Owner views on Phase 2 V70R

[britten_mark]

I'm thinking about getting another P2 V70R. I had a wonderful 3 year old Sonic Blue example many years back, it was one of the few cars I ever made money on when selling!

I sold it for many reasons and went back to a Classic V70, but there are things about it I miss terribly and I don't think Volvo have made anything really *special* since.

I therefore wondered if several more years of enthusiast ownership had produced any accumulated wisdom? Are there any "what to look for" stickies anywhere?

Things that I didn't like:
1. Massive thirst (Not such a problem any more as overall mileage has dropped)
2. The turning circle of a supertanker
3. 4C suspension and possible costs
4. Too much dealer only servicing (flash coding of parts etc)
5. Worries about cylinder cracks

Things I miss:
1. Intercontinental speed and comfort
2. Those seats....
3. The feeling of being in something superior and special.

The car is an ex-Japan import from a dealer in Tamworth BTW

[Harvey]

Good luck on your hunt ..
You need to see lots of paperwork.

[britten_mark]

Oh dear, isn't that the thing that Jap imports have none of....not that it would mean anything to me even if it did!

[htomi]

I don't know the UK regulations in terms of Insurance, but here in Ireland its usually pain to deal with the Insurance monkeys when it comes to a Jap import car.
I would suggest to get on a hunt for a good and well maintained UK car. As it was mentioned within this forum, 2xx are still on the road....

[Ettienne]

I was just offer (thinking about) a last of the last sonic blue 07 plate manual 80k miles and 2 owners, fully loaded with attacama.

Still thinking about it hmmm

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,
If you need any help with insurance at all for a Japanese imported vehicle then please feel free to drop me a line.
Regards,
Dan.

[Redbrick]

I was looking briefly a few years ago. Then I found my silver 855 T5 and the inline 5 turbo thirst was quenched (and some).

V70R is a Volvo estate with the running costs of a super car was how it was described to me.

P2's are all getting leggy now. The road tax on the last of the line is bonkers. Shocks AND SPRINGS need changing every couple of years, fine while Monroe are releasing stock but when Volvo buy them all up they are stupid money.

Cracked blocks as you've said. If you find a good one without a split liner then a block shim is a must. Listen for a slight stumble at idle and coolant usage.

If you find a good one with low mileage and sonic or that lovely titanium silver, manual and attacama then you are a very lucky man.

[LeeT5]

I was just offer (thinking about) a last of the last sonic blue 07 plate manual 80k miles and 2 owners, fully loaded with attacama.

Still thinking about it hmmm

Atacama has one T ........and are you still, seriously thinking about it?? You'll never cross paths with one, ever again if you don't buy it!

I was looking briefly a few years ago. Then I found my silver 855 T5 and the inline 5 turbo thirst was quenched (and some).

V70R is a Volvo estate with the running costs of a super car was how it was described to me.

P2's are all getting leggy now. The road tax on the last of the line is bonkers. Shocks AND SPRINGS need changing every couple of years, fine while Monroe are releasing stock but when Volvo buy them all up they are stupid money.

Cracked blocks as you've said. If you find a good one without a split liner then a block shim is a must. Listen for a slight stumble at idle and coolant usage.

If you find a good one with low mileage and sonic or that lovely titanium silver, manual and attacama then you are a very lucky man.

That's not true and you know it! Either that or you've been misinformed. The first set of shocks on my car did 110k (granted they should have been changed sooner - but I didn't own it then). The second set are doing well on 40k.
Springs are not expensive either.

[Tim Williams]

After about 40k of brisk use new R springs tend to sag reducing the ride height by about 15mm. If old springs are retained with new shocks the shocks last considerably less time.

I think it's about £350 for 4 springs and about £1400 for 4 shocks with front insulators and bearings. That's over double the price of a set of BCs that come with adjustable front top mounts for a FWD P2.

I love the cars but if you get a neglected one (like most) they cost a fortune to fix all issues. I had one in last week that had had over 12k spent on it in the last two years at a Main Dealer. The car was standard and didn't have any major components like the engine or gearbox changed. It arrived with me needing £1800 of vital work so it would be driven safely, it wouldn't of passed an MOT as it was.

[LeeT5]

After about 40k of brisk use new R springs tend to sag reducing the ride height by about 15mm. If old springs are retained with new shocks the shocks last considerably less time.

I think it's about £350 for 4 springs and about £1400 for 4 shocks with front insulators and bearings. That's over double the price of a set of BCs that come with adjustable front top mounts for a FWD P2.

I love the cars but if you get a neglected one (like most) they cost a fortune to fix all issues. I had one in last week that had had over 12k spent on it in the last two years at a Main Dealer. The car was standard and didn't have any major components like the engine or gearbox changed. It arrived with me needing £1800 of vital work so it would be driven safely, it wouldn't of passed an MOT as it was.

Which is precisely why I replaced my springs with new oe ones when I removed my Eibachs.
The new OEM shocks had only done about 12k by this stage.
I can't remember the cost of the springs but I don't recall them being anything like £350 and I can't find the invoice. £60 per corner with my discount springs to mind

[stricky1967]

I don't recall them being anything like £350 and I can't find the invoice. £60 per corner with my discount springs to mind

Just had a price for some-

V30639016 £118.20 inc VAT Each Fronts
V30645725 £91.20 inc VAT Each rear

[Ettienne]

[QUOTE=LeeT5;805351]Atacama has one T ........and are you still, seriously thinking about it?? You'll never cross paths with one, ever again if you don't buy it!

Looking at buying another Volvo but I've already got a fully loaded sonic minus attacama put me off plus the s60r manual which has only covered 70k, again a well spec'd car. If I don't go for it I have a friend who is after one.

[LeeT5]

Just had a price for some-

V30639016 £118.20 inc VAT Each Fronts
V30645725 £91.20 inc VAT Each rear

Wow!! They have gone up in price.

[Shinsplintz 101]

With 4c your looking at about £400-500 a corner supplied & fitted for a fully rebuilt suspension from abn independent using Monroe shocks but Volvo springs. It'll be more if you have to buy your shocks from Volvo. I'm now having to do mine (2005 V70 t5 w/4c) after the previous owner had the front shocks only done - no new springs (one of the very few things he didn't do to be fair! Good man is Paul ) So pricing up the rest as an example:

Front
Springs (pair) £220
Bump stops (pair) £20
Gators (pair) £20
Top rubber mount (pair) £90
Top mount (pair) £110
Sundries £15?
Total parts - £475 from RUFE, all OE Inc del.

Ontop of that you'd need to be allowing for a new strut (£400 the pair from Monroe?) And fitting. So allow 4 hrs at £50 hr, £200.

So front 4cs on a t5, which should be similar costs to an r is going to see your wallet lightened by just shy of £1100.

The backs should be a bit cheaper, say £800 all in.

So full suspension refresh on an R or T5 w/4C and your not getting much change out of 2k.

My advise would be to buy one that's had the work done or haggle hard to allow you to do it.

Cheers, Morgan

[LeeT5]

With 4c your looking at about £400-500 a corner supplied & fitted for a fully rebuilt suspension from abn independent using Monroe shocks but Volvo springs. It'll be more if you have to buy your shocks from Volvo. I'm now having to do mine (2005 V70 t5 w/4c) after the previous owner had the front shocks only done - no new springs (one of the very few things he didn't do to be fair! Good man is Paul ) So pricing up the rest as an example:

Front
Springs (pair) £220
Bump stops (pair) £20
Gators (pair) £20
Top rubber mount (pair) £90
Top mount (pair) £110
Sundries £15?
Total parts - £475 from RUFE, all OE Inc del.

Ontop of that you'd need to be allowing for a new strut (£400 the pair from Monroe?) And fitting. So allow 4 hrs at £50 hr, £200.

So front 4cs on a t5, which should be similar costs to an r is going to see your wallet lightened by just shy of £1100.

The backs should be a bit cheaper, say £800 all in.

So full suspension refresh on an R or T5 w/4C and your not getting much change out of 2k.

My advise would be to buy one that's had the work done or haggle hard to allow you to do it.

Cheers, Morgan

+ £60 for a proper full wheel alignment (which you will need to do after replacing your front suspension).

[britten_mark]

Thanks everyone. See this is the sort of thing I have missed whilst away - liner shimming? Must dig around some posts about that.

All this advice is reminding me what a money pit they can be, but....if you are a Volvo man and want to update slightly there is not much else for all wheel drive performance estates. Volvo certainly don't make anything that interests me any more, and I don't want to become another ££££££££ In An Audi.

When I had mine I was told I couldn't even fit a sub to the stereo without delaer coding. That lack of DIY or specialist servicing capability put me right off, have things changed?

[Ettienne]

Thanks everyone. See this is the sort of thing I have missed whilst away - liner shimming? Must dig around some posts about that.

All this advice is reminding me what a money pit they can be, but....if you are a Volvo man and want to update slightly there is not much else for all wheel drive performance estates. Volvo certainly don't make anything that interests me any more, and I don't want to become another ££££££££ In An Audi.

When I had mine I was told I couldn't even fit a sub to the stereo without delaer coding. That lack of DIY or specialist servicing capability put me right off, have things changed?

Shimming is easy and not terrible money same cost as head gasket and stops liners from splitting. I've put a sub in mine and it's a straight forward fit if the cable is there already. A lot of the issues are easily sorted know and costs are much lower with specialists such as Tim or Shem, both of which are better than main dealers for knowledge. I've managed to train get a lot of work done I don't want to at my local Indy, they were used to working on t5's and xc90s so wasn't really an issue. Only thing I use maindealers for is parts.

[britten_mark]

Cheers. Just a PS and something i always wondered even when I had mine - is there any way of dumping the ££££ 4C system and going "analogue" like Range Rover owners do? I never liked it and it seemed more of a marketing gimmick than anything else, and like the Audi allroad just becomes a curse eventually.

[kevinking2020]

If you have a good search on the internet, you can get some good deals on the 4C Shocks.

(X2 Front monroe shocks) - £325.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3115017766...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

(X2 Rear monroe shocks) - £300.25
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3913391235...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

£625.25 for all 4 shocks is a bargain.

[Ettienne]

Cheers. Just a PS and something i always wondered even when I had mine - is there any way of dumping the ££££ 4C system and going "analogue" like Range Rover owners do? I never liked it and it seemed more of a marketing gimmick than anything else, and like the Audi allroad just becomes a curse eventually.

I'm gonna try the resistor mod and go coilovers on the s60r or decent shocks and springs never been a massive fan of the 4c