Our 2001 Saab 9-5 Wagon is getting a little long in the tooth and I've noticed first gen V70s and V70XCs are dirt cheap<br>Are there any reputable buying guides for these cars or any specific problems that happen with them over time?
Buying guide?
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Re: Buying guide? (Chapel)
Depends on what you mean by dirt cheap.<br>I can sell you one for 5 grand but I can guarantee you it will need work.<p>The problem is that most of these "cheap ones" need a ton of work.<p>If you want a good one, contact me but <B>I FIX everything required </B>so mine are not as cheap as the ones you see advertised, but they probably will last you a heck of a lot longer!<br>These are not low maintenance vehicles so about now (8 to 10 years old) when they need a lot of work, people are trading them in but the good ones are being held on to as when they ARE good, they're really nice wagons to drive
Depends on what you mean by dirt cheap.<br>I can sell you one for 5 grand but I can guarantee you it will need work.<p>The problem is that most of these "cheap ones" need a ton of work.<p>If you want a good one, contact me but <B>I FIX everything required </B>so mine are not as cheap as the ones you see advertised, but they probably will last you a heck of a lot longer!<br>These are not low maintenance vehicles so about now (8 to 10 years old) when they need a lot of work, people are trading them in but the good ones are being held on to as when they ARE good, they're really nice wagons to drive
Re: Buying guide? (Chapel)
I guess we've never gotten around to a "buying guide", per se, but if you do a search using "buy" or "buying" in the title field, you'll probably get plenty of recent hits on things to look out for, etc. Rules for buying a Volvo are like any other European car--you pay for the pedigree of the car. Few owner history with documented excellent maintenance history costs up front. A dog car? Well, you can get that cheap. Owners dump these cars all the time with no maintenance done, and you'll be up to your eyeballs (i.e., $2000-4000) in work in the first six months. No sh$t. Just a cautionary note--they are wonderful cars, but you get what you pay for!<p>Cheers,<p>David
I guess we've never gotten around to a "buying guide", per se, but if you do a search using "buy" or "buying" in the title field, you'll probably get plenty of recent hits on things to look out for, etc. Rules for buying a Volvo are like any other European car--you pay for the pedigree of the car. Few owner history with documented excellent maintenance history costs up front. A dog car? Well, you can get that cheap. Owners dump these cars all the time with no maintenance done, and you'll be up to your eyeballs (i.e., $2000-4000) in work in the first six months. No sh$t. Just a cautionary note--they are wonderful cars, but you get what you pay for!<p>Cheers,<p>David
Re: Buying guide? (dmorga1)
Yes, a "buying guide" would be a good idea. btw, I've had problems with the Search function on this site (it doesn't consistently return matches in the post titles), but it does seem to work well if you seach by poster.<p>I would suggest a search for posts by "Volvie!" She did the most recent (and thorough) search for a car and started several posts that review and document the '98-'00 S70 features, differences and typical problems (most of which will be applicable to the V).<p>Just go search the S/V70 1998-2000 archives for posts by "volvie!" (don't forget the !). You should find some useful information in the responses.<br>Good luck!<br>glsable
Yes, a "buying guide" would be a good idea. btw, I've had problems with the Search function on this site (it doesn't consistently return matches in the post titles), but it does seem to work well if you seach by poster.<p>I would suggest a search for posts by "Volvie!" She did the most recent (and thorough) search for a car and started several posts that review and document the '98-'00 S70 features, differences and typical problems (most of which will be applicable to the V).<p>Just go search the S/V70 1998-2000 archives for posts by "volvie!" (don't forget the !). You should find some useful information in the responses.<br>Good luck!<br>glsable
Re: Buying guide? (dmorga1)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>dmorga1</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Owners dump these cars all the time with no maintenance done, and you'll be up to your eyeballs (i.e., $2000-4000) in work in the first six months. No sh$t. <br></TD></TR></TABLE><br>If you notice two cars I have in the for sale section. I've let them drop to the bottom.<br>The XC (and the T5) have gone back to where I bought them the T5 (which inherently is a decent car but needy) went with the XC<br>I'm trying to work a (reduced buy) deal on the T5, if not, I take my money back.<br>Both need an immediate (approx) $2000-$3000 worth of work which takes both out of the running to make anything.<br>Both have slightly over 100K which is the time for major issues to crop up on these<br>(The weird deal is the T5 has service records)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>dmorga1</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Owners dump these cars all the time with no maintenance done, and you'll be up to your eyeballs (i.e., $2000-4000) in work in the first six months. No sh$t. <br></TD></TR></TABLE><br>If you notice two cars I have in the for sale section. I've let them drop to the bottom.<br>The XC (and the T5) have gone back to where I bought them the T5 (which inherently is a decent car but needy) went with the XC<br>I'm trying to work a (reduced buy) deal on the T5, if not, I take my money back.<br>Both need an immediate (approx) $2000-$3000 worth of work which takes both out of the running to make anything.<br>Both have slightly over 100K which is the time for major issues to crop up on these<br>(The weird deal is the T5 has service records)
Re: Buying guide? (glsable)
Oh, and that was just about the fwd models.<p>There are probably a lot of V70 Cross Country/XC70 experts here, so you may want to ask about specific problems with these pertaining to the AWD.<p>The only thing I have heard is that the older models (pre-2003?) are very sensitive to tire diameter, so it is important to keep all four tires* of the same brand/size/tread depth.<br> * or is it just side-to-side that is important?<p>And apparently lots of AWD 70s are running around in fwd-only mode (rear driveshaft removed) to avoid replacing expensive parts!<p>glsable
Oh, and that was just about the fwd models.<p>There are probably a lot of V70 Cross Country/XC70 experts here, so you may want to ask about specific problems with these pertaining to the AWD.<p>The only thing I have heard is that the older models (pre-2003?) are very sensitive to tire diameter, so it is important to keep all four tires* of the same brand/size/tread depth.<br> * or is it just side-to-side that is important?<p>And apparently lots of AWD 70s are running around in fwd-only mode (rear driveshaft removed) to avoid replacing expensive parts!<p>glsable
Re: Buying guide? (JRL)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>JRL</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Depends on what you mean by dirt cheap.<br>I can sell you one for 5 grand but I can guarantee you it will need work.<p>The problem is that most of these "cheap ones" need a ton of work.</TD></TR></TABLE><p>Yeah, that's what I meant.<br>I'm seeing all these $5000 and under V70s and V70XCs all over the place around here and I'm just curious as to why they're so cheap and what kind of work they generally need.<p>I can do most of my own maintenance and repairs (including full engine and drivetrain swaps) and I have a european parts vendor next to my house that gives me a discount. But at the same time, I don't like to work on cars I'm not familiar with. Like, today I'm rebuilding the electronics on the throttle body on my wife's 9-5. I've never done it before, but it looks easy enough.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD><i>Quote, originally posted by <b>JRL</b> »</i></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Depends on what you mean by dirt cheap.<br>I can sell you one for 5 grand but I can guarantee you it will need work.<p>The problem is that most of these "cheap ones" need a ton of work.</TD></TR></TABLE><p>Yeah, that's what I meant.<br>I'm seeing all these $5000 and under V70s and V70XCs all over the place around here and I'm just curious as to why they're so cheap and what kind of work they generally need.<p>I can do most of my own maintenance and repairs (including full engine and drivetrain swaps) and I have a european parts vendor next to my house that gives me a discount. But at the same time, I don't like to work on cars I'm not familiar with. Like, today I'm rebuilding the electronics on the throttle body on my wife's 9-5. I've never done it before, but it looks easy enough.
Re: Buying guide? (Chapel)
Hi Y'all,<p>Thought I'd join the party!<p>I joined this forum to learn more about the S70 as we were looking to purchase a replacement to a totaled S70, and have since become an incumbent-- it took me a while to search through all of my posts to find the ones mentioned above, but here are the direct links:<p>Cosmetic Differences:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=95486&postid=971321" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...71321</A><p>Typical Problems:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=95570&postid=968442" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...68442</A><p>And, another handy bit of info:<br>Stage Zero:<br><A HREF="http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=21017" TARGET="_blank">http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum...21017</A><p>Thing to check out before buying:<br><A HREF="http://www.volvo-forums.com/t3118-things-to-checkout-before-buying-a-new-car.htm" TARGET="_blank">http://www.volvo-forums.com/t3...r.htm</A><p>And, a link to a similar topic that has the above mentioned links as well as some other suggestions/advice:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=98450&postid=1001605" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...01605</A><p>Good luck!<p>Take care,<br>volvie!<br>
Hi Y'all,<p>Thought I'd join the party!<p>I joined this forum to learn more about the S70 as we were looking to purchase a replacement to a totaled S70, and have since become an incumbent-- it took me a while to search through all of my posts to find the ones mentioned above, but here are the direct links:<p>Cosmetic Differences:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=95486&postid=971321" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...71321</A><p>Typical Problems:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=95570&postid=968442" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...68442</A><p>And, another handy bit of info:<br>Stage Zero:<br><A HREF="http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.php?showtopic=21017" TARGET="_blank">http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum...21017</A><p>Thing to check out before buying:<br><A HREF="http://www.volvo-forums.com/t3118-things-to-checkout-before-buying-a-new-car.htm" TARGET="_blank">http://www.volvo-forums.com/t3...r.htm</A><p>And, a link to a similar topic that has the above mentioned links as well as some other suggestions/advice:<br><A HREF="http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=98450&postid=1001605" TARGET="_blank">http://forums.swedespeed.com/z...01605</A><p>Good luck!<p>Take care,<br>volvie!<br>
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