V70R Possible Purchase What do I need to look for
Discussion
Hi all,
Looking at swapping the family (they're all grown up now) S-MAX for a low mileage Volvo V70R.
What should I be on the look out for, when viewing the car?
Have already asked about coolant, rough starts, oil and if the AWD/Haldex has been looked at/serviced.
Any tell-tail signs I should be on the look out for?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Looking at swapping the family (they're all grown up now) S-MAX for a low mileage Volvo V70R.
What should I be on the look out for, when viewing the car?
Have already asked about coolant, rough starts, oil and if the AWD/Haldex has been looked at/serviced.
Any tell-tail signs I should be on the look out for?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Surprised nobody has replied...
However, I had one a few years back... a 2005 V70R manual (I know!!!) in black with the Gobi interior having lusted after one for years. I bought it when they were cheaper, I paid about £4k and it was on the whole, ok in a sort of "bloke just used it daily as a car" sort of way and I excitedly drove it back from Aberdeen and immediately was overcome with remorse and disappointment as it was rather crap.
I stuck with it and the spending began...
The AWD went tits up, they all do that sir and I had the lottery of is it the diff, the haldex pump, the electronic DEM, the angle gear sleeve or the transfer box or even better... all of the above. Mine was the rear DEM unit bolted to the rear diff. Replaced at £300 and some DIY swearing and it still had no AWD. It then needed an angle gear sleeve which was about £450 fitted. But I finally had AWD again. For now...
Then the dreaded 4C warnings came up on the dash and it was the OSR shock that had given up but it's cool, they're about £46k each from Volvo unless you can find the rare as rocking horse poo Monroe alternatives. After weeks and weeks of searching I found a front pair, then the rear. That'll be nigh on £700 please. That escalated as at the same time I figured I should do the rear trailing arm bushes, links, alignments etc etc. Another £800.
But it was al good as it'd drive great now. Only it didn't. It was a complete w
ker of a thing even in Comfort mode. It'd jiggle and skitter around on poor surfaces and generally feel like it wanted to leave the road most the time. It had endless visits to check everything including a rear shock remap via Volvo to try and make it a bit more compliant. Don't get me wrong, on a smooth flowing road it was great, handled very well for its weight but it simply could not cope with broken surfaces or ruts.
ABS light came on along with failed DTSC... it had ABS rings replaced then sensors then would still randomly pop the warning on for no real reason. On the subject of brakes, the fancy pants Brembos were on an age where they were corroding and getting the pad pins knocked out was a nervous time. The pistons seized and were rebuilt...more money but again, all good as it has Brembos and it'll stop you like a drop kick to the face. Only it didn't. Even with new lines, flexis, pads etc etc... it always felt a bit soft and uninspiring brake wise.
By this stage, I was sick of it... I had a new baby and taking him anywhere in it was nasty as it rattled and crashed over every little imperfection and despite it's 300bhp, it just never felt fast. It's weight masked it well, it wasn't slow but it just didn't ever make you feel like it had 300bhp. I debated mapping it but was too scared that it'd crack a liner (they all do that sir...) or it'd lunch the angle gear or the rear diff... they like to do that too. It had to go and I replaced it with a 185bhp D5 XC70 which ironically, could get from A to B over your average Scottish back road just a fast but without damaging your spine or leaving you wondering how massive the next invoice would be.
A fabulous looking machine but flawed on some many levels, never felt fast and never had the rawness and excitement of the old 850 T-5's and the like (had plenty of them too) and these days, for the guts of £10k to £15k for a perceived good one (though usually Jap import and Geartronic, of which the latter is awful) then I think you'd really really have to want one and be able to do a lot of maintenance yourself as they can generate silly bills if they start going wrong, which they will as it's an early 2000's car with lots of complex, bespoke parts and thus are getting harder to keep going.
I'm not bitter, I liked it in many ways but overall the whole ownership experience was a bit of a disappointment and a dear one at that.
However, I had one a few years back... a 2005 V70R manual (I know!!!) in black with the Gobi interior having lusted after one for years. I bought it when they were cheaper, I paid about £4k and it was on the whole, ok in a sort of "bloke just used it daily as a car" sort of way and I excitedly drove it back from Aberdeen and immediately was overcome with remorse and disappointment as it was rather crap.
I stuck with it and the spending began...
The AWD went tits up, they all do that sir and I had the lottery of is it the diff, the haldex pump, the electronic DEM, the angle gear sleeve or the transfer box or even better... all of the above. Mine was the rear DEM unit bolted to the rear diff. Replaced at £300 and some DIY swearing and it still had no AWD. It then needed an angle gear sleeve which was about £450 fitted. But I finally had AWD again. For now...
Then the dreaded 4C warnings came up on the dash and it was the OSR shock that had given up but it's cool, they're about £46k each from Volvo unless you can find the rare as rocking horse poo Monroe alternatives. After weeks and weeks of searching I found a front pair, then the rear. That'll be nigh on £700 please. That escalated as at the same time I figured I should do the rear trailing arm bushes, links, alignments etc etc. Another £800.
But it was al good as it'd drive great now. Only it didn't. It was a complete w
ker of a thing even in Comfort mode. It'd jiggle and skitter around on poor surfaces and generally feel like it wanted to leave the road most the time. It had endless visits to check everything including a rear shock remap via Volvo to try and make it a bit more compliant. Don't get me wrong, on a smooth flowing road it was great, handled very well for its weight but it simply could not cope with broken surfaces or ruts. ABS light came on along with failed DTSC... it had ABS rings replaced then sensors then would still randomly pop the warning on for no real reason. On the subject of brakes, the fancy pants Brembos were on an age where they were corroding and getting the pad pins knocked out was a nervous time. The pistons seized and were rebuilt...more money but again, all good as it has Brembos and it'll stop you like a drop kick to the face. Only it didn't. Even with new lines, flexis, pads etc etc... it always felt a bit soft and uninspiring brake wise.
By this stage, I was sick of it... I had a new baby and taking him anywhere in it was nasty as it rattled and crashed over every little imperfection and despite it's 300bhp, it just never felt fast. It's weight masked it well, it wasn't slow but it just didn't ever make you feel like it had 300bhp. I debated mapping it but was too scared that it'd crack a liner (they all do that sir...) or it'd lunch the angle gear or the rear diff... they like to do that too. It had to go and I replaced it with a 185bhp D5 XC70 which ironically, could get from A to B over your average Scottish back road just a fast but without damaging your spine or leaving you wondering how massive the next invoice would be.
A fabulous looking machine but flawed on some many levels, never felt fast and never had the rawness and excitement of the old 850 T-5's and the like (had plenty of them too) and these days, for the guts of £10k to £15k for a perceived good one (though usually Jap import and Geartronic, of which the latter is awful) then I think you'd really really have to want one and be able to do a lot of maintenance yourself as they can generate silly bills if they start going wrong, which they will as it's an early 2000's car with lots of complex, bespoke parts and thus are getting harder to keep going.
I'm not bitter, I liked it in many ways but overall the whole ownership experience was a bit of a disappointment and a dear one at that.
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