V50 Body : V50 potential purchase

[jimbo84]

Hi everyone, new to this forum.

I've been looking for a replacement for my very corroded toyota corolla, looking for an estate and came across the volvo V50, I hadn't considered a volvo before coming across this particular listing.

Being bitten by the corolla corrosion at the last MOT (it won't get through the next one without hundreds of quids worth of welding doing) I'm looking for a car that won't rust.

I've looked at a few V50s online and checking MOT histories for some, there have been advisories for corrosion around the rear subframe mounting points, rear boot floors, bit of a coincidence to have more than one or two randomly selected cars of the similar age/mileage to have similar advisories if there isn't a known issue with corrosion on them.

Is corrosion on Volvos generally something to be worried about?

For reference I've been looking at models around the late 2005/2006 age with about 100,000 plus miles on, found some nice ones with full service history and the engines seem good (I'm used to toyota bullet proof engines).

I thought the days of jacking up cars and seeing the jack moving up through the sill without the car lifting were gone, it appears not as gone as I'd like.

[T5R92011]

First thing to note is that the P1 platform Volvo V50/S40/C30/C70 cars (2004-2012) share their platform with the MK2 Ford Focus, so they are not thoroughbred Volvos. Though this does mean that parts for these cars can be cheaper than Volvos of old, as the Ford Focus platform is sensationally common on the roads.

You can get corrosion on the rear subframe suspension components but these cars aren't known for MOT fails due to rust as I believe the main body is galvanized.

Please see my handy engine reference chart on which engines to avoid. As you are used to Toyota engine reliablity, you need to carefully consider which engine you choose, as not all engines in these cars are made by Volvo.

The 2.0i is (in my opinion) the best 'all rounder' for combining performance, good MPG and low maintainenceservice costs..... This will be quite similar to your Toyota engine.

The Volvo engines in these cars I would consider to be the premium engine options, as they are big 5 cylinder units with lots of power, and cost a bit more to tax, but all of the Volvo engines will do mega miles if service intervals are respected.



For reference the last "real" volvos (refered to as "P2 Volvos") were as follows:

2002-2014 Volvo XC90
2000-2009 Volvo S60
2000-2007 Volvo V70
1998-2006 Volvo S80

These are all great cars that will do huge mileages, but you can't run these on a shoestring budget as they are big, solidy engineered cars whereby the service intervals need to be respected.

[jimbo84]

Thanks for all the information and the comprehensive engine info. I was looking at the 1.8 petrols as a diesel wouldn't get the usage they need to avoid problems and while the economy of the larger petrols doesn't seem too bad the tax takes a hefty hike above the 1.8 looking at the government website.

How much oil does the 1.8 burn typically? The toyota was the first car I've ever had that hasn't used oil so not alien to oil use.

I'm also finding out that these cars can be plagued with Electrical faults and faulty CEMs.
I'm convinced we're going backwards with car development not forwards

[T5R92011]

Would you consider the old shape Volvo V40 estate? Made between 1996 and 2004.

Yes they look a bit old, but if you can find a sports trim version they still look good when clean and shiny. Those cars share their platform with the Mitsubishi Carisma and are very reliable and they feel higher quality than the V50 that replaced it.

My favourite bit is that Volvo chopped down their big 5 cylinder engines into teeny 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 4 cylinder variants, so you'd be getting a premium Volvo engine that will do mega miles, but in lower capacity and tax versions... Not sure why Volvo didnt use these little engines in the newer V50s but I guess that was due to Ford's involvment in the business during that period.

A last of the line 2003 or 2004 version would be brilliant, in my opinion.



Below is a 1.6-litre (4 cylinder) version of the Volvo Modular engine:

[TheFiend]

Originally Posted by jimbo84

Thanks for all the information and the comprehensive engine info. I was looking at the 1.8 petrols as a diesel wouldn't get the usage they need to avoid problems and while the economy of the larger petrols doesn't seem too bad the tax takes a hefty hike above the 1.8 looking at the government website.

How much oil does the 1.8 burn typically? The toyota was the first car I've ever had that hasn't used oil so not alien to oil use.

I'm also finding out that these cars can be plagued with Electrical faults and faulty CEMs.
I'm convinced we're going backwards with car development not forwards

My current 2009 C30 1.8 with has done 71K and uses very little oil....only used 0.75L after 8200 miles in 14 months and it averages 39.5 MPG. I previously owned a Porsche 944 and that used a litre of oil per 1000 miles!!!

Electrical problems..... never had a single one in 6.5 years of C30 ownership

[jimbo84]

Originally Posted by T5R92011

Would you consider the old shape Volvo V40 estate? Made between 1996 and 2004.

Yes they look a bit old, but if you can find a sports trim version they still look good when clean and shiny. Those cars share their platform with the Mitsubishi Carisma and are very reliable and they feel higher quality than the V50 that replaced it.

My favourite bit is that Volvo chopped down their big 5 cylinder engines into teeny 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 4 cylinder variants, so you'd be getting a premium Volvo engine that will do mega miles, but in lower capacity and tax versions... Not sure why Volvo didnt use these little engines in the newer V50s but I guess that was due to Ford's involvment in the business during that period.

A last of the line 2003 or 2004 version would be brilliant, in my opinion.



Below is a 1.6-litre (4 cylinder) version of the Volvo Modular engine:

Thanks, I didn't know about the v40 although I have seen them on the road. I'd be open to one but there aren't as many about and I notice they're all cambelt timed engines, I usually try and avoid cambelts like the plague.

[jimbo84]

Originally Posted by TheFiend

My current 2009 C30 1.8 with has done 71K and uses very little oil....only used 0.75L after 8200 miles in 14 months and it averages 39.5 MPG. I previously owned a Porsche 944 and that used a litre of oil per 1000 miles!!!

Electrical problems..... never had a single one in 6.5 years of C30 ownership

That's reassuring to know both oil and electrical wise. I have been looking on here and seen some alarming oil consumption figures but glad to see it isn't all the 1.8s that suffer from it, just seems to be a small number of them.

[Bendolfc]

My 2.0D (Euro 3 so no DPF) uses no oil, never had to top it up and it's on 209K and no engine issues. No electrical issues either.

Wouldn't mind some faults to be honest as I want a change but am loath to get rid of a car thats been nothing but reliable (barring alternator & wheel bearing) in the past 9 years & 130K miles I've had it.

The **** poor dipped beam is one thing that does make me want rid though.

[big yinn]

I recently bought a 2008 V50 2lt petrol SE LUX and I'm very happy with it.
MPG around town and A roads is about 32mpg, 40mpg on motorways.
Mine is a little grotty underneath at the back, but I'm hoping to tidy that up in the spring.
From what I've read, CEM issues can produce random faults. I'm not 100% sure what causes, but sunroof drains go down the A pillar and can block, leaking water inside the car.
Mechanically, most Mk2 Focus running gear is a straight fit, which means it wont cost the earth to replace springs, shocks, brakes etc.
If you can find one with a Volvo service history, all the better.
Good luck and I hope you find a good one!

[Nick45]

If you've pondered on T5R92011's comments above and are considering a V40, there's a very nice sport lux diesel on the forum at the moment. Remapped for a bit of extra poke too (not mine btw)

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=299750

£2k is upper end money for a V40 but then its an upper end example.