What do I buy?? Reliable £10k

[joshcowin]

Great thanks for the heads up!

[What The Deuces]

joshcowin said:

Great thanks for the heads up!

If you are looking at a 90 make sure it’s had recent belts and waterpump, and serviced properly, preferably with a gearbox service or two in the history.

A nice set of matching quality tyres should give some indication of its previous life as well as the MOT history. The car is heavy on brakes and tyres comparatively so if the history is littered with advisories on brakes and tyres it will likely have been run on a shoestring and be hiding some unwanted expense

[rallye101]

ZX10R NIN said:

1.4T Astra Elite Estate:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301263...

SRI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305257...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306228...

Avensis:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307199...

DO NOT TOUCH A 1.4 t vauxhall engine

[Bonefish Blues]

Following WtD's post...and suspension too, particularly lower arms at the front - even OE only lasted c70k miles on my S60 which is a fraction of the weight of these heffalumps!
We have 4c dampers which are excellent, but will cause huge fiscal distress if/when they start to fail, so one to think about.

On no account change a good OE Volvo water pump for anything other than another OE one. The Volvo ones are everlasting, near as dammit, and much better quality than aftermarket, which have a record of early failure and killing D5s.

Just on belts, it's the aux belt that's really key, and it's the tensioners that can cause issues, not OE belts, just by way of reassurance. That's one area where OE is definitely worth sticking to. If I was buying as long as I can see evidence of changes on schedule I wouldn't worry about getting a change as a condition of sale.

Re gearboxes, they're bog standard AW TF80 units and perfectly decent in their own right, but whilst other manufacturers spec ATF changes Volvo didn't, so it often gets neglected. Symptoms are flaring in gear and banging between gears when hot, so a long test drive is important. A full change cost me c£300 at Horton Cars who use a machine to do it all.

[Blue_star]

Satnav, leather, nice engine.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306148...

More fuel efficient option

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307219...

Both wiwareanties, service history you need to check.

What do you think?

Edited by Blue_star on Saturday 29th July 07:10

[ZX10R NIN]

rallye101 said:

DO NOT TOUCH A 1.4 t vauxhall engine

Supplied loads had 4 people with issues.

[joshcowin]

Blue_star said:

Satnav, leather, nice engine.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202306148...

More fuel efficient option

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307219...

Both wiwareanties, service history you need to check.

What do you think?

Edited by Blue_star on Saturday 29th July 07:10

They don't solve my dog in the boot problem! I have a alfa guilietta at the moment and the boot isn't big enough for him.

I am no badge snob so it's not that, I have had ford, skodas, pug (never again) Alfa so a mixed bag!

I have enquired about a volvo with the usual nonsense, a simple request for information and the dealer sends back some massive email with zero info. So annoying.

[joshcowin]

Bonefish Blues said:

Following WtD's post...and suspension too, particularly lower arms at the front - even OE only lasted c70k miles on my S60 which is a fraction of the weight of these heffalumps!
We have 4c dampers which are excellent, but will cause huge fiscal distress if/when they start to fail, so one to think about.

On no account change a good OE Volvo water pump for anything other than another OE one. The Volvo ones are everlasting, near as dammit, and much better quality than aftermarket, which have a record of early failure and killing D5s.

Just on belts, it's the aux belt that's really key, and it's the tensioners that can cause issues, not OE belts, just by way of reassurance. That's one area where OE is definitely worth sticking to. If I was buying as long as I can see evidence of changes on schedule I wouldn't worry about getting a change as a condition of sale.

Re gearboxes, they're bog standard AW TF80 units and perfectly decent in their own right, but whilst other manufacturers spec ATF changes Volvo didn't, so it often gets neglected. Symptoms are flaring in gear and banging between gears when hot, so a long test drive is important. A full change cost me c£300 at Horton Cars who use a machine to do it all.

Thanks for all this info! Really helpful

[What The Deuces]

joshcowin said:

Bonefish Blues said:

Following WtD's post...and suspension too, particularly lower arms at the front - even OE only lasted c70k miles on my S60 which is a fraction of the weight of these heffalumps!
We have 4c dampers which are excellent, but will cause huge fiscal distress if/when they start to fail, so one to think about.

On no account change a good OE Volvo water pump for anything other than another OE one. The Volvo ones are everlasting, near as dammit, and much better quality than aftermarket, which have a record of early failure and killing D5s.

Just on belts, it's the aux belt that's really key, and it's the tensioners that can cause issues, not OE belts, just by way of reassurance. That's one area where OE is definitely worth sticking to. If I was buying as long as I can see evidence of changes on schedule I wouldn't worry about getting a change as a condition of sale.

Re gearboxes, they're bog standard AW TF80 units and perfectly decent in their own right, but whilst other manufacturers spec ATF changes Volvo didn't, so it often gets neglected. Symptoms are flaring in gear and banging between gears when hot, so a long test drive is important. A full change cost me c£300 at Horton Cars who use a machine to do it all.

Thanks for all this info! Really helpful

Yep. Deffo +1 on sticking to OE pump and belts.

As long as you understand it’s a big heavy SUV with car underpinnings and the associated consumable costs the rest of it is a decent experience. The newer the better as the turning circle is better, the gearbox slightly less dimwitted and the oft cited transmission issues are pretty much gone post 2009.

I’m going to be a bit stuck when the ‘90 has had its day as it’s such a useful car with the way the seats can be configured and the split tailgate.

[joshcowin]

So have looked at a few xc90's showed the wife, a big fat no! Really dated inside is the biggest issue.

So I am now thinking Q5 or A4 all road- 3.0v6 diesel. Is there any obvious reason why not? I have upped my budget to £13k.

Why these 2? Perfect size, nice interior, not aware of any major issues, my dad has the engine in an a6 estate l love that car.

[Vsix and Vtec]

joshcowin said:

So have looked at a few xc90's showed the wife, a big fat no! Really dated inside is the biggest issue.

So I am now thinking Q5 or A4 all road- 3.0v6 diesel. Is there any obvious reason why not? I have upped my budget to £13k.

Why these 2? Perfect size, nice interior, not aware of any major issues, my dad has the engine in an a6 estate l love that car.

Something has got to give, really. If you want reliable, I'd urge you to avoid VAG products.

[Tyre Tread]

I had the same issue.

Lots of research led me to a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6SR

Reliable, comfortable, spacious, GSD happy in the boot and 70mpg.

[Bonefish Blues]

Tyre Tread said:

I had the same issue.

Lots of research led me to a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6SR

Reliable, comfortable, spacious, GSD happy in the boot and 70mpg.

Or an Auris Tourer for ultimate reliability, plenty of space with a low boot lip, quiet, deep sidewalls and total anonymity.

[the-norseman]

What The Deuces said:

https://www.the90club.co.uk/used-cars/volvo-xc90-2...

Woah!

I bought a 2011 R-Design for £10k a few years ago with 111,000 on the clock, I thought we had slightly overpayed, that dealer are trying to sell them for £15k+

[scot_aln]

I'd thought the Euro 5 part of them would impact price too.

[biggbn]

joshcowin said:

So have looked at a few xc90's showed the wife, a big fat no! Really dated inside is the biggest issue.

So I am now thinking Q5 or A4 all road- 3.0v6 diesel. Is there any obvious reason why not? I have upped my budget to £13k.

Why these 2? Perfect size, nice interior, not aware of any major issues, my dad has the engine in an a6 estate l love that car.

I did wonder what you'd think of the big Volvo if you thought the Lexus was ugly and Rav4 cheap looking!!

[What The Deuces]

the-norseman said:

What The Deuces said:

https://www.the90club.co.uk/used-cars/volvo-xc90-2...

Woah!

I bought a 2011 R-Design for £10k a few years ago with 111,000 on the clock, I thought we had slightly overpayed, that dealer are trying to sell them for £15k+

R design? I’d imagine that’s why it was cheaper

[What The Deuces]

biggbn said:

joshcowin said:

So have looked at a few xc90's showed the wife, a big fat no! Really dated inside is the biggest issue.

So I am now thinking Q5 or A4 all road- 3.0v6 diesel. Is there any obvious reason why not? I have upped my budget to £13k.

Why these 2? Perfect size, nice interior, not aware of any major issues, my dad has the engine in an a6 estate l love that car.

I did wonder what you'd think of the big Volvo if you thought the Lexus was ugly and Rav4 cheap looking!!

Yeah, not exactly state of the art

[biggbn]

What The Deuces said:

biggbn said:

joshcowin said:

So have looked at a few xc90's showed the wife, a big fat no! Really dated inside is the biggest issue.

So I am now thinking Q5 or A4 all road- 3.0v6 diesel. Is there any obvious reason why not? I have upped my budget to £13k.

Why these 2? Perfect size, nice interior, not aware of any major issues, my dad has the engine in an a6 estate l love that car.

I did wonder what you'd think of the big Volvo if you thought the Lexus was ugly and Rav4 cheap looking!!

Yeah, not exactly state of the art

I actually like the xc90 look, it almost had a retro volvo truck vibe to it from the very start. Vehicles of this type by definition can't be pretty, but the volvo is certainly a handsome old school looker

[joshcowin]

Vsix and Vtec said:

Something has got to give, really. If you want reliable, I'd urge you to avoid VAG products.

Any reason for these comments? Friends and family have multiple, A6, golf, octavia, t-roc, s7, a5 all have been fine! My dad's a6 is on 130k it's the 3.0 v6tdi as is my father in laws a5 no issues with either. My skoda fabia was bomb proof for 80k.