Cost of owning a V40 (1999-2004) 1.9D 115 for one year.

[JonoV402612]

This post is to just give some people who are looking some info on how much parts and labour cost for certain jobs, mpg that I get and how reliable the car is.

Car - 2003 Volvo V40 1.9 Turbo Diesel (with facelift)
Period of Ownership - October 15 - Present
Miles - 191K
Full service history (17 Stamps)
115Bhp

First off I love the car and have done 20k miles in it since I bought it at 171K Miles. It has only been un-drivable once due to a burst brake pipe but other than that the engine block has been solid as a rock, gives me great mpg and always been great to drive.

Including the cars price I have spend £1850ish in total, which includes 2 services, MOT, clutch + DMF, cam belt, all labour costs and other parts. The car had 12 months MOT when I bought it.

Clutch
3 piece clutch kit including release bearing = £315 inc VAT from Volvo
Labour to fit = £260
From day one of buying the car the clutch pedal was really stiff and it took me about 2 months to get used to it. After the change the clucth pedal became really light and the car to became even easier to drive.
2-3 months before the change, I noticed a significant drop in mpg, this was when my clutch was slipping every now and then. After it was changed it jumped right back to where it was before slipping, if not slightly better.

Cam Belt Kit
Cam belt kit (inc aux belt) = £116
Labour = 120

Aux Belt Tensioner Pulley
tensioner Pulley = £40
Labour = £40

Brake Calliper + Brake Line repair
Re conditioned Brake Calliper = £24
Labour = £90

Service 2015
Volvo Service Kit (air, fuel and oil filter) £30
Labour + Oil Change = £110

Service 2016
Mann Service Items )air, fuel and oil filter) = £25
Labour + Oil Change + Brakes Check + Health Check = £120

All of the following the car needed doing for its 2016 MOT

Brake Calliper
NEW Brake Calliper = £90
Labour = £30

Handbrake Cable(s)
Handbrake Cable x2 = £40
Labour = £30

Offside front anti-roll bar link = £11
Nearside front anti-roll bar link = £11
Offside rear anti-roll bar link = £11
Nearside front suspension arm = £40
Nearside track rod end = £10
Rear Brake Pads = £13
Labour = £160

Now its had all that done it drives very smooth, probably just like it did new.

Other things...

MPG
Urban - Solid 40mpg
Mixed - 45mpg (if you drive consistently)
Extra Urban - Easy 60mpg (cruising at 65mph) If you do about 60mph you can get the 65mpg the v40 spec says.

I drive 15miles to Liverpool every day and 15 miles back. My trip there is at 5pm (rush hour) and my trip back is at 10.30pm so clear roads. Its about 60% around town and 40% motorway, which means I get a consistent 90miles for 2 gallons of diesel.
I have a pretty much full boot all the time and I have never really seen it effect mpg.
Costs around £65 to brim with fuel.

Driving it
I think its a very comfortable car to drive, especially on long distance, its really quiet and smooth. The car for me has a great power to weight ratio, which means it doesn't drink fuel. Its not super super quick but it has the power when you need it and cruises great. At 65mph it does 2400rpm for me.

Advice
Buy one with good service history.

So yeah thats about it, you might think I'm crazy spending nearly 2 grand on a car thats worth about £800 but I now have a car which I trust immensely, has had most major jobs done for its life and I could keep for the next 5 years taking it easily to 300K miles. Its definitely one of the "bullet proof" engine elites.

I think the V40 1.9D is still one of the most underrated and reliable estate cars around, one of the best on fuel, 100% better build quality than any Vauxhall/Ford etc in the same price bracket and for what you pay its great value for money. In terms of fun to drive, I don't think I need to go there.

Oh yeah, it doest have DPF filter so happy days, drive it round town.

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone who is looking to buy a V40 diesel.

[bobthecabbage]

I can't see the bit where you had the DMF replaced?

Mine is a bit rattly and the clutch feels like it doesn't have much left so I'm expecting to drop about £500 on the parts and hopefully do the job myself.

Not looking forward to it though.

[RobertP]

I'm glad to see the cost of replacing the cam belt, as mine is due next year. I had assumed it would be about twice that.

[JonoV402612]

Originally Posted by RobertP

I'm glad to see the cost of replacing the cam belt, as mine is due next year. I had assumed it would be about twice that.

I forgot to say on the post RobertP that I got the cam belt kit from Volvo themselves as they were cheapest.

[JonoV402612]

Originally Posted by bobthecabbage

I can't see the bit where you had the DMF replaced?

Mine is a bit rattly and the clutch feels like it doesn't have much left so I'm expecting to drop about £500 on the parts and hopefully do the job myself.

Not looking forward to it though.

Sorry bobthecabbage I forgot to add "+ DMF" on the clutch parts cost, I'm trying to get it changed but it will not let me edit it at the moment.

I phoned volvo last week and asked how much a DMF was from them. The guy came back to me and said the DMF was £252 + VAT (£315) but at the moment they were doing a deal where you get the 3 piece clutch kit for FREE... YES FOR FREE! So the clutch plate, pressure plate, release bearing and DMF genuine parts from Volvo cost £315. I ordered it on Nov 3rd 2016 and it took them till the following monday to get it in from Sweden. I got it from Rybrooks Volvo in Warrington, Lancashire. Get the parts ordered now, save yourself £100.

The mechanic said it was a pig of a job because of all the covers and pipes surrounding the gear box.

Hope this helped.

[bobthecabbage]

Originally Posted by JonoV402612

Sorry bobthecabbage I forgot to add "+ DMF" on the clutch parts cost, I'm trying to get it changed but it will not let me edit it at the moment.

I phoned volvo last week and asked how much a DMF was from them. The guy came back to me and said the DMF was £252 + VAT (£315) but at the moment they were doing a deal where you get the 3 piece clutch kit for FREE... YES FOR FREE! So the clutch plate, pressure plate, release bearing and DMF genuine parts from Volvo cost £315. I ordered it on Nov 3rd 2016 and it took them till the following monday to get it in from Sweden. I got it from Rybrooks Volvo in Warrington, Lancashire. Get the parts ordered now, save yourself £100.

The mechanic said it was a pig of a job because of all the covers and pipes surrounding the gear box.

Hope this helped.

This sounds like some volvo fantasy land! Reasonable prices and FREE parts! Do you know how long the deal is on for? I think my clutch and DMF are not long for this world. I'm not sure I want to buy the kit and put it on the shelf though. The car might not last till I get round to fitting it as I'm not up to the task right now!

[canis]

It is a pig of a job, as it is on any stupidly-oriented (sorry, I meant transverse) engine.

I'm not sure I read you right - are you saying Volvo are giving away clutches? What's the catch? I mean, if I stroll along to my beloved (cough) local volvo dealership and say "Hi, I'd like one of your lovely clutches for free please?" are they going to laugh at me?

[JonoV402612]

Originally Posted by bobthecabbage

This sounds like some volvo fantasy land! Reasonable prices and FREE parts! Do you know how long the deal is on for? I think my clutch and DMF are not long for this world. I'm not sure I want to buy the kit and put it on the shelf though. The car might not last till I get round to fitting it as I'm not up to the task right now!

hahah I know I was gob smacked after just been quoted £820 from a garage to supply and fit! I didn't ask how long it was on for but I'm guessing as its an old car it might be on for a while due to them wanting shut of old parts.
The cheapest I found NEW on eBay was £389 (3 piece clutch kit+DMF) which is still reasonable to be honest so check that out. Im sure you know but its advised to use LUK parts as thats the original parts for the v40.

Your a better man than me to attempt doing the job yourself!
Hope it goes ok when you do it man.

[JonoV402612]

Originally Posted by canis

It is a pig of a job, as it is on any stupidly-oriented (sorry, I meant transverse) engine.

I'm not sure I read you right - are you saying Volvo are giving away clutches? What's the catch? I mean, if I stroll along to my beloved (cough) local volvo dealership and say "Hi, I'd like one of your lovely clutches for free please?" are they going to laugh at me?

haha the catch is you have to buy a DMF for £315 inc VAT first but its worth a try!

[JonoV402612]

Update 2019:

Still going with the v40. I’m on 237,000 miles with no engine issues. Only things that have changed are, drop links, Brake pads, cv boot, macpherson strut upper bush and I had a water pump leak, which resulted in a full cambelt KIT and water pump change from the garage at a cost of £290.
Not bad for 2 years since....

Getting between 40-45mpg on my 40 mile a day work commute half urban, half extra urban.

Gear box still faultless!

Still love it even though it’s starting to look a bit old now.

See you in 2021😀🤷*♂️