The Volvo thread

[Pale Rider]

faster than a Ferrari 348,

Even a Tesla milk float is faster than one of those.

Might as well call it a granny, sorry, granny or grandad, car.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

2010 C30 only 40K now whether you can class it as a Volvo as it's heart was designed by Ford & built by Citroen.

 

[Drago]

Are there any known issues with very early XC90’s, I do see a fair few for sale as spares or repairs?

Avoid the 163BHP D5. They were troublesome all round, and the transmission in particular was a headache. The rework and facelift of 2007 was quite comprehensive, and those beasts (idenifiable by having the 185 BHP engine) are different animals entirely for reliability - mine has 140k and the only failure has been a headlamp bulb. Mileages of 300k plus are moderately common on the owners forum.

Theres one caveat though - while the later models were much better sorted, they weren't cheap cars when new. Mine was £48,000 when my Dad bought it new in 2009, and if it should break it's still gonna cost premium 4x4 prices to fix. Repair costs don't shrink as the cars value shrinks. You can't realistically run one on a shoestring - you can either afford to maintain one properly or you can't, and there are no shortcuts. Having said that, X5's and Disco 3s/4s are positively biodegradable in comparison, and a service at Volvo gives you free Volvo Assist, that's essentially free AA membership which is itself £180 a year to buy on it's own. Therefore, it works out cheaper than having the work experience boy at Kwik Fit do the job and paying for seperate breakdown cover.

Don't buy one that doesn't have a full dealer or specialist history - a local Fred in a Shed won't be up to the job of maintaining one properly. If someone is taking it there then they clearly can't afford to own one in the first place.

On a related note, does anyone have any experience with Vida?

 

[sleuthey]

A week before Christmas I took a pride in cycling 7 miles to a works Christmas curry in order to be green and got absolutely soaked. My boss turned up at the same time in a 1990s Volvo diesel estate. I did not envy him.

 

[Drago]

Yes, it must be awful for him not having have to pay for any vehicle loans or finance for the last quarter century.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Avoid the 163BHP D5. They were troublesome all round, and the transmission in particular was a headache. The rework and facelift of 2007 was quite comprehensive, and those beasts (idenifiable by having the 185 BHP engine) are different animals entirely for reliability - mine has 140k and the only failure has been a headlamp bulb. Mileages of 300k plus are moderately common on the owners forum.

Not sure I agree there. The Euro 3 D5 is the simplest and most reliable version. It's also more economical than the next 2 generations of the engine. The AW55 transmission is absolutely reliable in Saab models. Why? Because scheduled ATF changes, that's why. No dpf, no swirl flaps, happy days (albeit huge clouds of smoke once in a while as an Italian tune up takes place )

 

[Drago]

Well, we'll disagree like the gentlemanly Volvo drivers we are then

There is no doubt that the transmission troubles that afflicted the earlier models were sorted for the 185. Resigned bevel gears, beefed up front and rear diff bearings, stonger driveshafts with more splines, they virtually eliminated the transmission problems that plagued the 163.

Yes, the 185 is saddled with a DPF, although Volvos system is more tolerant than most of inappropriate use such as short journeys etc. Swirl flaps can cause issues too on the 185, but then they do on every major competitor, Disco, X5 (especially), Q7 etc. The 400NM of grunt that the 185 gives is worth any risk of hassle.

Your new motor sounds nice. We expect a full photographic report soonest. I've always had a soft spot for the XC70, as does the Poshshire Constabulary, who have bought them to replace their ageing X5's, and I'm told they are well impressed.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Well, we'll disagree like the gentlemanly Volvo drivers we are then

There is no doubt that the transmission troubles that afflicted the earlier models were sorted for the 185. Resigned bevel gears, beefed up front and rear diff bearings, stonger driveshafts with more splines, they virtually eliminated the transmission problems that plagued the 163.

Your new motor sounds nice. We expect a full photographic report soonest.

Agreed on splines, and I had understood that once the splined sleeve had been fixed, it was a lifetime fix, but I was up at Horton Cars the other week and Graham was saying that there have been instances of the new one stripping too.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Your new motor sounds nice. We expect a full photographic report soonest. I've always had a soft spot for the XC70, as does the Poshshire Constabulary, who have bought them to replace their ageing X5's, and I'm told they are well impressed.

I do have some photos but they are of the unprepared article as I jumped on it the moment I saw an advert come up with bare details and insisted on going to see it in that state, promising that I could see through that. I can report that the interior leather is by some distance the worst I've ever seen! However, it's having all the leather completely re-Connollised this week by the person who does Maranello's Ferraris, so all should be well there. And it was a very very good price

 

[kynikos]

2012 V60 D5 with all the toys. Still a very nice car, albeit 8 years old, and I'm not about to change it. Pretty much problem free in the 5 years I've had it although I'm now getting water in the rear passenger footwell for some reason. Service, MOT and hopefully sort out the water ingress this week. Does everything I want from a car, in great soft beige leather comfort.

 

[biggs682]

Never had one never wanted one

 

[Deleted member 26715]

stonger driveshafts with more splines,

Didn't think it was driveshafts, thought it was the splines on the Haldex unit which were made of aluminium & easily stripped.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

We had a 740GL estate for a while in the early '00s

Along with a 'Safari' caravan (our first BWSOW)

When I bought my Octavia estate (March 2012), it was a choice between that, & a V50

That said; I'd have an 'Amazon' estate now!!

 

[Drago]

There's a chap I went to school with, he now a historian. He still drives a very, very nice late 80's 740 wagon.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Didn't think it was driveshafts, thought it was the splines on the Haldex unit which were made of aluminium & easily stripped.

They did do the driveshafts, but also the splined connector in the main drivetrain, but it was always stainless steel, not alu, just badly designed in its first iteration, so they rounded off and stopped being able to send drive to the rear. Ask me how I know