XC90 2nd Hand Buy/ Query

[eternal optimist]

To the OP - bottom line is that for your budget (c. £4k form memory?) you’re looking at buying something which has a degree of risk associated with it due to age, mileage, maintenance which might have been less than ideal, cars being sold by dealers who may bull them up with cheap cam belt kits and tyres to help a sale etc etc.

And to make it more challenging, you live where lots of people don’t, which means you have less choice around you.

Everyone has a different appetite for risk, so it’s difficult to give advice. Despite that, here’s my advice. If I were after a £4k XC90 I’d be looking for an E3 engined car with few owners (ideally current owner has had it for 10 years plus - it will have been an expensive car when they bought it; they’re likely to have maintained it well at the start and probably will have continued to maintain it well as it got older). Look for evidence that the right work has been done, that nothing’s been skimped on and get it bought. I did pretty much the same with my 2004 £2k XC70. In the last 18 months and 30k miles, I’ve done aux belt and tensioner, discs and pads, rear calipers and handbrake cables. Calipers were reconditioned, handbrake cables were non OEM, the rest came out of a Volvo box. Oh, and a new set of Cross Climates fitted last weekend. The car had one owner from new before me.

[WrathOfKain]

Originally Posted by eternal optimist

To the OP - bottom line is that for your budget (c. £4k form memory?) you’re looking at buying something which has a degree of risk associated with it due to age, mileage, maintenance which might have been less than ideal, cars being sold by dealers who may bull them up with cheap cam belt kits and tyres to help a sale etc etc.

And to make it more challenging, you live where lots of people don’t, which means you have less choice around you.

Everyone has a different appetite for risk, so it’s difficult to give advice. Despite that, here’s my advice. If I were after a £4k XC90 I’d be looking for an E3 engined car with few owners (ideally current owner has had it for 10 years plus - it will have been an expensive car when they bought it; they’re likely to have maintained it well at the start and probably will have continued to maintain it well as it got older). Look for evidence that the right work has been done, that nothing’s been skimped on and get it bought. I did pretty much the same with my 2004 £2k XC70. In the last 18 months and 30k miles, I’ve done aux belt and tensioner, discs and pads, rear calipers and handbrake cables. Calipers were reconditioned, handbrake cables were non OEM, the rest came out of a Volvo box. Oh, and a new set of Cross Climates fitted last weekend. The car had one owner from new before me.

Great advice m8 and thats kind of how i am trying to mitigate my risks.

1. Firstly coming on here and trying to understand model speciific issues. Go for an E3 where possible as it generally appears to be the most reliable and better mpg than later engines i.e. the E4.

2. Check the MOT history and try and see if there is a positive pattern and keep a close eye on the advisories and try to understand how bad the steering/ suspension issues are.

3. Again gather opinions here.

4. Send a CLICKMECHANIC to go have a look and a test drive.

5. Mobilize and x my fingers and toes


Spoke to the Mrs regards my budget and she is sticking to the 4K ..... house improvements take priority .... and she has told me not to pick a donkey thats gonna cost as much to maintain as to buy.

So I am stuck in the lower end and try best i can to get a decent runner or start looking at a different manufacturer.

In the past I have got crackin Grand Cherokees and Mitsibushi Pajeros which were fantastic runners and didnt cost much in purchase or maintenance. I might just be chasing a golden fleece in the XC90 but I just love the look of it in particular the interior 7 seat flexibility.

I want to perserve and chase that dragon a wee bit more before i give up

This is why I am mulling over this one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123923059...MakeTrack=true

I was concerned regards the engine specific issues but S60D5-185 early post clarifies its the more reliable E3. There is this Anti-Skid issue but the seller seems to be confident its just a steering wheel sensor change which i believe is relatively painless. I noted on the MOT check they must have had a bit of work done on linkages and bushes and wonder if this is when the fault was introduced.

[eternal optimist]

That one would fail my 'has it been in careful long term ownership test'. If you look at the MoT history, it failed on a lengthy list in October 2018. It then sat around somewhere until mid Feb 2019 when it passed with no advisories. I'll bet you that it's been repaired with cheap pattern components to get through an MoT and when the battery has been replaced it will be with the cheapest Lion brand battery from EuroCarParts.

Looking at the dealer plate that's on it, the dealer is a general used car dealership in Stoke on Trent, so I'd bet on multiple owners and a lack of quality maintenance in the recent past going by the MoT history (eg it's going back a bit, but front discs advised in 2013 at 101k; next MoT in 2014 advises front pads wearing thin only 8k miles later.) There are similar advisories which repeat; taken with the current anti-skid system warning, it all smells of a car that's being run on minimal maintenance spend.

If the current owner can produce receipts for Volvo suspension parts and a good brand battery etc; and show that he's done more maintenance than just the engine oil and oil filter, it might be worth a punt. But I honestly doubt the works been done to a great standard.

[owenfackrell]

The flags for me on that advert are that they quote 50mpg on a run which will never happen, i have had 45 but that was drafting lorries (didn’t want to arrive early) and mines a manual. Plus they quote a 3.5 tonnes towing limit where a its 2.2/2.4 for the XC90 so a lot less than they seem to think.

[XJSDriver]

How about this member's Xc90 for sale: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=299220

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by WrathOfKain

This is why I am mulling over this one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/123923059...MakeTrack=true

That's been stood a long time looking at the corrosion on the aluminium parts of the engine.

However - matching Pirelli Scorpion's does suggest a benevolent owner recently.

I looked at a 3 year old Passat Alltrack recently at a VW dealer and it had got 4 brand new "Landsail" chinese tyres on it *sigh*

[WrathOfKain]

Originally Posted by XJSDriver

How about this member's Xc90 for sale: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=299220

looks like its gone .... is there a sell/ buy section for the XC90's in here i have missed ?

[S60D5-185]

Originally Posted by WrathOfKain

looks like its gone .... is there a sell/ buy section for the XC90's in here i have missed ?

Yes , it's at the top of the XC90 section of the forum.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=173

[WrathOfKain]

Originally Posted by S60D5-185

Yes , it's at the top of the XC90 section of the forum.

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=173

Ah yeah i have been there ... not much .... thought there was maybe a sticky elsewhere for XC90 Car Sales.

[CondorXC90]

Our local Independent Volvo / Saab dealership have just put up what looks like a nice XC90 - they have a very good name locally. Service numerous colleagues Saabs and Volvos and mine will be going there. It is up for £3995.

http://www.hallamandsuthernssaabservices.co.uk/search/