Fix or sell v70 2.4 Petrol

[mcfe]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Why so? As a runner it is probably worth a grand or so. Early V70s are presently at the bottom of their depreciation curve, so near zero depreciation.

What is he going to replace it with? A worn out Corsa costing twice as much may do a few more MPG, but you can buy a lot of petrol for the difference. The Volvo will also be safer, and probably cost less in repairs and replacements. For these reasons, my 2000 Ph 1 V70 has the lowest operating cost in pence per mile of all of our cars.

Then there is the Devil that you know; a 10 year old Corsa could have more faults than you can shake a stick at! Unless he can afford to be without a car altogether, I would advise him to think again.

There is more to economical motoring than the cost of fuel.

Regards, John.

A 2001/2004 Volvo of any kind will always be a money pit.

Suspension doesn't last depending on the roads and is quite expensive.
Engine mounts
Automatics from that era failed early and often, mostly due to bad maintenance. The single most expensive thing to repair.
Leaky racks 100%

A 2.5 volvo is usually on the cusp of a cracking a cylinder even stockwise.
AWD bevel gear spline stripping
2.4i NA engines don't fare too well in hot climates, pair with CNG/LPG and they blow head gaskets often, maybe requiring machining of the block but definitely the head
Radio unit HU650/850 fail on the FM frequency part.
Failing instrument clusters

And the list goes on.

Only the manual fwd D5 last the longest. All you need to worry about then is just suspension and maybe some modules.

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by mcfe

A 2001/2004 Volvo of any kind will always be a money pit.

Suspension doesn't last depending on the roads and is quite expensive.
Engine mounts
Automatics from that era failed early and often, mostly due to bad maintenance. The single most expensive thing to repair.
Leaky racks 100%

A 2.5 volvo is usually on the cusp of a cracking a cylinder even stockwise.
AWD bevel gear spline stripping
2.4i NA engines don't fare too well in hot climates, pair with CNG/LPG and they blow head gaskets often, maybe requiring machining of the block but definitely the head
Radio unit HU650/850 fail on the FM frequency part.
Failing instrument clusters

And the list goes on.


Only the manual fwd D5 last the longest. All you need to worry about then is just suspension and maybe some modules.

One can only speak from experience, 'mcfe'. It sounds as though yours may have been less than fortunate. On the contrary, mine has been an exceedingly good one.

In 2016, my 1988 745, which I had owned for 18 years, expired. We set about looking for a replacement, ideally a iate 9 series car or maybe a V90. Unable to find a suitable car, we saw a 2000 V70 with 116K up and a screen price of £695 in a corner of a dealer's forecourt.

I told him that I would meet his asking price if he would put a year's MOT on it as there was only five months remaining. He declined, but immediately offered me the car for £550 as a trade sale. We both liked the car and decided to take a chance. At it's first MOT in my ownership, all that it required was attention to the handbrake and welding the rear exhaust hanger - both known issues.

Since then, all that it has required is routine servicing and tyres, etc. It even still has the same battery that was on it when I bought it. It is now on 135K, stands out year round and continues to serve me well. Insurance is circa £200 per year and it returns a solid 30 MPG.

Maybe I have been lucky, but in addition to being both safe and comfortable, the car owes me nothing and to me represents very economical motoring.

Regards, John.

[mcfe]

Yes some of the things I mentioned are from experience, however I have also talked with many people personally and know that many of the S60/V70 failings are inherent to the car and are not at all due to chance, in fact I would say you are the outlier here. A lot of people have failed/failing automatics, it's not just one or two people. Or the failing ETM which has a resistive film that wears out and the replacement is costly.

You may not believe it, but a $2000 volvo or less can easily become $10k in repairs.

[stuart bowes]

the ETM replacement CAN be costly, personally I found a refurbed one on ebay with the new sensor already fitted, for £100, and paid the local wizard £60 to program it in for me on my driveway

gearboxes as long as you maintain them properly they seem fine, yes a few people have had issues but it's not like the forum is flooded with it is it. mine occasically flares into 3rd like once every couple hundred miles or so, it's really not any drama at all, I've been thinking about removing and cleaning the 3rd servo but honestly it's not enough of an issue to be worth the hassle

more often the issues seem to be electrical things, water ingress to the CEM is common and a total pain in the arse to get in and out

Originally Posted by mcfe

a $2000 volvo or less can easily become $10k in repairs.

sounds a bit over the odds maybe but yeah, over the time you own it, probably..

mines cost £8k total including purchase but I was more than happy to spend that for a car which is now fully maintained and in good running order which I expect to last at least 5 or 6 years in my care (£13-1600 per year? cheap) and probably an easy grand back when I sell it (drops total to 12-1400 per year) maybe more if I give it a good wash and find the right person

and then no doubt it will carry on running perfectly well for at least another 20-30k for the next guy without any works being required, all the suspensions been done, regular fluid changes, rack seems totally fine, no evidence of any sorts of leaks from any part of the engine that I can see..

bottom line though any car can be a lemon regardless of the brand, they all need repairs and maintenance, you can't just buy it and it lasts perfectly for 20 years costing you nothing at all. unless it's a Honda maybe or a Toyota

[mcfe]

In the forums I frequent, which are not UK based or US-based, these are common complaints. I almost know of no one that had it working well, unless they are a first time owner with impeccable fluid changes.

A guy I know and talked to over the phone did some final experiments on his 2001 AW55, it was on death's door so he flushed it and drove it with diesel inside for a mile or two, as a last resort, well he said after driving it like that the gear changes were smooth. So he replaced the diesel with ATF but at this point in time the damage to the gearbox from it's previous service life was already there and I believe some things disintegrated and there were metallic flakes in the oil pan.

So he opened up the valve body, opened up all the solenoids(by removing the cap), cleaned them of the gunk and installed the VB in a used AW55 and has had no issues further, except I believe a TC issue as the used AW55 wasn't in good order either, the oil filter was gunked up and was losing pressure.
So he did the diesel trick, but pumped the diesel with an air compressed backwards to blow the particulate from the oil filter inside which was a success and managed to mostly cure it.

[4x4]

Plenty V70s out there with huge mileage on them that don’t have any gearbox problems. Mine is buttery smooth at 66,000 miles and had its first fluid change last May after sitting unused in a garage for 10 years. Any car which is almost 20 years old is going to require work, just how much the owner is willing to spend is another matter and often when spending is required they sell the car rather than repair it. I can’t imagine many 2024 year modelEVs will still be around in 20 years time.

[scorpio stu]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Why so? As a runner it is probably worth a grand or so. Early V70s are presently at the bottom of their depreciation curve, so near zero depreciation.

What is he going to replace it with? A worn out Corsa costing twice as much may do a few more MPG, but you can buy a lot of petrol for the difference. The Volvo will also be safer, and probably cost less in repairs and replacements. For these reasons, my 2000 Ph 1 V70 has the lowest operating cost in pence per mile of all of our cars.

Then there is the Devil that you know; a 10 year old Corsa could have more faults than you can shake a stick at! Unless he can afford to be without a car altogether, I would advise him to think again.

There is more to economical motoring than the cost of fuel.

Regards, John.

I agree but other than insurance at £100 per month, road tax,£185 to park outside his own house I think he's thinking of his pocket.
I doubt I'll get back what I've put into it either but I've enjoyed getting it to a good stage. MOT tomorrow afternoon and waiting for the v5 to change the plate then it'll be up for sale.

[scorpio stu]

Failed it's mot today.
3rd brake light isn't working. Tried a replacement and still no luck.
Out cv gaiter off side
Rear fog light
Front drop links.
I'm stuck on the 3rd brake light, presumably there's a break in a wire but there's no room to check.
Any advice please.
Thank you

[irishcarfan]

Have a look at this re the brake light:
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=328678

The other stuff is, at this point, wear and tear so not a bad result considering where the thread started..!

[scorpio stu]

Originally Posted by irishcarfan

Have a look at this re the brake light:
https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=328678

The other stuff is, at this point, wear and tear so not a bad result considering where the thread started..!

Thanks for that, I'll have another go at it today.
The rear fog has become a pain as well. I replaced the bulb and it's still not working..