RE: Shed of the Week: Volvo V70
Discussion
I looked at a D5 manual last year/did my homework on what-goes-wrong and whilst it had none of the obvious weakpoints (it was manual, steering rack was newish, handbrake worked, dashboard worked, engine mounts good) it was kinda tired (over 200K on the clocks) and even starting to rust (which is not normal on these)
They are workhorses but this one had been worked-out I think - even the interior was tatty (gearknob and wheel leather coming-apart, driver's seat worn through and so on)
The key thing to stare at is the back axle tho, pain in the arse to repair anything around it apparently - this one had an advisory for rear suspension on it's last MOT too so I passed...
Nice car in theory but maybe not the endless workhorse you might have hoped...
They are workhorses but this one had been worked-out I think - even the interior was tatty (gearknob and wheel leather coming-apart, driver's seat worn through and so on)
The key thing to stare at is the back axle tho, pain in the arse to repair anything around it apparently - this one had an advisory for rear suspension on it's last MOT too so I passed...
Nice car in theory but maybe not the endless workhorse you might have hoped...
RoverP6B said:
Better than last week's A6, anyway. Leather, comfy, 4WD, spacious... I might even consider it worth replacing the gearbox if it blows up.
Not really wise to consider that given it would end-up costing more than the purchase price (unless you DIY and even then probably almost-as-much again!!)r.g. said:
Really? Small world.
That's a great car. Glad she's still going. I reckon I replaced every bush on the front suspension in my time.
Yep I got it from a guy in MK who had put a few miles on it. Big folder of history. All Ive done is change a ball joint and then put some new front shocks on as they had got a bit soft...was out of person preference rather than fail an MOT.That's a great car. Glad she's still going. I reckon I replaced every bush on the front suspension in my time.
Still pulls well though, superb mid range on these engines.
Although this is a decent shout for shed of the week, this feature has been going on for so long now it's mostly just churning around similar models to previous featured etc and rare to break new ground.
Could we possibly call it Daily car of the week and perhaps increase the budget to 3 or 5 or 10k etc, or even call it Weekend car of the week and increase the budget to show some real interesting alternatives people may not have thought of.
It's a great article, I really enjoy reading it each week, makes me chuckle, but perhaps by making a change to criteria it would allow some more interesting metal to be covered, even if only for a short while.
Please
Could we possibly call it Daily car of the week and perhaps increase the budget to 3 or 5 or 10k etc, or even call it Weekend car of the week and increase the budget to show some real interesting alternatives people may not have thought of.
It's a great article, I really enjoy reading it each week, makes me chuckle, but perhaps by making a change to criteria it would allow some more interesting metal to be covered, even if only for a short while.
Please
scott davies said:
I had one of these...Whilst the thought of running an old battered wagon as a family tool made some sense, I couldn't live with the dire driving experience, the wallowing ride 'invisible' stearing and looking like i shouldhave a couple of pheasants in the boot.
I'll second this. I have a 00 T5 in the worst colour combo of piss/champagne body and diahorhea/beige interior - looks like this one is the same - and it's an OK daily car, but utterly undesirable. In terms of the SOTW, I don't doubt that this could be a cheap workhorse for the money, but as a SOTW article this is not the least bit interesting. After last weeks example........yawn. This could be an Astramax van for all I care.This SOTW will be as thirsty as a T5 without the performance, thanks to it's lower output, AWD and auto box. And the manual, FWD T5 in this body shape isn't exactly a rocket ship (unless remapped). Brisk enough once on the move, but hardly exciting. Steering is vague, and suspension wallowy. The stereo isn't anything special, unless it has the top spec unit (this one doesn't). I only mention this as it was cited as a positive in the article. And build quality for, what people often think of as a big old tank, is again nothing special. My Alfa 166 was far superior in that respect and felt so well screwed together, robust and better built. Mine is only on 96k now and the interior is full of rattles, no doubt thanks to our terrible roads.
So in summary, it's worth a punt at £700 but was it worth a SOTW feature? Not IMO.
Got one as a taxi a few years back. Bought it off a chap in Hackney for £1500 137k on the clock. Okay, not a AWD, bit the autobox and 2.4 petrol.
Still going strong at 221k, just routine servicing. Has a thirst like a Swede on a stag night around town but will return near 40mpg on a run to LHR/LGW at 80 with the cruise set.
Lovely barge, comfortable and everything still works as it should.
Can't understand the bloke with the Alfa suggesting the Alfa is better put together, there is no way I can countenance that. Even the rear number plate lamps are held in with screws, not just clipped in. His Alfa must be a cosseted garage queen and the Volvo thoroughly abused.
Still going strong at 221k, just routine servicing. Has a thirst like a Swede on a stag night around town but will return near 40mpg on a run to LHR/LGW at 80 with the cruise set.
Lovely barge, comfortable and everything still works as it should.
Can't understand the bloke with the Alfa suggesting the Alfa is better put together, there is no way I can countenance that. Even the rear number plate lamps are held in with screws, not just clipped in. His Alfa must be a cosseted garage queen and the Volvo thoroughly abused.
PoopahScoopah said:
The stereo isn't anything special, unless it has the top spec unit (this one doesn't). I only mention this as it was cited as a positive in the article. And build quality for, what people often think of as a big old tank, is again nothing special. My Alfa 166 was far superior in that respect and felt so well screwed together, robust and better built. Mine is only on 96k now and the interior is full of rattles, no doubt thanks to our terrible roads.
/pedantic mode - acuually, it does appear to have the top spec stereo.I'd agree about the 166 being way better built than its reputation - the quality of assembly and general trim and bits is in fact very good and arguable better than anything the Germans were attempting at the time. Never had much of a problem with Volvo build though.
confused_buyer said:
PoopahScoopah said:
The stereo isn't anything special, unless it has the top spec unit (this one doesn't). I only mention this as it was cited as a positive in the article. And build quality for, what people often think of as a big old tank, is again nothing special. My Alfa 166 was far superior in that respect and felt so well screwed together, robust and better built. Mine is only on 96k now and the interior is full of rattles, no doubt thanks to our terrible roads.
/pedantic mode - acuually, it does appear to have the top spec stereo.klunkT5 said:
IMO If you want reliability go 2wd and manual, Geartronic and 4wd are the 2 things Volvo didnt quite get right in terms of longevity.
^This. Plus get the right engine because they all drink like a fish anyway so might as well have the full turbo power. Edited by VolvoT5 on Friday 29th January 17:37
klunkT5 said:
IMO If you want reliability go 2wd and manual, Geartronic and 4wd are the 2 things Volvo didnt quite get right in terms of longevity.
Couldn't agree more.Edited by klunkT5 on Friday 29th January 10:00
Add that to a terribly uninspiring 2.4T engine (I know, from experience), and you're left with a very dull car. Perhaps one for the shed threadists to get excited about, but yawn-inducing for the majority.
S10GTA said:
No it doesn't. It has the 803 (same as mine), the top one is the 850. The 803 is pretty damn good however!
850 replaced the 803 (850 only came on the facelifted ones). They use the same amp and speaker setup. There was also a single CD/tape unit (603 I think) which didn't have an external amp which was what you normally got on the "S" model so I reckon this particular example had it added as an option.There is a rare 11 speaker setup which has an additional couple of speakers in the front doors and a more powerful amp. It doesn't sound a great deal different to the 9-speaker setup to be honest.
803 is more reliable than the 850 btw which suffers from broken CD changers and dry joints on the PCB making it cut out and do other weird things.
I had an S80 2.0 LPT. Currently have a V70 2.0 LPT. These engines are great for chipping. My old S80 started out at 180hp and after chipping this went up to 220. I imagine the 2.4 would be similar. Also, I've heard one of these five cylinders with a bigger exhaust and it almost (almost) sounds like a Quattro rally engine.
That plus, if you do actually have an accident, well, it's a Volvo!
That plus, if you do actually have an accident, well, it's a Volvo!
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