Some generic advice if possible

chris900 · Nov 12th, 2019, 13:32

Hi all
I'm thinking of getting a V70 (or maybe even an S60). I don't have my eye on one in particular but thought I'd ask for just a general opinion.
I'm not looking to spend much, probably around £1500 so I know that will place a lot of restrictions on what I can buy. I thought I'd ask about what is generally considered to be the most reliable engine in this price range. It doesn't matter to me whether it's petrol or diesel, or even whether it's manual or automatic. I don't drive much more than 5 or 6k a year so fuel economy isn't my biggest motivator. I know that a lot depends on how a vehicle has been maintained etc. so apologies if my question is too broad.

oragex · Nov 12th, 2019, 13:47

First and foremost - only my 2c - two things

1. Many cars going for sale get detailed by professionals - they will look like new inside out including the engine area. Tip: this has nothing to do with the mechanical condition of the car

2. The best purchase is a car that had several important repairs done recently: such as new suspension, new clutch, new PCV (petrol), matching tires of good brand. This means the owner took good care and spent the money you will not have to

As for the best choice, I know people in UK like the D5 engine prior to EGR. However I read there are a few problems with these - such as leaking injectors, intercooler, and perhaps the worst is blown engine caused by a snapped serpentine belt. All fixable, but it needs some attention

My choice would be the non turbo petrol engine, the 2.4 Besides the timing belt, the only weak point is the PCV. This is easy to service but needs to be done timely, some every 80K miles or so - so see if it was already done

Transmission wise - the manual one fails frequently at the slave cylinder and it's a major expense. Some say they didn't had this issue, but it will depend if the car has seen more motorway or not. The automatic transmission is a hit or miss after 150K miles, needs be tested fully warmed up.

Year wise, the 01-02 were more problematic, the 04-05 had CEM problems, later years were better. All years have sunroof drain problems.

chris900 · Nov 12th, 2019, 13:53

oragex, thank you for your detailed reply. It's great to get some advice on the mechanical issues that need attention.
I get what you say about the sunroof. Back in 2001 I had a brand new C70 2.0T as a company car. The sunroof leaked from day one and was never properly fixed despite a few trips to the dealer and there was a strange gurgling/burbling noise from the gap around the sunroof as I drove along with rainwater built up in it.

ThomasG · Nov 12th, 2019, 14:09

Look at my signature, will tell you something about these 2.4 non-turbo petrols.

Few points to add:

Throttle:
Early models (up to 2002 ) were fitted with magneti marelli throttles. These have mechanical throttle position sensors that get worn. There are ways to fix, and even upgrade to non-contact sensors, but save yourself some trouble and look for newer throttle.

Gearbox, automatic:
Take car for long, long test drive, preferably half hour spent in start-stop of city driving. Within this time, gearbox will become hot enough (dial on your dashboard is for engine and engine alone, so don't assume that if engine is warm, so is gearbox). When hot, observe smoothness of gear changes. Especially 1-2-3 and 3-2. Then stop somewhere, turn the engine off, and after a little while (0.5-1minute) start it again. Put it into "D", and feel for lurch. If gearbox is in bad shape, there will be delay after you put it into "D", and then a "kick". More vicious- worse the condition of the box.
Try same trough whole sequence of P-R-N-D-N-R-P.

If these kicks are bad, just walk away.
But if they're not, and you are willing to take some risk, use it to bargain for better price.
And then fix it.

All it takes, and actually the only thing you can do, is oil change. ChangeS, actually.

Volvo in its marketing wisdom (and they're not the only ones) proclaimed these boxes as "sealed for life", or to be exact, they used wording of "gearbox oil should not be changed within the life of car, unless it was used as taxi or for frequent towing".

What is "life of car"?
For user- "till the scrapyard"
For manufacturer- end of warranty period.

And there's many cars that never had this oil changed.

Job is easy, as easy as changing engine oil.
Do it few times (because you cannot, and shall not remove whole oil at once) and oil will gradually be fresher, gearchanges will smooth out as well.

AC compressor:
You could use this to get better price.
Try the air conditioning. If it works ok for 0.5-1 minute, and then cuts out and never comes back- it's most likely AC clutch. Most garages will ask hundreds of pounds to replace whole compressor, few will replace clutch alone, and it's still not cheap.
But it can be "ghetto fixed" at home, at cost of around 50p. And an hour of your time.

barrybritcher · Nov 14th, 2019, 01:04

get a manual SE 2005-2009. best of the bunch. engine wise it doesn't matter they are all pretty good

Stev Mac · Nov 15th, 2019, 12:30

Hi, Have a look in sales especially Sale&Fish Volvo seem it has had all the essential work recently undertaken and the price falls into your bracket!

vtwinpilot · Nov 15th, 2019, 18:16

If you go for a Gen 2 petrol (as I have here in the States, an '06 V70) with an automatic, if you get one with the Aisin-Warner tranny (called the AW-55), it's Achilles heel is the valve body. It cost me $1500 USD to get mine fixed as the shifting went to sh*te. Some guys got lucky and it was just a solenoid fix. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. While I do a lot of work, I didn't want to delve into the tranny. I didn't want any part of that action so I just had it done, bent over, and took it in the shorts.

ThomasG · Nov 15th, 2019, 19:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtwinpilot

If you go for a Gen 2 petrol (as I have here in the States, an '06 V70) with an automatic, if you get one with the Aisin-Warner tranny (called the AW-55), it's Achilles heel is the valve body. It cost me $1500 USD to get mine fixed as the shifting went to sh*te. Some guys got lucky and it was just a solenoid fix. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. While I do a lot of work, I didn't want to delve into the tranny. I didn't want any part of that action so I just had it done, bent over, and took it in the shorts.

I'm on this very gearbox...

simonwedge · Nov 16th, 2019, 07:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtwinpilot

If you go for a Gen 2 petrol (as I have here in the States, an '06 V70) with an automatic, if you get one with the Aisin-Warner tranny (called the AW-55), it's Achilles heel is the valve body. It cost me $1500 USD to get mine fixed as the shifting went to sh*te. Some guys got lucky and it was just a solenoid fix. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. While I do a lot of work, I didn't want to delve into the tranny. I didn't want any part of that action so I just had it done, bent over, and took it in the shorts.

I'm not disputing that the petrol engines aren't great units but you guys in the US need to understand that petrol (and diesel) currently works out to about $7.50 a gallon here whereas I think you pay less than $3 a gallon. Therefore if you do any significant mileage the greater efficiency of diesel makes these cars much cheaper to run here.

ThomasG · Nov 16th, 2019, 09:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by simonwedge

(...)the petrol engines aren't great units (...)

Excuse me?

Nov 12th, 2019, 13:32	#1
chris900 Junior Member Last Online: Jan 18th, 2021 11:59 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: .	Some generic advice if possible Hi all I'm thinking of getting a V70 (or maybe even an S60). I don't have my eye on one in particular but thought I'd ask for just a general opinion. I'm not looking to spend much, probably around £1500 so I know that will place a lot of restrictions on what I can buy. I thought I'd ask about what is generally considered to be the most reliable engine in this price range. It doesn't matter to me whether it's petrol or diesel, or even whether it's manual or automatic. I don't drive much more than 5 or 6k a year so fuel economy isn't my biggest motivator. I know that a lot depends on how a vehicle has been maintained etc. so apologies if my question is too broad.

Nov 12th, 2019, 13:47	#2
oragex Premier Member Last Online: Jul 26th, 2021 21:24 Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Coldnada	First and foremost - only my 2c - two things 1. Many cars going for sale get detailed by professionals - they will look like new inside out including the engine area. Tip: this has nothing to do with the mechanical condition of the car 2. The best purchase is a car that had several important repairs done recently: such as new suspension, new clutch, new PCV (petrol), matching tires of good brand. This means the owner took good care and spent the money you will not have to As for the best choice, I know people in UK like the D5 engine prior to EGR. However I read there are a few problems with these - such as leaking injectors, intercooler, and perhaps the worst is blown engine caused by a snapped serpentine belt. All fixable, but it needs some attention My choice would be the non turbo petrol engine, the 2.4 Besides the timing belt, the only weak point is the PCV. This is easy to service but needs to be done timely, some every 80K miles or so - so see if it was already done Transmission wise - the manual one fails frequently at the slave cylinder and it's a major expense. Some say they didn't had this issue, but it will depend if the car has seen more motorway or not. The automatic transmission is a hit or miss after 150K miles, needs be tested fully warmed up. Year wise, the 01-02 were more problematic, the 04-05 had CEM problems, later years were better. All years have sunroof drain problems. __________________ Several Volvo Repair Videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...ECTts0FSVSOT_c

Nov 12th, 2019, 14:09	#4
ThomasG Aka MadBabs Last Online: Nov 11th, 2022 15:29 Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: London	Look at my signature, will tell you something about these 2.4 non-turbo petrols. Few points to add: Throttle: Early models (up to 2002 ) were fitted with magneti marelli throttles. These have mechanical throttle position sensors that get worn. There are ways to fix, and even upgrade to non-contact sensors, but save yourself some trouble and look for newer throttle. Gearbox, automatic: Take car for long, long test drive, preferably half hour spent in start-stop of city driving. Within this time, gearbox will become hot enough (dial on your dashboard is for engine and engine alone, so don't assume that if engine is warm, so is gearbox). When hot, observe smoothness of gear changes. Especially 1-2-3 and 3-2. Then stop somewhere, turn the engine off, and after a little while (0.5-1minute) start it again. Put it into "D", and feel for lurch. If gearbox is in bad shape, there will be delay after you put it into "D", and then a "kick". More vicious- worse the condition of the box. Try same trough whole sequence of P-R-N-D-N-R-P. If these kicks are bad, just walk away. But if they're not, and you are willing to take some risk, use it to bargain for better price. And then fix it. All it takes, and actually the only thing you can do, is oil change. ChangeS, actually. Volvo in its marketing wisdom (and they're not the only ones) proclaimed these boxes as "sealed for life", or to be exact, they used wording of "gearbox oil should not be changed within the life of car, unless it was used as taxi or for frequent towing". What is "life of car"? For user- "till the scrapyard" For manufacturer- end of warranty period. And there's many cars that never had this oil changed. Job is easy, as easy as changing engine oil. Do it few times (because you cannot, and shall not remove whole oil at once) and oil will gradually be fresher, gearchanges will smooth out as well. AC compressor: You could use this to get better price. Try the air conditioning. If it works ok for 0.5-1 minute, and then cuts out and never comes back- it's most likely AC clutch. Most garages will ask hundreds of pounds to replace whole compressor, few will replace clutch alone, and it's still not cheap. But it can be "ghetto fixed" at home, at cost of around 50p. And an hour of your time. __________________ `03 V70 Mk2 Auto 2.4 B5244 NA, 170Bhp, 295K miles (Now parts donor) '05 XC70 MK2 Geartronic, 2.5 B5254T2, 210bhp, 129k miles Last edited by ThomasG; Nov 12th, 2019 at 14:19.

Nov 14th, 2019, 01:04	#5
barrybritcher Flaccid Member Last Online: Apr 15th, 2024 16:09 Join Date: Nov 2016 Location: Norwich	get a manual SE 2005-2009. best of the bunch. engine wise it doesn't matter they are all pretty good __________________ 2001 Volvo S60 T5 SE 2.3 Geartronic (Scrapped) 2007 Volvo S60 T5 SE 2.4 Geartronic (Sold) 2008 Volvo V70 D5 SE Sport Geartronic (Current)

Nov 15th, 2019, 12:30	#6
Stev Mac Junior Member Last Online: Feb 5th, 2024 17:44 Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Hitchin	Advise Hi, Have a look in sales especially Sale&Fish Volvo seem it has had all the essential work recently undertaken and the price falls into your bracket! __________________ Steve Mac. Current Drive: P2 V70 SE Sports Diesel 2.4 163 BHP.

Nov 12th, 2019, 13:53	#3
chris900 Junior Member Last Online: Jan 18th, 2021 11:59 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: .	oragex, thank you for your detailed reply. It's great to get some advice on the mechanical issues that need attention. I get what you say about the sunroof. Back in 2001 I had a brand new C70 2.0T as a company car. The sunroof leaked from day one and was never properly fixed despite a few trips to the dealer and there was a strange gurgling/burbling noise from the gap around the sunroof as I drove along with rainwater built up in it.

Nov 15th, 2019, 18:16	#7
vtwinpilot New Member Last Online: Feb 11th, 2020 02:21 Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Atlanta	If you go for a Gen 2 petrol (as I have here in the States, an '06 V70) with an automatic, if you get one with the Aisin-Warner tranny (called the AW-55), it's Achilles heel is the valve body. It cost me $1500 USD to get mine fixed as the shifting went to sh*te. Some guys got lucky and it was just a solenoid fix. I wasn't one of the lucky ones. While I do a lot of work, I didn't want to delve into the tranny. I didn't want any part of that action so I just had it done, bent over, and took it in the shorts.

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