2005 XC70 - beyond economical repair ?

[Rich850R]

How long have you had it? If you’ve owned it a long time and its only presented you this bill now then just repair it? Have these items suddenly failed or has it been a gradual process? The cars 17 years old and people moan when they cost money to keep on the road. Yearly maintenance can help towards spreading the big ticket item issues

Like what’s been said, what are you going to replace it with?

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by Rich850R

How long have you had it? If you’ve owned it a long time and its only presented you this bill now then just repair it? Have these items suddenly failed or has it been a gradual process? The cars 17 years old and people moan when they cost money to keep on the road. Yearly maintenance can help towards spreading the big ticket item issues

Like what’s been said, what are you going to replace it with?

closer to the mark
"what are you going to replace it with For the Same cost as the repairs"

all the parts are "diy" jobs
yes you May have to invest in some tools (esp spring compressors)
but you have said tooling for life,, and it will Still be cheaper than replacing the car

[Ian21401]

You like the car. You know it’s faults. Cost of repairs, even having someone do the jobs you cannot do yourself, is less than the cost of a replacement car ( probably having faults that you don’t know about.)
Correct the faults and keep it.

[Nick04]

Probably worth spending the money on it in the current climate. The used car market is crazy. High mileage vehicles are going for a stack. Some will have nasty surprises. There's not much value out there at the moment.

Depending what you're going to be shelling out, it might be worth taking a look at the Japanese market. There's a bit of new old stock about a lot of the vehicles there. But you're going to be restricted to petrol and automatic. As always, there's no perfect solution or perfect vehicle. It's going to be a compromise/risk whatever you do. Considering all aspects and weighing everything up will help you make the best decision.

[Rich850R]

Also some of these issues are fundamentally wear and tear, cars tear and wear. Suck it up and keep it. Unless you are looking for reasons not to keep it and go down another route.

[SIAMBLUE]

Originally Posted by qazxsw123

MoT and service today, and it's looking like my 2005 XC70 might have reached it's end at 163k miles.

Front suspension arm (n/s)
Both rear shocks
Several other odds and ends, including handbrake weakness, brake fluid replace and coolant/antifreeze replace.
The garage has quoted £14-1500 - I've used this garage for 7 or 8 years, they've been good and I generally trust them.

They also advised that the exhaust back box is on it's last legs, and front discs/pads will need replacing soon.

On top of that, I've been concerned for a while (maybe 2000 miles?) that the dual mass flywheel and/or clutch might be failing. I occasionally hear a "cough" when changing gear and have to release the clutch very gently to get a smooth change - very similar to what I experienced on a Mondeo a few years ago, right before DMF failure. I would guess that's easily a £1500 job.

I could do some work myself and probably knock £2-300 of the initial bill. That would more or less pay for a pattern exhaust box and front brake parts which I'd be happy to fit.
I don't fancy the suspension jobs and certainly not the possible DMF replacement, so that still leaves a definite/immediate £1300 and a probable/soon £1500 - and that's probably more than the car is worth.


I've gone around in circles this afternoon/evening but I'm concluding that it's probably time to let it go. It seems a shame - I really like the car. It's generally very tidy and meets all my needs very well.
Any thoughts / comments / brilliant ideas before I wave it goodbye ?

I have got the exact same problem with my 2005 V70 D5 185 Ocean Race, it needs wishbones, inner steering arms,track rods,swirl flaps and now the DMF or release bearing is making a noise.
Not sure wether to keep and repair or break for spares.
I have been reading the replies and I love the P2 V70 D5 so would buy another but would I inherit problems? I would never get another OR that’s for sure.

[Simmy]

fix it 163k is nothing for one of these cars . those jobs should have been sorted as they seem like a lot all in one go . when folk ignore small jobs they compound in to a big one fix one at a time there is nothing to difficult on your list . get the clutch done at an independant.

[Rich850R]

Originally Posted by Simmy

fix it 163k is nothing for one of these cars . those jobs should have been sorted as they seem like a lot all in one go . when folk ignore small jobs they compound in to a big one fix one at a time there is nothing to difficult on your list . get the clutch done at an independant.

absolutely spot on

[DaveNP]

In fairness to the OP I did end up with a bit of a shopping list at my MOT before last, none of them particularly major but enough for the tester to fail it, and the thing I thought needed doing he said was OK, which presented me with a bit of a bill and the inconvenience of the car off the road for a fortnight. My wife fairly quickly jumped to 'is it time to get another car?' but like others have commented here I pointed out to her unless I spent somewhere in excess of £10k like we did for her car I could end up with just as many problems at the next MOT and in the mean time the 'new' car would be depreciating more than the repair costs of the V70.
I'd say if the 'damage' is big enough that you wouldn't think of repairing it call it quits, if you're questioning whether it's worth repair it probably is worth doing, but if you've fallen out of love with the car then move on because you'll begrudge the money you spend to keep it going.

[reggit]

Bit late seeing the thread, I guess a lot of the ‘is it worth doing’ is going to come down to the type of shocks fitted. Conventional rears are dead easy to change as they drop out without removing the spring. Caveat- mine was a v70, so I don’t know if there’s any AWD clobber in the way.
Front suspension arm isn’t too bad, although strut can be a pain to get back into position.
Handbrake is common and well covered on the forum.
Fluid replacement is a service item, so don’t know why that’s on an MOT fail (although it needs to be right).

If you’re able to DIY it, I reckon you’ll have it done in a weekend for about £1000 less that the garage quote. (Assuming it’s not got Nino at or 4c suspension)