buyers guide / tips ?

[stuart bowes]

can someone please link for me (if already existing) or otherwise provide a buyers guide / shortlist of tips for what to look at

the missus wants a 'new' car to cart the kids about in, I've got a V70 and would feel quite happy about the idea of them pootling about in a nice safe XC90

am looking at probably £6-7k, ideally 70-80k tops, auto, she wants diesel which makes financial sense, a nice looking 59 plate is coming up on the searches

I've got VIDA and can plug in to check for hidden faults but are there ways of easily checking the Haldex, and so on

happy to change all the fluids and so on, but don't want to delve into the engine. I'd be paying someone to do that for me if it was necessary. Can easily do suspension, wishbones, brakes etc etc that's pretty much my level

I don't really know much about the D5, i'm all about the petrol engine myself, what is belt change interval for example, same as petrol? plus what else to look out for

thanks in advance

[TruckbusUK]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I don't really know much about the D5, i'm all about the petrol engine myself, what is belt change interval for example, same as petrol? plus what else to look out for.

Search is your friend, re the buyers giude, plenty of posts and replies.

Re the belts on the D5, really depends which engine you have/get ....

On the early D5 163bhp cars its 96k miles or 10 years, later cars 185/200bhp, are 108k miles or 10 years, water pump like most Volvos only need changed if showing signs off wear or leaking/rough running, otherwise every second belt change seems to be the rule of thumb.

Choose carefully, some real crap out there, find a loved/cherished one and it will do starship mileages, and remember there is no cheap way to run an XC90 if you want it to last ... spend the money.

Hope it helps.

[ca2n]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

can someone please link for me (if already existing) or otherwise provide a buyers guide / shortlist of tips for what to look at

the missus wants a 'new' car to cart the kids about in, I've got a V70 and would feel quite happy about the idea of them pootling about in a nice safe XC90

am looking at probably £6-7k, ideally 70-80k tops, auto, she wants diesel which makes financial sense, a nice looking 59 plate is coming up on the searches

I've got VIDA and can plug in to check for hidden faults but are there ways of easily checking the Haldex, and so on

happy to change all the fluids and so on, but don't want to delve into the engine. I'd be paying someone to do that for me if it was necessary. Can easily do suspension, wishbones, brakes etc etc that's pretty much my level

I don't really know much about the D5, i'm all about the petrol engine myself, what is belt change interval for example, same as petrol? plus what else to look out for

thanks in advance

Hi Stuart,

Welcome to the XC90 section!

There's much to be desired of the forums' search function. What I usually do when searching for something on this site is do a Google search. Specifically, I would enter in the search bar:

site:volvoforums.org.uk "xc90" buyer advice tips

That limits the search to volvoforums.org.uk and returns results that must have XC90 (in the double inverted commas) and some other search terms (buyer, advice, tips, etc.).

Some of the search results include the following, I'll leave the rest for you to have a lookout for

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=230464
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=211937
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=289171

When I considered buying an XC90 about 4 years ago, I knew I wanted the Euro 3 as I didn't want to deal with DPFs, swirl flaps, and higher VED (for an auto). I would have to contend with the weaker AWD (have had good luck here) and core plug (have had to get this replaced, gearbox off job to replace a £3 part, not so lucky). I was also particular of how the badging on the boot was arranged (I wanted the less fussy D5 AWD on the right, and XC90 on the left) which meant getting a late 2004 or early 2005 (but that's just picky me, I'm sure most people won't bother too much ).

[stuart bowes]

brilliant thanks for the useful info lots of food for thought

I'll have a good read through those links and try that search method

much appreciated

[stuart bowes]

Sadly, I think in this instance having read the previous plus links and got a rough idea of budget available, it seems that I should be spending the 6-7k as a minimum, and even with finding the best example, still having £2 or 3k spare for the inevitables

I do understand that though having spent an initial £4k on the v70 (100% worth it for the condition and low mileage) and now being in for total 8.5k nearly 3 years later (including not cheap sound system though, to be fair) I agree always be prepared to spend on good parts and getting things done straight away

this is the same thing that's stopping me getting a range rover.. like yes we could afford a reasonably tidy one within budget but it's the ongoing costs that put a damper on it

so anyway I still love them and maybe we'll go that way in the future when more modern ones are within range but for now, it's back to looking at alternatives and a nice looking Subaru could be the choice she looks at first, they're pretty bullet proof if not as comfy and full of airbags

thanks anyway for the help and links to info

[allplayandnowork]

Any specific reason you are limiting yourself to cars that have only done 7-8k miles a year? Mileage isn't really an issue for the XC90 so long as it's well maintained. I'd widen the search up to 120k and you should find plenty of new models to choose from.

I've had my 2012 d5 2.5 years and love it.

[Fordy5719]

If you go on to Volvo XC90 Owners UK on FB, a guy is selling what looks like a pristine XC90 based in Thurrock. The persons name is Steve Puzey.