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Hey all,
My wife and I are currently shopping for a volvo to replace her Saturn.
We are expecting our first child in June, so we wanted to go with something that is safe and offers a fair amount of room.
This led us to our local Volvo dealerships. We have found a 2001 XC for around $28,000, a 2.4T for around $23,500 and a 2.5 for around $26,500.
We have test driven the XC and the 2.4T, and we like the XC better - it seemed to drive a little bit better, just seemed more solid if that makes sense. We have not yet test driven the 2.5.
We are rather torn as to which model to go with.....So, I have a couple of questions for you all:
1. What are your thoughts on which to buy? All of them have around the same mileage (around 40,000), and their warranties all expire in mid 2007.
2. What is your experience in negotiating price? I have never bought a new car, so I have no idea where to start in the negotiations.
3. Given the fact that I still will have an additional 3.5 years on the warranty, do I add on another year for $599?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. We are looking to buy within the next week.
Thanks much,
Ryan
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I would always buy the extended warranty. Our prices up here in Canada are obviously quite different but to give you a context. I paid about $1600 in extended warranty and within 2 months had an $800 repair, the steering column went a year later at a cost of about $1400 and have had about $1500 worth of repairs since then. So, it's worth the investment. As you know, Volvos are great cars but fussy and expensive to fix. I own a '98 V70 AWD.
for my 2 cents- I live in the city, don't often go outside- but we are hit with major storms a couple of times. Even if I have to travel the highways here around the city- they get quite treacherous. For the one or two days a year it's bad- the AWD if worth it to me because I know I'll be safe. And with my child in the backseat- I just can't justify saving bucks and compromising safety. Just not worth it. I'd scrimp somewhere else but never on that aspect.
XC or V70- mainly a style personal prefernece issue. I'd prefer the XC as well- but can't afford it. The V70 is pretty good. Can't complain.
deborah
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One more county heard from. I have a 2000 V70 XC. We bought it for the AWD feature. Ask yourself if you need it or want that particular feature or can you get by without it? That is the basic question you need to answer for you and your family. Viscous, smiscous - the basic system has been around Volvo and many other cars for years. Yes, it can go wrong and yes, it can be fine for many years. The systems are susceptible to individual tire circumference. Thusly, you need to watch wear patterns and tire inflations far closer than with a normal car. Just know that going in. Besides, that's what the warranty is for. Go for extra year for $600. I don't know about 2.4's or 2.5's. Our basic decision was based upon desiring the AWD. I talked with a few people and they had not had any problems with the vehicle or the AWD feature. I paid $24K with 44K miles with the Volvo certified tag on it from the local dealer. We live at the bottom of a steep hill. I have to go up and down 500 ft of elevation change 3 times in a 7 mile drive to work. During a recent big snow the system worked just fine and am totally satisfied.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ray N.
on
Sun Feb 15 14:55 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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The XC has some issues with the AWD you should be aware of.
Search (below) on "viscous coupling" and review the various
threads.
(Note the AWD system is changed in 2004 model year 70 series and the
issues in these threads don't apply.)
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me.. i would but a v70 rather than an xc...
the reaoning here being the v70 is an evolution of the 850...so basiaclly should be well sorted...the xc..well lets say its had less time ot evolve...
My wife drives a 940t (for muc hthe same reasons your looking at!) and i have to say we do have acontinual battle about her exercising correct warm up and cool down practices with the turbo....something you may, or may not, care about...
The biggest factor I would say is how the vehicles drive...if I was laying out that kind of money i would want to take the car for a day and live with it and check everything 'worked' for me..
i have to say i drive a 850 na 2.5 20 valve (essentially similar to the v70 2.5 i believe) and its a great lond distance car, but it aint exciting to drive...
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Phil and Kick,
Thanks for the quick responses!
I think I'm leaning more towards the V70 rather than the XC, with cost being a big reason. Here in Chicago, I could get a base, stripped down new V70 for around $29500, so I can save quite a bit by going used.
Kick - the point you bring up about the evolutoin is a point I was hoping someone was going to address. I plan on owning this car for a long time - my wife's job is only about 5 miles away, and both our parents are around 15 miles away, so it's not like she will be putting on many miles.
As for performance, both my wife and I have driven both the 2.4T and the XC, and we both liked how the XC drove better. This is not to say that the 2.4T was bad, we just liked the XC better.
In my mind, I'd be fine driving the V70 if I had a greater piece of mind that maybe, just maybe it would be a bit more reliable.
Anyone else got any other thoughts?
Thanks again,
Ryan
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posted by
someone claiming to be Riverside V70 guy
on
Sun Feb 15 15:23 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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I have a '02 V70 2.4T, it's my first Volvo and I love it. I have more toys in mine than the one you are looking at but that's just a matter of personal preference (and $$$$). The V70 is a FINE choice and I would take a new base V70 over a used something else. Since you are asking about reliablity, I have no issues in that regard after 2 years of ownership. Consumer Reports customer reliability survey indicates the V70 is reliable (keep in mind that individual cars will vary from the survey averages). One way to buy some peace of mind is to consider an extended warranty, which if I understand correctly, you can buy anytime before your standard 48 mo 50k warranty expires. I believe you can buy up to 7 years, 100k.
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Riverside - Thanks for the info.
I would love to get a new V70, but even with a fleet program that my employeer offers, it is out of my price range.
As I sit here with my wife doing the research, we are starting to lean towards the 2.4T. It is about $4,000 less than the XC, which will allow us to pay it off in 3 years rather than 4.
The warranty as it sits today is for 6 years or 100,000 miles from the original date of purchase. This means that I will have about 60,000 miles and/or 3+ years of warrantly left.
The 2.4T that I'm looking at is pretty closely equiped in comparison to the XC - both have leather, CD, home link, moonroof, etc.
Thanks again for the input.
Ryan
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posted by
someone claiming to be Punxsutawney Phil
on
Sun Feb 15 07:54 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Carsdirect.com gives a price of $28,048 for a NEW base 2004 V70 2.5TA in my zip code, which you should be able better by at least $500-$1000. Then, if you belong to VCOA (the Volvo Club of America) I think VCNA still offers $1000 discounts to members.
While $27k (+ or -) gets you a V70 with fabric seats and no sunroof, it's a nicely equipped turbo automatic and it's still BRAND NEW and I'd rather have the cloth seats and no sunroof (which won't leak if you don't have it) anyway, and not worry about what the Evil Previous Owner did to or with the car.
My $0.02.
-Punxsutawney Phil
'98 V70T5M, 135k mi., iPd stabilizer bars, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, Bilstein HD struts and shocks, Valentine-1, Mobil-1 always, e-code headlight lenses, Michelin Arctic Alpins
CLICK HERE
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