Friday 10th April 2009
SOTW: Volvo T5 Estate
Shed gets into the ultimate motorway cruiser
It’s been quite a while since we’ve found ourselves yearning for a Volvo Shed of the Week, but this T5 Estate is too good to resist.
The prospect of jumping into a dark blue T5 and bolting down the motorway as though you’re Plod on a mission has undeniable appeal, and the fact that ten years ago cars like this one would have been the bane of every motorway user’s life still strikes a chord with us here.
The merest glimpse of that square grille and boxy rear would summon a bead of sweat on many a forehead and provoke anxious checks of the speedo from even the most law abiding motorist for fear of igniting a blaze of blue light from the mouth of a traffic cop’s T5.
That said, there's not much in the way of evidence to warrant a full paper check on this little number. It might have notched up a hefty double tonne, but 200k of predominantly motorway miles will barely have cracked the spine of the 2.3-litre engine. If that’s not enough to convince you to take a £1000 punt on one of Sweden’s finest barges then the car’s full Volvo service history will go some way to allay any fears, and ensure everything is present, correct and above board, officer.
Both the pictures and the description show the car’s tidy looking interior, which shows no signs of having played home to a K9 unit. The bodywork looks similarly fresh, but we’d take a closer look at the tyres, as all that power had a notorious reputation for shredding rubber. It’s also worth checking over the brake pads and discs, as they endure a bit of a hammering when trying to haul this hefty brick on wheels down from those motorway patrol car speeds.
Pistonheads ad reads: T5 CD Estate Manual (1997) 203k
2.3 Turbo (not modified), FVSH (all paperwok), Dark metallic blue, Full dark grey leather spotless interior, Exterior very good condition for year and miles (80% motorway), 2 previous owners (last owner ex-mechanic), Electric roof/mirrors/seats (heated), Climate, RC-locking/alarm/immob, PAS, Cruise, CD player, ABS, SIPS/Airbags , Tax and MOT. £1000
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derin100
Original Poster
1,807 posts
112 months
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Very nice....dare I say even "handsome"! But what's that I see lurking on the drive parked in front of it? 
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Miguel
1,030 posts
134 months
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It may be FWD and look like a brick, but with the turbo engine and the right price, it's a find. Nice sleeper barge. Great SOTW.
Miguel
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Hell27
1,285 posts
60 months
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I like this a LOT!
There's lots of these around, brilliant daily snotter, especially as a family rocket!
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Merlot
4,054 posts
77 months
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Good choice.
I've had T5s in the family for a good while, and am personally on my second although mine is an S70 model.
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Mikey_W
4,948 posts
95 months
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derin100 said: But what's that I see lurking on the drive parked in front of it? Trust you to spot the 7er  Have you sold the gorgeous 750 yet? 
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derin100
Original Poster
1,807 posts
112 months
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Mikey_W said: derin100 said: But what's that I see lurking on the drive parked in front of it? Trust you to spot the 7er Have you sold the gorgeous 750 yet?  The 750iL doesn't actually belong to me but I think my friend who owns it has a chap coming sometime over this weekend who sounds serious so has apparently agreed not to show it to anyone else until after Monday when the chap has been. I can't remember when he's supposed to be coming.
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FestivAli
890 posts
107 months
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I like the understated looks and the interior of these is well laid out and sensible. Plenty of safety as well for an older car, with side airbags etc not usually found on cars of that period.
In this regard, I'm biased, because I drive a 1996 850 (CD, automatic unfortunately, 2.5l 5, NA). Would love to have a turbo in it, and indeed for only about 1 grand more (I'm in Australia) there was a white T5 sedan manual...
HOWEVER:
I bought mine with a full service history, clean mechanical inspection (only thing that needed fixing was a windscreen chip, and one of the windscreen wiper 'boots' which didn't really wipe the screen.
It's been a headache. First thing that went was the odometer, with a 20c plastic gear snapping. Have to rip apart the whole dash to fix it, and given I couldn't track down the part (mine is obviously a km car, not miles) I copped a $600AUD fix. Another $400 to fix the abs module, which stopped working, and around $150 to replace the ignition barrel, which started playing up, causing the car to 'stall' (the engine would cut out), which would mean losing all power steering, brake assistance etc. The car would die, and that's pretty scary / dangerous on a freeway, in the pouring rain, at 100kmpkh in heavy traffic.
In other words, despite doing nothing wrong in the buying process, and a Volvo specialist saying that 'You bought a really good one' (Possibly because it helped put his kids through school from repair income) I almost set fire to the thing.
about $2000 worth of fixing (there was other stuff) got it to be normal, and it hasn't pulled any funny business since changing the ignition barrel/ sensors etc, but be careful.
Fuel economy for my general commute (mix of freeway, stop start traffic jams, sweeping outer urban roads and a few hills) is 11.4 litres per 100k. Whatever that is in english mpg, go figure. It's about the same as a politely driven V8 Commodore, and that's without the turbo, and I'm what James May would call 'a christian motorist'
General servicing isn't cheap either. And you'd hope that turbo makes it about 300% better to drive too, because aside from being a comfy place to sit, it's a bit boring.
Looks nice though.
Ali.
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Fleckers
1,515 posts
70 months
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had it been an auto I would have been very interested
Have a passion for fast estate cars
buy need an auto box for a daily driver M25, M1 etc
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Cheeky Jim
1,150 posts
149 months
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Looks very nice. I had the next gen T5 and it was the biggest pile of s  te I've ever owned. Maybe I just had a bad one, but, front tyres lasted 7000 miles (2 months driving), I spent about £3k in parts in less than 6 months e.g. computer sensors, engine mounts, air sensors etc etc Anyway, suspect the older ones are more reliable!
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dan1981
9,562 posts
68 months
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FNG
2,571 posts
93 months
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I had an 850R estate last year, black with black interior, auto, 180k miles.
It needed all new control arms at the front, track rod ends, upper engine mount, new front anti-roll bar, two calipers, rear discs and a front damper for its MoT.
The ECU module failed and was reconditioned for £80 which was a pleasantly low bill.
No other problems but it ate front tyres.
Good points: real sleeper, surprised a lot of people, I had a great colour combination
Problems: wind noise at speed, ride quality pretty woeful but still loads of body roll (there was no reward for having uprated suspension), brakes poor, dead steering
My E36 328i is a far, far, far more resolved car in pretty much every way.
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hman
4,810 posts
63 months
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a guy I know bought one of these for sub £1000, took it to the ring where it promptly dumped its oil filter, then all its oil on the track, then seized.
He took the wheels off it and got a lift back to blighty, left the car at the recovery depot.
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Frimley111R
4,211 posts
103 months
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FNG said: My E36 328i is a far, far, far more resolved car in pretty much every way. Can't be much worse! Although its a shame BMW never bothered putting the driver's seat in front of the steering wheel! 
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Simon Says
9,300 posts
90 months
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Just make sure you have shares in oil  these motors get through it like its going out of fashion quick for a tank though 
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retrorider
1,103 posts
70 months
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great seats in them too...
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Merlot
4,054 posts
77 months
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Simon Says said: Just make sure you have shares in oil these motors get through it like its going out of fashion quick for a tank though ?? None of our families T5's have eaten any oil? Or do you mean they drink like a fish? In that case they're not great, I average 25-26mpg from the manuals but 22-23mpg from the Autos.
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Rob.
12,522 posts
87 months
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derin100 said: Mikey_W said: derin100 said: But what's that I see lurking on the drive parked in front of it? Trust you to spot the 7er Have you sold the gorgeous 750 yet? The 750iL doesn't actually belong to me but I think my friend who owns it has a chap coming sometime over this weekend who sounds serious so has apparently agreed not to show it to anyone else until after Monday when the chap has been. I can't remember when he's supposed to be coming. Oh my, that 7 is to die for Derrin. Want want want (please?). Oh, and a nice SOTW - I`ve always fancied a T5.
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Simon Says
9,300 posts
90 months
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Merlot said: Simon Says said: Just make sure you have shares in oil these motors get through it like its going out of fashion quick for a tank though ?? None of our families T5's have eaten any oil? Or do you mean they drink like a fish? In that case they're not great, I average 25-26mpg from the manuals but 22-23mpg from the Autos. I have maintained quite a few of these including the non-turbo models and most owners have complained about oil consumption,not over excessive but more than i would expect from a car of this era,one T5 owner uses about 1 litre in approx 1k miles i would not be happy about that  that's 5 litres consumed over a 5000 service interval  as you can guess i don't like oil burning engines 
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antihero3000
212 posts
51 months
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benoli
1,351 posts
58 months
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FNG said: I had an 850R estate last year my old boss had one of those (only in red IIRC) f k me, they were quick
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