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My husband and I are thinking about buying a second car, as he's starting a new job farther from home soon, and won't be able to bike there (currently I take the car and he bikes - but his new job is in the opposite direction from mine and he has to be there early.
So we are thinking about what the best buy in used Volvos under $5k are. What's your favorite year/model for reliability and for any other reason? It seems there are a number of 98 S70's out there with far less than 1/2 the miles on ours, for under $5K, so we are thinking of another S70.
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Well, we bought the car today! It's a 2001 S40 turbo with only 51k miles, one owner car with all maintenance records from dealer, also shows up in carfax - all maintenance intervals have been met, just went through 50k maintenance. No I don't take cars to the dealer for maintenance and I don't think it's a panacea but at least I know that the proper service intervals were observed! Marine blue exterior (I love the color) and grey/tan leather interior.
The car is immaculate it looks new inside and out, the engine belts and hoses are pristine, flexible and no cracks or brittleness, engine purrs, tires have at least 3/4 tread left, brakes are at 85% and working well, smooth as silk on the highway with no vibration or drift/drag, nice peppy acceleration, cold A/C, suspension is perfect, no nose dive on hard brake, no sway. Someone kept this car in the garage and drove it 5000 miles a year!
The only strike against it was that they smoked in it - I have a very sensitive nose and I hate cigarette smoke, no one else can smell it in the car but I can... so I'm going to need to do some carpet shampooing. Product suggestions are welcome.
Also the driver's side sun visor won't fold up flush to the ceiling, obviously had a heavy garage door opener on it and now stuck. I could replace it but if anyone has an easy fix?
We got a good deal, it was at the top of our price range but with the extra good care and the very low miles it was worth it. We actually prefer the smaller size, it's big enough for the 2 of us - and we still have the S70 is we need a bigger car for some reason. It's mainly going to be my husband's commuter so small is good.
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AtmosKleer sold at ACE hardware will get rid of smoke and any other odors. No perfumes or other "cover ups". Spray some in the cabin air intake with the fan on high to get to the air filter and heater core. Replace the air cleaner if you can find it.
Wash the ash tray. Spray some AtmosKleer in the spare tire well as well. I just had to use it for my daughter's "new" Subaru Outback. What a great product. The carpets no longer have any odor and a little goes a long way.
Have fun with your itty bitty car :)
Klaus
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Common sense trumps a PhD
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Great!
Congrats
have fun with it
good luck and drive safe
--
'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's
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Thanks all!
Atmoskleer, I will get some this weekend. I hate perfume cover-up scents so this product sounds good. There is no ashtray, not sure where they ashed the cigs (out the window to start grass fires in CA)!! I have ordered a fresh charcoal cabin air filter and spraying stuff down the vents to clean out the A/C ducts is a great idea, I actually have some stuff meant for the purpose (deters mold growth too).
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I just happened to see this bargain(?) in your neck of the woods. Owner claims the fuel pump went, but a close inspection is warranted for other problems, like exhaust, suspension, steering, seat condition, AC, etc. A non-running car is a gamble, but could be a good bet.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1175061714.html Opps, rolled back odo and salvage title????? Thief!
Saw this in my area of the woods, probably a T5 with a 5sp manual, if it has the 2.3L engine:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/cto/1177171614.html
Klaus
--
Common sense trumps a PhD
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http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1177067087.html
--
Common sense trumps a PhD
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Craigslist listings are looking pretty wacky in your area.
There should be way more to choose from and cheaper. The '97 to like '01 or '02 years should be under 5K
Look for service records, leaks under the car, warm AC, and search previous board posts here. 100K + mi should be nothing to worry about and would bring the price down, it's just that you'd probably need an upholstery shop to fix the seats. Budget in extra $ for growing pains and get your local Volvo specialist mechanic's opinion. Good Luck and let us know.
--
'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's
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Hi Tina,
with Volvos my opinion is one should avoid first production year of new models;
1997 for first generation 70, 2001 for second gen. (-07), 2007 for third gen. The other ting is ETM from Magneti Marelli for peace of mind. So I would ssecond KlausC: find a first gen 70 with wired throtle, close to your present.
Or you can put a lot more money for a mid second gen. 2005- onwards.
Br Tapsa
2x 850-94,V70-05 D5 AWD
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Tina,
I'm sorry you didn't see older cars you are looking for. I know my 2001 shows on the data, and per "the data" and a lot on this board, not a good model year. However perhaps I'm just lucky as I have yet to have an issue other than the ABS module which I had Victor fix for $125. Good luck finding what you are searching for.
Jerry
01 V70 T5a at 98K miles
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Since you do the maint, get another S/V70. 1998 was the last year for a throttle wire and a single ignition coil. 2000 was the last year for S70.
A V70, not 2001, as new as you can get and put the bicycles inside for trips to the parks.
The S40 is quite small, I would rather go with the S60 with the 5 cylinder engine in it.
PS
Your S70 vacuum lines: Only the turbo has the hard to reach vacuum line under #1 cylinder. Do check all of the lines attached to the intake manifold and throttle body, including the main air from the filter box. Any cracks are bad.
You should pull a plug and inspect it for over-rich running which is an indicator if a leak.
You will probably have to replace the O2 sensor sooner rather than later.
Klaus
--
Common sense trumps a PhD
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I'd go for another S70 given the price range. These are truly excellent cars. Maybe a V70 of the same mark as the S70 to haul stuff since you already have a sedan?
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I'm going to look at this one:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7cE-%7cM-_49_%7cB-8000%7cD-_4388_%7cN-N%7cR-100%7cI-1%2c7%7cP-PRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cZ-94025&aff=national&paId=137326427&recnum=4&leadExists=true
More than I planned on spending but only 51k miles, and 1 owner, dealer maintained. What do you think? I hope the current dealer has not put on any chintzy brake pads or anything like that.
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Anyone going to sit in the back seat? Dealer service is not a panacea. Do some bargaining. Have an indy tech look at it.
Hope you love it & good luck
--
'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's
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Thanks Klaus!
I will be checking those vacuum lines as soon as this heat wave passes - it was 100 degrees out today I hid inside in the shade with the A/C running! I also have to take off that ABS module and send it to Victor. THe plugs were changed 2 years ago so probably time to change them again, I know it is running rich b/c I can smell the exhaust.
But I do have a nice list of S70's to see and a few S40s as well. They are small but that's OK for us, no kids or dogs just the 2 of us to haul around, and we can use a bike rack for the bikes. I have not found any S60s for sale in our price range - under $6k...
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For 1/2 of your cash limit:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1175274998.html
Worth a look, another NA with cloth but automatic.
Don't discount Japanese cars for commuting, great on gas and easy to repair?
Klaus
--
Common sense trumps a PhD
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Tina,
I don't keep current with the pricing, so you might get better results if you post what models you are interested in. I'm surprised nobody commented on the 98S 70. My daughter has a 99 with 175K miles and is still running fairly well. The MAF went at 150K, and we did the halfshafts around then too as the boots were torn. Check this link over at MathewsVolvo. If you join truedata and enter your car's data (and hopefully keep it up), you get free access to reliability data for Volvo's and other cars. I've been doing it for around a year now, REAL EASY TO DO! Just a suggestion.
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=20644
Jerry
01 V70 T5a 97K miles
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Well I registered and checked it out, but there is no data for Volvos older than 2005 that I can find. I am looking at 1998-2003 mostly for my price range.
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Thanks Jerry!
I just saw an ad for a 2003 S40 for $5900, there is minor bumper damage to the car (photos shown very minor) anyone have comments on this year/model?
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Hi Tina,
My fiance's son has a 2000 v40 which I have driven and wrenched on a few times. In my opinion the car is too small and hasn't been very good in the reliabilty/repair area. I don't like working on it like I do with my rwd models or my daughters '98 s70. If it were me I would be looking for the S/V70... enough room under the hood to work on and many more were made. I have only seen 1) v40 in the pick n' pull yards so far... maybe just too new yet but I suspect not many sold. I also remember reading that the V40 has not had a very good history of longevity.
Dan
who will be looking for a turbo S/V 70 if we ever have an economy again
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