Volvo V50 D3

[Citylad]

Hi,
I have been offered the chance to buy a 2011 V50 D3 at a decent price from a family friend.
Just after some advice before committing to buy.
Are the d3 engines reliable? I have also seen with care the dpf should last the lifetime of the car is that true?
Also anything I should look out for? It's had the timing belt done, all new discs and pads, clutch and dmf done, has 120k on clock.
Any advice would be appreciated

[Brassblaster]

Assuming it's the 2.0 5-cylinder D3, its a cracking engine - a downsized version of the 2.4 D5 (which have a good reputation for a reason!).

Aux belts + tensioners is something I'd check have been done (should be more often than cambelt IIRC).

As long as you're stretching it's legs (some motorway miles are ideal, but not necessarily) DPF shouldn't be an issue - doesn't have to be mega miles, but it does want to warm up, if you're just doing lots of short trips no DPF equipped diesel is going to be happy.

Edited by Brassblaster on Tuesday 6th September 15:09

[ZX10R NIN]

Citylad said:

Hi,
I have been offered the chance to buy a 2011 V50 D3 at a decent price from a family friend.
Just after some advice before committing to buy.
Are the d3 engines reliable? I have also seen with care the dpf should last the lifetime of the car is that true?
Also anything I should look out for? It's had the timing belt done, all new discs and pads, clutch and dmf done, has 120k on clock.
Any advice would be appreciated

The DPF will be fine as long as your usage suits a diesel engine, the D3 is the same unit found in Ford's/Peugeot's/Citroen's it's a good unit & will serve you well.
The V50 is based on the Focus so you'll also get a car with sensible running costs.

[Brassblaster]

ZX10R NIN said:

The DPF will be fine as long as your usage suits a diesel engine, the D3 is the same unit found in Ford's/Peugeot's/Citroen's it's a good unit & will serve you well.
The V50 is based on the Focus so you'll also get a car with sensible running costs.

It's not the same engine found in PSA/Ford.

If it says "2.0D" then it is, but if it says D3 at that age it should be the 2.0 5-cyl, which I'm not aware of being fitted to anything other than Volvo's.

See this 2011 V50 D3 ad on AT - under the Specification>Performance, cylinders=5.

See also this V50 "2.0D" ad on AT - under the same table, cylinders=4.

IMHO the D3 is a better engine and I prefer the 5-cylinder character over the 4-cylinder 2.0D too... I may be biased slightly though as the D3 is the baby brother of the D5 in my daily.

Edited by Brassblaster on Tuesday 6th September 21:24

[ZX10R NIN]

I agree I prefer anything with more than 4 cylinders, I didn't realise they also came with a 5 pot, it does make a more interesting proposition.

[Brassblaster]

ZX10R NIN said:

I agree I prefer anything with more than 4 cylinders, I didn't realise they also came with a 5 pot, it does make a more interesting proposition.

Indeed!
I think it's 2010 or 2011 onwards they released the 5-cyl 2L diesels (D3 and the D4, mainly software difference)... Ran until 2014/15-ish off head when the 4-cylinder VEA block took over.

Basically the D3/D4 are just a slightly shrunken version of the 5 pot D5 (and it's detuned 2.4D brother).

I shouldn't say it sounds great because it's a diesel... But the D5 does sound pretty damn good despite that disadvantage

[ZX10R NIN]

You're talking to someone who had a CLK270 & I enjoyed it's gruffness