03 XC90 purchase advice?

olddaddy · Post by **olddaddy** » 20 Jun 2016, 10:16

We are looking at an 03 XC90, 90K miles. Car has a long service history with a local Indie shop and appears in good shape with good maintenance. This is not a Volvo I know much about, so advice would be appreciated. We have had a V40 for ten years that caught fire so we are looking for our next Volvo. Thanks!

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Jun 2016, 10:42

5 cylinder XC90, or 6 cylinder XC90?

olddaddy · Post by **olddaddy** » 20 Jun 2016, 11:07

It's a 5 cylinder.

Post by **matthew1** » 20 Jun 2016, 13:00

5-cyl, first test: passed.

Good news is is relatively low miles and maintenance records. Bad news is it's a 14-year-old car. (It's an 03, so built in 02.)

Timing belt is due unless it's been done... look through this list of XC90 problems and fixes for various other specific problems XC90 owners have fixed.

I guess it's where you fall in the intersection of expectations and your DIY ability. If your expectations are high, or your DIY ability is low, or both, I'd forget this and buy a used Toyota.

If you want to post some of the maintenance history (date/miles/procedure) perhaps it will provide more insight. Otherwise, predicting what may go wrong... the list is everything. If the car was a human, it's now old enough to be going to high school in a year or two.

olddaddy · Post by **olddaddy** » 20 Jun 2016, 13:44

Great advice and great reply, thanks! I will be seeing the car on Wednesday and report back. I'm fairly competent as a shade tree mechanic and have a good friend who is a "real" mechanic and a good local indie Volvo group who are the seller of the car. I'm always more interested in condition over years as I've never had the money to buy one new enough to be without some risk. Our other cars are an 89 245 and a 93 Dodge van, both well over 200K, but in good condition despite the years on the title. I will get more info and continue the decision making process, thanks for the help so far.

olddaddy · Post by **olddaddy** » 24 Jun 2016, 18:09

So, we drove the XC90 today and it went well. Everything worked well, acceleration was good, brakes good, no drifting or swerving on braking. No clunks or rattles, solid. Appearance was good, recent repaint, which made me a bit suspicious, but we know the sellers. New tires, recent brakes, axles up front, 40K on the timing belt. 95K on the clock, $6K asking price, have till Monday to decide. Seems ok and would meet our needs well enough. Mileage seems good for it's age. Advice?

Post by **oragex** » 24 Jun 2016, 18:21

To be honest, it seems like a good deal, perhaps a too good deal? Being repainted is suspect to say at least. These are the best cars in industry when it comes to body rust. Most 2003 models look like new today without a trace of rust on the body.

Then, there is the timing belt thing. It's been done at 60K miles and perhaps 4-5 years ago. What for? Why did they do it that early, way before the scheduled interval? Might sound like someone who is overly cautious, or maybe the odometer has been rolled back, which definitely takes less than 5 minutes on these vehicles. Have the maintenance work checked with the corresponding miles, even better have the main Dealer retrieve the mileage stored in the main computer.

Give it a good drive, for at least 20 minutes, and pay attention how the transmission is shifting. The key with these cars is to check forums for solutions and to repair them DIY or by honest local guy with quality OEM used parts - tons off Ebay at low costs. NO walking to the main dealer for repairs, it's forbidden by law (you get the idea)

For those who also are nausea sensitive,

olddaddy · Post by **olddaddy** » 01 Jul 2016, 16:35

After looking hard at the XC90, a V70, and a V50 we bought a 2015 V60! Go figure!! Thanks for all the advice and help, I appreciate this forum immensely!!