V70 163 v's V70 185 - What should I look for when buying?

[Roger Woods]

Nope, missed this one as well, sold an hour before I went down, this search is proving to be a real fag!

[DJFish]

Another newbie question if I may?

How do manuals vs autos compare on mpg?

[DevonPaul]

DJFish said:

Another newbie question if I may?

How do manuals vs autos compare on mpg?

My b-i-l has an 04 XC70 manual with 130,000 miles that he had chipped to 190(?) Bhp, does a genuine 55 mpg on the m/way at 60 mph.

I have a 54 plate geartronic with 90k on the clock, and I struggle to get 40mpg even on a run.

Paul

[DJFish]

Thanks for that.
That kind of mileage on an XC70 is pretty good considering the 4wd losses.

I was looking at later cars (with the hollow centre console) but having just found out what trade-in the wifes car will fetch the previous model cars seem awfully good value, like this one

[DevonPaul]

DJFish said:

Thanks for that.
That kind of mileage on an XC70 is pretty good considering the 4wd losses.

I initially thought he meant "Dashboard mpg" but he assures me it is "fill to fill".

I am led to believe that chipping the geartronics isn't good idea (although this is by a mate who writes the engine software for Ford and some of the companies they used to own, so what does he know :-) but my dashboard mpg is generally 45-48.

For an accurante idea, honestJohn has a good "real world mpg" guide.

Paul

[Roger Woods]

AT LAST - bought one 05 DSE light green, more details to follow.......

[Roger Woods]

[Roger Woods]

Just getting serviced and MOT etc and get it on Wednesday, I managed to get to the chap within hours of him putting it up for sale, I have never had to try so hard to buy a car!

[Roger Woods]

So an update, I picked the car up last night, all bits completed by the dealer as promised, I managed to get £96 of derv in it ! - proper empty I think.

The drive home was uneventful and for a car with 124,479 miles I think it drives great,very tight, in fact it feels better than our 72000 mile XC90?.

Then..... I got home and a message pops up - Alarm System Service required - Bugger!, it also seems the reversing sensors are not working (dam sure they where when I first looked at it last week?)

Looked at the foram and it seems it may be the siron box, I have spoken with the selling dealer and he will look in to it.

Its had 2 owners and as luck would have it there was a phone number for the last owner in the papers I got with the car, it has a stamped service history but no receipts so I called the last owner who seemed a really nice chap who had it from 2007 to 2012 and now has a XC90, he said other that a computor issue about 2 years back he never had any other problems, he said that he has never had any belts changed so I have just booked it in with our local garage (Ex Main Dealer Volvo mech) to have the belts changed next Wednesday - Alex/Y2blade - I'm sure you will know when should they have been changed?

There is a rattle in the back that I will hopefully track down but overall for a almost 8 year old car it seems all is not bad.

Edited by Roger Woods on Friday 18th January 11:05

[Roger Woods]

Thanks Alex, all booked in for the belts, very odd as clearly the lad who had it before me spend plenty on maintenance etc cheers for the heads up regarding the alarm, it will be interesting what the dealer comes up with

[Roger Woods]

PS the brakes have been done last year

[Stedman]

Finally Lovely stuff though!

[Roger Woods]

Stedman said:

Finally Lovely stuff though!

Yep at last - I thought it was not going to happen!

[Roger Woods]

Well I have had the old girl a couple of weeks now and I'm slowly bringing her back up to scratch as I intend on long term ownership with this one, I had the belts replaced a couple of weeks back and all good there and as I took out a warranty I thought I would check to see if the siren going wrong was covered, it was and today that was replaced and covered, well chuffed so that's the warranty paid for itself already so I will make sure over the next year or so all the 'gremlins' are sorted before the warranty runs out. I'm looking for OEM mud flaps for it now, trust me that's easier said than done! - not paying main dealer prices so will keep an eye out on ebay etc. Insured it with Chris Knott through the Volvo Owners club at a very good rate of £270 which I'm pleased with so that's it for me, I will revisit from time to time and give updates, many thanks to the Volvo gurus out there that helped me buy the v70, I thought it was never going to happen at times!

PS my plate V321 ROG will be going on it soon, as my car was a Volvo managers car when new it has Volvo Cars UK number plates on it that are not dealer specific does anyone know if I could get Volvo Cars UK plates made up with my plate on?

[Stedman]

Speak to MRG Volvo or FRF Volvo re:mudflaps.

I show be down at MRG next month. Established t5D5 members get a hefty discount at both....

[Roger Woods]

Stedman said:

Speak to MRG Volvo or FRF Volvo re:mudflaps.

I show be down at MRG next month. Established t5D5 members get a hefty discount at both....

Noted - Thanks Bud

[Woody3]

Roger, is this an Auto or a manual?

How are you getting on with it so far?

I'm on the look out for one (54/05 reg), but can't find anything local at the moment - missed out on a corker last week as well grr!

[Super Slo Mo]

A lex said:

The alarm is a common problem with the earlier pre-facelift models - my 01 T5 was afflicted. Its usually the siren itself thats the problem, although it will need a proper Volvo code scanner to verify. Replacement is DIYable, but complicated by the fact that you need to remove the wheel arch liners to do it (and then reattach with new pop-rivets). TBH this is the first time I have heard of it on a facelift model. Fixing on the pre-facelifts normally cost about £150. On my car the message used to pop up about 7/10 starts, so the dealer has been lucky slipping that one past you.

If the belts have never been done its about 30k miles overdue! I cant remember exactly but I think they are due at 96k/10yrs.

Keep an eye on the handbrake shoes / rear brakes. They are the other common expensive failure point and recommended to be changed for piece of mind if there is no recent receipt for doing so......

Enjoy the car, the colour is lovely.

I only sold my siren this week to someone, presumably with the same issue. Is it not possible to pop the headlamp out and fit it through the gap behind? Maybe if you've a 7 year old girl with small hands available to help, I don't know if my chubby mitts would go through the hole.

+1 on the handbrake shoes, they're cheap parts, it's not worth ignoring. I did mine only a few weeks before it died, but I'm not sure I can be bothered removing them now, the shell's going for scrap this week.

[rob0r]

A very interesting topic. I'm looking for a new commuter/business mobile, but I'm restricted to just over £2K budget, possibly £3K max. My criteria is manual and preferably not green!

Are V70 D5s in this price range a time bomb? How much would you advise to spend on one to be reliable for the next few years? Should I be put off with ones with 170-200K miles?

[Super Slo Mo]

Anything in that price range is potentially a time bomb.

A V70 is probably as good a bet as anything. Mileage isn't a big deal, consumables need replacing regularly, as with anything else, but if it's got a good service history it should be ok. DMF's can go, but they seem to be fitted to most diesels these days, so the risk is no different than to anything else.

I'd make sure the cam belt is done before you buy though. It'll be good for another 100k then.