On the hunt for an XC70, any pointers?

[Lugy]

In the next couple of weeks I'm looking to get an XC70, it looks like it's the that will do everything I need.
My budget is £10k max and for that I'd be looking for a car that will last me for a good while.
Will be used for towing an Autograss car, likely in muddy fields, marshalling at rallies, camping plus commuting and the other normal car stuff.
I'd like to get a D5 auto, SE Lux ideally and I prefer the updated dash of the 2012 onwards.
Some questions;
It appears that these wear the miles very well so I'm guessing slightly higher than average miles shouldn't be a problem to start with?
Quite a few I've seen have the 4C Active suspension, do I want to be avoiding this?
How do the suspension parts cope with towing? Do I want to avoid one with a tow bar and fit myself?
What sort of phone connectivity do the pre-facelift/facelift cars have? Looks like 2012 onwards I can stream music (big plus point).
Anything else I should be thinking about or paying attention to?

Thanks in advance!

[Lugy]

I bought one!



2013 D5 SE Lux, 93k, has the ACC, BLIS, bendy lights, electric boot, lane wandering thing and probably some other stuff! It is a cat N but that meant it fell in to my budget, was around the same price as 2010/11 cars with ~100k+ miles. Recently had the timing belt changed and had a transmission oil change the day before I picked it up.
Loving it so far, I'd say it's as wafty as my old W140 S class was. So stress free to drive too.
Should be big enough to turn in to a temporary camper when I'm away marshalling at rallies and plenty of power to tow my wee Autograss car about.

Edited by Lugy on Sunday 18th October 13:40

[Lugy]

Fulla said:

That looks great. I was reading this thread with interest as I am starting to look for one of these. Mainly for dog, load lugging, and when I need to transport a load of people. Can I ask where you found it and what Cat N is? I am assuming it means minimal damage? Price was I starting looking at the previous shape but upped the budget to 4-5k. The only thing that is a concern at my budget is the mileage which seem to be 150k++. At those miles I was assuming suspension refresh so starting to look at increasing the budget again...which wasn't the plan for a relatively cheap load lugger.

Thanks!
It's the least bad write off category, non structural, panel damage only. It doesn't concern me to be honest, I intend on running it as long as I can so not fussed about lower resale value (plus it was cheaper to begin with).
On the plus side, they do seem to have held their value quite well, I've been looking at them for a couple of years now and the prices haven't changed a great deal I'd say, so you might not actually lose much money (running costs aside!).
I actually came across this on Facebook market place then found a better advert on eBay.

[Lugy]

Fulla said:

So I drove an XC70 today...the sales person told me it would be like a boat, they are a volvo specialist which I thought would be a safe place for my 1st drive.
Wow he wasn't wrong, it is a very odd feeling and at 1st I thought there was something wrong. I'd say I was out for maybe 20mins on country roads. So plenty of tight turns, up's and downs etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the car felt, no rattles and everything worked. The wallowing/boaty ride wasn't all the time, just an odd shimmer. But as I have read this is normal as it is an estate car jacked up...
I know the normal estate would drive better but my wife and I like the look of them.
Now I just need to maybe try a few more and see if I could get used to the odd feeling.....Be interested in others views.

I thought mine would be quite wallowy but I don't find it to be, I'd even say it was quite stiffly sprung, you certainly feel all the bumps. What year was the one you tried?