Advice for a noob soon to be commuting 120ish miles a day...

[Mikey2312]

The 7 series is crazy big! Problem not the best thing for the journey I'll be doing... the A8 is ok but not many for sale that arent a 4L V8 diesel..

The saab has been a little dark horse in all this but I dont think it is a car for me, yes it seems very good for what it does, but not my first go to car..

The more I'm looking at S60's the more I'm coming to terms with it but need to see it in the flesh first...

[Mikey2312]

So an update from today... called to the garage and they had just sold the S60 to a guy in Canada an hour beforehand... couldnt believe it.. for obvious reasons they couldnt let me test drive it but I could look round it.

Initial impressions, it is a good size with a giant boot so ticks that box, the seats are incredible.. similar to the S40 but with a little more support I do very much dislike the centre console looks very dated for an 07 plate and like all volvo's the S60 had the same console regardless of the age. Gutted I couldnt experience the D5 engine!

I'm a little undecided because of the centre console to be fair, sounds petty but i'll be spending alot of time in the car and do prefer the 'floating' grey consoles found in the other models.

They did have a 2.2 mondo titanium X tdci on the forecourt that had all the bells and whistles and although the seats are an improvement on the fiesta I don't think they compare to the volvo seats... even the two tone leather has more comfort than the mondeo...

Drove to Harwich today in the fiesta for a meeting and, in short, it has to go... felt crippled when I got out... it is now up for sale so I think it will be a case of whatever comes up first... my ideal preference would be an R Design S40 with the D5 lump but I guess the likelihood of finding one is like a needle in a big haystack...

Can anyone recommend a good owners forum where I might pick up a good example of either an S40 or S60???

[Bonefish Blues]

volvoforums.org.uk

[Mikey2312]

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Opinions?

[VAGLover]

Mikey2312 said:

Hi all,

First post but have followed PistonHeads for many years for advice and thought now would be a good time to join as a member.. I work for a company that is currently based close to my home address however come November we will be moving to Harwich around 60 miles away (one way) and due to the nature of my work I'll be doing this 120 mile drive 14 days out of a month roughly.

I knew this when I took the job and bought a little 1.6 TDCI fiesta for economy.. so far.. it has proven to be a good little car in light of all the bad things I had previously read. The fiesta is returning on average of 65mpg to/from Harwich which is great but the deal breaker for me is the comfort.. it's like sitting on a bench seat and at the end of the journey I feel like I let Mike Tyson in his prime use my spine as a punch bag, you don't normally test drive a car for 60 miles so I didn't really know just how uncomfortable it can be until it was too late...

So.. here lies the needed help.. I'm looking to part ways with the fiesta in the coming months and add a little cash to my budget, aiming to be around £3,500ish maybe £4,000 for the right car.

I have been looking at loads of various cars such as a 320d, Volvo C30 1.6D, Alfa Romeo Mito/Julietta, Mondeo 1.8/2.0 TDCI, Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI, Jag X-type, VW Golf... the list goes on however as with all forums, every car seems to have 'nothing but issues' now, granted, people only normally go on forums to report problems but each one has left me with a knock of confidence in following up on a purchase.

My key points I'm looking for are:

1) Comfort (first and foremost)
2) Reliability (I know with my budget I'll inevitably see issues at some point but I really don't want to be spending ALL my off shift watching my car being torn to pieces in a garage)
3) Economy (I know I won't see fiesta economy but high 40s - high 50s would be nice)
4) Gadgets (I'm happy to install a parrot kit but ideally looking for something that is nice to sit in)
5) Space (I carry a bit of kit for my job and it just fits in the fiesta so need an 'ok' sized boot)

I appreciate these types of questions have been flogged to death and to be honest I've spent a few days reading through them but I thought it's worth asking myself personally.

Apologies for the long intro, look forward to speaking with you all

Has your company ever heard of flexible working?
A mobile and webex account and off you go

[Mikey2312]

VAGLover said:

Mikey2312 said:

Hi all,

First post but have followed PistonHeads for many years for advice and thought now would be a good time to join as a member.. I work for a company that is currently based close to my home address however come November we will be moving to Harwich around 60 miles away (one way) and due to the nature of my work I'll be doing this 120 mile drive 14 days out of a month roughly.

I knew this when I took the job and bought a little 1.6 TDCI fiesta for economy.. so far.. it has proven to be a good little car in light of all the bad things I had previously read. The fiesta is returning on average of 65mpg to/from Harwich which is great but the deal breaker for me is the comfort.. it's like sitting on a bench seat and at the end of the journey I feel like I let Mike Tyson in his prime use my spine as a punch bag, you don't normally test drive a car for 60 miles so I didn't really know just how uncomfortable it can be until it was too late...

So.. here lies the needed help.. I'm looking to part ways with the fiesta in the coming months and add a little cash to my budget, aiming to be around £3,500ish maybe £4,000 for the right car.

I have been looking at loads of various cars such as a 320d, Volvo C30 1.6D, Alfa Romeo Mito/Julietta, Mondeo 1.8/2.0 TDCI, Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI, Jag X-type, VW Golf... the list goes on however as with all forums, every car seems to have 'nothing but issues' now, granted, people only normally go on forums to report problems but each one has left me with a knock of confidence in following up on a purchase.

My key points I'm looking for are:

1) Comfort (first and foremost)
2) Reliability (I know with my budget I'll inevitably see issues at some point but I really don't want to be spending ALL my off shift watching my car being torn to pieces in a garage)
3) Economy (I know I won't see fiesta economy but high 40s - high 50s would be nice)
4) Gadgets (I'm happy to install a parrot kit but ideally looking for something that is nice to sit in)
5) Space (I carry a bit of kit for my job and it just fits in the fiesta so need an 'ok' sized boot)

I appreciate these types of questions have been flogged to death and to be honest I've spent a few days reading through them but I thought it's worth asking myself personally.

Apologies for the long intro, look forward to speaking with you all

Has your company ever heard of flexible working?
A mobile and webex account and off you go

That would be an easier option but I work offshore and sail out from Harwich, work 14 days out of a month so I dont think it can get anymore flexible 😉

[VAGLover]

Mikey2312 said:

That would be an easier option but I work offshore and sail out from Harwich, work 14 days out of a month so I dont think it can get anymore flexible ??

Fair enough
Not sure if anyone has said it, but a Skoda - superb

I just found a great car on Auto Trader:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

[oldcynic]

I'd rather be in the 5 cylinder Volvo than the 4 cylinder Skoda any day. The S40 that the OP linked to looks lovely but the excessive capitals in the advert would put me off. MoT history is consistent with mileage and googling the trader's name doesn't immediately ring alarm bells, so maybe I should tolerate the capitals after all...

[Mikey2312]

oldcynic said:

I'd rather be in the 5 cylinder Volvo than the 4 cylinder Skoda any day. The S40 that the OP linked to looks lovely but the excessive capitals in the advert would put me off. MoT history is consistent with mileage and googling the trader's name doesn't immediately ring alarm bells, so maybe I should tolerate the capitals after all...

The only thing I found when doing an MoT history check is there are a few advisories that will need looking at... wonder if that would help negotiating a price

[VAGLover]

oldcynic said:

I'd rather be in the 5 cylinder Volvo than the 4 cylinder Skoda any day. The S40 that the OP linked to looks lovely but the excessive capitals in the advert would put me off. MoT history is consistent with mileage and googling the trader's name doesn't immediately ring alarm bells, so maybe I should tolerate the capitals after all...

But Skoda last forever.....and ever

[oldcynic]

VAGLover said:

But Skoda last forever.....and ever

Our V70 has lasted considerably better than the two Skodas which have come and gone in the time we've owned it - the oldest of which was on 130K miles and it showed.

[Mikey2312]

So I think I'm going to go with an S40 with either a 2.0D engine or 2.4 D5 looking for SE R Design..

Is there a substantial difference in mpg between the 2.0 and 2.4?

Im looking at the one I posted previously, should I be conerned about 90,000 miles?

[PartOfTheProblem]

If its any assistance, I bought a V70 D5 2005 yesterday and I can't think of anything better to soak up the miles in.

Excellent S60s/V70s are available for £1500 - £3000 ish, why not forget about the centre console and smoke around in one for a bit?

[Mikey2312]

PartOfTheProblem said:

If its any assistance, I bought a V70 D5 2005 yesterday and I can't think of anything better to soak up the miles in.

Excellent S60s/V70s are available for £1500 - £3000 ish, why not forget about the centre console and smoke around in one for a bit?

Do you have any pics of yours just out of curiosity?

Ive just joined the volvo forum so I think a volvo is happening I just need to figure out which one... how are the V50's? I'm thinking either an S40 in 2.0D or D5, S60 or V50 in 2.0D or D5... a 2.0D high spec S40 or V50 seem very easy to come by.. D5's are proving a tad more harder

[Moos3h]

Do NOT consider buying a Mito if you have a full complement of testicles and/or legs - worst car ever for driving position. I had one for six months as a company car and deliberately left it unlocked everywhere I left it in the hope that it would get stolen. Sadly it did not.

[Mikey2312]

So I've found a 2005 S60 D5 manual SE with 97000 miles on it. Full black leather interior and full service history with the timing belt being replaced at the previous service and two owners, also has the HU850 sound system I've heard so many good things about..

Guy is looking for £2,700 for it.. does that sound like a good deal? I'm thinking I might be able to get him down to £2,500 and either trade my fiesta in or go back through the multiple enquiries I've had and accept the first offer..

Seems like a good little find to be honest so do I jump on this or hold out for an S40 D5?

[Bonefish Blues]

Mikey2312 said:

So I've found a 2005 S60 D5 manual SE with 97000 miles on it. Full black leather interior and full service history with the timing belt being replaced at the previous service and two owners, also has the HU850 sound system I've heard so many good things about..

Guy is looking for £2,700 for it.. does that sound like a good deal? I'm thinking I might be able to get him down to £2,500 and either trade my fiesta in or go back through the multiple enquiries I've had and accept the first offer..

Seems like a good little find to be honest so I think I should jump on this rather than hold out for an S40 D5

EFA, IMHO

It will likely be needing suspension work by that mileage, so look at MOT history and service record for evidence it's been done, and listen for knocking F&R, but at 2.5, if it's a good one, it's a decent buy that will serve you well.

[Mikey2312]

Bonefish Blues said:

EFA, IMHO

It will likely be needing suspension work by that mileage, so look at MOT history and service record for evidence it's been done, and listen for knocking F&R, but at 2.5, if it's a good one, it's a decent buy that will serve you well.

This is the car in question... few issues over the years with the MOTs but look to be sorted. Spoke to the garage and they said they will service and MOT the car and any advisories that come up they will sort. Also get a 6 month warranty. It's a little family owned garage and the guy, surprisingly, sounds pretty decent.

http://www.topgeargarage.co.uk/cars/volvo-s60-2-4-...

[Super Slo Mo]

97k is nothing. I stripped the engine on mine when I blew it up (not the engines fault by the way), and it was like new inside, with 186000 on the clock.
Suspension can wear but mine was still reasonably ok.
I don't know how people average 49 mpg in them though, mine did 44 over about 45000 miles, best I ever got was a single 500 mile, motorway only trip at 70 mph on cruise, it just broke the 50 mpg barrier. I mostly drove at 70 on the motorway, rarely any faster.
It was a 2002 V70 manual (163, 5 speed).
Some parts can be quite pricey, that's the only downside.

[Mikey2312]

Super Slo Mo said:

97k is nothing. I stripped the engine on mine when I blew it up (not the engines fault by the way), and it was like new inside, with 186000 on the clock.
Suspension can wear but mine was still reasonably ok.
I don't know how people average 49 mpg in them though, mine did 44 over about 45000 miles, best I ever got was a single 500 mile, motorway only trip at 70 mph on cruise, it just broke the 50 mpg barrier. I mostly drove at 70 on the motorway, rarely any faster.
It was a 2002 V70 manual (163, 5 speed).
Some parts can be quite pricey, that's the only downside.

So even an S40 D5 with similar mileage shouldn't be too troublesome? Is there much weight difference between the V70 and S60 as I wonder if that might contribute to the difference in mpg?

Are there any regular service parts that are pricey? The mot history is showing a common denominator being the bushes