new to volvo and the v70r

[Jonny_rotten]

Hi folks,

I'm going to look at and most likely buy a MY2007 56 plate manual v70r tomorrow. I've read up a lot on these on various forums and they seem like great cars. It does have a higher mileage - 137,000miles to be precise - but it has a full service history, the last one only being 500 miles ago. Its looks very clean inside and out and the current owner seems like a genuine bloke. I am prepared for maintenance costs on this sort of vehicle - my previous cars have all been German - B6 s4 avant, A4 1.8T quattro, golf gti. I assume the costs will be inline with some of these? It had the cambelt done not so long ago ~115k miles.

It had the prop shaft replaced but the current owner isn't sure of what exactly was done or when. Would they have changed the notorious spline shaft while also replacing the prop shaft? I have read that the later models had an uprated/upgraded 4wd drive haldex system?

Any advice or words of wisdom on what to look out for is much appreciated. I have also searched for advice threads and found some good stuff already.

Thanks

Jonny

[M-R-P]

Welcome aboard, hopefully you'll get loads of fun out of the R.
Servicing wise, it'll most likely be cheaper to maintain than the Avant.
The 2007 should already have the upgraded angle gear but it must be maintained properly as it can ruin itself pretty quickly.

Don't forget to post some pictures when you pick it up, we like pictures here and many of us can't read

[V70 Graham]

Welcome, as M-R-P says make sure to post some piccy's

[expolicev70t5]

Sounds nice look forward to the piccys

[T5frankie]

welcome to the club

[Jonny_rotten]

Thanks for the replies folks. I will most certainly post some pictures when I pick it up.

What maintenance should I be doing on the angle gear? Oil change?

[stribo]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. As far as the angle gear is concerned, we get the oil level checked when it has it's yearly service, and topped up if necessary, generally they all have a slight weep, so wil lose oil over time.

[jamesy12345]

hello & welcome

[Harvey]

Hi & welcome.
Good choice ,Hope you know about the higher road tax rate.
The 2006-2007 cars have had the better AWD & haldex system.

[TerryW]

Hi and Welcome to the forums, i have found some excellent advice with very knowledgable people on here so best advice would be get onto a forum which you have done, full service history, is kinda a must which i didn't have on mine but it only had 48k on the clock so took the punt, the cars are pricey for repairs but you need to remember you are buying a performance car. The good news is what can you buy for between 4-8k dependent on age etc, with this much performance and comfort and the added safety of AWD, not much, as you may well know similar vehicles like Audi's, Bemmers, Mercs ect you are paying a lot more.

The bad news is they do have archilles heals which can cost, angle gear has been replaced on mine at a cost of £1500.00. 12,000 miles service is around 4-500 if Volvo prices, i would advise for most things on this car go to Volvo independant specialists or Volvo themselves make sure only Volvo parts used as well as oils and lubricants etc. Tyres are not so bad actually i have found and seem to last ok, if they have not already been done bushes ect. may need doing, but again not to bad on costs but have a good test drive and listen out for tell tail knocking sounds ect. other pricey items it seems over and above a grand may include steering racks, shocks etc., I would say dependent on your driving and how many miles you do in a year the car will be pretty cost effective especially given what your getting for your money, i have found doing higher mileage servicing and repairs come around a little to often, and i am topping up on oil every three thousand miles, where i found the german cars i have had used none, also bear in mind economy of the Car, although i have seen in the manuals you can use 95RON for normal driving whatever that means? i put in super unleaded and they do perform better with better on economy. With all this in mind haggle on the price and try and get it down especially if you think it is priced a little high, use any knocking or issues as a bargaining chip, my S60R had 48k and now has 59k on the clock and i think now i paid a little bit to much given i have shelved out 3k in servicing in repairs of the last month, and there is still things to do!!!, If you can i would really consider trying to find someone who knows these cars to have a look over for you before you buy, i think i have picked up the tabs for last 2 years servicing and some 15k miles not being done by Volvo, by the 1 previous owner. Things i wished i had done in summary:-

1) Found someone either independent specialist or other person who knows these cars to test it before buying.
2) Insisted that the garage i bought the car from had it serviced by Volvo before buying it, as i had no recent evidence of this, which doesn't seem to be an issue for you
3) I feel i had room to haggle and get the price down by a thousand or so, so haggle. Ask on this forum how much the experienced guys on here would expect to pay for a 2007 V70R Full service history with 137k on clock, and maybe use this a benchmark.

I am not as experienced as the guys on here but hopefully you may find this helpful

[Jonny_rotten]

Thanks for all the replies guys. And thanks TerryW for all the info. It's £4600 so it should be on the lower side of things anyway? Volvo serviced it 500 miles ago so am I right in thinking that they would have flagged up anything major? I will be a little annoyed if it ends up costing me £3k in the first year but I am prepared for it.

I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow!

Thanks

Jonny

[AndysR]

Sounds good, welcome to the fold. Have really started to warm to the late V70R's, looking forward to seeing some pictures.

[merc85]

I would have thought Volvo would av flagged up any major concern on the service, It also doesnt really matter what vehicle you buy almost all have some sort of achilies heal, Great car and a good price

[Harvey]

Thanks for all the replies guys. And thanks TerryW for all the info. It's £4600 so it should be on the lower side of things anyway? Volvo serviced it 500 miles ago so am I right in thinking that they would have flagged up anything major? I will be a little annoyed if it ends up costing me £3k in the first year but I am prepared for it.

I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow!
Thanks
Jonny

That's a good price ,I guess because of the higher tax makes it that bit less wanted.
Hope to see the just got home with it photos.

[TerryW]

That's seems a great price to me, and with full service history, looks like you could be getting a good car, I hope it works out, there is always good advice on here to help advise on any gremlins when they crop up anyhow, from the guys who have already posted you.

[TerryW]

Just as a quick note, sorry, have a look at the last 500 mile service record from volvo, look at the back of the paperwork they tend to put advisories to keep an eye on, may give you a clue of impending issues

[LeeT5]

Some sound advice from Terry!
As said, that's a very good price for the car and to be honest, I wouldn't haggle on that! To be honest, I would have paid more, but that's just me....so you definitely got it for a good price.

Regards servicing and maintenance; look at the service book and see when it was last stamped and where! Then ring the dealer/garage and ask them what it had done. If they can't say, then always air on the side of caution.
Have the cambelt/waterpump/tensioners changed as a matter of cause. Drop the oil and replace the oil filter and only use genuine filters!!
If it were me I would also have a four wheel alignment, replace the spark plugs and also, due to the mileage, I would try and find out if the PCV system has been replaced. I bet it hasn't! My car is an 04 model and I have done 137k and I've just replaced mine. It was hacking!! All the small plastic pipes were blocked and very brittle.

After you've done those, I would just drive it and see what else comes along. I would definitely invest in a good EOBD code reader or VIDA/DICE. Clear any codes and drive the car for 100 miles and re read codes. Any codes that come back will need investigation/rectification.

I recommend replacing ALL your gear oils Haldex (+ 2 filters), Rear diff, Angle gear and Gearbox. Volvo will tell you that the Haldex and rear diff are sealed for life, I guarantee they will be in desperate need of replacement and the drive train will certainly be smoother and quieter for it.

Other than that.....enjoy.

[Jonny_rotten]

Well it's fair to say that it was love at first sight when I saw the V70R on Saturday so I drove it home! What a lovely looking machine. The chap that I bought it from has obviously looked after it very well - inside and out. I was also delighted to hear that his father owned the local Volvo dealership (very recently sold it however) so it must have been well looked after.

Everything on the vehicle works as it should. I love the sound it makes when putting my foot down and I think I may have heard a little back-pop when down-shifting - is that normal? The only criticism I have (and its minor) is the harshness of the ride. I have read about this so perhaps I am looking for it but my wife did make a comment on it too. There are a lot of good roads in Scotland but many of them aren't the smoothest. So when cornering on a bumpy surface it doesn't feel that stable - feels a little skittish. The car has 18" wheels so perhaps a set of 17s would help? I actually don't mind the ride but a new arrival in 6 months time might.

Here are some photos of the car as promised. Any reason not to leave my reg number on these photos? I notice some folk blank theirs out.

[abdul]

Nice looking motor

[M-R-P]

In black as well - yum!

What suspension setting were you using? Sport will be a bit hard and advanced is supposed to be like a go-kart but in comfort, it should be fine. I believe there's a mod you can do to the suspension/sensors that softens it a little.