C70 S70 V70 Cars: C70 coupe buying advice

[kwk]

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[KONRAD96]

I bought a c70 T5 a few months ago. I've had some teething problems (although I expect to sort some issues out when I buy a cheaper car) including the ETM failure. I had this sorted by a local Volvo dealer for £360 fitted, which I thought was actually very good value. I'm hugely impressed by the car. Very comfortable, expecially on long journeys. Looks great. Mine has a full dealer service history and yet the hub bolts were rounded off practically to nothing and I had to cut the old hub free. Mileage wise, I've been getting about 28mpg on a mixture of driving, but I think this improves a lot on long motorway journeys. I would definitely budget to replace the ETM, unless you've documentary evidence that this has already been done. Overall, though, I think these are bound to become a future classic. The T5 is especially fast - supposedly around 240bhp - and when you sink the welly you do get pressed back into your seat. One surprise for me was the insurance cost - I was charged £10 a year more when i moved from a 1.8 Rover 75 to a C70 T5. Happy days!

[Dr T]

that's very useful, i'd been wondering about how much i should be worrying about the ETM issue. but at £360 it isn't too bad and worth the risk.

i was originally looking for a 2.4 NA but they are pretty rare (i'm only looking for a manual),so i thought i'd look at the other models for running costs, as long as i stay pre-march2001 the tax is the same for them all, my insurance goes up by £130 from £500 for the 2.4na to £630 for a t5, oddly the 2.4lpt was £610 which is strange given its closer to the 2.4na than the t5 in terms of power. Ideally i'd like the 2.4na or a t5 based on that, while the t5 will be worse on fuel and a bit more to insure i think its worth it given the huge increase in power (70bhp more than the 2.4na).

is the t5 a lot better on a run? can someone confirm that? My 1.8T audi wasn't much better on a motorway run than on A roads with the odd junction and roundabout.

[warninglight]

I can't really talk for the accuracy of the on board computer in mine, because it's an aftermarket lpg conversion, but from experience it's within a couple of mpg across a full tank.

As with the TDi I had, I find it gets its best economy on a steady 50-55mph run, but doesn't drop hugely right up to 70. The average at 70 doesn't drop much more when holding an average of even higher speeds, if you happen to be in Germany...

Mine's a T5 auto, 240 bhp. Fairly extensive service history with it and no mention of any turbo work, it definitely still pulls and I reckon would still make its book figure 0-60 with ease, and that's at 187,000 miles. It depends on the oil grade and frequency of changes, as much as anything!

I did notice when parked up in heavy rain on Friday that the passenger door was leaking around the wing mirror, that's the first time I've noticed it! Must look into the cause...

[MikeS100]

I bought my C70 T5 just under a month ago and my commute to work is very similar to yours in that it is all A roads doing 50-60mph. I'm getting 26-29mpg but my thermostat needs replacing as it is over cooling so I'm hoping to see that go up a bit once that's done. The one thing I will say though is economy wise I'm not sure it was the most sensible thing to do, my old car did 48mpg! I really wanted the convertible so was limited for engine choice and as the economy of all the petrol engines is very similar I went for the T5, and as others have said insurance was surprisingly low! But if I was going for a hard top I would look at a diesel S70 for the economy benefits. I'm probably going to end up doing a swap with the Mrs so I take the diesel V70 to work and she uses the C70 for the school run and shopping. I know an S70 isn't quite the same if your heart is set on a C70 but I would consider them for the diesel advantage. And to be honest the diesel is a better engine for commuting as it has bags of low down torque whereas you need to rev the T5 for the power.

Having said all of that though, the power of the T5 in the C70 body will put a smile on your face everyday

[Dr T]

yeah i did wonder how bad the economy would be with a T5, i find it really odd that in my experience and from what i hear, turbo'd engines still drink even when they're not pushed along, where a large capacity NA engine can be driven pretty frugally. My brothers BMW 330i easily returned 2 to 3 mpg more than my 1.8T audi. I think i'll have to be honest with myself and narrow the search back to a 2.4 NA engine, it's just going to be used to commute, i've got a stripped out BMW 318i for a toy, and just plodding along the A507 with everyone else a little piece of me would be dying inside if i was returning less than 30 to the gallon.

[Dr T]

another question, from reading around this forum and others i'm getting the impression that a generic code reader is no good for 1998/99 C70 models, but fine for reading codes on 2000 and onwards models, is that correct? i've got a generic reader and have found it invaluable with my other/previous cars.

[mikealder]

Generic code readers will only access the engine parameters and related codes they are useless for SRS, ABS, gearbox aircon etc, for a full ability to read the car you need to be looking at Vida software on a laptop coupled to a DiCE unit that plugs in between the car and the computer, this offers access to everything on the car and doubles as a parts diagram with part numbers making ordering bits so much easier.
Someone mentioned about the ETM failure rate on the 99 to 01 cars earlier in the thread, these can be repaired for just over £100 by a forum member who has a good track record with lots of decent feedback so it's not as costly as it used to be - Mike

Edit to add if the car has an ETM then a generic code reader will work with the car for engine only data, without an ETM some will/ might work but no way of knowing until you try it

[Luxobarge]

Mike - I think generic readers will read most gearbox codes on OBDII compliant cars? Otherwise your post spot on as usual!

I've got a generic (Autel) reader for my OBDII compliant V70 which works well on engine codes, but never had a gearbox fault so can't be 100% certain.

Cheers

[Dr T]

Sorry guys yet another question. Currently in looking for a pre march 01 car on account of the cheaper road tax. Is there any reason why a post march 01 car would be better? Any issues they ironed out or common weak points that were addressed in latter versions?