buying 98 v70 68000 miles....

rohit · Post by **rohit** » 20 Sep 2002, 15:29

Is there something specific I should look out for?
Car has been maintained by dealer ship and has all the records.
Only thing I felt while test driving it was that the steering was vibrating with the front wheels and I could almost feel the road.
This does not happen in my camry. My camry is much quieter too.(its a 99 model)

Is this vibration and sound thing normal for a V70. anything else I should look out for? I am new to this volvo world....

appreciate any help

rohit

Post by **matthew1** » 22 Sep 2002, 19:28

Warning: if you expect a Volvo to be as mainenance-free as a Camry, you will be dissapointed.

Now that we've got that out of the way, we can move on to why in the world anyone would buy a Volvo. For the other things: safety, comfort and power (in the case of the Turbo models).

Will the Volvo bankrupt you? No, unless you happen to buy a particularly bad one, in which case you'll have a long list of problems and air them here or at another Volvo website. But that scenario can happen with a Toyota, even a Camry if you don't do your homework and check the vehicle's background.

What to look for?
transmission (is the fluid within the min-max levels when the car is warm and idling? is it dark or burnt smelling?), AC evaporator (does the ac work?), driver's seat (if electrical, does it work?), and miscellaneous pieces like headlight washers, roof stips (trim), and O2 sensors (is the Check Engine light on?).

Take it to an independent Volvo mechanic and have him give you a list of things he thinks you should check. Then add anything from the above list to it and have him get to work.

mathieu1 · Post by **mathieu1** » 30 Sep 2002, 19:11

Rohit:

Your vibration could be a result of a number of things, but it sounds like the car may have one or more collapsed or failed motor mounts. There are three mounts supportng the engine down low; two hydraulic mounts front and rear on the left and one "solid" mount near the right front wheel.
There is a fourth mount above the engine, attached to the firewall. Failure of any one or all of these will allow transmission of engine vibration through the subframe and body of the car, and will accentuate road vibes as well.

Other possible causes of the vibrations you described are: imbalanced or out-of-round tires, warped brake rotors, discharged struts, failed strut mounts, and so on. I have owned several Volvos beyond 100,000 miles, (one, a 1985 240 GL is approaching the 300,000 mile mark) and I highly recommend them for the same reasons Matthew cited. A bit of care and keeping will help you keep your Volvo and your money working for you for a long time to come.....