Buying a C70 - Cassis

Hello all; I am finally getting the chance to return to the Volvo stables and I have the option of a reasonable deal on a yr 2000 C70 2.0t. I have a couple of Qns in which I would value a general opinion.

Car does not have a logged history but is in excellent condition and I am aware hat it has been serviced regularly, (Im also having a specialist look at it before I buy). It has covered 113k miles, what should I be worried about and generally how costly are repairs to Turbos and Autobox's.
Can anyone advise on colour - How popular is the Cassis pearl? I am between minds about it myself (being a bloke and all that - I think its cool enough and the car carries it well but the purple undertone is strong - am I going to have to respray should I decide to sell on in a couple of years!)
I would really appreciate the forums opinion, I have trawled the web and found little on the colour.

Frank
(Ireland)

[sholtby]

Frank,
I'm a big fan of the c70's but cassis is probably my least favourite colour. Everyone has different tastes so its up to you. I wouldnt consider respraying the car! The 2.0T gives adequate performance but if you are a speed demon then look for a T5.
Turbos can start to fail on at 90k miles but their durability varies enormously. You are probably looking at £600 for a new one fitted.
Make sure the autobox is OK or you'll be into big bucks to repair or replace it.


Simon

HI Frank,
I see it is a cork reg. car,I am in Carlow my self, not that it matters, but it is nice to see someone else from this part of the world !:-)
I think the colour suits that type of car.Its a head turner of a car as you well know, so I think it requires a colour range to match.
But as the other chap said before, it is down to personal tastes.
I think the Saffron colour that is available, is a bit too much of a "bling bling" colour,
I like it, but not on my car, comes to mind !!
It has a high mileage for a 5 year old car, that wouldnt be high over in the U.K. because of the motorways, do you know the reason ?
Any way best of luck with it, i might be able to afford it in a year or two when you sell it on, give us first refusal !!:-)

GERC

Thanks for your feedback. I am in wicklow, carlowman. Colour is lowest on my prioroty list but if any car can carry this colour it has to be the c70, and my current choices are bmw, mk4 golf gti, audi or a cassis c70 so I will opt for the c70

Re the mechanics, I suppose if its of the 850 bloodstock it has to be fairly solid, having had two 850s before, but these were non turbo & manual so I am aprehensive about these items. Specialist is to test it next week and report.

I like the sound of the DIY ecu mods for getting circa 220bhp out of the 2.0T... (Wow!!). Both the torque and power comes on very early...does this adversely impact "regular Driving". Do volvo tame this engine to satisfy the mass market or something hence the massive reserve unleashed when the ecu is remapped!! Any thoughts on what impact this might have on the autobox?

BTW I can only commend the regulars and those in the background of this site for a fantastic job. I have had other marques and looked on the web for info but nothing is as comprehensive as this. I think you should all pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Does anyone know who owns the attached c70. looks brill for a cassis.

Frank

[sholtby]

Frank,

Not so long ago a turbocharged car was a bit of a liability. I used to have an old wide arch quattro turbo. Now the standard 5cyl engine engine was pretty reliable but with the turbo fitted it wasnt! Common faults included cracked exhaust manifolds, head gaskets failing, damaged heads and numerous other things. The same is true with many other car makes of that era. Luckily this isnt the case with modern Volvo turbo charged engines. Usually the only problem is a worn turbo but with an average life of over 100k miles and the significant gain in performance it makes economic sense.

If the 2.0t has the same autobox as a T5 you wont have anything to worry about upgrading it, anyone know??

Back to the colour, if you like it and the price is right buy it. It isnt that outrageous a colour so it will sell OK. I love the saffron gold colour and dislike light interiors so it shows how we have different tastes.
A couple of annoying things about the c70 are that the frameless windows can cause wind noise, as can the sunroof for some reason, also the rear seats dont fold.

Simon

Ok so, Ive bought the car and the price was right, Thanks for all your assistance and thanks to the forum for wealth of information.
There is some wind noise alright on the C70 but hey, Ive just spent the past two years driving a Mk 1 convertible golf!
I need to get some bits now. the engine management light is on. Volvo have said that engine codes are clear and they would recommend to replace the MAF sensor. Volvo are Pricey for this part.. so Im looking for better deals online. Ive just forked out for a major service in a volvo dealership (timing belt done also just to be sure). Volvo dealer believe its in good shape and compression test results are fine at 110k miles.
Its definitely the car to be in if you want to break away from the popular (or as "common as muck") 3 series coupes on the road. Saffron is a nice colour but the cassis does grow on you simply because its different which is what the C70 represents.

Frank

The best of luck in it Frank, i must keep my eye out for you when travelling around the wicklow mountains :-)
Just to let you know thatI have dealt with Koping motors on the naas road for parts, and find them helpful. There is a chap in the parts dept. there called David, you couldnt get a more helpful guy.He gave me drawings of various electrical diagrams, which helped me solve some problems on my own.
Saved me the expense of sending it to their workshop !
Also you probably have dealt with GSF before for parts on your previous car,just in case you didnt, i would recommend them too for the future.
Cheers,
Ger C.