Potential pitfalls in budget Volvo XC90 ownership.

[Robson3022]

Hi all,

I’m looking to buy an XC90 at the bottom end of the market. I have seen a number advertised between £700-£1500 all in various states of usability. What are the potential pitfalls at this end of the market other than the usual issues surrounding buying cheap cars!

Are injector issues a big fix? Auto gearboxes?

I need a 4x4 because of where I live and the space for dog, wood, tip trips. While the ability to carry 6 passengers may also be useful?

Thanks in advance.

[XJSDriver]

These are complicated cars which can be expensive to fix; if you are able to use a diagnostics scanner (must be Vida) and are good with the spanners then you can reduce the cost of ownership considerably but even then the cost of maintenance is likely to run into many £100s if not £1000+ per year.

You are correct to ask about the autobox - these can fail at low miles if fluid not changed regularly (and even then no guarantee) so look for this in the service record, also the 4 wheel drive system on the older models prone to failure (lots advice on this forum), plus the usual diesel maladies including the DPF - chances are you will be looking at the older models which do not have one so this is a bonus!

Good luck in your search.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Robson3022

Hi all,

I’m looking to buy an XC90 at the bottom end of the market. I have seen a number advertised between £700-£1500 all in various states of usability. What are the potential pitfalls at this end of the market other than the usual issues surrounding buying cheap cars!

Are injector issues a big fix? Auto gearboxes?

I need a 4x4 because of where I live and the space for dog, wood, tip trips. While the ability to carry 6 passengers may also be useful?

Thanks in advance.

With any xc90 have £3000 put by to get it up to scratch ... There is nothing fundamentally wrong with them , but they do need maintenance which will have been non existent for many years if you are going to be paying those sort of prices for one . You will still have a fine car when you have got it up to scratch .

[DomF1]

I bought at the lower end and am now trying to fix up one (see my recent post), I factored in a stage 0 tune to start with and then I’ll probably send the car for a full check (thinking AA or perhaps my local garage) to make sure I haven’t missed anything...

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by Robson3022

I need a 4x4 because of where I live and the space for dog, wood, tip trips.

The XC90 is an AWD, not a 4x4

Big difference

AWD is electronically controlled drive to any of the four wheels, predominantly front wheels. Under normal situations, the XC90 is front wheel drive.
The AWD system has no locking diffs, no low-ratio gearbox, and no driver-control over where the power goes.

A real 4x4 has selectable 2WD or 4WD, with locking diffs, and a low-ratio gearbox. The driver can control what happens.

So you cannot compare a XC90 with a "real" offroad 4x4 vehicle.

But as an AWD, it is very capable.

As for costs: Volvo is an expensive car when new, and aimed at the higher end of the luxury vehicle market. It never was a "budget" car, and thus parts and service are priced accordingly.

If you do everything yourself and use 2nd hand parts, then it can become a "budget" vehicle.

[Robson3022]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

The XC90 is an AWD, not a 4x4

Big difference

AWD is electronically controlled drive to any of the four wheels, predominantly front wheels. Under normal situations, the XC90 is front wheel drive.
The AWD system has no locking diffs, no low-ratio gearbox, and no driver-control over where the power goes.

A real 4x4 has selectable 2WD or 4WD, with locking diffs, and a low-ratio gearbox. The driver can control what happens.

So you cannot compare a XC90 with a "real" offroad 4x4 vehicle.

But as an AWD, it is very capable.

As for costs: Volvo is an expensive car when new, and aimed at the higher end of the luxury vehicle market. It never was a "budget" car, and thus parts and service are priced accordingly.

If you do everything yourself and use 2nd hand parts, then it can become a "budget" vehicle.

4x4 was probably the wrong term. I need the clearance of this size vehicle.

[XJSDriver]

You could be better off going for an actual 4x4 such as an older Range Rover; Wheeler Dealers worked on a mid 90s model and I was surprised at how plentiful second hand parts are plus you can upgrade some of the panels/lights to the later models. You could look for a V8 converted to LPG - nice!

[S60D5-185]

Better off with a Shogun or Pajero compared to a range Rover in my opinion

[oragex]

Not the kind of car to be bought for cheap and run for cheap.

[WrathOfKain]

Originally Posted by S60D5-185

Better off with a Shogun or Pajero compared to a range Rover in my opinion

Pajero FTW ..... absolutely loved mine