S60 as a tow car?

[KGW]

Hello everyone.

I've currently got a 2001 S40 1.8i, which I love, but me & the missus are thinking of upgrading from a canvas tent to a tin tent. 2 Children coming along are pushing us down the 'comfortable caravan' route.
Obviously, the S40 wouldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding so it's with regret that i'd need to change it.

Our local friendly volvo mechanic says that I can't do better than an S60 D5. I can't disagree with that, but I can only afford to buy an older model, probably 2001 / 2002 with higher mileage to fit into the right price range. In an ideal world, I would like to do a straight swap without any additional funding. Hardly likely though as I was only offered £1700 PX for the S40.

With FSH, should I be worried about towing in a car with mileage circa 135K? I've trawled this forum for comments, & I keep seeing the lack of concern over high mileage FSH cars. I'm probably being a bit 'old skool', but when I've seen the mileage creeping up on previous non-volvo cars, i've looked around to find someone to offload them onto. The S40 has only done 69K.

What sort of things should I be looking out for in buying a high mileage S60? I'm handy enough with a set of spanners, but I don't want a project. I need a car that I can trust, as I cherish my weekends with the family, but I know that changing cars can be a bit of a lottery.

My daily drive is only about 6 miles & I'm a bit concerned about fuel consumption & the 'stop / start' effect, but having said that, the S40 hasn't suffered noticably.

All comments & advice gratefully received.

Cheers,

Keith.

[myatt1972]

Keep your car and get a small caravan with a good awning, last year I bought a 3 berth caravan with an awning for £800 an old but good van.
We towed it with my girlfriends 1.7 td astra, it only has 70 bhp, we went to Scotland with no problems at all, just took it nice and steady.
Keith...

[KGW]

I hear what you're saying & I've thought about keeping it, but it won't tow a 4 berth van. A small caravan defeats the object really & besides, at times the car doesn't seem to like hills on its own, never mind towing 900kg.

Just browsing autotrader, as you do, I notice that the 2.0T is cheaper than the D5. Are there similarly little concerns regarding a high mileage petrol engine? Would a 2.0T perform as a tow car? I reckon it would, but a bit of experienced comment wouldn't go amiss.

Cheers,

Keith.

[Penguinistics]

Th2 2.0T has a low pressure turbo that does quite well at simulating a bigger engine. Low end torque isn't that bad as a consequence, but still worse than for a D5. FYI, horsepower slightly greater, but not that you'd probably notice. Fuel economy worse though. Check out the electronic throttle module (ETM) as that is prone to fail on early D5s

[dan 244]

I used to have a 2002 s60 2.0 T, and towed a bailey ranger 470/4 1350kg I think, and you didnt even know the van was on the back, it had a Alko 2004 hitch stabaliser, and no problems regualy traveled at 60 -70 mph. Mine had only done 21000 miles when I traded it for a V50 D5 last year (which I havent towed with yet) so cant coment on the high millage aspect.

[clivec]

I tow a caravan of approx 1300 Kg with my 02 S60 D5. The mileage on the car is 115K.
The outfit tows really well, has plenty of power and feels very secure at speed.
Like you I only do a few miles for my daily commute, and have experienced no problems in the 45k miles I've had the car.
I've towed caravans for 28 years using various Fords, then a 240 DL estate, an 850 (2l) estate, and now the S60.
I can't fault the S60 at all, the fuel consumption and power are excellent.

I don't think you will regret the choice.

[Mark S60D5]

My S60 is for sale complete with towbar, and also I have a Avondale Mayfly for sale, p/n is on the ad if your interested.
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=76215