V70 Buying Advice.

[eosfan]

Probably a little late now, but I have a petrol 3.2 SE Luxe (MY 08) Geartronic with pretty well all the toys and gadgets. The pop-up satnav has been excellent (far better than the one in my previous Jaguar XJ TDVi), front/rear parking sensors excellent, bluetooth connection to my iPhone 5 superb, keyless go I love and I can just about manage an average of 28-30 mpg.

Dave

[rogerb]

The brake callipers tend to look rusty on most V70's . That said my car is ok , but a Lott of the newer cars do seam to go rusty , with no problems other than looks.
The seats could do with some leather food , you can get dye touch up kits , through care is needed to stop it looking bogged .
Not having the pop up sat nav is no big loss , I have it on my car , and even with the up to date discs , I normally end up with the tomtom stuck on the window.
Just look for all the things you would look for on any car.
If you like the car , then go for it.

Roger.

[I-S]

We are pennine based around huddersfield also, and I commute over to oldham each day in our V70.

The 2.0D ford engine also requires DPF replacement and fluid top-ups, which don't do any favours for the running costs of an older car. Early "dry" DPFs had some troubles, but I think they were all sorted out prior to the introduction of the "gen 3" engines - That is those engines with 1800bar fuel rail pressure (which is all 2.0 5-cyl D3/D4 engines, and all twin-turbo diesels, plus the 175bhp 2.4D). tt82 has a gen2 engine with a decent mileage and no issues with DPF either, so bear in mind that you only ever hear about the cases where they go wrong.

Just give the leather a good clean and feed to begin with, you might be surprised how nicely it can clean up.

Poor tyres will not help - I find our V70 to struggle to cope with the torque on offer, and this was massively exacerbated by poor tyres. In this instance, however, my definition of "poor tyre" is Continental Sportcontact. It's a heavy, torquey car and so good tyres are a must. It's also a matter of synergy - finding the right tyre is important. I have found that stiff-sidewalled tyres tend to emphasise a nervous, twitchy, tramliney behaviour that the V70 exhibits at times.

The car you're looking at has heated seats, which is something of a rarity with R-Designs.

[Ozpass]

Thanks all for the responses!

There aren't too many choices for R-Designs within easy reach, and the problem of whether it's too low to get onto my drive is a thorny one. I think I'll go and see a couple of other cars and do the appropriate "due dilligence" on the black one before making an offer.

Based on the mileage, I'd say the aux belt and tensioner need replacing as an absolute minimum and will seek to reduce the price by the cost of having that done at a Volvo dealership - does anybody have an approximate figure for that job? I've also been quoted £366 for a year's warranty which sounds like a reasonable enough figure...

I've had issues with the DPF on my wife's Renault Scenic and faced with a £1300 bill to replace it I had the wretched thing removed, although I've subsequently heard about the harmful effects of diesel "soot" so wouldn't consider this an option in the future. I do long enough journeys that it shouldn't struggle to re-gen so hopefully wont have any problems there.

I'm closer to Holmfirth, and my trip "over the hill" is via the Isle of Sky road - nice to touch base with some Huddersfield / Oldham based owners and I hope I'll be joining your ranks soon!

[tt82]

I can definatley agree with I-S comments regarding tyres. I'm currently running Kumho Ecsta Le Sport KU39's and it can make for quite a nervous ride on motorways. Crossing the tramlines left by trucks, you would sometimes be forgiven for thinking that you were driving a boxy light city car in strong cross winds, as the car does lurch massively in the direction of travel.

I had originally thought that the handling and grip benefits afforded by sportier tyres and suspension setup would be worth the compromise, but a recent observation of a roundabout, some entusiastic driving and a non R-Design V70 with softer sidewalled tyres, showed there was very little difference when being pushed.

[I-S]

My commute is over Standedge.

In fairness to tt82, the roundabout he refers to I went in slower, tighter line then launched it out with the benefit of sport mode and a chunk more power...

My previous Honda Accord had a very sophisticated double wishbone front suspension that gave it huge front-end grip and isolated the steering action from the spring/shock stack. Going from that to the V70 highlighted to me that ultimately the fundamental mechanics of the V70 are compromised in such a way as to mean that regardless of spring rates and heights the front end will never offer a spectacularly sporting drive. It's a conscious choice though - the upside for the V70 is much better ride quality with longer travel.

I also think there's an unrecognised issue with the P3 platform, regarding spring seating on the front shocks. I also feel that the D5 is under-damped on the front end, making it a little space-hopperesque over speed bumps at low speed. I'm currently mulling whether to take a gamble on a firmer front damper (bilstein B6) and make sure that the springs are properly seated and top mounts in order...

I will say that I am excited that the new SPA platform will bring the next gen V70 (V90?) onto a double wishbone setup at the front.

[Ozpass]

Performance is less of an issue for me to be honest - I can't imagine myself chucking it into a roundabout! I have something coming later in the year to scratch my performance itch...

I just spoke with our local Volvo dealer regarding the missed (i.e. out of dealer network) service. Fortunately, they can "re-do" a missed service (as long as it's within 2 months / 1000 miles) to retain the Volvo chain of custody.

A super-helpful chap from their service department is getting me a combined price for a service and an aux belt / tensioner replacement. Well impressed with how good Volvo were, actually.

[I-S]

You cannot possibly be talking about Harratts, who I have found to be the most useless, pointless group of people to ever even think of themselves as a car dealer...

[tt82]

Thats not fair I-S, I found them extremely good at wanting to charge for work that didn't need doing.

[Ozpass]

Haha, none other!

I wasn't sure if naming (and seemingly shaming!) was against the forum guidelines so was playing it safe. They've quoted me £600 inc. for a 72,000 mile service which includes replacing the auxiliary belt and tensioner which seemed fair tbh. Would also "re-enable" the full Volvo service history, which is surely worth having?