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Volvo C70 second generation question for the wise?

Are the headlights the same as the V70? I have zero problems with the headlamps in my estate, if they're kept clean Rural roads and A roads. They're better than any of my other cars.
 
The D5 engine is great, will do huge miles (500,000 is not uncommon) if looked after, I had one that ran perfectly with 307,000 on the clock. You do enough miles not to have DPF issues.

When changing the oil, fill it to 3/4 of the way between min and max, this allows the DPF to do it's regeneration without issues.

The model of C70 you are looking at is actually based on the S40/V50, which is based on the same platform as the contemporary Ford Focus (also the Mazda 3 of the same era), and not the platform of the S60/V70 as the previous generation C70 was based on the V70/S70.
 
George J said:
110K, but new engine last year. Proper new engine, not scrap-yard replacement.

Reason for sale is expected baby in a few months ... Good enough reason.

ATB from George
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Buy it… I have both a C30 and a C70 with the D5 and have a Polestar map on the C30, they’re smooth and strong engines and really don’t give much away to a petrol engine. Turbo lag is a none issue and they deliver power evenly. Mileage, in reality on both cars is 35mpg average but you can get 55mpg on a run if you’re being sensible. Timing belt replacements and clutches are a little more expensive than average, but they have a long service life and the one you’re looking at is new, so won’t need attention for 8 years or so. The most annoying issue is the blower damper motors, they can fail, and it’s supposedly a dashboard out job to replace them, and the seats split on the bolsters. That aside, they’re built like tanks… and the one with the map will have a stock focus ST or Golf GTI in the traffic light Grand Prix.

Just to add, Manual is best in these… the Volvo auto box is okay, the Ford Powershift is a diabolical gearbox and loves to grenade… the one you’re looking at is manual, and that’s a good thing… buy carefully if you do look at an auto. First and second gear are short in the manuals by you quickly get used to that, they pull strong in third through to sixth, no need to drop a gear to accelerate/pass something at motorway speeds, it’ll pick up and go in sixth.
 
I have been thinking about this. Big decision, of course. I am cautiously edging towards buying if I can get it for a reasonable price.

Not a really practical car, but then neither is the Mini One.

Interesting that the diesel consumption ranges between 55 mpg down to 35. My 1.6 litre non-turbo Mini clams officially to do a mixed mileage of 38 per gallon, and I consistently get 44, though almost never in stop start conditions, though quite a lot on slower hilly and bendy roads. When I had the Skoda Fabio non-turbo 1.9l diesel, I got a consistent 55 mpg, and on long trips this would rise to about 65 mpg. So clearly my right foot is not a heavy one. People still refuse to believe I could get 40 mpg out of my Volvo 240 on long runs, but then I used to drive at HGV speeds using a lorry a quarter of a mile in front to pace on the motorway. Being far enough back means anyone wishing to pass can safely get back to the left without being anywhere near the lorry I am pacing off. That way you hardly touch the brake mile after mile, and the driving is rather unstressed! You just plan a longer drive time for trips. To be fair I learned this technique on the Volvo 2.3l Red-block non-turbo [which could easily manage less than 30 mpg if driven unsympathetically], and have carried on with every other car I have had since. I rather like the idea of purring along at 60 in a tall sixth gear on a motorway. Even the 240 was doing only about 2100 rpm at sixty. Mind it was governed off at 4200 rpm. No idea why that should be as the more powerful turbo variants would rev faster than that!

Thanks for all the replies. I may have to consider a bank loan, but that is okay. I shall not hang myself financially, so if it is too dear, I'll pull the plug on the idea.

Best wishes from George
 
I'd be amazed if you can get this for £1000 in the current climate. If you can, do. As regards is it a good car, yes. Is this one? Maybe, maybe not. Sample size of 1. The Mini is a good car, but yours is rotten. Any car can hand you NoT bills. Someone mentioned rusty brake lines, I had this as an MoT fail on the Mondeo at about 12 years old, it was a surprisingly expensive repair and I nearly didn't bother. I'm glad I did, but it was a roll of the dice. Old cars are like that. Bangernomics rules, but you have to accept that every so often you'll pay for a repair and the next week the rest of the car will go bang. So inspect, inspect, inspect and if it's good, bu y it.
 
Dear Steve,

Before I commit - assuming I can get it for a reasonable price - I'll take it to Partridges in Bishops Frome [five miles away] to do a ramp inspect and OBD check. I am not worried by minor cosmetic signs of use inside so long as it it sound on corrosion and has no fatal OBD findings.

Three generations of Partridges have been repairing my cars since 1979. They are totally straight with me, and they don't run a charity, but that is fine. Decent service and always a fair price for work done, even if a bucket shop would potentially be cheaper. [But was the work actually done in a cut price shop?].

But these days it is easier to find out so many disastrous flaws from OBD combined with a proper underside inspection for corrosion.

I cannot afford to blow money on a disaster waiting to happen, where it can be avoided.

I am tiring of running cars with only eighteen months of life left.

Thanks for your reply, and best wishes from George
 
George J said:
I cannot afford to blow money on a disaster waiting to happen, where it can be avoided.

I am tiring of running cars with only eighteen months of life left.
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Well, what's the verdict? Have you bought it?
My guess is one of the following:
1. They want a damn sight more than any £1000 for it.
2. It has problems and an inspection reveals them to be costly to repair, hence £1000.
3. Neither of the above, the seller has no idea of its value and you have bought it and run away giggling.

It's by no means risk free though. If you want risk free and 2 years plus remaining life buy something a bit newer, with fewer toys and a lower cost manufacturer. Astra, Focus, Corolla, etc. A £1000 Astra is a better car than a £1000 BMW, all day long.
 
I made a good mistake. It has the four cylinder diesel, which is a unit shared with Ford and Peugeot, and not a Volvo design. This is good as it significantly reduces the potential performance of the car. My neighbours are like me. Never fall over yourself with a snap decision, so as yet they have not priced the car with determination. I asked them to decide a price, and if I can afford it [subject to an inspect at my local garage, which happens to be Volvo enthusiastic] I'll buy it. There will be no haggling. Either yes or no.

But it being the lowest performance engine brings it more into line with my driving style. The 0 - 62 mph figure of 11 seconds is far quicker than I would ever come close to using!

I will update with the final result, for sure.

Best wishes from George.

PS: I am not sure which is more important. Knowing the provenance of a car, or choosing a type that is more bread and butter, but an unknown quantity as to previous owners. Bread and butter cars are not always more sympathetically used than more exotic cars. And people do not buy a lower powered Volvo to "hoon" it about!
 
The 2 litre engine can, I hear, be prone to EGR problems. I think there’s a fix so it would be worth knowing if that’s been addressed. Not sure if the details but the VOC forum will have more knowledge.
 
Dear Steve,

The engine was replaced within the last ten thousand miles after a catastrophic failure - dropped valve, I believe, and was replaced with the correct Volvo branded unit, so barely run in by now. EGRs are a right royal pain. They go wrong on Transit vans as well. Same basic engine as the unit in this car though I believe a 2.3 variant of the 2 litre diesel fitted in this C70.

Otherwise a high torque engine and not a screamer. It is governed off at 4000 rpm and has peak torque between 1750 and 2000 rpm, so would suit my grandad style, and getting up the gears as soon as possible. Apparently first and second are rather short in the Volvo six speed manual which I like. Makes for easy take off at the lights without straining the clutch. I have only ruined one clutch in my life, and that was in a 1969 Rover 2000, which was worn out before I got it as my first car in 1979. It cost £90 to do, which seems ludicrously unlikely nowadays!

Best wishes from George
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
The 2 litre engine can, I hear, be prone to EGR problems. I think there’s a fix so it would be worth knowing if that’s been addressed. Not sure if the details but the VOC forum will have more knowledge.
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It'll be a 5-pot 2.4 in the D5 of that age. Bombproof.
 
IMG_1666 by George Johnson, on Flickr

Here is the car from my front room on the second floor.

It needs a clean! But every shut-line is even, only a few chips in the paint, and sits nicely on the suspension.

The trouble is that it is a bit of a cool car for an old guy with a little Terrier!

Glad that it is only 134 bhp, though the torque figure is 320 Nm at 2000 rpm. More of a farm tractor than a normal car! I shall have to get some Raybans to look suitably attired for driving, if I get it! I jest of course!

Best wishes From George.

PS: My last Volvo, a 240 GL, G 23 ADX, was 116 bhp, and had much less torque, but its peak was at only 1750 rpm, and also governed off at only 4200 rpm, which is extremely low for a petrol. I bet the engine characteristics will be more similar than different.
 
Unfortunately, you have read my mind. It is madness really, but I would like to have a Volvo like this as my last car. I guarantee that I'll retire from driving at 70! [Eight and half years hence]. Then I'll get a bus-pass and train card!

Bless you for being so knowing!

best wishes from George
 
You only live once George.

Just think of me as that naughty voice of temptation sitting on your shoulder!

Seriously, though, unless an inspection throws up any nasties, and if the price is in line with expectations, it’s not a bad car at all to see out your driving years with. Very comfy, laid back drive and Volvos tended to be well-engineered and use good quality components rather than price-pared OEM parts. Not sure if this remains relevant, but with the roof down, you’d probably get a double bass on the back seat too.
 
Weirdly, the cabin is rather long, and a bass would have easily fitted between the back of the rear seat and the front footwell. You have to fully recline the passenger front seat and then the neck sits in the footwell off the floor, held in place with the seatbelt, strategically attached to the cover to prevent sliding forward. I used two 240s like this, and people often wondered why the passenger seat was permanently fully reclined. This is actually very safe for the instrument, which is worth an order of magnitude more than the car it is in! In the back of an estate, the crumple zone at the back is right where the bass is most vulnerable.

People forget that the double bass is thicknessed only fifty per cent more than a violin in its body-front, and is about as fragile as a high class balsa wood. If it's a flat back then the back is only an eighth of and inch thick all over. You pick a bass up by the corners in the "C" bouts, which are the only strong points on the body. Other wise it is like a huge doped paper bag. My two great basses were both flat backed.

Best wishes from George

PS: Thread on my two great basses:

two-great-english-double-basses.228871
 
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