What do you think about this used XC90?

[Justtom]

Hello everyone,

My name is Tomas, I am new to the forums and new to Volvo cars. Most of my cars have been older VW's. Currently I am driving a 2001 MK4 Golf station wagon. It is quite comfortable (I am easily pleased, I know). Unfortunately, the when I bought the car I did not do enough research in to the type of motor I was buying, and now one engine swap latter, the car is very smoky when cold and burns a lot of oil, so it will have to go.

I was talking to my friend who drives a XC90 2.4D and it seemed to me to be an excellent automobile. I have a big family and when I visit my folks in my home country it would be nice if they could fit inside too.

I have been doing a lot of research on these, and I found one that I would potentially like to buy.

Since I live in the Netherlands I opted for a petrol as the tax for the diesel is much higher.

Here is the link to the car, it is at a small dealer with a good reputation apparently:

https://www.kiksales.nl/occasions-ko...90-2-5-t-elite

If you use chrome just translate the page to English.

If you are not willing here is some basic info:

-Costs 5000€ (4274.71 pounds)
-Its a 2002 model T5 Elite (whatever the hell that means).
-The mileage is 327000 km (200000 miles) it is quite high, but is seems these cars hold the price quite well with lower mileage (except T6's).
-It was imported from Sweden to the Netherlands in 2017 and ever since it was bought in 2002 (acording to the maintenance booklet) it was maintained by a volvo specialist (not sure what term to use here) every 20000 km (12400 miles) so maybe it had all the major work already done?

-The interior is definitely not perfect.
-Exterior seems to be in very good shape.
-The MOT records show that atleast in the Netherlands the MOT was passed without any remarks since 2017, only it had a leaky exhoust in 2022 I think, but thats it.

I am going to view the car this friday and so I will have some more info, i.e. if the most recent service was done at 320000 km as the photo doesn't show. Even if I don't buy it, it should be a nice experience.

So what is your opinion on this option? Any tips? Or should I steer clear? What attracts me the most is the fact that it SEEMS to be well maintained and I would be willing to pay that amount of money for a decently maintained vehicle.

[Kev0607]

Personally, I think its too expensive for a car with 200,000 miles on it (and its 22 years old). If your budget allowed it, I'd go for something with lower miles personally.

I know cars are expensive in Europe, but that's way overpriced in my opinion.

[Phil Croxley]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Personally, I think its too expensive for a car with 200,000 miles on it (and its 22 years old). If your budget allowed it, I'd go for something with lower miles personally.

I know cars are expensive in Europe, but that's way overpriced in my opinion.

It looks nice and shiny in the photos but I agree that the price is too high with that mileage, at least it would be in the UK, especially being petrol.

[keith240]

Hello Tomas, I've got a 2.5 turbo petrol with 141000 miles, not sure where the T5 elite comes from ? The engine and gearbox are strong but I would check over all the electrical bits and the suspension. It is a heavy car and the suspension is likely to need some attention at that mileage. They are also vulnerable to water damage either from the sunroof drains (mine just became detached behind A pillar and flooded the passenger floor) or windscreen damaging the CEM (mine is damaged and there is no power to the 12v sockets). That shouldn't put you off but check it over before paying the top price being asked. Certainly looks in good condition and look forward to hearing back after your visit.

[Carlosos]

Look really clean. Steering wheel looks bad but easy and cheap to change.

Gearbox (check for how it works hot and cold, oil changes)
Water ingress if it has sunroof in front footwells
Rear subframe rust
Cambelt and aux belt
Interior electronics

If all of these are in date and ok it should be fine and the. It’s just down general car stuff. The gearbox and rear subframe are the hardest thing to fix so if they arnt right I would walk.

[Justtom]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Personally, I think its too expensive for a car with 200,000 miles on it (and its 22 years old). If your budget allowed it, I'd go for something with lower miles personally.

I know cars are expensive in Europe, but that's way overpriced in my opinion.

Unfortunately, from what I found while going through the used vehicle sites is that most of these 2.5T's are approaching the 300000 km mark (even the ones that are a few years younger). If its below 5000 euro it usually has some kind of fault with the engine, the gearbox or it's a T6. There are of course ones with under 250000 km (155000 miles), but those go for at least 7000 euro (maybe 6500). And even then some of these have the MOT ending this year in the middle. So I'm not sure if this is the Dutch auto market being messed up or what.

I do not understand why these cars hold this kind of value here as the taxes even for the petrol variants are quite on the high side.

[Justtom]

Originally Posted by keith240

Hello Tomas, I've got a 2.5 turbo petrol with 141000 miles, not sure where the T5 elite comes from ? The engine and gearbox are strong but I would check over all the electrical bits and the suspension. It is a heavy car and the suspension is likely to need some attention at that mileage. They are also vulnerable to water damage either from the sunroof drains (mine just became detached behind A pillar and flooded the passenger floor) or windscreen damaging the CEM (mine is damaged and there is no power to the 12v sockets). That shouldn't put you off but check it over before paying the top price being asked. Certainly looks in good condition and look forward to hearing back after your visit.

Originally Posted by Carlosos

Look really clean. Steering wheel looks bad but easy and cheap to change.

Gearbox (check for how it works hot and cold, oil changes)
Water ingress if it has sunroof in front footwells
Rear subframe rust
Cambelt and aux belt
Interior electronics

If all of these are in date and ok it should be fine and the. It’s just down general car stuff. The gearbox and rear subframe are the hardest thing to fix so if they arnt right I would walk.

My friend owns a the diesel variant and he has a lot of experience working on cars. He says there might be trouble with the turbos and the vanos unit. Have you encountered anything like that?

[keith240]

Originally Posted by Justtom

My friend owns a the diesel variant and he has a lot of experience working on cars. He says there might be trouble with the turbos and the vanos unit. Have you encountered anything like that?

I've not had any problems with either of those. The 2.5t seems more robust than other variants which is why I chose it. I have also got an S80 2.4 petrol which is basically the same engine and is now on 180000 miles and going strong. Maintenance is the key so check on that.

[Carlosos]

Originally Posted by Justtom

My friend owns a the diesel variant and he has a lot of experience working on cars. He says there might be trouble with the turbos and the vanos unit. Have you encountered anything like that?

No. Those engines are strong. Normal engine checks for smoke, does it pull well, oil leaks but in the uk I would much rather of had the 2.5t instead of my 163 d5 but there arnt many here for sale.

I love my d5 but would much prefer the 2.5t especially for reliability and ease of use/repair.

[wynnj]

Don't forget to check the AWD. If you can rotate the propshaft by hand with the car stationary then there's a problem.