Change of tow car (I hope)

[JimDay]

Hi all I am new to this forum & don't currently own a Volvo of any description.

I currently tow a caravan with my 1992 2.0 4x4 Ghia Sierra Estate, but as it is getting longer in the tooth I am considering a change to a Volvo estate & I am torn between a V40 or V70 my Sierra only has a nose weight of 50kgs so I am looking for something that will allow me the scope of upgrading my caravan (1988 ABI Marauder) to something a bit larger in the future so I would value any advice on the nose weights of the V40 & V70 plus if I decide to go for either one in automatic mode would they need to have an oil cooler fitted to the auto box or not. Also which model/spec of either estate would you recomend

many thanks for any help/advice offered
JimDay

[Bernard333]

dont know what age car you are looking at but V70s are going for very little money at the moment , I have a 2003 V70 D5 manual with 126k miles , lot of problems with it now but so far its cost about £600 for spares since new ( excluding routine servicing ) which is not too bad and somehow it just keeps going , its been a good load lugger up to now . I bought a 2001 V70 SE auto for spares last week with a faulty gearbox , these are great cars but the cost of a replacement or fixing the gearbox puts most of them in the scrapyard category if there are any problems in this area so if you are going to look at an auto I would spend a fair bit of time making sure the box is in good condition and take a long test drive . Its probably worth paying to get it checked by an auto transmission specialist before you buy , there are other things like wishbones and ETMs etc but possibly less costly to fix .

[pdr944]

hi,
go for the v70.they are about 170bhp which will tow everything bar the large twin axle vans and then only because the car is not quite heavy enough.i,ve had two v70,s and both were automatics and i cant fault them for towing.my last nine cars have been volvo,s and i,ve towed with the lot.i would still have a v70 now except i bought a large twin axle and my only option was the xc90.

[JimDay]

I've seen a V70 2.3 T5 S Auto in a local dealer with 93,000 on the clock 2 previous owners, it's on an X plate 1st reg 01/01 2001 & they are asking £2995.

Is this a fair price for it or to much considering the mileage

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by JimDay

I've seen a V70 2.3 T5 S Auto in a local dealer with 93,000 on the clock 2 previous owners, it's on an X plate 1st reg 01/01 2001 & they are asking £2995.

Is this a fair price for it or to much considering the mileage

hi jim
although its low mileage with the issue you have to consider with towing that seems a bit steep, i have a v70 t5 and pulls like a train but the fuel consumption is pants, i get when towing 16mpg and thats with a 14500kg van,the issues with the car are the etm if it hasent had a replacement or a clean and upgrade then you are talking for the latter 150 plus, and for new 250 plus, please dont let me put you off just stating the facts of owning one mine is auto and has no extra oil cooler fitted. but it does make me smile
mike
ps the kerbweight is 1600kgs and nose weight 75kg

[JimDay]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

hi jim
although its low mileage with the issue you have to consider with towing that seems a bit steep, i have a v70 t5 and pulls like a train but the fuel consumption is pants, i get when towing 16mpg and thats with a 14500kg van,the issues with the car are the etm if it hasent had a replacement or a clean and upgrade then you are talking for the latter 150 plus, and for new 250 plus, please dont let me put you off just stating the facts of owning one mine is auto and has no extra oil cooler fitted. but it does make me smile
mike
ps the kerbweight is 1600kgs and nose weight 75kg

Cheers for the above Mike (etm ??) what the hell is one of those when it's at home obviously some sort of electroic gizmo.

So it looks like a manual box would be best then so there is less to go wrong I just thought auto box because I'm getting lazy in my old age

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by JimDay

Cheers for the above Mike (etm ??) what the hell is one of those when it's at home obviously some sort of electroic gizmo.

So it looks like a manual box would be best then so there is less to go wrong I just thought auto box because I'm getting lazy in my old age

the etm is the electronic throttle module, read the etm threads, the autos fine i havent had a problem with it yet and as long as you keep up to the oil change there will be hopefully no issues, and i am old and lazy lol
mike

[JimDay]

ETM is a bit like the (TPS Throttle Position Switch) & the ISCV (Idle Speed Control Valve) on my Sierra then, great when they are working bit of a pain when they play up.

So would the auto box need an oil cooler or are they fine without

I really like the idea of an auto but not to sure of the newer ones have not owned a auto for over 20 years now so I am a bit wary of the new ones.

I was a mechanic for 20 years but been out ofthe trade since 1990 so I'm not worried about the normal mechanical side of life just not sure about the auto box side of life to be honest they scar the life out of me that they are gonna go wrong & cost a fortune to fix

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by JimDay

ETM is a bit like the (TPS Throttle Position Switch) & the ISCV (Idle Speed Control Valve) on my Sierra then, great when they are working bit of a pain when they play up.

So would the auto box need an oil cooler or are they fine without

I really like the idea of an auto but not to sure of the newer ones have not owned a auto for over 20 years now so I am a bit wary of the new ones.

I was a mechanic for 20 years but been out ofthe trade since 1990 so I'm not worried about the normal mechanical side of life just not sure about the auto box side of life to be honest they scar the life out of me that they are gonna go wrong & cost a fortune to fix

i have towed with the caravan on up scotland and it was fine, so i think its personal choice, however in my handbook it states that the extra oil cooler should be fitted when towing,and yes all these electronic gizmos that are on cars now are fine when all is well but expensive when they go wrong

[JimDay]

Cheers for all the advice Mike I also worked for a Renault dealer for 8 years then got made redundant back in 1990 on the 20th Dec ( nice chrissy present that was ) & I have been out of the trade ever since. I'm now a civil servant.