V70 Buying Advice

mepgr · Post by **mepgr** » 04 Sep 2014, 21:27

Hello all.

First time post, long time reader.

I am currently looking at 3 v70's to replace a 1996 850 Turbo which has a bad exhaust valve in #2 cylinder.

2002 black 2.4 Turbo w/142,000 have not seen the carfax yet. $5,000
2004 silver NA w/ 129,076 carfax shows all dealer service. $6,000
2005 grey NA w/ 138,705 have not seen the carfax yet. $6,000

I have not driven any of them yet. All seem to be in essentially the same condition visually. Any insights? I have read 2002 year model may have transmission issues. Are the 04 or 05 transmissions that much more reliable? All should have the Bosch ETM which, as I understand do not suffer from the 99-01 issues.
The only reasons I am considering the 02 are price/color and, of course it is a Turbo.

This would be a daily driver. I do work on my current 850 which I have driven for 18 years and worked on for 10+, but feel it is time for something new and tearing apart the engine is not something I am interested in nor have time to do.

I love my 850, learned how to drive on a 1984 240 GL and have always wanted a volvo wagon.

Thank you for any input.

Post by **matthew1** » 04 Sep 2014, 21:50

2004 silver NA w/ 129,076 carfax shows all dealer service. $6,000

... meaning it shows all the services that were done at the dealer, or that all services were done at the dealer?

Whatever the case, if it's a 100% dealer-serviced car AND all the service records are there, that's a gem. Likely a one-owner car. At 10+ years and 100k+ miles, it's all about how well the car was serviced.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have (bad) "Monkey Lube" type shops working/servicing the car, or (worst) no record.

Transmissions better after '02, yes. ETMs are fine in MY 2002 and newer, USA spec Volvos.

rubbersidedown · Post by **rubbersidedown** » 04 Sep 2014, 21:58

Electrical can be a nightmare. See if you can pull codes with VIDA, it normally will show old codes too.
Make sure the cam belt was changed w water pump and the "rollers".
Check for oil leaks, this can hide behind the front plastic "skid" plate.

mepgr · Post by **mepgr** » 04 Sep 2014, 22:23

Thanks for the replys.

For matthew1;
The '04 carfax shows that all services were done at the dealer. I need to call the dealer, which I purchased my 850 from and see if they can provide me more detailed records for the v70. This is where ALL the service was done on the v70 according to carfax to volvo specified intervals. In your opinion are the NA that much less powerful than a 2.4 T? Also, if the '02 happens to be all serviced equally as the '04, in your opinion, is it worth it just for the turbo?

for rubbersidedown
Do you have experience with electrical issues with v70's? I plan to verify T-belt, "rollers" and waterpump changes before purchasing and if they were not performed use that as leverage for price drop since all are over 120K.

Thanks!

Post by **vtl** » 04 Sep 2014, 22:57

I drive XC70 w/ 2.5T and, occasionally, wife's 2002 V70 with 2.4 N/A. It definitely has less power on a highway, but don't drive me nuts. And I love to pull.

Also people say that the difference in power between 2.4T and 2.5T is significant.

rubbersidedown · Post by **rubbersidedown** » 06 Sep 2014, 22:02

Everyone with P2 V70 has probably a fair share of "ghosts" in the electrical. Different modules start to fail and mess up the CAN bus, so very ghost like problems start to happen. Meters on the dash stop, lighst go on, shifting gets rough, sun roof not working etc, and this can happen because some module on the CAN bus, far away and seemingly unrelated to the symptom, starts to misbehave.

Fault finding takes a long time and it is not just a module swap either as they often are married to the car so need the run SW reloads in the modules etc. If you enjoy hunting computer problems, then OK, but if you need to send the car to a mechanic, expect fat bills for hours of fault finding, exchanging modules that wasn't bad in the first place, etc. As a DIY you need a China VIDA kit and the phone number to Xemodex or BBS-reman.

Post by **oragex** » 07 Sep 2014, 08:19

The 2.4i is more peppy that the 2.4t in city driving. The 2.4t pulls better when over passing on highway.

2003 and up transmissions are more solid but still plagued by the no fluid maintenance thing. at 130k miles it's time the transmission starts acting up. if you see a transmission fluid change done long ago in the records it's a big plus - note that if you see a transmission fluid change that was recently done it might mean the transmission already has an issue.

very important, at 130k miles the pcv system usually gets clogged and needs replacing and oil pan also needs to be removed ($1000) - if service records show it was already fixed, it's a definite plus.

P2 wagons are quite less nimble than sedans.

a 2004 2.4i with 130k miles should sell around $4000 if in good condition (unless it's sold by a car dealer)

mepgr · Post by **mepgr** » 19 Sep 2014, 12:51

Hello all,

Thank you for the advice. I ending up purchasing the 2002 2.4 Turbo for a fair price.
Drives and rides great! Interior near perfect

I am about to embark on stage 0 but before I do so I am going to perform a compression check on the engine, which runs great! I have performed these before but never on a P2. I have a few questions.

Is it as simple as the following?
Remove all spark plugs
Remove and disconnect all coil packs
Disconnect all fuel injectors or pull fuel pump fuse
WOT while cranking and turn ignition off afterwards

I thought I read somewhere about disconnecting a rpm sensor on the newer Volvos...Since the P2 has so many electronics I wanted to double check with the community first

Thanks