(Not retro) Volvo V70 T5 buying advice please?

Rust isn't a major problem on these, but check along the sides of the roof rails anyway.
Mechanically, the engines are pretty much bullet-proof, but check for oil leaks from the cam cover and oil cap... Regular oil changes are important, but use good quality parts.
If you decide to modify and your car is an auto, don't take the engine over 300bhp. The autobox is the weak link, anything over this will kill it as the torque involved is too much for it.
Mid 30's mpg on a run, high teens/low 20's round town. Get friendly with your local tyre centre, you'll go through fronts for fun....
Fantastic cars, I've got two 850 T5's, one saloon one estate, love driving 'em. You won't regret it!!
Good luck!!

as matey above says gearboxes are your main gripe, they need to be running and driving for at least half an hour in nasty (uphill, downhill,urban) conditions to see if anything flares up. a short blast round the block wont show any issues up.

fuel economy in my experience is pretty terrible, unless its on the motorway, if u get low 20's be happy with it

but positives, youl scare most hot hatch drivers, and they're megga cumfy on long trips, engines are bulletproof and youl become good friends with "andy" who works at your local shell garage.

Bought it. Cheers all!

These are great cars that I feel everyone should drive/own at some point. I got a pretty mint Haynes if your interested?

Or better still SuperFlexed (if they do the bushes). Powerflex bushes seem to either last or not ; Superflex seem to give comfort as well as longevity. If you don't fancy noise inside the cabin only go with a genuine Volvo mount ; Powerflex ones will last but they induce cabin noise in this application ; pattern ones do not last at all.

A lovely buy indeed. My sister (and recently my dad) have MkIV Mondeo 2.5Ts with a similar engine. When I have driven then I see around low to mid twenties around town, low 30s on a high speed cruise with more like 35MPG if sticking below 75MPH. They are a lovely engine.

With the autos there are some preventative upgrades you can do (like changing the gearbox cover and oil to Volvo's latest spec from the dealer) for reducing the flaring or eliminating it . Prevention is always better than cure after all.

Cheers! I'll post a pic in a minute. Started using it daily as of this week, comfort and convenience levels are awesome




Do you mean the suspension or engine mounts?





Yes, I was surprised to see high 30s mpg on the cruise home with it. Around town / commuting is bound to be lower, probably doesn't help that I have the posh stereo and heated seats on all the time...
The guy I bought it from was an ex Volvo technician and told me he'd fully flushed and replaced the gearbox oil recently. He said it holds about 7L but he made sure to fully flush 15L through to guarantee the torque convertor was flushed? It's very smooth in operation I must say, you hardly feel any gear changes. What does the gearbox cover change do? Not sure he'd have done that as he didn't mention it?




The previous owner told me he'd recently changed the top engine mount (attached to a strut brace type bit across the front suspension towers if that's the one you mean?) with a genuine part and revised / improved bracket? Hopefully that'll be fine as I imagine the torque of the engine puts a fair amount of stress on those things.

Only faults / points for attention so far are as follows:
1. Drivers seat stitching coming apart on the bolster, needs a small repair. I knew about this before viewing though.
2. Fuel filler flap locks, but hinge is weak / not very positive and it flaps around when you reverse!
3. Tyres aren't the best, will change them for a full new set soon. Any recommendations? 225/45/17s I think.


Cheers, all!

Stu

she looks a bonny motor, and the updated servo cover (b4) is a slightly different shape design and is 1 piece, the factory original one has a washer and rubber which overtimes breaks down and causes slight flare between 2-3gear, looks simple to do, but in first hand experience is an absolute pain in the arsed to do as the servo cover needs alot of pressure to get the circlip back in place, get it wrong, you get a nice face full of gearbox oil.....

On the engine stabiliser the two people I have known to fit them (one who now runs a 400+BHP Altezza) found that the Powerflex stabiliser bush added more noise than necessary into the cabin. If this top bush has been changed I would leave this mount well alone.

Jordan has explained what the cover does .

Some will disagree with me here but I would go with Michelin tyres in that size. Yes they are expensive but you will be lucky to see 5k out of cheaper tyres (more like 10k from the Michelins, maybe more if you are lucky). In PS3s they are around £100-120 each fitted).