, but that's coming from fords / vauxhalls / the occasional old BM or three.. you can only really judge by going and sitting in one I supose, taking it for a spin. the power is plenty for me, as a family car. it runs out of steam a bit at the top when you try to push past the tonne, but that's not a major drama. mines the 140bhp version and the newer ones were 170bhp. Im guessing you'll want a turbo if you're used to a v8

it's 2wd and can be a bit wheel-spinny when you try to get off the line in the damp. but I'm not sure if that's because my tyres are a bit old (although they are michelins with decent tread) and there is a W(wet) button that reduces the power to the wheels for that purpose. in the warm and dry it launches suprisingly hard for a big heavy tank

[Georgeandkira]

The old "any advice on buying a used one?" thread.
The prices asked for these cars on the UK used market seem quite fair to me.
I suppose prepping for your MOT is where you'd spend any savings.

Everyone says get a car with service history so I'll say that too.

The 5 cyl. engine has it's PCV system tucked behind the intake manifold. Over here (No. America) said system is ~$250 in parts with some toil involved with removing the manifold for access. This is recommended every 10 years regardless of mileage. The timing belt and related hardware gets a change out around 105K or the same 10 year timed life.

Get back regarding whether you're seeking manual or auto transmission.

Drive as many as you can. Just for giggles, if there's a car which test-drives well you can pull into a petrol station and throw in a fiver just to stay on the road. It's always better to fully warm up during a test drive. This goes double for an automatic.

You might want to select from 2004-2007 as the instrument clusters were improved. There were "cold joint" which would fail. This applied to early ABS units too but that seemed to be caught early and are vastly easier to fix as the solder joints are larger and more separated.

The weakly designed throttle bodies were gone by 2004.

In so many of the ones I've driven the front ends had been damaged by the PO's. I experienced wobbling as if the vehicle slid sideways into a curbstone then wasn't addressed. Also, I've driven cars where a bearing had expired and similarly wasn't addressed. These are common things to be fixed on any car. I assume some owners just throw in the towel when they tap the car one-time-too-many. Sad really.

I replaced a total of one front wheel bearing over 3 V70's. I also slid into one curbstone and bent a control arm. No biggie there either.

Go shopping and return to this thread to comment. Happy shopping!

[charles p]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I was concerned about the future tax implications of a diesel and I wanted to avoid any extra complications / faults from having a turbo so I went with the more standard 2.4 petrol, with an auto box

my original budget was £6k and I found a low mileage one (53k ish) in near perfect condition which i was willing to pay the asking for at just under £4k. i've been thinking maybe that was over the odds for no leather seats and all the most basic options, but then again every time i open the bonnet and see the immaculate bits under there I think no it was worth the money. and I was sick of fighting old bolts on older cars, on this one everything just comes undone smooth like butter

so.. £4k spent on purchase and now just under £7k including various repairs / servicing and about a grand on the stereo..

looking forward to taking it past 100k, which I expect to be around 5-6 years minimum.

love it so far, but that's coming from fords / vauxhalls / the occasional old BM or three.. you can only really judge by going and sitting in one I supose, taking it for a spin. the power is plenty for me, as a family car. it runs out of steam a bit at the top when you try to push past the tonne, but that's not a major drama. mines the 140bhp version and the newer ones were 170bhp. Im guessing you'll want a turbo if you're used to a v8

it's 2wd and can be a bit wheel-spinny when you try to get off the line in the damp. but I'm not sure if that's because my tyres are a bit old (although they are michelins with decent tread) and there is a W(wet) button that reduces the power to the wheels for that purpose. in the warm and dry it launches suprisingly hard for a big heavy tank

Good call.
I had the same thoughts years ago and in 2013 I bought a 2007 170bhp auto with 52k on the clock. It's now done 206k and has been an excellent car. Best car I've ever owned and better than the P3 it replaced. It falls into the £565 road tax bracket so is now probably unsaleable, except for peanuts. I'm planning to keep it until the moment comes when a large bill makes it foolish to continue.
However the problem is what to replace it with. I don't want diesel, partly because my children live in London and ULEZ is a cost I can live without but newer (5-7 year old) cars of similar quality just don't come with petrol engines. I've even looked at the Japanese import market to find a quality used car with a petrol engine, but it seems very complicated. Additionally the crap quality of roads is driving me towards something with longer suspension travel (normal car XC70 rather than SUV) but again, the curse of diesel is upon me.

C

[oragex]

I am not familiar with diesels but perhaps if looking for a car to keep for the next 10 or even 20 years, I would go with a 2001-2007 petrol 2.4 non turbo engine with automatic transmission. These vehicles DO need maintenance and repairs so one either needs to DIY and buy the good part brands online, or have a honest knowledgeable mechanic to service the car. My choice is based on the fact that once all wear and weak parts are replaced, these cars simply keep going with little attention for very very long time, much longer than today's industry standards. Rust wise, these are susceptible to rust damage under the front strut towers - easy to inspect, otherwise it's an extremely rust proof car (unless it was wrecked and fixed with cheap body parts). As mentioned, these have their weak points: the automatic transmission has issues if the fluid was never replaced, the manual transmissions fail at the slave cylinder which is an engine out job, water leaks from the sunroof drains under floor carpets, main computer corrosion on 2004-2006, engine needs PCV and regular timing belt servicing. I would say, the main downside is these cars have low sitting position, it may be difficult to get in and out as we get older.

Properly maintained, the 2.4 non turbo petrol gets good mileage on long trips - I average over 40 mpg with mine, less good in tight city traffix

The next generation starting 2008 for the V70 looks better but was overall a lower quality car with less rust protection and a few costly issues.

[marcb]

If you have as much as £10k to spend I would look at later petrol models of other makes. I would not buy a diesel of any age and you'd be hard pressed to spend more than £5k on an old petrol V70.

I think though there are some petrol models after the P2 range?

If you are happy with an old V70 I would go for a facelift model but registered before the tax rise on 3 March 2006 which keeps the car tax at £330 instead of £565.

The 2.5T model which we have is a good compromise between the non-turbo models and the T5 and I would look for a high spec model with the premium sound system.

[kenb431]

I am very grateful for all the comprehensive replies regarding the pros and cons to consider in connection with the purchase of a V70. I need to read them all again in view of the valuable advice they contain.

Problem now is where to start looking for one as the lockdown prohibits travelling without a viable reason and initial soundings of local availability on the Wirral has not met with any success - unless anyone knows different. I have the impression that Volvo owners do not readily pat with their cars.

Kenb

[ANDY V70 D5 SPORT]

Hi i am considering selling my beloved V70 D5 Geartronic sport estate. Being a member of the VOC i have shown the car many times at the national rally. It was overall runner up few years ago also had many firsts with it. The car would have to be seen to be appreciated it is totaly immaculate inside and out. 52,000 miles service history2006 on a 56 plate. Many extras . Colour is titanium with unmarked black leather. I can gaurantee you will not find a better car. Reason for selling just doesnt get used. Always kept in garage sheeted up. If interested send me a PM
Regards andy

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by kenb431

Problem now is where to start looking for one

I guess it's just down to luck, I was looking on autotrader every day for about 6months as I built up the money. the options were all estates because of kids and holidays, auto because the mrs only has an auto licence, either a 3 series, an audi of some sort or a volvo.

then after widening the search and thinking blimey I'm going to have to drive the length of the county, mine popped up literally 10mins from my house. I had a look and pounced on it probably a little too impulsively but sometimes you just know, right