Are P2 V70s really that expensive to maintain?

[GeorgianaLang]

TL;DR: My Toyota needs replacement, is a Volvo V70 painfully expensive to maintain and how are they to work on?

Hi there. My old, faithful, 1998 Toyota seems to be mature for replacement soon. I thought I had the next car planned, but maybe not after all. My criteria are:

It has to be reliable.

It has to have cruise control.

It has to be somewhat spacious.

It has to be gas (no diesels).

And most importantly; it has to not be boring. It doesn't need to be fast, I just need to feel something when I open the door in the morning and when I park it at a grocery store.

I have been looking at a lot of different things, but had actually landed on a facelifted P2 Volvo V70 2.4. I love the fold-flat rear seats, I love the spaceball shifter, I love the 5 cylinder engine, I love the comfort. Right until I told my mechanic about my plans. According to him, those old Volvos are extremely expensive to maintain. To the point where he estimated what would be half the value of the car yearly just to keep it running (25.000,- DKK yearly, but I am not sure danish prices translate well). It surprised me as the models were generally praised all the placed I looked as reliable and hassle-free as long as they were cared for.

So basically he made me question the whole plan. I was okay with slightly worse fuel economy than what I get now and slightly higher green tax, but those repair bills scare me.

Does anyone have any experience with these Volvos? Are they really that bad? Can these types of bills be avoided by caring for the car and choosing one that wasn't abused?

Also, how are they to work on? I intend to fix everything I can myself, but I am by no means a mechanic. But I am also willing to learn if there is stuff that can save money if done by myself.

I have also considered both C30 2.4/2.0 (I know it's not that spacious but i think it's cool ) and V50 2.4

Any inputs and insights are greatly appreciated.

[volvolugnut]

I can report on owning a 2001 V70 T5 with the high pressure turbo. It is fun to drive, room to haul lots of stuff, fast, comfortable, gets about 26 MPG at 70 MPH and 21 MPG around town.
If you have tools and basic mechanic skills, with help from this web site you can do many repairs yourself. This greatly reduces repair costs.
These cars are not low maintenance, but no high maintenance. Suspension parts, ignition parts, hoses, water pumps, alternators can be expected to be replaced by 150K miles. The Automatic transmission is a weak spot and needs regular fluid replacement even if factory says it does not.
Parts are available and reasonably priced compared to say Mercedes.
Buy one that has had all the service done on time by competent mechanics. First find a different mechanic to ask about Volvo quality and get a pre-purchase inspection.
volvolugnut

[yanga001]

a well maintained 2.5t from 05-07 is probably what you want. The NA engines are even better but the low pressure turbo is definitely a bit more fun. A well maintained one will go like a freight train, nothing really will go wrong.

You will need to do a timing belt when you buy it most likely so budget 1-2k cad or whatever the conversion is for that.


Do a detailed pre-purchase inspection yourself, or with a mechanic. Accept certain things to fix, and do not compromise on others. When i bought my last car (s60 2.5t) it had a radiator fan that was blowing at full blast all the time (ac had no charge), a non functional turnsignal (repaired the wiring loom myself), droopy a pillars (swapped it for xc70 plastic), non functional taillight bulbs (I think i took a sandpaper to contacts to fix it), and needed a belt and water pump. I got the car for cheaper, but its engine was in extremely good condition based on the PCV tests and its sound. Ended up being a very reliable car up until i sold it.

Constant and planned maintenance goes a long way with these cars.

Where are you located? There are definitely some fun euro cars out there if you are in Europe.

[Vova585]

If volvo is not in your DNA- run away. Your mechanic is an honest guy. 25k of gkk is about 4k usd. Of the car was neglected it will sure need 2-3 years of TLC with large sums of money dumped into it. Get yourself another Toyota or Honda or Shkoda(i know it is VW, but seems to be better quality). I would not advice anyone to buy P2 if they are not absolutely in love with it and ready to dump significant amount of money into it. Yes, with proper maintenance volvo will outlast all the competition even in the hard climates with ton of salt on a roads(cleaning, washing, maybe lanolin spray will extend that term significantly).

[dikidera]

I concur that it is, depends on your budget, but if you get a not well maintained one, even with your own work done on it, you can buy the car 2-3 times over and still have issues left.

[Antoine240bk]

My car have reached this year the price cost i paid for it 8 years ago (touch wood) , which make a yearly cost of 1480$ . This is without insurance, petrol and accessories bought for confort! Bought it with 165.000Km on the clock, now i have since driven that car 125.000km. Most of the repairs were done by me when i could but you may consider some trips to the shop which could increase that cost. Volvo parts for P2 are starting to be no longer available and expensive. I did had a well maintained car to start with by the previous owner. You'll be happy with a V70, i found these cars easy to wrench and maintain.

[BlackBart]

I sometimes wonder if all “modern” cars are painfully expensive to maintain - it depends on your economic level of pain tolerance.
Many of us grew up with 4 spark plugs and a distributor, one simple carb, a few brake pads to change. They were so simple we were spoiled.
Now I look at the THREE separate fuse panels on my ‘04 and shudder ( but at least it’s not British!).

Recommendations above for good maintenance records are very important. We bought ours from a friend and it was “maintained” but not really cared for, and I’ve been catching up ever since.

[cn90]

Not an issue of "Volvo DNA in your blood"...

It is not an issue if you are willing to wrench.

If you are willing to:
1. Read this forum for DIYs
2. Perform the works yourself...

Then the P2 is the best bang for the bucks...great car, reliable, and runs > 200K miles with no issues...

PS: buy P2 cars with low mileage such as 100K miles, then spend some $ to keep it updated.

Alternative: find a Volvo mechanic that works on the side during the weekend...some of them are prohibited to do so by the dealer.

[jonesg]

TL;DR: My Toyota needs replacement, is a Volvo V70 painfully expensive to maintain and how are they to work on?

Hi there. My old, faithful, 1998 Toyota seems to be mature for replacement soon. I thought I had the next car planned, but maybe not after all. My criteria are:

It has to be reliable.

It has to have cruise control.

It has to be somewhat spacious.

It has to be gas (no diesels).

And most importantly; it has to not be boring. It doesn't need to be fast, I just need to feel something when I open the door in the morning and when I park it at a grocery store.

I have been looking at a lot of different things, but had actually landed on a facelifted P2 Volvo V70 2.4. I love the fold-flat rear seats, I love the spaceball shifter, I love the 5 cylinder engine, I love the comfort. Right until I told my mechanic about my plans. According to him, those old Volvos are extremely expensive to maintain. To the point where he estimated what would be half the value of the car yearly just to keep it running (25.000,- DKK yearly, but I am not sure danish prices translate well). It surprised me as the models were generally praised all the placed I looked as reliable and hassle-free as long as they were cared for.

So basically he made me question the whole plan. I was okay with slightly worse fuel economy than what I get now and slightly higher green tax, but those repair bills scare me.

Does anyone have any experience with these Volvos? Are they really that bad? Can these types of bills be avoided by caring for the car and choosing one that wasn't abused?

Also, how are they to work on? I intend to fix everything I can myself, but I am by no means a mechanic. But I am also willing to learn if there is stuff that can save money if done by myself.

I have also considered both C30 2.4/2.0 (I know it's not that spacious but i think it's cool ) and V50 2.4

Any inputs and insights are greatly appreciated.

if I had to pay mechanics I would have hard time justifying ownership.
Without this forum I couldn't do the work myself.
Front wheel drive models are way simpler and cheaper to maintain, same for non turbo models.
I would want a pre purchase inspection at a volvo indy shop (not a volvo dealership), $150+ would be money well spent.

Its important to know if the timing belt has been done because that can cost $1000.
If the seller doesn't know.... then its due. A $5000 volvo is now $4000.
Only 1 key? thats another $500 off the price.

Has the pcv system been done yet? Thats a few hundred in a shop.
The inspection by a specialist can spot all these things very quickly.

[5underpressure]

If volvo is not in your DNA- run away. Your mechanic is an honest guy. 25k of gkk is about 4k usd. Of the car was neglected it will sure need 2-3 years of TLC with large sums of money dumped into it. Get yourself another Toyota or Honda or Shkoda(i know it is VW, but seems to be better quality). I would not advice anyone to buy P2 if they are not absolutely in love with it and ready to dump significant amount of money into it. Yes, with proper maintenance volvo will outlast all the competition even in the hard climates with ton of salt on a roads(cleaning, washing, maybe lanolin spray will extend that term significantly).

Strong agree,

After admiring Volvo since my teens, I came from Hondas and it’s been an adjustment, but the T5 makes me smile like the Honda never could.