Thinking of buying a V70. Any advice?

[Father Ted]

Hi.
I've registered here as I'm considering replacing my current car with something with a little more oomph to pull the caravan.
I currently have an old imported Toyota Estima which has been the most reliable car I've ever owned, so when replacing it I want to keep that sort of reliability.

So.I'm looking at two cars, Mercedes C250 (from about 1999) and Volvo V70 (or maybe XC70) from about the same year, both diesel automatics. But, apparently Mercs have rust issues.

Is the V70 ( XC 70 ) of that age
a) reliable
b) DIY serviceable ( I can live with some problems, so long as I can fix them myself) and the parts are reasonable.
c) sound in body. I spent enough time when I was young chasing rust around various cars. I'd rather a head gasket blow than have a rusty wing.

So, will the V70 fit the bill? Is there anything I need to be aware of or look for when buying?

[Axionknight]

Yes to all three points. The bodies are generally sound, you see very little with rust issues! Reliability on the old x70's is also good for their age, self servicing is also easy enough in a nice big engine bay.

Make sure the auto transmission is in good shape and keep an eye on the fluid when towing, if the car has a weak point its the auto box. If there's any doubt about the age and quality of the fluid then flush it after buying the car.

[Paddler Ed]

With a 1999 you will get:
FWD V70 diesel
OR
AWD V70 Cross Country Petorl (2.5t)

Unfortunately you can't get an AWD diesel in that vintage... If I remember correctly 2002-ish is when the XC70 came with the diesel engine.

They do rust (eventually....), my V70 is a 2000 with 225,000 miles on it and is just beginning to rust in some places, but not that many.

I'll leave it to others to advise on the merits of the AWD system from that vintage...

Ed

[Palmer]

Ive had a C250 manual, and rust isn't the word. Unless you do a full resto it aint worth it (unless u don't mind rust that is)


And the lag was phenominal, an auto could only be worse for roundabout brown pants moments!!

[Father Ted]

You've said what I was thinking, then.
I'm coming round to the V70. I'd like to stick with AWD ( my Estima has it ), but that might mean expanding the budget...but..maybe ;-)
Nothing will happen soon, I'm just dong my homework at the moment.

[green van man]

I have a 1999 V70 D5 manual and tow a 7m caravan with it no problem, rust is not an issue as of yet and although I have had some hefty bills its mainly due to other bits getting broken when repairs have been carried out at dealers, eg power steering pipe snapped off in rack when removeing pipe to drop sump to replace oil pump gasket = new rack and pipe but hey they did not charge me labour to fit new bits. These anoyances aside very reliable.

184,000 miles on clock and 47 mpg running local, up to 53 mpg on motorway cruse and 33 mpg towing caravan but in fairness sat on 60 mph from scotland to wrexham then all A roads.

I also thought about an xc70 but decided I didnot need it and the extra complexaty and possible expence couldnot be justified.

Regards Paul.

[S70 B5254T]

The V70 is a facelifted 850 and I can report no problems with rust on my 1994 car - they were galvanised as standard.
One less obvious, but more vulnerable place to check is the area around the number plate screw holes, the surface of which can corrode due to old rusty screws (this is obviously hidden by the number plate before it spreads, but cheap enough to remedy if nipped in the bud) - in rare bad cases, I have seen it spread through the whole number plate recess.

[Paddler Ed]

I'll try to get some pics of mine to show where rust can be found, and other worn out parts that may be problematic.

In terms of bits I've found whilst breaking mine for spares I've had a couple of bolts snap when undoing them to remove the shock absorbers (1/2 the bolts on the tops and lower shock mount on the rear), and there is a tiny bit of rust around the inside of the engine bay (mainly just behind the headlights).

It is however structurally sound, and with renewed brake lines etc (and some lights and switches and shock absorbers) would have passed it's MOT without any problems, even after being parked up for 2 yrs.

Remember that mine was parked up in 2010 with 225,000 miles on it, so the equivalent of about 21 years of driving in 10 yrs...

[Thanatos]

i have the v70 awd no rust on it and the awd system works
2 points with the awd

1 always make sure all 4 tyres are kept within 2mm of tread depth
2 make sure you get some proper high heat temp greese for the annual strip and re greese this only takes a couple of hours but you do need two people to do it