V70R P1 Buying advice

[Cloverleaf]

Hopefully you guys will be able to give me a hand here. I was originally considering an 855R but, now I have more money to spend, I am now looking towards a V70R. However, I have got a few questions before starting to narrow down my choices and start testing them to buy.

They seem to have a massive variation in price for what is essentially the same car. They also seem to have stupidly high mileages (150k+). I am searching out something below 100k so that cuts quite a few options out straight away.

Anyway,

- Do all R AWD's come with thw twin tail pipe? I thought that was the case but several car's on autotrader seem to go against this.

- What real world driving differences are there between the 2.3 and the 2.4. Are there any major performance/chipability differences? Also, the Auto slows down the 0-60 but does it have any effect on the speed once moving, ie for overtaking?

- What are the tell tale signs of the transfer box being iffy? This can be brought on by uneven tyre tread depths I believe?

- What is the difference in fuel economy between the 2.3 and 2.4 and also the difference between the 2wd and the 4wd?

- Are the brakes different on any of these models? And how do they fare? Just able to cope with the speed capable, woefully inadequete or bloody brilliant?

- Also, what are the timing belt intervals in the 2.3/2.4 and how much should I be looking at to get it done?

I just like to make sure I have all the bases covered to help make the searching easier!

Thankyou very much in advance!

[Al115]

Try this for some general bg...

http://www.vpcuk.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7657

[Al115]

ps> all brakes on Phase 1 cars suck badly if you push them hard, but are adequate in regular use...

[siamblue]

If you are lucky you could get a 150k+ R for £4k if you want sub 100k be prepared to add £1500+ to your price,
Transfer boxes and twin pipes were only on the AWD model R's as standard,
the other R was front wheel drive.

[Mrsmopp]

If you are lucky you could get a 150k+ R for £4k if you want sub 100k be prepared to add £1500+ to your price,
Transfer boxes and twin pipes were only on the AWD model R's as standard,
the other R was front wheel drive.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/65259.htm

x

[Cloverleaf]

Thanks for that link!

Unfortunately, looking on Autotrader and the like they seem to start at 5k for a high miler up to whaterver you are willing to spend...most of the decent ones seem to be closer to 8/9k. Any other sources for finding these that you know of? Any good dealers that have a high number going through their doors? I would prefer to buy trade.

[BlackBeast]

- What real world driving differences are there between the 2.3 and the 2.4.

- What is the difference in fuel economy between the 2.3 and 2.4 and also the difference between the 2wd and the 4wd?

- Also, what are the timing belt intervals in the 2.3/2.4 and how much should I be looking at to get it done?

T5 and 'R' models are only 2.3ltrs for the 850 and P1 x70 series.

[Mrsmopp]

If you want to buy trade then expect a trade price tag (ie the 8k you were talking about!!)

Seriously you wont find many V70 T5's with low mileage for less than 4k let alone one with an R badge.

x

[rickbee]

I'm fairly new to the R ownership club, and looked around for about four months before finding a car. Biggest problem in sourcing a car is that there are not that many around relatively speaking. I am sure one of the learned people on here will quote the total production. When you factor in low mileage and possibly a specific colour with a correctly documented history, and 2wd and 4wd, manual/auto you are looking at a proverbial handful of cars. You will not find numbers of these cars passing through dealers. A phase 1 V70 R is going to be at least seven years old and at average mileage you may find one with less than about 70k miles, but will be rarer still imho. If you want the best, be prepared to wait and to pay top wack. Oh, and the standard brakes are not up to the task of hauling the car down from the velocity it is capable of in my short experience. Be prepared for some 'interesting' moments when stopping quickly on the standard spec. Best advice I can give is to become a regular vistior to this great club. Fantastic people with superb knowledge of Volvo 'performance' cars( dont all blush). If theres a good car around for sale, it seems to me someone in the club will know about it. Good luck with the hunt

[T5 Ben]

Hello mate,if you look at www.pgifarnham.co.uk There are 3 V70r And 2 V70 t5 for sale. Hope this helps,good luck.

Ben

[Cloverleaf]

Thanks for that company, I saw a few of them on Autotrader in various searches but I've bookmarked the site to keep an eye on. It is going to be 2-3 weeks befroe the money is sitting in my account to spend. I have noticed that they seem to hang around for a reasonable time before selling...hopefully these will be the same!

My budget is probably a little over 8k so if I can find a car for 7kish then I have the money to spend on AP brakes for it.

I also seem to have worked out the answer to one of my own questions. It seems that it is the 2.3R AWD's that have the twin pipes whereas the 2.4R AWD has the single pipe.

Any more advice is much appreciated!

[macV70R]

All the AWD versions have the capability of being twin Exhausts, cos one side is fitted with a blanking plate. Not sure if this is to swap the exhausts on foriegn cars or not? The 2.4 98/99 version was the 265hp model fitted with the 19t turbo, this was fitted with twin exhausts as standard (I think)

I could be wrong about this, I'm sure somebody will put me right

Mac.

[Cloverleaf]

Ah god, it's way too confusing at this time of night! I noticed the blanking plate on some...I guess that could be a future mod but brakes would be the first thing followed by one of the high power RICA chips.

I'm not 100% set on the Volvo but very tempted. I am also tempted by a Vectra 2.6 GSI estate but they aren't as quick. However, they do have the benefit of being cheaper and a lot newer...ie 6k will buy you 51 plate car with 30k on it. The Volvo is the most likely option tbh though.

[Wobbly Dave]

I think that you need to be aware of how to manage the tyre tread issue with the transfer box/AWD cars. I think it wise to replace all 4 tyres if you have a puncture. The 19T was only put on the Auto AWD version because it needed the extra grunt from the turbo due to higher transmission losses. I like the look of the one that moppy found - its about the money IMHO and it has already had the propshaft done.

[Cloverleaf]

What exactly is the weakness on the transfer box? Is it this propshaft? If so, how much would something like that tend to cost?

If I get one over 100k then I would prefer the dealer as it means that I can arrange a warranty through them. however, on a private buy it would have to be below 100k to get a seperate warranty from the likes of the RAC. I have emailed the one on pistonheads to get some more info as the price does seem good.

[Wobbly Dave]

The transfer box consists of a viscous coupling and if the tyre wear gets out by 2mm front to back for any length of time then the Tbox can fail - or so I hear. New Tbox is about 1500 quid. So long as you are aware that there have been these failures and how to keep on top of it (regular wheel rotation front to back) then I am sure you'll be fine.

[Cloverleaf]

I was aware that there was an issue with tyre wear being responsible for killing the boxes but wasn't sure what the actual weakness was in the box. Is it something that is a terminal failure, ie unrepairable? I guess with a warranty that would be covered but it would be an absolute pain in the arse to get a puncture with the system! I guess I would be doing a lot of switching wheels back to front with this!

btw, has anyone tried fitting the 4 pot brembo's from the P2 R onto the P1 R? Just thinking that that might be an option as opposed to the £1400 AP kit.

[Carlos13]

Out of interest, how does one tell if the AWD is working properly? I recently bought a 97 AWD R with 123k on the clock. I can't get it to torque steer, does this mean my transfer box is working?

[HADI]

Man what a pain in the ass that tyre switching carry on, kinda puts me off a awd version.......... maybe

[BlackBeast]

btw, has anyone tried fitting the 4 pot brembo's from the P2 R onto the P1 R? Just thinking that that might be an option as opposed to the £1400 AP kit.

Sorry for stating that the T5 and 'R's were only 2.3ltr, never knew they made the 2.4. That could be a cheap alternative to the S60R block/pistons etc.

Regarding the brakes, i know a little about this subject I will be fitting those 4pot calipers in my avatar once i get some more money together and find 2 other 18" pegasus alloys. The upgrade im doing will cost half what that AP kit costs without the alloys of course.