Buying a used V70 D5 - what to look out for?

[crazy badger]

Haven't been here in quite a while, as my 2001 V70 T5 has been running like a dream. I've managed to stick 80,000 miles on it in the last 4 years so it's now got almost 240,000!

MOT is coming up soon and I know from last year that all the brakes will need replacing, and I have a couple of warning lights on the dash (Airbags and Engine) that with the new regulations will need further investigation.

I'm thinking with the MOT, Repairs and Service I'm probably looking at ~£1000 which is getting to the point where a newer model might be a wiser bet.

Not looking to go crazy, so a slightly newer, lower mileage, diesel (need something slightly more mpg economical) variant are what I'm looking at. I've seen a 2003 (01) D5 SE with 106k locally that looks like it fits the bill at ~£3300.

Going to take a look later this week, but wanted to know what things I should be looking out for. I can pick up the obvious (rattles/bangs, warm air con, marks/scratches) but should I be paying particular attention to anything else. It will be my first diesel car, so not 100% sure it will be for me, but it looks pretty good in the advert.

Thanks

[jdavis]

I'll have 50p that the warning lights are old messages that just need clearing off

[JimmyBurnWorld]

I have a 2003 D5 V70 SE with 242K on the clock now. It's a reliable, quick economical commuting car which ticks my boxes of Big, Comfortable and Quick.

Make sure you get one with the winter pack (option on the SE) this includes the front fog lights and most importantly the heated seats!

My only D5 specific big bill (although covered by warranty) is the intercooler. Check numerous post regarding bulging and split intercoolers. At 106K it'll be on it's way out if it isnt leaking already.

The D5's have a pneumatic engine mount on the front of the engine, if it goes into limp under hard continuous acceleration this could be at fault. EGR's get pretty crapped up if the car is just Miss Daisyied around and can jam completley.

Make sure cam belt, tensioners AND water pump have been done at that mileage. I had my aux belt tensioner collapse at 180K.

Only other big thing would be to check for faulty injectors. This model at this model year had a rash of injector problems. Mine suffers from it, albeit not enough bother to justify the £1500 approx of getting it sorted. If the injectors are faulty it will normally start from cold without a problem, however once the mercury plunges it will give you all the symptoms of knackered glow plugs - i.e won't start from cold depending how bad it is. My car manifests the problem by dying off when I try to pull off after idling for a bit. It throws ENGINE SYSTEM SERVICE URGENT, then restarts fine. I just make sure i blip the throttle before picking up the clutch when I'm in traffic.

So on the test drive:

See it started from cold. Should fire up after a couple of turns and no more.
Find a long hill, get her in 3rd and plant your foot. Exhaust smoke is normal. Excessive smoke = Intercooler/ Other boost issues. Limp mode = Serious boost issues/ Aforementioned engine mount. The car should pull strongly all the way up.
Once its warm, find some traffic and see if you can pull away consistently on idle i.e without any throttle, just using the clutch. It should idle rock solid at 750RPM (unlike mine) and you should be able to pull away surprisingly briskly just on the clutch. If it dies off when you're doing this and throws an message you might have problems. If it dies off and doesn't throw a message, learn clutch control!

This is by no means a definitive and accurate list (please correct me anyone who spots anything), but this information has been gained over 100K miles of motoring.

FYI: My real world average fuel consumption on a mix of fast A-road commuting and motorway munching is 40.2MPG.

[crazy badger]

Thanks for the advice! Ended up driving it away!!

2003 Gold D5 SE with a lot more toys (including fog lights & heated seats!) than the ex-police T5 they took in part-exchange. Its done a few more miles (126k) but was very tidy and drives wonderfully and I didn't think £2800 was too bad a deal as I don't think I'd have got £600 for my old one with only 1 months MOT remaining.

It's my first diesel so was surprised just how quickly it pulls after coming from a T5. I guess my car had lost some of it's horses over the last 13 years but the D5 feels just as quick and the power delivery is very smooth.

Have ordered a GROM bluetooth kit and Brodit holder to bring the audio slightly more up-to-date, but hopefully it will serve me just as well as the old T5...

[stribo]

Thanks for the advice! Ended up driving it away!!

2003 Gold D5 SE with a lot more toys (including fog lights & heated seats!) than the ex-police T5 they took in part-exchange. Its done a few more miles (126k) but was very tidy and drives wonderfully and I didn't think £2800 was too bad a deal as I don't think I'd have got £600 for my old one with only 1 months MOT remaining.

It's my first diesel so was surprised just how quickly it pulls after coming from a T5. I guess my car had lost some of it's horses over the last 13 years but the D5 feels just as quick and the power delivery is very smooth.

Have ordered a GROM bluetooth kit and Brodit holder to bring the audio slightly more up-to-date, but hopefully it will serve me just as well as the old T5...

[crazy badger]

Haha!

Can't do better than a very small picture from the advert at the minute

[Leeds_finest]

Ler me know how it goes as im looking to do the same... T5 ---> D5

[crazy badger]

Well, after a months motoring I'm very happy with the newer D5

The car has a service book full of dealer stamps up to 110,000 miles in 2010 and then nothing in the service book since. The MOT certificate shows the same mileage in 2010 and then only 126,000 between then and when I bought it. Also had a knocking noise from what sounded like the front offside corner, so though it was worth popping it into the local garage for a oil and filter change and a quick once over. They replaced a droplink and strut top mount and bearing which has cured the knocking, and said everything else looked pretty good for its age.

Was also having some issues with the rear wiper, although after finding some details on another Volvo forum managed to remove, strip down and clean the gearing and everything appears to be working, although I won't be sure until the new wiper arm arrives after breaking the old one trying to get it off!

Other than that, I'm really happy with the car. It's a much nicer place to be driving, after coming from an ex-police T5 with it's very limited set of toys! Love the factory fit stereo and steering controls, especially after installing a GROM BT3 and Brodit iPhone holder, and the climate control is fantastic after coming from the T5 with faulty air conditioning. Leather heated electric seats are also a nice upgrade, along with the cruise control (don't know why the police didn't have this?).

Still getting to grips with the best way to drive the D5, given this is my first every diesel, but once you're going it doesn't feel that much slower than the T5. It's quite different though, with the D5 seeming very linear in its acceleration, whilst the T5 seemed to get faster and faster. Haven't really done any decent trips yet, with mainly runs back and forward to work, so mpg hasn't been great (between 34.7 - 37.7 taken from 3 fills and not the computer which says 38.9) but it's significantly better than the 27.3 average in the T5. Trip app on my iPhone is showing £0.17/mile against £0.20 in the T5 so it will have paid for itself in 93,000 miles

[M-R-P]

glad you're enjoying it. there's a lot to be said for those added extras which is why I've been gradually adding them to mine. I won't bother with the climate control as there's less to go wrong with the poverty spec one lol.

P.S. my plodder came with cruise control, I don't know if I could be without it now, I even use it around town

[Garett]

Can't really go wrong with the D5 106k is nothing! Mine is on 155k and I bought it at 92k 3 years ago. Most expensive repair was the clutch, about £500 including the slave. I also had the front wishbones done around your mileage and the engine top mount (get the revised one if not already done). Handbrake shoes were done which are a common failure and ARB drop links seem to go for fun unless you use good quality (Meyle HD or Volvo OEM).
Other than that just the usual wear and tear, my intercooler has been fine, as have many of the other so called common failures (touches wood quickly). My specialist told me the intercoolers usually go when there is too much pressure in them, usually caused by contaminates. i.e if the turbo seals are leaking oil into the intercooler.

Hope you enjoy many miles in it!