General: 70: Advice on XC90 purchase - please help

[clairew]

Hi all,
Ive just joined today. I owned an S40 16 years ago. Now I am looking for a XC90 2.4 litre, (but have a budget of £4,500 - £5,000). I must have an automatic with fully electric seats, as I've got back problems. My husband is unsure about buying an old car with high mileage and an older car. His main concern is if anything major happens in terms of repairs. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[green van man]

There are plenty out there and if you get a good un it will be a fine car. Get a bad un and it will be a money pit.

Early ones had a less reliable 4 wheel drive system and is very expensive to repair if it fails.

You would be better off asking in the xc90 section as my understanding of the car is secondhand whereas there are owners of all age cars there with direct experience to relate.

Paul.

[XC90Mk1]

I have a 2012 xc90 that I paid a reasonable amount more than that for and honestly I would be slightly concerned and go into it with your eyes open.

I have the se lux with electric seats and it’s the comfiest car I have ever had, I have also been surprised at how inexpensive service parts are even from Volvo however that does mean that you have to be prepared to work on them yourself to save the money. They are not as complicated as some think and a decent independent would be able to help for his fee.

None the less whilst a lot of the early faults were ‘fixed’ this does not mean they don’t go wrong, just that they go wrong at normal intervals and there is a lot more than a standard car. The 4x4 for example has an active on demand pump AOC, a module DEM, pressure and temperature sensors and a multi plate clutch drive system most of which is 200 plus to fix per item and rises very quickly in case st if serious.

If it were me I would buy one with the knowledge that I was going to undertake the work myself(gear box oil change), servicing etc etc and add a bit aside cash wise to cover any bills or I would accept that the costs could be higher and maybe put 100 a month a side for any big bills which would likly cover you for most things.

If you have a bad back you will probably find it so much better than pretty much all other care.

Good luck, just go with your eyes open as you can’t actually tell if the car you purchase is about to have failed injectors or an AOC pump failure.

[clairew]

Thanks for your help, just trying to get to grips with how to use this website. Ill look at the XC90 forum. You've given me some good tips!

[clairew]

Hi still looking for a car. I couldn't find a forum that was appropriate just on the XC90. My husband just can't get past the price for the age and high mileage, I don't know enough about the reliability of this car really. I have looked at the Rav 4 etc, but its not my type of thing. We can get an XC90 which about 11/12 years old with about £120,000 or more on the clock, but he is very unsure, and I can understand. He doesn't want to spend £4,000 or more then get repairs bills. If anyone knows more please help, thanks.

[Teilo1979]

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=37

these are the forum pages dedicated to the XC90

Terry

[rudi dudi]

Your buying an old car,and one that was expensive and complex when new.It will be expensive and complex if it goes wrong now.
Probably not the best purchase if your concerned about running costs.

[XC90Mk1]

Originally Posted by clairew

Hi still looking for a car. I couldn't find a forum that was appropriate just on the XC90. My husband just can't get past the price for the age and high mileage, I don't know enough about the reliability of this car really. I have looked at the Rav 4 etc, but its not my type of thing. We can get an XC90 which about 11/12 years old with about £120,000 or more on the clock, but he is very unsure, and I can understand. He doesn't want to spend £4,000 or more then get repairs bills. If anyone knows more please help, thanks.

I think you would be unlucky to recieve a 4K bill outside of engine replacement or gear box failure and to be frank engine and gear failures are £0000s on any vehicle.

I would budget £100 for gear oil change (do it yourself its not hard), 50 for haldex oil and filter change, £250 for cambelt, idler, tensioner etc (cambelts get changed by dealers etc when really its the tensioner and idlers that tend to fail) and £150 for other service items, say £750 for a full thorough and preventative maintinance once over which should set you up for a long time and minimis any risk.

If you are able to do the basics its a good car.

I would agree with the above posts, including mine, that if you intend to put this into a dealership and let them deal with it then its not the sort of car I would wish to run on a budget as it soon rack up.

Mine is having a new DEM on the 4x4 system which I could probably do myself fgor £175 and a morning in the driver way. Volvo want £400-500 quid and its not even a complex part.

[oragex]

Originally Posted by rudi dudi

Your buying an old car,and one that was expensive and complex when new.It will be expensive and complex if it goes wrong now.
Probably not the best purchase if your concerned about running costs.

Agree with this. She may find an XC90 in decent shape, but perhaps there are more chances to get one that will sooner or later require more or less costly repairs. Doesn't sound like what she needs. Getting these large 'SUV' is not an economical choice. Why not going with an S60? Still a car that needs attention but quite less expensive than its larger sister. Then there are other cars out there that can be economical when purchased from the right person that took good care of it.