'98 V40 TD

I am about to buy a turbodiesel V40 for my daughter who is a mature student living in south London. The garage are putting a replacement engine into it & it should be ready in another couple of weeks.

The point is, she has a habit of thrashing her cars and not telling me till she's broken them. I hope this one might stand up to her treatment, but only because it's (a) a Volvo and (b) a diesel. Can anyone tell me what weak points with this model we should be looking out for so I can educate her a bit in advance?

Any horror stories, pointers to relevant threads &c. welcome, thanks in advance!

[woody-som]

I've only had mine for a week, but I did a lot of research before buying to know what was/went wrong, and to know what to look for.

nothing much to worry about, just that they eat brake pads, tyres, and the suspension/wishbones wear, along with a few electrical niggles, but nothing to do with the engine..

mine has only done 41K, and has had new brake pads 3 times according to the service log, along with the front callipers seizing.

with it being a turbo though, makes sure she doesn't rev the guts out on immediately starting, and also let it return to idle for a little while before switching the engine off, or she'll kill the turbo, not a problem with using the car, just expensive to fix.

and with the diesel bit, I make it a habit of never letting the tank get more than half empty, especiually in winter, as water condensation will occur quicker in the tank if you do, and the fuel pump doesn't like this. You can get an additive from most diesel specialist, and these make the water stick to the diesel, and it is then fired trough the engine, instead of sitting in the bottom of the pump, major expense at some stage if it does. change the fuel filter every 12months, and fill up from a garage with a large turnover.

hope this helps

chris

That's really helpful, thanks for that. Most of what I managed to find out was good, as you say, but these forums always contain the exceptions don't they? Even tho' those may prove the rule ... Good points about the turbo and the fuel pump, I'll din those into her if & when the time comes that we buy this car.

Do you find the ride on yours harsh and unyielding as Parker's says?

[woody-som]

before i bought my V40, i owned a peugeot 306 TD estate, and compared to that, the v40 is a little noisier in the cab, but as far as the ride quality, nothing i've noticed, apart from the v40 feels heavier on the road, which is a good thing, it stops immediately, which was the main reason i sold the pug. it was very light on the road, which is why it has a smoother ride, but it wouldn't hold, and every time you brake, it slid along the road, not what i want from a car.

The v40 1.9td also doesn't have the acceleration of the 306, despite the v40 having more horsepower. having said this though, i sold my 306, which i had only bought 9 months prior, the v40 is the better car to drive. i'm only 32, and find the v40 more enjoyable to drive, I certainly feel safer in it, and it's more than fast enough, even on the open road. the specifications are way beyond most others, and safty wise, if you ever had an accident, you would walk away looking like the michelin man :D

the only negative thing on the v40, is the rear view through the rear window, not very good, but you just learn to use the side mirrors.

That's great Chris, good to hear that it's solid and feels safe - do you think a '98 would have SIPS &/or airbags? (I ought to ask the guy who's rebuilding it really.) And I was also attracted by the high spec - and it's relatively 'unfashionable' at least in 1.9 TD guise, and unlikely to attract unwanted attention in deepest Peckham where my daughter lives!

As for the rear view - I won't worry about that - they don't use their rear view mirrors much in London I don't think ;-)

[woody-som]

see if you can find the car in the page from this link

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/ca...id=1063&page=7

i thought SIPS was standard across the range from launch, but there are so many different versions around, i wouldn't like to confirm it.

I wouldn't be so sure about unfashionable. the V40/S40 was/is aimed at the younger buyer, and according to the dealer I bought mine from, and web searches i done, the diesels are a rare beast. Mine was a special request, and he was lucky to find it, two days after he found mine, someone else asked for one, and he still can't find one for him. they command a higher price, for every 20 v40's around, only 1 is diesel.

at least in peckham, the immobiliser will come in handy, londoners don't use mirrors, ever as far as i can tell, (sorry those few of you who do)

Perhaps rare(r) in RHD form, I would never believe any dealer who claimed he (meaning you) was/were lucky he 'found' something for you! The world is awash with 2nd hand cars - tons of crap everywhere you look, a gem or two here and there if you're ultra-careful! Dealers are dealers everywhere - they do the best trades amongst themselves before Joe Public even gets a look-in. Also, the nature of their business is such that most dealers pay too much for at least 25% of their stock and in those instances will either (a) load their wares with an excessive premium to cover their misjudgement or (b) under duress let the stuff go at cost, just to turn over their money - any profit margin they lost would not in any case have reflected any value they might have added, and their hearts should bleed, not ours.

Having said that, diesel V40s are indeed less common than standard petrol engined versions, which however doesn't make them as fashionable as e.g. V40 T4s with 200+ b.h.p. & image to match - which, while that might cut the mustard in certain circles in Peckham and beyond, isn't going to help my kid get to college on a cold wet day when she opens her front door and finds her wheels have been nicked is it?

All this notwithstanding, this V40 TD (if we get it) must have a pretty good chance of standing her in better stead than the 340 she learnt to drive on and the Lancia Dedra 1.6 IE she has driven for the past 3 years. Now that's another story. I don't think you really want to hear it