Hello v50 1.8

[GrahamBrown1]

Just thought I’d say hello, long time Volvo owner but picking up a 2005 v50 on Wednesday. 1.8 S with some added extras by the looks of it. Its a cheap car just to get me to work and back. This will be my first of this platform of Volvo hoping it will turn out to be as reliable as my previous Mk1 s40 and P2 v70 and s60.

Do people rate the petrol engines? I know it’s a Mazda/ Duartec ford unit. It’s only got 83k on so should have plenty of life left in it yet.

Thanks

[volvopilot]

hi! As you have said, the V50 is almost identical to the Ford Focus MK2. This includes all suspension and engine parts. You do get the safety and comfort features where volvo is highly appreciated for, so it's definitely a good choice!

the 1.8L and 2.0L petrol models are considered to be pretty 'problem free'. The older pre 2006 1.8L petrol models are a little bit notorious for high oil consumption. So make sure you check the oil levels when buying the car. Any sort of smoke for the exhaust or low oil levels might indicate potential expensive engine problems.

Other than that no real major problems. Make sure you check the suspension and engine mounts. Excess movement in drivetrain is a common problem in the ford focus platform, same for the V50/S40. But in general this is very easy en cheap to fix, so don't walk away from a good car with a little bit of suspension work I guess.

My S40 1.8L petrol has 140k miles on it and still goes strong! Plenty of power left, no oil consumption and drives like new after recently replacing a few suspension parts (+- 200GBP in expenses).

[GrahamBrown1]

Well short ownership less than 24hrs with the v50. As with them all you get them home and then find what’s wrong. Started smoking like a train burning oil.

This is the first lemon car I have ever bought I would say I’m normally pretty good know what to look for and I really couldn’t fault it on the test drive.

Straight back to the dealer, they were excellent, money back. Such a shame as it drove lovely and was in really good nick with goood history. Only 83,000 on it but the engine is toast. Ford really did ruin Volvo........

[volvopilot]

that is a massive bummer. Nice to see they bought the car back.

Ford actually made the V50/S40 to a great succes because of the fantastic handling. Ford Focus platform was a warm welcome.

Oil consumption is very hard to see when you buy a car and always bit of a guess. The 1.8 is besides oil consumption a very good and problem free engine. Not all engine suffer from it and quite a few have already had the piston ring modification.

Maybe try and find the 2.0 petrol. I've never heard of anyone who had problems with that car in terms of oil consumption.

[StatusRed]

Originally Posted by volvopilot

that is a massive bummer. Nice to see they bought the car back.

Ford actually made the V50/S40 to a great succes because of the fantastic handling. Ford Focus platform was a warm welcome.

Oil consumption is very hard to see when you buy a car and always bit of a guess. The 1.8 is besides oil consumption a very good and problem free engine. Not all engine suffer from it and quite a few have already had the piston ring modification.

Maybe try and find the 2.0 petrol. I've never heard of anyone who had problems with that car in terms of oil consumption.

My 2.0 doesn't drop 1ml of oil over the year before its serviced it seems!

I wonder why the 2.0 doesn't get any issues? I thought it was effectively the same engine with bored out pistons or something?

[volvopilot]

The 1.8s only have this problem pre 2006. And even then, depending on driving style. My 1.8 doesn't use a drip of oil (lucky me). They do not like a lot of short distances. Most cars show signs of oil consumption in a very early stage (around 50k miles). So higher mileage vehicles can sometimes be a bonus in that respect.

the 2.0 was offered only after 2007 if I am correct. They implemented the new pisten oil rings.

The oil consumption in the 1.8 was almost always the piston rings that got clogged up and left oil in the combustion chamber. 1L/500km was not unusual. New piston rings would solve this. Not a super expensive rebuilt but most of the times the car was already economically a total loss.

[StatusRed]

Originally Posted by volvopilot

The 1.8s only have this problem pre 2006. And even then, depending on driving style. My 1.8 doesn't use a drip of oil (lucky me). They do not like a lot of short distances. Most cars show signs of oil consumption in a very early stage (around 50k miles). So higher mileage vehicles can sometimes be a bonus in that respect.

the 2.0 was offered only after 2007 if I am correct. They implemented the new pisten oil rings.

The oil consumption in the 1.8 was almost always the piston rings that got clogged up and left oil in the combustion chamber. 1L/500km was not unusual. New piston rings would solve this. Not a super expensive rebuilt but most of the times the car was already economically a total loss.

Cheers good to know

[moorgate]

Originally Posted by volvopilot

The 1.8s only have this problem pre 2006. And even then, depending on driving style. My 1.8 doesn't use a drip of oil (lucky me). They do not like a lot of short distances. Most cars show signs of oil consumption in a very early stage (around 50k miles). So higher mileage vehicles can sometimes be a bonus in that respect.

the 2.0 was offered only after 2007 if I am correct. They implemented the new pisten oil rings.

The oil consumption in the 1.8 was almost always the piston rings that got clogged up and left oil in the combustion chamber. 1L/500km was not unusual. New piston rings would solve this. Not a super expensive rebuilt but most of the times the car was already economically a total loss.

I always find this verdict very odd. It seems to me that it's a dealer/mechanic logic, not an owner logic. Taking this car as a case in point, if the OP had kept it and found a decent chap to drop some rings in, then the economics would be played out over what, five years of commuting? In essence spending maybe £750 to sort that one problem would prevent spending even more to buy something more expensive that won't be that perfect, either.

[volvopilot]

I completely agree with you Moorgate, however that is not what most people apperantly do. There are quite a few V50/S40s for parts available that have a oil consuming engine. Good for parts though because all the rest of the car is just fine. It is dealer/mechanic logic because they can give you a good trade in price for that broken car, sell you a newer one, fix the oil rings when do have nothing else to do... resell that V50 again for a much better price...

spending maybe 2000+ on an older V50/S40 (pre 2006) is quite a bit if you can trade it in for a good price for another car that does not have this problem.

even then it's another gamble and might end up with other problems. I completely agree with you to stick with one car and just keep repairing it. find a good and fair garage and maybe try to do things yourself. That way you can pretty much drive you car forever or until it falls apart because of rust.