2003 XC70 possible purchase

jbrown122 · Post by **jbrown122** » 26 Apr 2011, 19:55

Hello all, looking at another wagon.
It's an 03 XC (with 140K), pretty clean. Drives nice, the tranny and engine are extremely smooth, I took it for a long ride today. The t-belt was done a year ago.
The brakes were loud when it was cold, he'll replace them- takes bumps good but knocks in the front end (he'll also fix it, it's a small dealer).
Probably will need tires soon. HOWEVER! One thing that turned me off "SRS Airbag Service Urgent" MESSAGE is on, but! the red airbag light is not on. Why is that?? He said he'll check it out as well.

If those things get squared away, then I think it's worth it. $5900. Do you?
Or, I can go for a 04 XC for a few hundred less, with 155k that is almost mint.
What do you guys think. Any tips, pro's and con's about the XC?
What do you think of the 03 (mainly what about the SRS issue) Thanks all!

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 27 Apr 2011, 18:31

If I were you, I would go with the 04 model as long as the maintenance is up to date. I know the ETM issue was sorted out by then and the AWD was a lot better. Also, the SRS issues scares me.

Post by **jimmy57** » 27 Apr 2011, 19:59

03 does not have ETM and 2003 and 2004 use the same generation Haldex AWD coupling (Volvo lingo, Active On-demand Coupling)
Which engines are in the two?
Are they FWD 5 cylinder, AWD 5 cyl., or the 6 cylinder AWD?

jbrown122 · Post by **jbrown122** » 28 Apr 2011, 05:40

Both wagons have the 5 cylinder turbo with AWD

Post by **jimmy57** » 28 Apr 2011, 06:31

The 04, cleaner but with 15K more miles, but less money seems to have a few more points going for it compared to the one year older with noise in front end and the SRS warning message.

jbrown122 · Post by **jbrown122** » 28 Apr 2011, 09:19

Makes sense. But do you think I can get about 50k out of this car with just some small repairs along the way?
(It has just had a new tbelt, brakes and tires done from Volvo)
I'd like to know about the AWD system, supposedly it's not as troublesome as the 98-02 system.
And the electronics, I haven't heard of many problems with the electronics with the newer models.

Thanks for the help so far!

jbrown122 · Post by **jbrown122** » 28 Apr 2011, 12:21

Well.. the 04 is sold (always happens..)
Maybe I should drop the 03 and keep searching?