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1998 V70 T5 - Looking to replace a totaled car

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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PolishRifle
Posts: 21
Joined: 15 May 2015
Year and Model: 1998 V70 T5
Location: United States

1998 V70 T5 - Looking to replace a totaled car

Post by PolishRifle »

Although I only had my V70 T5 for 6 months I loved the car. I'm hoping to get between $3,000 and $4,000 through insurance and was wondering what I should look for in replacing the car. I kinda just fell into the V70 when I was desperate in March.

In my local area I found some S70, V70 XC, S80, and even a 95 850 GLT with 125k miles on it in the 3-5K range. What years, if any, should I avoid and what are some things I should specifically look for before purchasing? I know a current inspection is helpful but what are some other mechanical things I should look for? THis site has been a great help and I can't wait to introduce my new car to the forums soon.
1998 Volvo V70 T5 - 165,000 miles and going

cn90
Posts: 8251
Joined: 31 March 2010
Year and Model: 2004 V70 2.5T
Location: Omaha NE
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Post by cn90 »

Mechanically speaking (some will disagree with me), the years of 1994-1998 850, S/V70 are good. Then ETM issues and all that blah blah blah. From 2004-2006 on, ETM issues are solved.
Look for 2004+ with 2.5T engine with <100K miles.

I have a 2005 XC90 2.5T with 90K miles and love it.
Last edited by cn90 on 22 Sep 2015, 15:03, edited 1 time in total.
2004 V70 2.5T 100K+
2005 XC90 2.5T 110K+

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erikv11
Posts: 11800
Joined: 25 July 2009
Year and Model: 850, V70, S60R, XC70
Location: Iowa
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Post by erikv11 »

I love the 850s but you would have to twist my arm to buy another one now, they are just getting so old and creaky. My first choice would be 98 S/V70, then I would consider 99-00 S/V70 just because tthere are more of them and they are still cheap to own, or if you can afford to spend a lot more on the car and on the maintenance jobs, bump up to 2004+ as cn90 suggested.
'95 854 T-5R, Motronic 4.4, 185k
'98 V70, T5 tune-injectors-turbo, LPT engine, 304k, daily driver
'06 S60 R, 197k
'07 XC70, black, 205k
'07 XC70, willow green, 212k
'99 Camry V6 :shock: 153k
gone: '96 NA 850 210k, '98 NA V70 182k, '98 S70 NA 225k, '96 855 NA 169k

obayha
Posts: 764
Joined: 18 April 2009
Year and Model: V70 1999 Base
Location: north carolina
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Post by obayha »

I always look at what is in the area.
This http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5213613111.html
looked like a nice for the price one.
I liked my '98 and it was good as a daily driver and hauled a lot for me.
My '99 has had a lot of the bad fixed before I bought it and has done well with me only have driven it 15,000 mile so far.
The '06 just hit 120,000 and installed a TB. Have put brakes and tune up and that's all so far.
1998 V70 T5 331,000 :( Her last day was on 3 cylinders.
New to me 1999 V70 NA 163,000 Now at 217,000
2006 V70 2.5T in driveway (WIFE'S)
1982 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

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Clemens
Posts: 1932
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Year and Model: 96 855 R + 94 855 T5
Location: Austria
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Post by Clemens »

if it had been well taken care of i´d actually go for the 95 glt. it is reliable, you can blink out error codes and it is kinda easy to work on. plus, it´s still really boxy.
5 years with my 95 glt inspired me to replace my 2001 Audi A6 which has multitronic electronic problems with a 96 850 R. Let´s see how smart that move was ...

the 96 and 97 850s kinda suck because of the wanna be obd2.

from my experience i´d say you can´t go wrong unless you go AWD which can be very pricey to repair.
check out a few and see which one has been cared for the best.
Summer: 1996 855 R
Winter: 1994 855 T5M
Donor: 1995 854 10V

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bmdubya1198
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Year and Model: 2K V70R M56
Location: Charlotte, NC
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Post by bmdubya1198 »

obayha wrote:I always look at what is in the area.
This http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5213613111.html
looked like a nice for the price one.
I liked my '98 and it was good as a daily driver and hauled a lot for me.
My '99 has had a lot of the bad fixed before I bought it and has done well with me only have driven it 15,000 mile so far.
The '06 just hit 120,000 and installed a TB. Have put brakes and tune up and that's all so far.
I've seen that one several times. Very clean car, and a great price.
$5,000 for a P80 is pushing it, unless it's immaculate.
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

obayha
Posts: 764
Joined: 18 April 2009
Year and Model: V70 1999 Base
Location: north carolina
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Post by obayha »

bmdubya1198 wrote:
obayha wrote:I always look at what is in the area.
This http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5213613111.html
looked like a nice for the price one.
I liked my '98 and it was good as a daily driver and hauled a lot for me.
My '99 has had a lot of the bad fixed before I bought it and has done well with me only have driven it 15,000 mile so far.
The '06 just hit 120,000 and installed a TB. Have put brakes and tune up and that's all so far.
I've seen that one several times. Very clean car, and a great price.
$5,000 for a P80 is pushing it, unless it's immaculate.
Are you talking about $5,000 for the one posted? It shows $1,500. That's what caught my eye.
1998 V70 T5 331,000 :( Her last day was on 3 cylinders.
New to me 1999 V70 NA 163,000 Now at 217,000
2006 V70 2.5T in driveway (WIFE'S)
1982 Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

PolishRifle
Posts: 21
Joined: 15 May 2015
Year and Model: 1998 V70 T5
Location: United States

Post by PolishRifle »

I know you can't tall by pictures but here is the GLT and a 99S70
http://frederick.craigslist.org/cto/5230549056.html
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/5221939754.html
How are the 2001-2003 V70XC? Thinking of going AWD since I live in the Northeast
http://chambersburg.craigslist.org/cto/5196903357.html
1998 Volvo V70 T5 - 165,000 miles and going

cn90
Posts: 8251
Joined: 31 March 2010
Year and Model: 2004 V70 2.5T
Location: Omaha NE
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Post by cn90 »

Most of the P80 cars now are at least 140K-200K range.
Even if you buy one for $1000-$2000, you still need to spend some serious dollars, sometimes another $1000-$2000...

Unless you can find a P80 in pristine condition and less than 120K, from a financial standpoint and repair headache standpoint, go for 2004 2.5T models, which run about $5000-$6000. On the long run, you save money by not wasting time fixing the P80.
2004 V70 2.5T 100K+
2005 XC90 2.5T 110K+

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bmdubya1198
Posts: 6338
Joined: 30 December 2014
Year and Model: 2K V70R M56
Location: Charlotte, NC
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Post by bmdubya1198 »

obayha wrote:
bmdubya1198 wrote:
obayha wrote:I always look at what is in the area.
This http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/5213613111.html
looked like a nice for the price one.
I liked my '98 and it was good as a daily driver and hauled a lot for me.
My '99 has had a lot of the bad fixed before I bought it and has done well with me only have driven it 15,000 mile so far.
The '06 just hit 120,000 and installed a TB. Have put brakes and tune up and that's all so far.
I've seen that one several times. Very clean car, and a great price.
$5,000 for a P80 is pushing it, unless it's immaculate.
Are you talking about $5,000 for the one posted? It shows $1,500. That's what caught my eye.
No, I was just saying in general. The $1,600 this guy is asking is a great price if that car is as good as it looks!
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

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