Buying advice re. P2 V70 D5

[Old Skool]

Hello people once again....well...i've returned after some time away. I never got that T5 I was looking for, however an X-type Jag sort of fell into my hands and so I held on to it for a while.
231bhp in 4WD was fun. Oil consumption was not.

But I now have a sprog and am also considering moving country (not too far) to start a business, so wanted something a little more subtle, though able in all ways.

It also needs to sip fuel, rather than drench itself as a teenager drenches himself with water at a rave (a la Jag).

Hence the D5.
I hear a lot about poor reliability with Volvos and high service bills. Having previously owned a 480turbo, I won't say that's entirely untrue, but, please enlighten me.

What should I be aware of?

Any advice you may be able to offer would be welcome. I have no fear but my wallet is tight : up to £4.5K max.

[v70torslanda]

£4.5k won't get you a great D5. Does it have to be an estate? If not the old S80 is great value at the mo. Yes they're big but not much bigger than the V70, layout and engine/trans is virtually identical.

I've had my V70 D5 for precisely 4 years. It was 3 years old when I bought it. We've covered 74k in that time,(122k total) done 2 French holidays (4k in a fortnight) and replaced 16 tyres, all the brakes, the intercooler, the timing belt, the shock absorbers and polybushed the front end. An injector, the top engine mount and steering tie rods were all replaced under the used car warranty in the first 12 months. The instrument cluster has a developing fault and will require refurbishment to get rid of its niggles.

The car has averaged 40mpg consistently and if I stopped driving everywhere at 80-90 mph it would do a lot better. The stereo is fantastic, the seats are comfy and I have several times driven the car non stop across France and the UK.

If you can service the car yourself or use a good independant, if you are handy with spanners, provided nothing electrical goes wrong you will have difficulty finding a better car. Comfort and safety are a given.

AVOID ex-plod cars. they come with NONE of the creature comforts that make a Volvo.
Leather,climate, fog lamps, roof rails are all OFF the spec sheet. Look at and drive loads of cars, test drive those that you can't afford. That will give you an idea of what to look for.

HTH

John

[p fandango]

i'm currently looking for a D5 for my old man, but a S60

don't go by the spec trimming of what an advert says, ie we've noticed alot are listed as S spec when theya re actually SE's. It seems Volvo listed them as the lower spec for company cars to help with the car tax

also when you take one for a test drive give it a good thrash, if the DMF (dual mass flywheel) is knackered it doesn't show until about 3.5-4krpm. You get a really loud groan & a major vibration thru the whole car

also the intercoolers are a known weakness on D5's so have a look for oil around the front etc

my D5 has got 161k on it, i've had it 7monthes & still getting 50mpg even tho i think the intercooler has now departed. A good look over & service & she'll still be going strong

[Old Skool]

all sounds good so far. i do admit that my budget is at the tight extreme, however i do have time on my side and am in no hurry to do any buying. the Jag is still very much in session but i really would prefer the extra space a V70 would likely offer. As I'm saving to pave the way for some modicum of business expenditure, I need to keep these sort of costs down re . personal car etc.
Are there costs I should really bear in mind when buying something like this apart from DMF, intercooler and electricals mentioned?
or should I look elsewhere, bearing in mind budget etc., in your honest opinion?

[p fandango]

the DMF is a gearbox off job, which means dropping the subframe to get access so basically walk away

the intercooler i've read costs about £500 for a main stealer to do, so again inless you get an absolute bargain i wouldn't touch one with either of those faults. I'm going to look at using an aftermarket intercooler if/when mine fully gives up

i know the estates fetch a bit more but i only paid £2.5k for my S60, my old man has just looked at one for £3k but was a bit too tatty so there are some nicely priced ones out there. As i know estates are a bit more tho

[HammyUK]

After a D5 myself - the pricing is daft on them.
There a so many out there but you'll find 01/02's going for more than 03/04's and 04/05's for less too.
It makes no sense at all.
After the problems with the XC I'm going to a dealer even though I'll probably pay a little bit more.

[princepugh]

Have you considered the 2.4D? There are probably more of these around, more chance of getting a nice one and they are eminently chippable IIRC.

Just a thought.