Hallsy
Thursday 26th March 2009, 09:46
Didn't buy it though sad.gif
After what feels like ages (prob only a couple of weeks) of looking for a manual 850/V70 T5 I haven't had much luck!
So today I decided to go and have a look at a V70 T5 'auto' - beggars can't be choosers, and I reckon in these big cars, an auto probably isn't all that bad.
It was this one: http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/uvl/popup...&distance=1
It sounded OK over the phone, fsh, CD spec, 170k, MOT til July (or 12 months at asking price), very tidy apart from slight scuff to o/s front wing/bumper and key mark down the n/s.
Not being too worried about minor bodywork (have all the equipment for repair/paint) i went down with an open mind to knock him down if I liked it (he had said lowest he would go would be £875 as is, no valet, no extra MOT).
Shame it turned out to be a little more ropey than I expected. The dent on the wing was minor, but the 'scuffs' on the bumper were complete scrapes down to the plastic with the paint randomly peeling all over it, both fog lamps smashed, o/s front wing had a crease in it. Rest looked OK, but it was dirty. Interior was filthy, children had drawn on the rear windows, there was some sort of sand/dirt all over the front cabin. Still, might scrub up OK. Some of the window switches didn't work either.
Popped bonnet checked dipstick from cold and it was covered in orange gloop, not just a little bit, loads, all over the dip & in the tube. I cleaned the dip a few times but still the same. Filler cap had no signs of oil/water mix though, and coolant although very dark appeared to be me water like than oil/water.
Took for a drive, seemed to drive OK. Stopped and checked dip again, smoking (PCV blocked?), and still covered in gloop. Slight hollow knocking noise as well, guessing at maybe water pump or similar ancillary as it didn't sound like it was coming directly from the engine.
The noticed that bonnet & n/s wing were a different colour to the bumper & o/s wing. Not sure which was newest and which matched what as car was too dirty. The 'full' service history was patchy also, it was pretty good up to about 04/05 but then nothing after that, other than a Volvo sticker under the bonnet for air filter at 128k, and cambelt at 150k (iirc). Possible this history was lost, not sure.
In the end I drove it back and said 'thanks, but no thanks'.
Now I'm home I'm a little annoyed at how poorly described it was. Scuffs and a dent are one thing, but for it to look any good it needed the whole front end respraying, and that's before cleaning the rest of the car. Plus, the emulsified oil on the dip was a worry, I'd heard of a few drops being common due to condensation, but this was quite bad. Tube was full of gloop.
Part of me wishes I'd bought it so I had one, but the other half says that to get it looking how I'd want it needed a reasonable amount of time/money spent, so may as well wait for another to come up.
Ho hum....
After what feels like ages (prob only a couple of weeks) of looking for a manual 850/V70 T5 I haven't had much luck!
So today I decided to go and have a look at a V70 T5 'auto' - beggars can't be choosers, and I reckon in these big cars, an auto probably isn't all that bad.
It was this one: http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/uvl/popup...&distance=1
It sounded OK over the phone, fsh, CD spec, 170k, MOT til July (or 12 months at asking price), very tidy apart from slight scuff to o/s front wing/bumper and key mark down the n/s.
Not being too worried about minor bodywork (have all the equipment for repair/paint) i went down with an open mind to knock him down if I liked it (he had said lowest he would go would be £875 as is, no valet, no extra MOT).
Shame it turned out to be a little more ropey than I expected. The dent on the wing was minor, but the 'scuffs' on the bumper were complete scrapes down to the plastic with the paint randomly peeling all over it, both fog lamps smashed, o/s front wing had a crease in it. Rest looked OK, but it was dirty. Interior was filthy, children had drawn on the rear windows, there was some sort of sand/dirt all over the front cabin. Still, might scrub up OK. Some of the window switches didn't work either.
Popped bonnet checked dipstick from cold and it was covered in orange gloop, not just a little bit, loads, all over the dip & in the tube. I cleaned the dip a few times but still the same. Filler cap had no signs of oil/water mix though, and coolant although very dark appeared to be me water like than oil/water.
Took for a drive, seemed to drive OK. Stopped and checked dip again, smoking (PCV blocked?), and still covered in gloop. Slight hollow knocking noise as well, guessing at maybe water pump or similar ancillary as it didn't sound like it was coming directly from the engine.
The noticed that bonnet & n/s wing were a different colour to the bumper & o/s wing. Not sure which was newest and which matched what as car was too dirty. The 'full' service history was patchy also, it was pretty good up to about 04/05 but then nothing after that, other than a Volvo sticker under the bonnet for air filter at 128k, and cambelt at 150k (iirc). Possible this history was lost, not sure.
In the end I drove it back and said 'thanks, but no thanks'.
Now I'm home I'm a little annoyed at how poorly described it was. Scuffs and a dent are one thing, but for it to look any good it needed the whole front end respraying, and that's before cleaning the rest of the car. Plus, the emulsified oil on the dip was a worry, I'd heard of a few drops being common due to condensation, but this was quite bad. Tube was full of gloop.
Part of me wishes I'd bought it so I had one, but the other half says that to get it looking how I'd want it needed a reasonable amount of time/money spent, so may as well wait for another to come up.
Ho hum....