Volvo V50 T5 SE Sport
Discussion
My previous cars include my mum's MK1 Ford Focus 1.8 TDCI Zetec Estate (as a learner/teen), a Corsa C 1.2 SXI, a MK1 Ford Focus 2.0 Zetec, Peugeot 208 GTI by PS and finally a MK2 Focus ST.
The latter Focus ST was a quick buy post lease and although mechanically fine I just never loved the car. It was rattly, starting to rust on the front wings and not a particularly great place for city driving in Manchester due to stiffish suspension and a very abrupt clutch biting point. Nor was it that great on a B road due to mass and 120,000 miles of driving by previous owners. Plus a lack of cruise control for long distances was actually a pain with all these average speed cameras.
So the plan is for a 2 car garage: comfy yet not totally boring drive + an MX-5 type thing.
GS300 and E60 were the front runners but a rather well cared for Volvo popped up.
So I drove 2.5 hours to have a look and put a deposit down on a Volvo V50 T5 SE Sport. It's titanium grey w/ 18inch Medusa wheels. Interior is cream/grey leather, beige headliner and black carpet.
MY 2008 with 12 Volvo MD stamps and a service by the dealer. Dealer also MOT'd it the day before I picked it up.
It's done 83000 in it's 11 years and judging by the sat nav history and childrens bubble blower in the wheel well it was mainly used for skiing trips.
The dealer by the way was a nice chap, proper petrolhead who usually sold Porsches with the odd Ferrari, a lot of which were classics. He also dabbled in low mileage or limited edition hot hatches/coupes. The Volvo was a part ex. The service and mot he just chucked in for no apparent reason. Neither was due anytime soon.
Options include xenons, heated seats, aluminium trim, sat nav, sunroof and 13 speaker Dynaudio sound system.
First impressions are good; it's comfortable yet actually holds the road quite well. The wheel has zero feel and the steering quite slow but the weighting is quite nice.
The engine pulls well with a great growl. I actually prefer the sound to the Focus ST which had the same engine. It's less induction-y. I do miss the pops a bit though.
The gearing is a tad long in 3-6. I'm finding I want to change down to second for overtakes. However the gearbox has a nice feel to it.
The seats are lovely. Comfortable and give adequate resistance in corners. I'd probably prefer a more aggressive side bolster but it's not what the car is for really.
Seems well built and very well thought out both in terms of day to day use, but also mechanically. Everything comes apart without snapping which is nice.
There's a few bits to sort out unfortunately. The sunroof doesn't work and initially leaked due to blocked drains. Now cleared I need to find a bit of time to dry out the carpets (I think the dealer had it in a warehouse).
There's a couple of suspension components that have been on the mot history for a while which I'll sort. Front discs/pads only have about 5000 miles left by the looks of things.
The drivers seat has a crack/tear in the door side lower bolster. I'll get that sorted shortly.
But the worst part is that all 4 main door speakers don't work. Absolutely nothing. I didn't notice this on the test drive but thought it sounded a bit lacking in bass for a supposedly fantastic system. When arriving home a quick ear on each speaker test revealed the issue. I've tried all sorts including having a look at the amp in the boot (which had a parrot/telemute kit attached - removed with no change). The dealer is being good about it and asked me to get it looked at locally. I'm struggling to find someone who will just diagnose the problem and I'm not visiting a Volvo dealer as the prices will be ridiculous and I don't think the dealer will agree.
Otherwise it's in great condition and 12 service stamps counts for a lot in my book.
I've detailed the car inside including using a leather cleaner and protector.
The outside was decontaminated, clayed, polished with Autoglym SRP and waxed with Bilt Hamber DSW. I enjoy the process for some weird reason. I even took the wheelarch liners off and cleaned those and the wheel arches today (and also looked at all the suspension/brakes etc).
At the moment I'm loving it.
Note the rather lovely waterfall centre console.
That red hook is for clipping the boot liner up when changing the spare wheel. Lot's of lovely touches like that around the car.
Apologies for the rotated images (not sure how to change those). I'll take some more shortly.
Also reminds me how awful my drive/house looks.
The latter Focus ST was a quick buy post lease and although mechanically fine I just never loved the car. It was rattly, starting to rust on the front wings and not a particularly great place for city driving in Manchester due to stiffish suspension and a very abrupt clutch biting point. Nor was it that great on a B road due to mass and 120,000 miles of driving by previous owners. Plus a lack of cruise control for long distances was actually a pain with all these average speed cameras.
So the plan is for a 2 car garage: comfy yet not totally boring drive + an MX-5 type thing.
GS300 and E60 were the front runners but a rather well cared for Volvo popped up.
So I drove 2.5 hours to have a look and put a deposit down on a Volvo V50 T5 SE Sport. It's titanium grey w/ 18inch Medusa wheels. Interior is cream/grey leather, beige headliner and black carpet.
MY 2008 with 12 Volvo MD stamps and a service by the dealer. Dealer also MOT'd it the day before I picked it up.
It's done 83000 in it's 11 years and judging by the sat nav history and childrens bubble blower in the wheel well it was mainly used for skiing trips.
The dealer by the way was a nice chap, proper petrolhead who usually sold Porsches with the odd Ferrari, a lot of which were classics. He also dabbled in low mileage or limited edition hot hatches/coupes. The Volvo was a part ex. The service and mot he just chucked in for no apparent reason. Neither was due anytime soon.
Options include xenons, heated seats, aluminium trim, sat nav, sunroof and 13 speaker Dynaudio sound system.
First impressions are good; it's comfortable yet actually holds the road quite well. The wheel has zero feel and the steering quite slow but the weighting is quite nice.
The engine pulls well with a great growl. I actually prefer the sound to the Focus ST which had the same engine. It's less induction-y. I do miss the pops a bit though.
The gearing is a tad long in 3-6. I'm finding I want to change down to second for overtakes. However the gearbox has a nice feel to it.
The seats are lovely. Comfortable and give adequate resistance in corners. I'd probably prefer a more aggressive side bolster but it's not what the car is for really.
Seems well built and very well thought out both in terms of day to day use, but also mechanically. Everything comes apart without snapping which is nice.
There's a few bits to sort out unfortunately. The sunroof doesn't work and initially leaked due to blocked drains. Now cleared I need to find a bit of time to dry out the carpets (I think the dealer had it in a warehouse).
There's a couple of suspension components that have been on the mot history for a while which I'll sort. Front discs/pads only have about 5000 miles left by the looks of things.
The drivers seat has a crack/tear in the door side lower bolster. I'll get that sorted shortly.
But the worst part is that all 4 main door speakers don't work. Absolutely nothing. I didn't notice this on the test drive but thought it sounded a bit lacking in bass for a supposedly fantastic system. When arriving home a quick ear on each speaker test revealed the issue. I've tried all sorts including having a look at the amp in the boot (which had a parrot/telemute kit attached - removed with no change). The dealer is being good about it and asked me to get it looked at locally. I'm struggling to find someone who will just diagnose the problem and I'm not visiting a Volvo dealer as the prices will be ridiculous and I don't think the dealer will agree.
Otherwise it's in great condition and 12 service stamps counts for a lot in my book.
I've detailed the car inside including using a leather cleaner and protector.
The outside was decontaminated, clayed, polished with Autoglym SRP and waxed with Bilt Hamber DSW. I enjoy the process for some weird reason. I even took the wheelarch liners off and cleaned those and the wheel arches today (and also looked at all the suspension/brakes etc).
At the moment I'm loving it.
Note the rather lovely waterfall centre console.
That red hook is for clipping the boot liner up when changing the spare wheel. Lot's of lovely touches like that around the car.
Apologies for the rotated images (not sure how to change those). I'll take some more shortly.
Also reminds me how awful my drive/house looks.
MJK 24 said:
Nice car! Ex Volvo UK with that registration number. I can’t see anyone at Volvo choosing it as a company car with that engine as the company car tax would have been punishing! Therefore I’m thinking it’ll have been on the demo fleet when new.
Hope the speakers are easy to resolve!
Thats not surprising given the spec tbh. I'm working on some of the faults but electrics is a bit beyond me. Hope the speakers are easy to resolve!
As a serial Volvo owner I like this, and my BiL has a T5 V50 also.
Depending where you are I or someone here should be able to help with the speaker issue.
My V70R has a similar issue on the front doors - caused by seized speakers, soon to be replaced.
Alan.
Depending where you are I or someone here should be able to help with the speaker issue.
My V70R has a similar issue on the front doors - caused by seized speakers, soon to be replaced.
Alan.
Edited by aland75 on Sunday 7th April 08:08
Re the sunroof drains / wet carpets, it'd also be a good idea when you're in there to remove the CEM (fuseboard) that lives above the passenger footwell, remove all the multiplugs and very careful clean the board pins and the multiplug pins with a combination of electrical contact spray, very fine emery paper and cotton buds. They were prone to poor contact which causes all manner of electrical issues, more so if there's dampness involved.
My missus has a very similar car, albeit with the 2.0D and despite what Volvo purists may say about Ford this and PSA that, I echo what you say about the build quality and such like. Hers is on 205,000 now and feels spot on to drive... had a couple of minor niggles; rear shock top mounts are weak but cheap and easy to fix, front bearings don't last but again cheap and easy and that's about it so far.
Coming from a series of older T5 powered cars, I was debating a V70 T5 but I have to say, having had the V50 for a couple of years... a T5 version does appeal more now, they actually feel better put together and more involving to drive and easier to live with than a V70.
Great choice.
My missus has a very similar car, albeit with the 2.0D and despite what Volvo purists may say about Ford this and PSA that, I echo what you say about the build quality and such like. Hers is on 205,000 now and feels spot on to drive... had a couple of minor niggles; rear shock top mounts are weak but cheap and easy to fix, front bearings don't last but again cheap and easy and that's about it so far.
Coming from a series of older T5 powered cars, I was debating a V70 T5 but I have to say, having had the V50 for a couple of years... a T5 version does appeal more now, they actually feel better put together and more involving to drive and easier to live with than a V70.
Great choice.
Davie said:
My missus has a very similar car, albeit with the 2.0D and despite what Volvo purists may say about Ford this and PSA that, I echo what you say about the build quality and such like. Hers is on 205,000 now and feels spot on to drive... had a couple of minor niggles; rear shock top mounts are weak but cheap and easy to fix, front bearings don't last but again cheap and easy and that's about it so far.
My 2012 D2 R-Design is now on 189K (owned since new), still on original battery, exhaust and clutch! Only non service items are two steering gaiters and two front lower arms. Still drives great, should pass 200K in August!Edited by DavidY on Sunday 7th April 09:38
Carlos has one too if you want to read his thread
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
aland75 said:
As a serial Volvo owner I like this, and my BiL has a T5 V50 also.
Depending where you are I or someone here should be able to help with the speaker issue.
My V70R has a similar issue on the front doors - caused by seized speakers, soon to be replaced.
Alan.
Very kind. I'm in Manchester. I've taken everything apart and had a good look round. Amp seems fine though I've just looked externally. The main speakers get a signal on my multimeter when static is played but seem to give no ohms when tested when the system is off. Blown? Depending where you are I or someone here should be able to help with the speaker issue.
My V70R has a similar issue on the front doors - caused by seized speakers, soon to be replaced.
Alan.
Edited by aland75 on Sunday 7th April 08:08
Otherwise it's currently a lovely place to be. I'm going to wait a few months and see how much I like it before doing some preventative maintenence as I'm prone to getting bored and wanting a change. Hopefully a second car will stop that.
I've read Carlos's thread and am planning to look at the air con compressor/clutch thing as the air con is weak at best.
Also - fast volvos. Anything cooler? My dad is ex traffic and is excited to have a go (although it was mostly V70s he drove).
Davie said:
Re the sunroof drains / wet carpets, it'd also be a good idea when you're in there to remove the CEM (fuseboard) that lives above the passenger footwell, remove all the multiplugs and very careful clean the board pins and the multiplug pins with a combination of electrical contact spray, very fine emery paper and cotton buds. They were prone to poor contact which causes all manner of electrical issues, more so if there's dampness involved
I’ll second this, I had a nice s40 d5 which caused me no end of bother until I sorted this. Unfortunately by then I had had enough and totally lost faith in the car so sold it on. Actually had a few electrical niggles overall which surprised me. Nothing serious just boot looms and self levelling sesnsors for headlights etc plus the issue detailed above.
The stereo in mine was excellent so well worth persevering with to get sorted OP.
smiley_boy2501 said:
I've read Carlos's thread and am planning to look at the air con compressor/clutch thing as the air con is weak at best.
I still haven't fixed mine "properly" but air con is still blowing ice cold, so worth a check!Good looking car BTW. I really must do something about the wood trim in mine, the aluminium looks so much better!
So the speaker problem has been solved. Presumably all blown. I've taken one out after testing in situ to have a proper look.
Open circuit on a multimeter. No 'pop' with a 9v battery. I wired a tweeter up to the terminals with the speaker plugged in and hey presto, sound. I've only tested one door but presume it's the same throughout.
Here's one:
Time to search for new ones. Which looks very difficult. So far the only ones I can find online are from US/Canada or used with no guarantee and mostly from Lithuania.
Might have to go down the aftermarket route. Any suggestions?
Open circuit on a multimeter. No 'pop' with a 9v battery. I wired a tweeter up to the terminals with the speaker plugged in and hey presto, sound. I've only tested one door but presume it's the same throughout.
Here's one:
Time to search for new ones. Which looks very difficult. So far the only ones I can find online are from US/Canada or used with no guarantee and mostly from Lithuania.
Might have to go down the aftermarket route. Any suggestions?
Nice car! These were top of my list to be our next family car recently and think they're good looking, dependable, practical and quick. They tick a lot of boxes for a daily fun motor and it looks like you got a nice one. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay? Appreciate you might not want to share though 
I ended up going for a 330 n52 e91 with a manual box of the same vintage. They're so rare but when the perfect one came up for sale I had to have it. The boot is nowhere near as big as the v50, but the rwd, straight 6 recipe was too much to resist.
Strange that all 4 speakers don't work. But should be an easy-ish fix.
I ended up going for a 330 n52 e91 with a manual box of the same vintage. They're so rare but when the perfect one came up for sale I had to have it. The boot is nowhere near as big as the v50, but the rwd, straight 6 recipe was too much to resist.
Strange that all 4 speakers don't work. But should be an easy-ish fix.
It was near enough 5K. Probably overpaid but the service history was too spectacular to pass up.
I'm hoping the speakers weren't all blown due to a faulty amp otherwise this is going to be expensive. The dealer is being agreeable though so hopefully it'll be all ok. Repair is on option also. Thanks for the link, I'll give them a ring tomorrow.
It's off to Hallmark Volvo in Stockport on Monday for sunroof diagnostics + a general check over.
I'm hoping the speakers weren't all blown due to a faulty amp otherwise this is going to be expensive. The dealer is being agreeable though so hopefully it'll be all ok. Repair is on option also. Thanks for the link, I'll give them a ring tomorrow.
It's off to Hallmark Volvo in Stockport on Monday for sunroof diagnostics + a general check over.
Apologies for the thread invasion, but I noticed someone may be interested in one of these 
My Brother-in-Laws ‘05 V50 T5 in red will be up for sale soon, as he’s decided he wants a C70 now!
I should have photos and full details in a few days if anyone is interested, but I think he’s after around £2k for it.
I recall it’s a decent spec one with built-in phone, sat-nav and heated seats etc.
Located in Luton.
My Brother-in-Laws ‘05 V50 T5 in red will be up for sale soon, as he’s decided he wants a C70 now!
I should have photos and full details in a few days if anyone is interested, but I think he’s after around £2k for it.
I recall it’s a decent spec one with built-in phone, sat-nav and heated seats etc.
Located in Luton.
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