D3(?) 2.0 Driv-E engines in XC70
 

Hi folks,

Just looking for some friendly advice. Having previously owned ancient Volvos (240 and 760)...and had a number of years in "non-Volvo" ownership land (with a Skoda Octavia), I'm now on the cusp of (potentially) purchasing a Volvo XC70 D3(?) 2.0 drivE SE Lux.

It's a lovely car, with low(ish) mileage for an 11 year old Volvo. Only visual issue I can see are (a) scars/marks on alloy wheel rims, and (b) slight impingement of driver seat pillar (not unusual).

It's a one owner from new vehicle. Good service records. Cambelt and w/pump to be changed alongside an MOT advisory (ball joint play) and a service (guess just oil and filters).

It's a manual.

My questions are:

- are the D3 DrivE engines/cars (generally) good and reliable ( I know there had been a recall some years ago)?
- are there any key points any of you guys would advise paying special attention to when looking at it? Such as PCV clogging? Belts going "ping" etc?

Any helpful advise would be much appreciated and warmly welcomed!

Am getting a bit excited at the prospect of (maybe) owning another Volvo again!

I think the first thing is to clarify exactly what engine the car has.

The "D3" badge means different things on different cars.

For example the early V70 D3 was a 5 cyl 163 hp engine.

The later D3 was the same engine but only produced 136 hp, with the original D3 being rebadged as a D4. Then there was the new Volvo 4 cyl engine with 181 hp that was badged D4.

Get my drift?!

I believe the VIN shows what engine is fitted.

Thanks Tommyweave! Yeah - I was grabbing at straws on the “D” front really, as I’m more used to the 1980s B series red block engines tbh! Lol!

Seller states vehicle as VOLVO XC70 2.0 D DRIVE SE LUX 5d 175 BHP. Which is neither 136 nor 163 nor 181 bhp. Confused dot com!

Internet check seems to confirm this also (ie it’s a 2 litre).

I’m looking at the car Thursday, so will suss out from logbook or VIN plate then.

Have you u had any experience with the Drive-E variants? It deffo has DrivE on the back…and it deffo doesn’t appear as the 1.6L engine.

Actually think I’ve sussed it. I think the original spec was a typo at 2.0. I think it may be the de-tuned , non 4WD versioned D5! Again, I’ll find out on Thurs…

This might be an interesting starting point.

May or may not be the correct model year, but somewhere in there are the different engine options.

https://az685612.vo.msecnd.net/pdfs/...EN_tp11753.pdf

So... is it that nice-looking example on sale in Epsom via eBay and Gumtree, with 115K on the clock?

If so, then it's very, very well appointed, plus it has the bonus of being a one-owner vehicle with full service history.

Sheesh! It even has bluetooth, BLIS and adaptive cruise control.

It does seem to enjoy wearing out front track rod ends, but otherwise the MOT history looks really good, and the mileage also looks genuine.

I believe that your prospective car might be an early 2.0 D DRIVe XC70, which is 2WD with the 2 litre 160bhp (or 163bhp depending what you read) 5-cylinder Volvo diesel engine.

(Model history on Honest John and Parkers suggests that the 'D3' designation wasn't applied to those cars until the following model year.)

My son has a 2011 D3 DRIVe SE Lux Geartronic with the same engine and he loves it to bits. He's had it for two years now, and the only big problem has been a kn*ckered battery.

A concern is that the advertised bhp figure in the advert is wrong, which could be off-putting for some. I would have expected the dealer to get their figures right. Also, it will be necessary to establish that the full service history is a good one with no gaps.

There is also an outstanding recall for it which, I suspect, might be the seatbelt anchor point recall. this applies to loads and loads of Volvos, and loads of them probably still have the recall outstanding.

Other members can talk to you about cambelts etc. :)

One thing that I would say is that the price is on the high side, so it needs to be an exceptional example. At that price I would also expect it to come fully serviced and with a minimum 3 or 6-month warranty.

Ha ha! Yes Sotosound. Well spotted...and yes - it is that one! Thanks massively for your response. Really helpful. I'd noted the sound MOT history (and the recall too). I'm not sure about the recall. I guess I'd need the VIN number to verify what the o/s recall was. Think there had been recalls about 2L "engine fires" and aux. belt tensioners malfunctioning. We'll see.

The clear and diligent service record and receipts are a prerequisite for me. If they're not there/incomplete/look copied or dodgy... I'll likely walk away.

Yes- agreed on price - there's another similar spc (silver) Volvo not too far away that has a very low (77k) mileage at sub£8k...so a clear warranty and full service with MOT advisory sorted and cam/aux. belts and tensioners/ idle replaced too.

Thanks massively for your response! Much appreciated..

We're now all waiting to see what happens. :)

Apologies for delayed response Sotosound! It's been a roller-coaster of a "Sherlock Holmes" detective hunt for the car I've wanted for years!

So, the Epsom car (advertised at £8,150) is a lovely, straight and amaaaaazingly well appointed car. Speaking with the sales forecourt AND one of the mechanics who'd repaired and serviced it, it is indeed, a 1 owner (who I believe was from a military background), who bought from new with just about all the bells and whistles you could imagine. The reason for this relates to MOD employees "reduced price" on certain goods - in this case a car purchase.

I think the guy had to retire from driving and his son/son-in-law who had driven it too decided to emigrate to NZ - so they had to sell it.

Bodywork was good for a car of that age. Tyres good. Interior virtually unblemished. Certainly the rear seats. Aircon OK.

The mileage was straight too at just over 115k.

I test drove this exceptionally rarer and well appointed car. Seemed fine on short run. V pokey so it FELT like a 2.4D DRIVe engine. Turns out it is a 2.4D DRIVe engine and the registration (the ONLY V5 for 1 owner) was incorrect showing 2 litre DRIVe diesel. So that would need to be changed.

Outside the BLIS and the Adaptive Cruise Control - i could certainly live without all the possible/conceivable extras (ie monitors and DVD player etc).

However I could also live without BLIS (as I have done for years - and will continue to). I could live without electric seats too.

The other thing, for me. Was budget. I found another XC70 locally (an SE not SE LUX). This one was via a private seller. I suddenly realised that I much prefer talking/dealing with and buying from private sellers who have actually OWNED and LIVE WITH the car for sale (so can reveal every nuance, details of servicing, what kind of stuff they chucked in the back), rather than sales people in garages. The one I bought was equally reasonable nick, full stamped history WITH paper receipts to back up and the guy I bought it from was genuine. It has 137K on the clock, but waded in CONSIDERABLY cheaper (which would cover a lot of servicing, fuel or BIG expense buffer if anything did go wrong). I also preferred the colour. I preferred the seller. I preferred the price. I also like the idea that the one I bought had a DTUK Performance System included...so my MPG on this '11 Volvo XC70 SE with 137K on the clock is pretty amazing!!!:teeth_smile:

Volvo in Chigwell had a very immaculate one in same colour (Oyster metallic I think) but with tan leather (not good idea with kids), £77k and on at £9,995!!

So after about 16 years of non-Volvo ownership..I'm now a proud owner of an XC70 for which I paid a fair price!!! Very happy! Thing pulls like a train! But there is stuff I need to sort: cant see brake fluid bleed and change and slave cylinders checking. Clutch stuck down close to floor this morning, but after couple of mins (and putting my toe underneath gently to see if it would "unstick" which it did). Been fine since. Was fine yesterday (but need checking before hols.

In terms of storage space, I actually think Skoda's storage was more ingenious (cubby holes etc) than Volvo..but total area of storage is obviously bigger in the Volvo.

Chuffed to be back in Volvo-land once more!

Many thanks for sharing this, and pleased that you found what you wanted at the right price for you.

Good luck with your new XC70.