Discussion
Right, well, I've been thinking of starting a 'Reader's Car's topic on my old V70 for a while, but never quite got around to it.
Anyway, it's an 02 'S' D5 (163) model with a few extras, which I bought just over 2 years ago, with 145,000 miles on the clock. Unfortunately, I ignored all of the standard 'no-no's' (no history, ditchfinder tyres, evidence of body repairs) and went ahead regardless.
It was fitted with the winter pack (heated seats, headlamp wash wipe (amazing how useful this is), leather interior, fold down dog guard, 17 inch wheels, and a detachable towbar. It wasn't actually far off the SE spec, which I thought a bit odd, I mean, why buy a car then spec it up to the model above, why not just buy the next model up instead? Still, that's the first customer for you.
I travel a reasonable amount with work, circa 22-24k per year, and the volvo proved to be the perfect motorway car, quiet, comfortable, and with the legendary awesome stereo (and it truly is, even as standard). Economy wasn't quite there, initially I averaged a real (calculated) 40 mpg, which was mostly gentle motorway running (70 mph on cruise), plus some knocking about town work. Over the time I owned the car, the computer was routinely 14 mpg over-optimistic, reading a heady 56 mpg average by the end (which was more like 42 real!).
Anyway, first time it let me down was on the M1, one Sunday evening, heading back to Stoke from London. The tank was getting low, comfortably below a quarter left, when the engine just died, and the dash lit up. I tried bumping it as I was slowing down on the hard shoulder, but nothing. It'd turn over happily on the starter, but wouldn't fire.
The RAC chap turns up and proceeded to squirt loads of easy start into the intake (to my horror
as it screamed to the redline). It didn't work, neither did the can of fuel he added, so I got dragged to Nottingham Services, where I was relayed home on the back of a flatbed truck.
After a bit of faffing the next day, I got the car taken to a local specialist, where it eventually transpired that the fuel filter was blocked. A simple cure, but expensive as I had to hire a car for the week that it too (I was away too, so had little option).
Here's a pic or two:
Shortly before the first breakdown, I replaced the tyres, with a complete set of Bridgestone RX 050A's. Disappointingly, they were much noisier, although also much gripper (that wasn't difficult, in fairness).
Ever since I'd had the car, I'd noticed it seemed a little skittish, but put it down to firmer suspension than my old (250k) Passat. It'd seem to pick up imperfections on motorways much more readily.
Two months, and 3,000 miles later, I happened to look at the tyres (I know, they should be checked more regularly than that), and to my shock, the front shoulders were pretty much bald, and the backs not much better. Front tread was heavily worn too, and I hadn't been driving particularly hard.
I was up in Appleby at the time (Lambing Live, with the stormy weather to contend with), so nipped into a local garage for a 4 way alignment. Apparently they were a good bit out of line. The transformation was astonishing. The ride became smooth, supple and the car seem to handle so much better. The skittishness had gone too.
Sadly, it was a bit late for the tyres, and although I managed to drag them out a bit longer, the fronts didn't last beyond 8,000 miles, and were replaced, this time with Falken ZE912's, with the rears following shortly after.
Nothing much happened maintenance wise for a while, other than a couple of routine services and a replacement windscreen, but then around September/October last year (2011), on my way back from Edinburgh around the Preston area on the M6, with the tank just dipping below a quarter (again), it cut out. I was only a mile from the services, but still, didn't make it and had to be dragged there by a recovery truck.
After about 20 minutes fiddling, it re-started for no apparent reason. I stuck £20 in the tank, had a quick blast up and down the service road while the recovery man watched, and as it seemed fine, I went on my way. No fault was found upon investigation by the local Volvo specialist.
A few weeks later, it happened again, this time I was in the right hand lane of the M6 overtaking a van, so pressing on a bit. Having no engine power at this point is a little disconcerting to say the least, but the only safe option was to hit the hazards, clutch in, and use the momentum to get over to the hard shoulder. Fortunately, the other users of the motorway realised I had an issue and let me over without too much complaint.
.
This time though, the engine didn't die completely, but remained in 'safe mode'. I limped along to the next exit on the HS, then stopped and shut off the engine, hoping a re-start would sort the problem. It didn't, but I hobbled over to a nearby filling station and put some fuel in. It re-started without issue.
Early in December 2011, the car went into safe mode, and stayed there. A replacement (2nd hand) MAF cured it, and it had a full service at the same time.
Since then, it never missed a beat, and ran like a dream. I bought some fuel conditioner from a marine supplier, as when I'd replaced the fuel filter myself, it was black. Fuel consumption improved steadily from this point too.
Routine maintenance from December 2011 to Oct 2012 was only a service, rear dampers (shocks to you heathens
), rear drop links, and another set of tyres.
I put it up for sale in October, as I took delivery of a company car, so it became surplus to requirements. By this point it'd covered 188,000 miles, more or less.
The cam belt wasn't due for a change until 200,000 miles, but I kept being asked by prospective buyers if it'd been done, so I thought I'd bite the bullet and get it done, then get a new MOT, so it'd be sorted for the new owner.
Picked the car up from the cambelt change, drove down the local bypass, car was running like a dream, sweet as a nut to coin a phrase, and much nicer than the new Superb that replaced it. Got to the roundabout by Junction 15 (M6), halfway around, nothing, no power. Engine was running, but badly. I just managed to limp the mile or so home, it sounded like it was running on only 3 or 4 cylinders, smoke was pouring out the back, and it'd barely make it to 2,000 rpm.
I borrowed a trailer a few days later and took it back to the garage where the cambelt change was done. The following day the mechanic phoned me, almost in tears. As he'd re-fitted the cam belt cover, a piece of it had broken off, and been picked up by the belt, causing it to jump a few teeth. He offered to buy the car off me there and then.
I was busy over that weekend (it was a Friday), but went back in to see him on the following Tuesday, after I'd had a think. We agreed on a refund of the work, plus a small amount to cover the recovery etc, and I took the car back home for the last time
. It's currently inside my garage, half stripped for parts.
The next couple of photos show the damage, the hydraulic lifters sit in holes in the head, every single one of these on the intake side (10 of them) has been smashed, so the lifters are hanging in free space. A couple of the rockers had fell off. Amazingly, it still ran. There's no damage to any of the valves, rockers, or the cams, but the head is scrap.
On the plus side, I now have something to do in the evenings instead of being on PH, or watching whatever dross the Boss has on TV. I'm also massively impressed with how well designed the car is, it's been designed with easy maintenance in mind. It takes 5 minutes tops to remove a door, for instance, and that's without an assistant.
It's also slightly absurd that the car is worth more as spares even with a scrap cylinder head, than it was running. A running D5 engine will fetch upwards of £1,000.
I'd have another in a heartbeat, but since I now have a company car, my next car will be something to play with, like an old Disco, or Series Landy.
Anyway, it's an 02 'S' D5 (163) model with a few extras, which I bought just over 2 years ago, with 145,000 miles on the clock. Unfortunately, I ignored all of the standard 'no-no's' (no history, ditchfinder tyres, evidence of body repairs) and went ahead regardless.
It was fitted with the winter pack (heated seats, headlamp wash wipe (amazing how useful this is), leather interior, fold down dog guard, 17 inch wheels, and a detachable towbar. It wasn't actually far off the SE spec, which I thought a bit odd, I mean, why buy a car then spec it up to the model above, why not just buy the next model up instead? Still, that's the first customer for you.
I travel a reasonable amount with work, circa 22-24k per year, and the volvo proved to be the perfect motorway car, quiet, comfortable, and with the legendary awesome stereo (and it truly is, even as standard). Economy wasn't quite there, initially I averaged a real (calculated) 40 mpg, which was mostly gentle motorway running (70 mph on cruise), plus some knocking about town work. Over the time I owned the car, the computer was routinely 14 mpg over-optimistic, reading a heady 56 mpg average by the end (which was more like 42 real!).
Anyway, first time it let me down was on the M1, one Sunday evening, heading back to Stoke from London. The tank was getting low, comfortably below a quarter left, when the engine just died, and the dash lit up. I tried bumping it as I was slowing down on the hard shoulder, but nothing. It'd turn over happily on the starter, but wouldn't fire.
The RAC chap turns up and proceeded to squirt loads of easy start into the intake (to my horror
as it screamed to the redline). It didn't work, neither did the can of fuel he added, so I got dragged to Nottingham Services, where I was relayed home on the back of a flatbed truck.After a bit of faffing the next day, I got the car taken to a local specialist, where it eventually transpired that the fuel filter was blocked. A simple cure, but expensive as I had to hire a car for the week that it too (I was away too, so had little option).
Here's a pic or two:
Shortly before the first breakdown, I replaced the tyres, with a complete set of Bridgestone RX 050A's. Disappointingly, they were much noisier, although also much gripper (that wasn't difficult, in fairness).
Ever since I'd had the car, I'd noticed it seemed a little skittish, but put it down to firmer suspension than my old (250k) Passat. It'd seem to pick up imperfections on motorways much more readily.
Two months, and 3,000 miles later, I happened to look at the tyres (I know, they should be checked more regularly than that), and to my shock, the front shoulders were pretty much bald, and the backs not much better. Front tread was heavily worn too, and I hadn't been driving particularly hard.
I was up in Appleby at the time (Lambing Live, with the stormy weather to contend with), so nipped into a local garage for a 4 way alignment. Apparently they were a good bit out of line. The transformation was astonishing. The ride became smooth, supple and the car seem to handle so much better. The skittishness had gone too.
Sadly, it was a bit late for the tyres, and although I managed to drag them out a bit longer, the fronts didn't last beyond 8,000 miles, and were replaced, this time with Falken ZE912's, with the rears following shortly after.
Nothing much happened maintenance wise for a while, other than a couple of routine services and a replacement windscreen, but then around September/October last year (2011), on my way back from Edinburgh around the Preston area on the M6, with the tank just dipping below a quarter (again), it cut out. I was only a mile from the services, but still, didn't make it and had to be dragged there by a recovery truck.
After about 20 minutes fiddling, it re-started for no apparent reason. I stuck £20 in the tank, had a quick blast up and down the service road while the recovery man watched, and as it seemed fine, I went on my way. No fault was found upon investigation by the local Volvo specialist.
A few weeks later, it happened again, this time I was in the right hand lane of the M6 overtaking a van, so pressing on a bit. Having no engine power at this point is a little disconcerting to say the least, but the only safe option was to hit the hazards, clutch in, and use the momentum to get over to the hard shoulder. Fortunately, the other users of the motorway realised I had an issue and let me over without too much complaint.
.This time though, the engine didn't die completely, but remained in 'safe mode'. I limped along to the next exit on the HS, then stopped and shut off the engine, hoping a re-start would sort the problem. It didn't, but I hobbled over to a nearby filling station and put some fuel in. It re-started without issue.
Early in December 2011, the car went into safe mode, and stayed there. A replacement (2nd hand) MAF cured it, and it had a full service at the same time.
Since then, it never missed a beat, and ran like a dream. I bought some fuel conditioner from a marine supplier, as when I'd replaced the fuel filter myself, it was black. Fuel consumption improved steadily from this point too.
Routine maintenance from December 2011 to Oct 2012 was only a service, rear dampers (shocks to you heathens
), rear drop links, and another set of tyres. I put it up for sale in October, as I took delivery of a company car, so it became surplus to requirements. By this point it'd covered 188,000 miles, more or less.
The cam belt wasn't due for a change until 200,000 miles, but I kept being asked by prospective buyers if it'd been done, so I thought I'd bite the bullet and get it done, then get a new MOT, so it'd be sorted for the new owner.
Picked the car up from the cambelt change, drove down the local bypass, car was running like a dream, sweet as a nut to coin a phrase, and much nicer than the new Superb that replaced it. Got to the roundabout by Junction 15 (M6), halfway around, nothing, no power. Engine was running, but badly. I just managed to limp the mile or so home, it sounded like it was running on only 3 or 4 cylinders, smoke was pouring out the back, and it'd barely make it to 2,000 rpm.
I borrowed a trailer a few days later and took it back to the garage where the cambelt change was done. The following day the mechanic phoned me, almost in tears. As he'd re-fitted the cam belt cover, a piece of it had broken off, and been picked up by the belt, causing it to jump a few teeth. He offered to buy the car off me there and then.
I was busy over that weekend (it was a Friday), but went back in to see him on the following Tuesday, after I'd had a think. We agreed on a refund of the work, plus a small amount to cover the recovery etc, and I took the car back home for the last time
. It's currently inside my garage, half stripped for parts. The next couple of photos show the damage, the hydraulic lifters sit in holes in the head, every single one of these on the intake side (10 of them) has been smashed, so the lifters are hanging in free space. A couple of the rockers had fell off. Amazingly, it still ran. There's no damage to any of the valves, rockers, or the cams, but the head is scrap.
On the plus side, I now have something to do in the evenings instead of being on PH, or watching whatever dross the Boss has on TV. I'm also massively impressed with how well designed the car is, it's been designed with easy maintenance in mind. It takes 5 minutes tops to remove a door, for instance, and that's without an assistant.
It's also slightly absurd that the car is worth more as spares even with a scrap cylinder head, than it was running. A running D5 engine will fetch upwards of £1,000.
I'd have another in a heartbeat, but since I now have a company car, my next car will be something to play with, like an old Disco, or Series Landy.
Right, the costs, as follows:
Car purchased on 3rd December 2012 at 145909 miles
Car taken off the road on 26th October 2012 at 187236 miles
Fuel used: 4541.28 litres
Fuel cost: £6154.23
Average MPG: 42.02
Fuel cost per mile: £0.15
Maintenance:
15/12/10 Trim Screws £0.94
14/12/10 Screenwash £4.64
17/02/11 4 x Bridgestone RX050A tyres £404.00
06/04/11 Wheel alignment £60.00
20/04/11 1 litre engine oil £10.20
04/05/11 Non-start repair £118.50
04/05/11 Car hire to cover above £130.70
04/05/11 Replacement Windscreen £75.00
31/05/11 Replacement Intercooler £247.20
08/06/11 Air con pressure test and regas £72.00
14/06/11 Oil, filters, service at home £118.26
17/06/11 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £169.92
15/08/11 Locking wheel nut set £29.98
22/08/11 Locking wheel nut removal and replacement £20.00
22/09/11 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £160.00
03/10/11 Gearbox mounting repair £55.00
21/10/11 Diagnostic check ref cutting out - no fault found £35.00
17/11/11 Replacement Windscreen £75.00
30/11/11 MOT £40.00
05/12/11 Fuel Filter (genuine) £32.16
12/12/11 MAF (Used), service, rear brake pads £406.78
03/05/12 Spare fuel filter (non gen) £14.82
03/05/12 Fuel conditioner £22.94
08/05/12 Rear dampers £58.80
09/05/12 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £149.40
25/06/12 Oil service inc fuel filter £150.00
03/07/12 2 x Avon tyres £162.00
05/09/12 2 x rear drop links & handbrake shoes £55.02
Maintenance total: £2876.26
That doesn't include the new cambelt, or the recovery after it slipped, since I had both refunded by the garage.
I also spent £1114.58 on insurance and RFL over the period.
This brings the overall cost, excluding purchase price, to £10,145.07. Which is a little scary when you add it all up. However, in terms of cost per mile, it gives me an overall cost of just short of £0.25 per mile, excluding depreciation.
Car purchased on 3rd December 2012 at 145909 miles
Car taken off the road on 26th October 2012 at 187236 miles
Fuel used: 4541.28 litres
Fuel cost: £6154.23
Average MPG: 42.02
Fuel cost per mile: £0.15
Maintenance:
15/12/10 Trim Screws £0.94
14/12/10 Screenwash £4.64
17/02/11 4 x Bridgestone RX050A tyres £404.00
06/04/11 Wheel alignment £60.00
20/04/11 1 litre engine oil £10.20
04/05/11 Non-start repair £118.50
04/05/11 Car hire to cover above £130.70
04/05/11 Replacement Windscreen £75.00
31/05/11 Replacement Intercooler £247.20
08/06/11 Air con pressure test and regas £72.00
14/06/11 Oil, filters, service at home £118.26
17/06/11 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £169.92
15/08/11 Locking wheel nut set £29.98
22/08/11 Locking wheel nut removal and replacement £20.00
22/09/11 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £160.00
03/10/11 Gearbox mounting repair £55.00
21/10/11 Diagnostic check ref cutting out - no fault found £35.00
17/11/11 Replacement Windscreen £75.00
30/11/11 MOT £40.00
05/12/11 Fuel Filter (genuine) £32.16
12/12/11 MAF (Used), service, rear brake pads £406.78
03/05/12 Spare fuel filter (non gen) £14.82
03/05/12 Fuel conditioner £22.94
08/05/12 Rear dampers £58.80
09/05/12 2 x Falken ZE-912 tyres £149.40
25/06/12 Oil service inc fuel filter £150.00
03/07/12 2 x Avon tyres £162.00
05/09/12 2 x rear drop links & handbrake shoes £55.02
Maintenance total: £2876.26
That doesn't include the new cambelt, or the recovery after it slipped, since I had both refunded by the garage.
I also spent £1114.58 on insurance and RFL over the period.
This brings the overall cost, excluding purchase price, to £10,145.07. Which is a little scary when you add it all up. However, in terms of cost per mile, it gives me an overall cost of just short of £0.25 per mile, excluding depreciation.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff