V70 T5 Buying Advice

[JimmyBurnWorld]

Hi all,

First post, hoping to join the T5 club.

I have an opportunity to spend upto £4K on a high performance estate which will comfortably munch motorway miles, and be reliable. The V70 seems to tick all those boxes in T5 guise. However, I could do with some buying advice.

I have been looking at ex-police V70's which seem to give great value for money. However, will a 150k+ ex-traffic car give me the reliability to do 30k miles over the next year? What will I be fixing on those 30k miles? How much will it REALLY cost me.

Away from ex-police or not, what should I be looking for when buying a T5. Is mileage a problem with these cars?

Also, what tuning options to I have that will maintain driveability and reliability should I fancy a fettle. I obviously don't want 350bhp of peaky torque steer that will see off the clutch and gearbox and cost me a fortune in tyres, however it's nice to know what I can do to gently warm the engine bay

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Flatout Phil]

Hi all,

First post, hoping to join the T5 club.

I have an opportunity to spend upto £4K on a high performance estate which will comfortably munch motorway miles, and be reliable. The V70 seems to tick all those boxes in T5 guise. However, I could do with some buying advice.

I have been looking at ex-police V70's which seem to give great value for money. However, will a 150k+ ex-traffic car give me the reliability to do 30k miles over the next year? What will I be fixing on those 30k miles? How much will it REALLY cost me.

Away from ex-police or not, what should I be looking for when buying a T5. Is mileage a problem with these cars?

Also, what tuning options to I have that will maintain driveability and reliability should I fancy a fettle. I obviously don't want 350bhp of peaky torque steer that will see off the clutch and gearbox and cost me a fortune in tyres, however it's nice to know what I can do to gently warm the engine bay

Any advice would be appreciated.

With £4k, I would (as anyone else here will know) buy a REALLY NICE sub 100k manual 850R or T5R (rare, but worth the wait) - should do it for a good deal less than £4k and get the front brakes upgraded. Apart from the usual issues (at this price should have total history, recent cambelt no significant damage or faults), should serve you very well indeed and be a lovely long-term own.

But you could buy a V70 T5 too - each to their own.

[philt6]

Welcome
You dont say where your from.
Im on my second ex-plod V70 T5 both bought with over 100k on and from the same dealer absolutly no problem with eithier of them.
Comfort is great plaenty of room for the dogs and all the power you want

[Jimmie]

Most of the guys/gals on here will disagree with me but buy the youngest motor you can with your funds T5 or R.
You could also buy an "Audi".
.

[JimmyBurnWorld]

Welcome
You dont say where your from.
Im on my second ex-plod V70 T5 both bought with over 100k on and from the same dealer absolutly no problem with eithier of them.
Comfort is great plaenty of room for the dogs and all the power you want

Just added some more info on the Control Panel. I see there's lots of ex police dealers around the cheshire/manchester/yorkshire belt, any more local to the w.midlands?

[RobbieH]

Have a look here http://forums.t5d5.org/index.php?aut...d=article&id=7

SirD is alsoknown as loadsamiles on this forum.

HTH
R

[philt6]

Just added some more info on the Control Panel. I see there's lots of ex police dealers around the cheshire/manchester/yorkshire belt, any more local to the w.midlands?

http://www.expolicecarcentre.com/

This is the one i use excellent service and cars neveer had a problem with them.

Its in Dudley

[cornclose]

SirD is also known as loadsamiles on this forum.

Well b*gger me I didn't know that...

[v70torslanda]

IMHO the things that make a Volvo V70 are all missing from ex-plodsters.

Foglights, winter pack, leather, roof rails, climate, HU-inbuilt stereo are all very much OFF the spec sheet.

OK, you get the 250bhp and the dog guard, big brakes and Nivomats. Along with 16 inch wheels and loads of holes in the roof.

Save up, get a real one

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, it wasn't meant to be.

OTOH maybe I'm the one who's got it wrong. My D5 is going to have cost over 20k by the time I've finished paying for it!

OMG! What was I thinking?

J

[lance]

If you know any plod ask them if they would buy one many wouldnt, some are good but it can be a lottery and spec is usually poor.

[JimmyBurnWorld]

IMHO the things that make a Volvo V70 are all missing from ex-plodsters.

Foglights, winter pack, leather, roof rails, climate, HU-inbuilt stereo are all very much OFF the spec sheet.

OK, you get the 250bhp and the dog guard, big brakes and Nivomats. Along with 16 inch wheels and loads of holes in the roof.

Save up, get a real one

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, it wasn't meant to be.

J

Thanks for the reality check. It's a fair point well made, I am after all going to be seeing the better part of 30k miles per year so I may as well have some of the comforts. Plus winter pack sounds nice for a 5am start on a frosty morning!

Just a side point on equipment, are HID headlamps a standard item? I haven't seen them mentioned in classifieds, and I haven't seen them as options on parkers buying guide.

[cornclose]

HIDs are not standard on most V70's. You might get them from the factory on 2005+ (facelift) models of a certain spec, but before that they will have been fitted as aftermarket upgrades, which are technically illegal incidently...

[lance]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/1233701.htm

[thebadger]

HIDs are not standard on most V70's. You might get them from the factory on 2005+ (facelift) models of a certain spec, but before that they will have been fitted as aftermarket upgrades, which are technically illegal incidently...

IIRC Vospa state that HIDs are only illegal if the car they are fitted to has no self cleaning headlights.

Tho TBH the rules on them are mega fuzzy as most car producers now fit them as standard.

[cornclose]

IIRC Vospa state that HIDs are only illegal if the car they are fitted to has no self cleaning headlights.

Tho TBH the rules on them are mega fuzzy as most car producers now fit them as standard.

...and the car also has to have a 'self levelling system'. This applies to the lights themselves although it is grey and may infer that self levelling suspension is acceptable.

But it goes on to say that any after market lighting system should be 'type approved' and that you cannot 'type approve' the HID retro-fit kits, but only complete, sealed headlight units with the HID's self contained.

So very fuzzy and grey indeed, but in a court (if it ever came to that) I'm sure it would be ruled that if they're not type approved, they're not legal. If they're not legal, in the eyes of the 'law' the car probably isn't road worthy and any insurance company would have a field day rejecting claims. Not worth it IMO.

It's worth mentioning that they're only 'illegal' if they're used on a public road. You'd be ok on a track or rally etc. Also, from what I can gather, it's only illegal to use them (on a public road) and quite legal to sell the kits, even if they can't be used legally for road.

Unless things have changed significantly in the last 6 months or so...

[dave stew]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/1233701.htm

Looks identical to mine, aside from the wheels. Is that Woolaton Park in the background from the second pic?

[Mrs_PA]

After our experience with Christine, I wouldn't touch a V70 P2 with a very long barge pole, but I know others haven't had the same problems. The V70 P2 just feels too sedate for me. I'd settle for anything pre-Ford; an 850 T5R/V70 P1 T5R would be my ideal car. I've got the 850 T5, just need the 'R'!

[JimmyBurnWorld]

Tempting Lance, very tempting. However.... I have been tempted by another. Another swede has come onto my radar as a possible, in the guise of a S**b 9-5 Aero. Same power (as standard! More expensive to fettle thanks to Trionic), FWD, estate and a bit more kit as standard. What do I do guys?

[lance]

Tempting Lance, very tempting. However.... I have been tempted by another. Another swede has come onto my radar as a possible, in the guise of a S**b 9-5 Aero. Same power (as standard! More expensive to fettle thanks to Trionic), FWD, estate and a bit more kit as standard. What do I do guys?

Mega Torque steer as standard, try mine it has all the equipment you need and is a much better drive than a saab 9-5 aero!

[lance]

Looks identical to mine, aside from the wheels. Is that Woolaton Park in the background from the second pic?

No its my house,


not unfortunatly its Colwick Hall