Buying a used Volvo has never been this hard!

[inkyblue]

Hi. Thought I'd introduce myself. My trusty Van packed in after 10 years last year, so I was 'forced' to use my wifes V40 for work (kitchens and bathrooms). But I've had a health scare, so I'm downsizing what I do, and when I go back in a month or two, I'm only going to do small jobs. My wife has had 3 Volvos, which I'd always driven over the years. A 340, which we got about 15 years ago from the groundsman of a local cricket club, but when our 3rd was born 11 years ago, we swapped it for a 740. I loved that car, but my wife hated parking it. She's not the best at parallel parking, so about 8 years ago got a V40. Each one we bought was only owned by one or two people, and they had maintained them well. The V40 had the cambelt go over Xmas, and got towed away sadly early January. My cheap van I bought as a stopgap turned out to be a bag of sh**e, and the MOT is up Sunday, and is getting hauled away tomorrow. So no car!! I've been looking all week for either a V70 or 850, I havent got a lot of money owing to not working for a few months (my wife has been at Uni for the last 5 years too), so I've been scouring ebay and the local ads, but it feels like there are no genuine car sellers out there! Everyone I've spoken to seems to be selling it 'for a friend' or doesnt have the logbook etc. I know I'm at the cheap end of the market, but I hope I can get one soon. So if anyone is thinking of selling, or knows anyone, please let me know, so I can restore my faith in genuine people! After owning 3, I don't want anything else. I've got £500-£900 to spend, can it really be so hard trying to find something? I'll keep you posted on how I get on.
Anyways, that it for now
Terry

[blackrevolver]

have you had a look at the s70/850/v70 section of this site?

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=158

In the sales section you often see cars priced within your range and if its someone that has a good rep on the form then you could pick up a bargain.

[Slackey]

There's an 850 in the 850 area (linked above) for £600

[inkyblue]

Thanks, I'll keep checking it out, have replied to a couple earlier.

[capt jack]

Hi Terry

Good luck with finding the right car. Buying from someone who's a regular on here is a smart move. If you look back through people's old posts you'll be able to get the history of their cars!

A few thoughts on the 850 and 70-series estate cars:

Don't be put off by high miles. If it's had regular oil changes then a Volvo 5 cylinder engine will do 300,000 without issue.

The best all round engine is the 2.5 10v 140bhp. Engine code B5252s or B5242s. Others will possibly disagree, but it's a strong, smooth engine, fairly simple, and quite economical.

Make sure you know it's cambelt history. Most Volvo engines of this time have an 80,000 mile or 8 year interval, A 200,000 mile car with a recent cambelt would be a better bet than a 100,000 miler with no cambelt history.

Auto or manual is good, but if auto make sure it drives right and that the autobox fluid is reddy brown and reasonably clear, not black and smelly or very recently changed. If black and smelly it's probably knackered, if very recently changed someone is possibly hiding something! Make sure that the reverse lights work on an auto. The lights work off the same switch as controls the gearbox, and dodgy reverese lights can be an early sign of that switch failing.

If the car has a throttle cable and distributor cap then that is good, as this set-up is simple and reliable. If there is no throttle cable then ask the seller about the ETM. You'll find loads of info on here. An ETM car is fine if the ETM has been fixed!

At that sort of age and mileage don't be surprised if the aircon doesn't work.

Have a look under the carpets in front of the front passenger seat. If it's all wet then the heater is leaking. Again, plenty of posts on here and it's not a difficult fix, especially for a plumber!

Make sure that the engine top mount is nice and secure.

Make sure that the ABS, TRACS (if fitted) and engine management (Lambda) lights all come on when you switch on, and go off immediately the engine is started. If not then probably best to walk away from the car. Again, loads of posts on here refer to these issues.

Make sure that the temperature gauge goes up quickly to the half-way position and stays there.

Look out for fluid leaks. Usual culprits are the steering rack (oil spilled over the cross-member just behind the engine), the rear main oil seal (oil all over the underside of the car, the engine and gearbox and on the ground just ahead of the front passenger floor), and as has been mentioned, the heater.

Make sure that the rear section of the exhaust is properly secured at the back end. The brackets rot away quite easily.

Finally, apart from the rear exhaust hanger, these cars only go rusty if they've had bodged bodywork repairs.

On top of this, do all the usual used-car checks of course.

All the above is based on the experience of owning and running a 1997 V70 and a 1998 S70 as our two family cars over the past 8 years. They've done 285,000 miles and 160,000 miles respectively, and we've had experience of all the above things going wrong. It all can be fixed, but of course at a cost. If you can find a car where these things have been sorted then you'll probably get many years and thousands of miles out of your new Volvo - without having to break the bank.

Good luck

Cheers

Jack

[inkyblue]

Thanks a million Jack, fantastic advice. Great tip on the reverse lights! I'll have to print off your reply, and bring it along when I go to look at the next one, else I'll never remember it all!
Cheers
Terry

[Paul240480]

Good advice ^^^ there from The Cap'n.

I bought mine in Feb 09' with 138,000 miles with 'some' history. £850 back then from a friend of family.

Tis a 2.5 20v Glt so 170hp.

Now on 188,000 . Only conked once when the fuel pump died . If they 'go' it is game over till you replace. I don't think it is that common mind. I got a replacement from a yard over 2 years back 40€ job done
Wear & tear things are really all you get, handbrake sticking or shoes breaking up, drop links rattling, accelerator cable getting stiff. A quick search on here & you'll probably find detailed pics & step by step 'how to' repair it (assuming, your like me and need that sort of stuff!) .


Good luck & keep us updated when you get your 'new' Volvo