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As a long term advocate if bangernomics, I'm currently considering what appears to be a very clean private sale 2007 XC70 D5 185 bhp version with 127k on the clock to replace e61 BMW 530D Msport which is good in lots of ways but has cost more than all my other bangers put together in repairs over past 2 years!
The Volvo seems to tick all the boxes ie. good tow car, big boot for dogs and anything else, reasonable turn of speed etc...... nothing major in previous MOT'S and has had a recent service but is currently on the 6 month extension with next one due Jan '21.
Any experiences good or bad welcome. Cheers
I had the v70 D5, the slightly later 215bhp version as a pre reg. Over 6 years it had a fault with the tailgate wiring that was over £1k to fix and then a terminal (from my perspective) auto box fault at 80k miles. Rather than sink ~£3k into an £8k car, I traded it in.
Apart from that, it was routine tyres and servicing. It was a comfy, effortless, 42mpg long distance load lugger and I'd still have it if the gear box hadn't gone boing.
If its an auto box , best to avoid. They dont last. If its a manual, then go for it. The engines are a bit agricultural and rattly, but soldier on regardless. Watch of aux belt tensioners . We had an XC60 with the same engine and Volvo were on the Mk 5 or 6 tensioner for it, as ours was in and failed. It will also be 4wd , so the haldex will need a service although Volvo dont. So you must oil and filter change as that is a 3k job if it goes. Other than that, solid and dependable at that time.
My experience of our '55 plate V70 D5.
Bought it 7 years ago at 80,000 miles.
Now on 185,000 miles.
It likes to destroy suspension parts regularly also brake discs.
Just last week it went into limp mode with a couple of pages of alarms being thrown out.
Was expecting a hefty bill and was thinking about getting rid off it, doubly annoying as we had just replaced the timing belt for the second time.
Turns out a corroded bolt that held the turbo in place had gave way, cost to fix free!
Without a doubt the best car we have ever had, will happily sit at 80mph fully loaded all day.
Comfiest seats ever and I'm pretty sure you could get an Airbus wing in side it with the back seats down and the front passenger seat folded forward.
Tempted to turn ours into a stealth camper, have watched a couple of YouTube videos on this.
2007 XC70 D5 185 bhp
Tax will be what, £360 a year, plus 35mpg.
My 2013 V70 D3 (5-pot 136bhp) manual is £20 a year to tax and usually hits over 50mpg on a run, 35-40mpg around the doors, with all season tyres on.
They are good size, boot is bigger than it first seems, they just are the most logical layout of any car dashboard / buttons / levers / things of any car I have know. When my only criticisms are that the cup-holders are in an odd place and the door pockets are too small, I think I am on a good thing. Simple thinks like headlights are amazing and seats are so comfy.
A lot of parts are Ford - eg my brakes are Mondeo, radiator is a LandRover unit, some of the electrics etc. So many consumables are not as expensive as you think. Do get a Volvo diagnostic tool - mine was £50 from a fellow forumite and has paid for itself easily, I leave it for the garage to use when they service it.
I had cam belt and aux belt done when needed, but they are so easy to do the garage only charged an hours labour...
Check suspension parts and brakes, they are heavy cars. Mine had a couple of new bushings when I bought it and someone had bumped a low wall putting a tiny hole in the radiator, all sorted by the selling garage.
I have now 125k on the clock (bought at 80k) and so far in 2.5 years of owning I have had a wobble with the turbo which was fixed with a good clean - I think previous owner hadn't given it an Italian tune up..., I have also had a couple of the MAF sensors go (there are two, one secret one from what many garages know), probably linked to the gunked up turbo, that cost £30 each and 10 mins of my time, and I have one door the central locking stopped this summer.
I cannot imagine a better 'tool' of a car than this for us at the moment - I do miss the ultimate space of the Galaxy we had before, but often there are only 3 or 4 of us in the car now, not 5, so Galaxy would be superfluous. On a cold day, heated leather seats and (we have) the posh stereo on is a wafty experience...
The garage which looks after ours has a set of customers waiting to buy ours if we sell - and the garage owner has just gone out and bought one.
Long term V70 owner here, I think the 2007 XC70 is still the Volvo P2 platform rather than the later shared Mondeo.
As above if it's an auto and has a tow bar fitted unless its a factory fit towbar with the extended gearbox oil cooler then walk away. The AsainNissan box is pretty fragile and 'sealed for life'. The fluid is changeable but only if a conscientious owner does it - it's not a regular service item.
Check up inside the front suspension turrets - they rust up inside here from the wheel arch side despite being galvanized. Pop the bonnet and look around the top of the turret - any sign of rust and walk away.
Check seat bolster for splitting on the seam.
Check steering rack for leaks.
Brilliant well engineered and built cars BUT they are still a complex expensive when new car that are not cheap to run.
Ours regularly used to do the run down to Perpignan non stop in utter comfort with the dog snoozing in the back. Its on 190k miles now bought at 79k. Best car I've ever owned.
Cheers for the really useful advice and pointers, a couple of those may be issues in last MOT 'advisories'.
I'll have a chat with the guy to see what has been covered maintenance wise 👍
Update
Damn, it's auto box, towed a caravan and doesn't know if factory fitted towbar, so I guess that's that.
The search continues for something large, 4WD and without too many obvious potential gremlins!
Do you really need the 4WD?
Never been stuck in ours, Michelin Cross Climates fitted.
Live in Central Scotland and use it for the ski runs to Glenshee, Nevis Range, etc.
it'd probably be worth understanding whether its a very late 'volvo' xc70 or a very early 'ford' xc70. There's nothing wrong with the latter (and its a much more modern car) - but that would feed into what to look out for
Ad is Here on Gumtree so don't know if it's possible to tell difference between old or newer from that?
4WD is needed as going back to Co. Durham and living in countryside at top of hill on a small road which definitely won't be cleared in winter + hopefuly might get the odd day skiing at Weardale and 4WD makes things so much easier 😉
Autobox is fine if it has had fluid changes, but they weren't in the original service schedule. Aux and AC belt comments above ring true, again fine if they are regularly changed, I do mine every two years.
Must say don't think you're doing bangernomics right targeting complex cars that are expensive to maintain in old age. I guess you're just optimistically rolling the dice and have expensive needs.
My ten year old well maintained Volvo V70 has cost me £1000 or so this year in servicing and repairs, so good luck. Awaiting another wheel bearing and the blower is noisy, so more bills on the way.
Then my 20yr old 228k volvo has cost me less than £300 in the last 30k. Just for balance like, 4 tyre's and a brakes caliper plus 2 x oil changes.
Ad is Here on Gumtree so don’t know if it’s possible to tell difference between old or newer from that?
that's an old one, the newer one looks more modern - so expect it to be fairly archaic (if pleasant) inside - it was a slightly shorter version of the s80 which was introduced in 98
Friend has an old XC70 and it’s not bad. However, the XC bit is really only nominal, I'd say.
If you can find one, I'd get a manual, AWD normal estate.
Like my old one!
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/volvo-for-sale-3/
Don't believe ATF changes guarantee avoiding grief from the auto box. I conscientiously had mine changed though it was 'sealed for life' and still had a major/costly problem.
^its not ATF it's ~£100 for a 20l drum of
JWS3309 and a bit of time with a measuring jug and a long narrow funnel.
Done mine twice and it's still {touch wood} fine.
Our V70 was as good as my Defender when we had it on proper Vredestein snow/winter tyres but they wore quick in summer. It was nearly as good on Michelin Crossclimates for the last few winters and has never been stuck.
Our autobox has a 'winter' button that also makes a difference.
I’ve got a V70 D5 of a similar vintage. Great mile muncher of a car. Mine just passed another MOT with 205,000 miles on the clock with no advisories.
I’ve only had one big bill, &600, for a new DPF, the genuine Volvo part, the rest of the exhaust is the one it left the factory with.
A friend had a auto box give up whilst overtaking and HGV on the A9, pre average speed cameras. A retired general, it gave him a fright. His had been dealer serviced Fromm new. So avoid the auto.
There’s a super expensive prop shaft bearing to the rear axle, some thing like a £1000 part, only from Volvo if it fails.
I run mine year round on winter tyres, it’s been pretty good over the last few winters, I only take the Discovery out when the snow gets really deep
Must say don’t think you’re doing bangernomics right targeting complex cars that are expensive to maintain in old age
You're probably right but the BMW has cost me about £900 over the past 2 years which really isn't bad considering the level of performance. More recently, I had a Saab 95 and Disco TD5 for 3 and 4 years respectively and both had less spent less than that. Main issue is that my Wife doesn't trust the car any more after an incident where we lost all power on a busy road, Dingwall to Ullapool, while fully loaded + 2 dogs in the boot and all the doors locked! Turned out some muppet (not me!) hadn't secured the earth on the battery and it had somehow worked its way off. The damage was done!
I like something just a little bit different otherwise I'd be looking for a Mondeo Estate, so any suggestions on those lines would be welcome. Shogun or similar would be fine too as quite enjoy chugging along sometimes, I need my license and don't do huge miles.
Isn't that the one with the 4wd that can go badly wrong if all the tyres aren't changed at the same time?
Can't find anything on that problem. Seems to be a tough old beast with not much to watch out for other than the usual stuff with an old car.
I'm after a similar 7 seat 4x4 to replace my 2001 Disco 2. It's been trouble free for two and half years I've had it but looking at something newer. And it's got to be auto. Not the newer Discos though that's for sure. So think I'll go for a Pathfinder.
RustyNissanPrairie
Full Member
^its not ATF it’s ~£100 for a 20l drum of
JWS3309 and a bit of time with a measuring jug and a long narrow funnel.
Fair enough. Whatever flavour the jungle juice is, mine was changed preemptively and reactively by Volvo and made not a jot of difference.
IIRC, there's two versions of the auto box, one more reliable than the other. If it were me buying an older v or xc 70, I'd go manual.
So think I’ll go for a Pathfinder.
There is one local to me I've had a look at and they tick a lot of boxes....except for the road tax on most of them!
where abouts in Durham? I live on the border with Northumberland/Durham, also on top of a big hill!
Off A68 between Satley and Consett.
ahh not too far then. Im over above Blanchland.
Bumping because I have a similar question! Friend has offered us a 2005 XC70 Cross-country auto diesel for cheap/free. It's cosmetically been banged about a bit (scratches etc) but has been assiduously serviced by Volvo main dealer and then trusted local village indy dealer. No fault codes, no known problems. MOTs don't reveal any problems beyond a lot of bushings etc (suspension heavy as mentioned above) and missing light bulbs etc. No towing.
I'll be using it in the country (it's not ULEZ compliant) and on long motorway runs. If I expect expensive car tax and low mpg (not a terrible problem due to low mileage), and to have to scrap it if auto box or DPF goes, it sounds like a reasonable gamble considering the price so far. Any other thoughts?
And any good Volvo independents near Edinburgh/Glasgow that anyone can recommend?
Auto box is superb and reliable, despite what's said on here.
I have a 2010 D5 auto that's towed all it's life.
115k on it now and was looking at it yesterday thinking that it's getting some tarting up as I can't bare to replace it. It's that good.
40mpg on a long run, 30mpg towing my caravan
A good polish and they look great.
If it's free and you don't want it, I'll take it.
There is a Volvo indie in Edinburgh but can'r remember who . I just use my locals.