Looking for first Volvo for relative — have about $3-4k

dmag · Post by **dmag** » 19 Oct 2010, 17:08

Hi,

Need a reliable car for a relative and can spend about $3-4K. I was thinking Honda because I now have one and it's terrific. However, I ran into a guy today at a gas station and he told me that his 1994 Volvo 940 has 500K miles on it and it's going strong.

Well, my jaw dropped.

I've seen a ton of Hondas with 150-200K on them and thought that was awesome. Well, this was a game changer — at least it's got me thinking enough about it to join this forum and talk to folks who understand this brand.

Please suffer a newbie's initial questions...

1. I frankly don't trust dealers but they seem to have most of the used Volvos these days. If I have to work with a dealer, how much mark up do I figure they're padding the price with — 20-30%?

2. What's the chance of the average dealer even knowing much about the car's history?

3. Is there a great site other than Auto Trader or Cars.com where Volvos are sold?

4. In the range mentioned, $3-4K, I wouldn't mind a wagon. Can you tell me which model you would be looking for and why one is better than another...I just scanned listings for these...

1997 Volvo 850
1999 Volvo V70 GLT
2003 Volvo V70

5. In terms of driving ease and handling, is there a difference between a Volvo and a Japanese car like Honda?

6. The guy at the gas station said that in the old models, he'd first go for a 240, then 740 or his car, a 940. Is there an online reference that rates these models for today's needs, giving reliability, positives and negatives?

7. Finally (for now), I had a neighbor tell me to watch out for highly expensive repair bills. One, the car would be 15-20 years old and could experience a ton of work; and that Volvo repair is more expensive than what it would cost for a Honda — by maybe 2-to-1. Any truth to his opinions?

Any help is greatly appreciated. This is all new territory for me.

Thanks!

Post by **jblackburn** » 19 Oct 2010, 17:45

Welcome to the site!

My Honda began to fall apart as soon as it hit 200K. It was a 1988 Accord LX 5-speed, my "first" car, and I loved it dearly. The engine and body/interior were still in great shape, but every LITTLE thing went wrong with the darn thing. Up until they get that old, though, they're great cars...my parents have owned 2 from brand new and had zero problems with them.

I stumbled across Volvos because I used to own a Saab and didn't like any of the newer Saab models. My '85 had 300K on it and 20 years of service to our family before it gave up.

I believe you'll find most people don't have 500K on their Volvos, but the old RWD models are rock-solid in reliability, and very easy to work on. The base 240/740/940's don't have much power to go anywhere fast, aren't too great on gas, but they're on up there with the reliability. The turbos are a bit more peppy - not exactly FAST, but more up with today's 4 cylinder cars, and a 940 Turbo would be my option for an older model.

The new FWD models are a bit more maintenance-intensive cars, but they're just FANTASTIC fun to drive, and visibility is great in all directions even in the wagons. I think that's why we all put up with them. Mine has been very reliable the entire 3 years I've owned it, and I'm not easy on cars. It's been driven 60,000 miles over those 3 years - I'd say about half of that's highway driving, and I'd trust it to cross the entire US even with 180,000 miles on it. The turbos are a lot of fun, but if they don't care too much about speed, save them the hassle of dealing with leaking hoses everywhere and buy an NA model.

When things break, they are expensive (I'd say about on par with a Honda, though) price-wise. It really helps to learn to do your own basic maintenance work. I worked out the figures and my car has had $667/yearly spent on it before I had it n- and that's about on par with what I've spent on it in parts since I've owned it. I do the majority of my own work though, which greatly saves on labor costs.

Look at Craigslist for some postings. I sold my old car in three days of putting up an ad, and that's where I found this one too.

I like to blab on when I get the chance, so I apologize for the lengthy response. Look through the buyers guide a bit for a basic list of things to look for in looking at one.
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/tag/vo ... ers-guide/

twncty · Post by **twncty** » 19 Oct 2010, 18:40

Well I think I might beat Jablackburn for lenght of response....

I will try to answer as many questions as I can as you have several. First never by a car without the understanding that it will need something. I usually budget $500.00 to update maintenance and small repairs. Second, you need to be able to do some of the work yourself. Any car can be expensive to maintain if someone else does the work and supplies the parts. Both are marked up greatly by service centers. Third, there are many suppliers (50-70% lower than Volvo dealership) for aftermarket parts including EBAY. Very few items need to be purchased from a Volvo dealership. Fourth, prior maintenance records of the vehicle you are purchasing is a key element of price. In other words if a person selling a used Volvo has all the repair records I obviously will not have to spend the additional $500.00 that I budgeted as I mentioned earlier.

Where to buy? I purchase my 1999 V70 XC AWD for $600.00 from Craigslist with 180k. It was running on 3 cylinders, shooting oil out of the fill cap and the dash warning lights blinked like a Christmas tree. The previous owners had repair estimates from a Volvo dealer for 3k and had owned the car for 10 years. One item was for a new Volvo alternator ($567.00 + 120 install). Another item(s) were for ingnition coils at $75 each. I purchase a rebuilt alternator for $125.00 and 2 ingnition coils for $30.00 and installed them myself. I replaced the firebox (PVC cleaning) and hoses for $70.00. All the other estimate items are of the same caliber. Part of my maintenance expenditure was for a Volvo Service Manual on DVD ($20.00). The rest of the information including questions I have gotten answered here. The people are very helpful and informative. No I am not a mechanic. I am about as mechanically inclined as Homer Simpson but I can read and watch YouTube repair video's. Yes I was a used car manager for a dealership.

So in conclusion don't buy ANYTHING without knowing something about its history. Pull a CarFax report. A dealership will tell you what you want to hear not necessarily the truth. Private parties can lie or mislead you verbally for a quick sale. Printed maintenance records on the other hand don't lie. Timing belt replacement is critical to Volvos. Check for a replaced timing belt, dirty fluids, mix-matched or worn tires, torn or worn CV joint boots, brake calipers and hoses, and radiator hoses. People serious about maintenance have these item replaced. Wannabe's tell you they maintain their vehicles to get you to look at it when they when they really don't. Those are the cars you run from no matter how much wax and Armour-All has been applied to the car. A clean car doesn’t always have a direct correlation to a maintained car. These are in addition to the obvious of a well running and shifting car. One piece of advice; NEVER look at a used car in the dark unless you intend to keep it that way. Which car? Any car that has the above repair maintenance records will do you justice.

dmag · Post by **dmag** » 19 Oct 2010, 19:23

jablackburn wrote:The turbos are a lot of fun, but if they don't care too much about speed, save them the hassle of dealing with leaking hoses everywhere and buy an NA model.

When things break, they are expensive (I'd say about on par with a Honda, though) price-wise. It really helps to learn to do your own basic maintenance work. I worked out the figures and my car has had $667/yearly spent on it before I had it n- and that's about on par with what I've spent on it in parts since I've owned it.

Thanks for the reply.

Please advise what an "NA" model is.

Also, you wrote "I worked out the figures and my car has had $667/yearly spent on it before I had it n-"

What does that "n-" refer to?

I appreciate the information.

dmag · Post by **dmag** » 19 Oct 2010, 19:35

[quote="twncty"][/quote]

Thanks for the reply and the views on doing the maintenance. That said, I'm not sure this is possible. The projected owner is a 60-ish woman and while I think she would give a try to swapping out parts if it wasn't too complicated, her stumbling block will be to figure out what's causing the problem. I don't live near her and I wouldn't be of any help mechanically if I did.

I suppose she could take the car to a dealer or mechanic and get an estimate of what the trouble is, or beg for answers on a forum, but that would seem to be her only options. I fear she would sort of give up on it if it took a long time to figure out, and pay for the work to be done.

My thought was that it would take a few hundred bucks at the outset to fix initial issues, then maybe $300 a year. Maybe I'm being too conservative.

If I can find her a clean and well-maintained car, driven only to church and back by someone's grandmother, then perhaps my strategy will work.

Post by **jblackburn** » 19 Oct 2010, 19:52

N/A is naturally aspirated engine, or non-turbo model.

n- is just where I can't type. Oops.

Mention us to her - this forum has helped me out with a great many things, and I and most of our regular contributors here try to give back what they can. Any used car can have frustrating problems, but by now, most people here have run into the same issues and can say what needs to be done.

dmag · Post by **dmag** » 19 Oct 2010, 20:25

jablackburn wrote:N/A is naturally aspirated engine, or non-turbo model.

n- is just where I can't type. Oops.

Mention us to her - this forum has helped me out with a great many things, and I and most of our regular contributors here try to give back what they can. Any used car can have frustrating problems, but by now, most people here have run into the same issues and can say what needs to be done.

I'll do it.

If she's comfortable with the arrangement, we'll likely try to get a car in the next 60-90 days.

Thanks.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 19 Oct 2010, 23:10

This is a very regional question.

Around Kansas City I bought a 98 S70 Turbo (around 125k on the clock as I recall) for my daughter for $1,300 on Craigslist. It has warts and I am working stage zero on it as I can find the time.

If you can wrench the car and you can pick one up under 2k and then fix all of the crap that goes wrong with all of them then you will be well within budget and have a decent car. If you are not the wrenching type I think I would look at the boring Hondas or Toyotas that fit within your price range.

I am working on the stuff I need to buy to fix like the power locks (actuator), power windows (master switch), coolant overflow tank, brakes, etc and it tallies up to around $800.00, maybe a bit more since there is the cup holder and some other cosmetic stuff involved.

At the end of the day the cars are very fun to drive but they are expensive to maintain, particularly if you don't do your own maintenance.

...Lee

loumarkd · Post by **loumarkd** » 20 Oct 2010, 12:28

I will have a 96 Maroon 850 turbo wagon with 151,600 for sale in about a week or two. Im going to be asking around 4K. I have replaced about everything on the car. I can send you some details if you are interested.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 20 Oct 2010, 17:50

I'm with Lee on this. If the prospective owner isn't going to do their own work then buy a Honda, or Toyota etc. These cars need a lot of love.