2008 V70 - What do I have checked out before purchase?

[starling72]

Hello - potentially a first-time Volvo owner here, looking at swapping my wife's VW Jetta TDI for a 2008 V70 with 137k miles on it. I'm not a DIYer when it comes to cars, so it's pretty important that I have my mechanic check a car out before we purchase something used with high-ish mileage.

I've read quite a bit about the reliability being pretty good, but repair costs high (for us non-DIYers) on the V70s. We've taken the car home overnight with the intention of having the mechanic look it over first thing in the morning. No obvious body defects, car drives well (straight, no rattles, no hesitations, brakes seem solid), seems to have been fairly well maintained and it was a rural car with lots of highway driving by last owner over the course of 50k+ miles.

Couple of things I noticed with the few hours we've had with it ourselves - oil spot on garage floor after overnight stay; about the size of the palm of my hand. Noticeable "noise" from the engine that seems related to either power steering pump or A/C (on driver's side of the engine compartment when I open the hood) - could just be normal noise, but it isn't the quiet idle I'm used to in most engines. Finally, one of the brakes didn't fully disengage after my wife backed out of the driveway once, resulting in a rubbing sound - she stopped, engaged and disengaged the parking brake fully and it went away.

The oil spot concerns me most - I had a 2005 Audi A6 which, while a joy to drive and look at, ended up needing head gaskets replaced after months of similar "oil art" on my garage floor. Maybe my mechanic will find something less major...fingers crossed! My main goal is to avoid having a $2000+ repair bill in the first 6-12 months of owning the car, so if I can find evidence of something failing on a thorough inspection, that'd be good to see before plopping down roughly $7500 on the car.

Any specific concerns with this year and model that I should have him pay special attention to? There are no errors when I hook it up to my scanner (hey...I'm an IT guy, not a DIYer) and the keyfob seems to need a new battery.

Thanks in advance for the sanity check and any advice!!

[oragex]

I might be wrong but spending $7500 on a 137k miles car sounds risky. The engines are durable typically with no head gasket issues, but sensitive to the pcv system which once clogged and neglected causes the rear main seal and the cam shaft seals to blew and repair is not cheap; sludge can also build up and damage the rod bearings. If this happens, an engine swap with lower miles is perhaps a better option.

[starling72]

Thanks for response. Normally, I'd agree on the mileage but this one's mostly highway miles and seems fairly sound based on the limited time I've had it to test and inspect. Oil leak ended up being the drain plug which needs replaced asap. It apparently was a farm / rural vehicle driven on gravel roads with a lot of dust and dirt up in the frame; engine seems solid, rotors, struts, and power steering pump only significant things needing immediate attention. Interior and body are in great shape, too - it may have been a farm car, but it looks to have been the "family car," not something that was ever used to haul "materials."

Able to get it for well under $7500 leveraging the knowledge I just gained from my mechanic, so very tempted to pull the trigger here unless I'm not considering something critical.

[popphl]

Hey starling72.

We bought a used '08 V70 three years ago at about that mileage for $10k and it's now up over 180,000 miles. It has been relatively trouble free during that time -- never stranded us. At the 150k scheduled maintenance service, they found a leaking vacuum pump and oil trap (see post here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... 2&e=331442 ) and that service altogether ran me about $1,500. Aside from that, the only expensive non-wear-items services have been a fuel pump ($400ish) at about 165k and front struts and stabilizer bar at 175k ($1,000ish).

We'd have bought it again at the price we paid, so to me $7,500 is reasonable given the issues you know about. Such a comfortable car and family hauler -- I've driven it 1,000 miles from PA to FL in a single day and gotten out of the car with my back feeling great.