On the hunt for an XC70, any pointers?
Discussion
In the next couple of weeks I'm looking to get an XC70, it looks like it's the that will do everything I need.
My budget is £10k max and for that I'd be looking for a car that will last me for a good while.
Will be used for towing an Autograss car, likely in muddy fields, marshalling at rallies, camping plus commuting and the other normal car stuff.
I'd like to get a D5 auto, SE Lux ideally and I prefer the updated dash of the 2012 onwards.
Some questions;
It appears that these wear the miles very well so I'm guessing slightly higher than average miles shouldn't be a problem to start with?
Quite a few I've seen have the 4C Active suspension, do I want to be avoiding this?
How do the suspension parts cope with towing? Do I want to avoid one with a tow bar and fit myself?
What sort of phone connectivity do the pre-facelift/facelift cars have? Looks like 2012 onwards I can stream music (big plus point).
Anything else I should be thinking about or paying attention to?
Thanks in advance!
My budget is £10k max and for that I'd be looking for a car that will last me for a good while.
Will be used for towing an Autograss car, likely in muddy fields, marshalling at rallies, camping plus commuting and the other normal car stuff.
I'd like to get a D5 auto, SE Lux ideally and I prefer the updated dash of the 2012 onwards.
Some questions;
It appears that these wear the miles very well so I'm guessing slightly higher than average miles shouldn't be a problem to start with?
Quite a few I've seen have the 4C Active suspension, do I want to be avoiding this?
How do the suspension parts cope with towing? Do I want to avoid one with a tow bar and fit myself?
What sort of phone connectivity do the pre-facelift/facelift cars have? Looks like 2012 onwards I can stream music (big plus point).
Anything else I should be thinking about or paying attention to?
Thanks in advance!
many of the big Volvos wear their suspension hard, I don't know about the XC70 - but I know on the V70 those with 4C suspension the shockers etc are significantly more expensive when they need replacing....
Also auto boxes need regular oil changes - which volvo doesnt specify. chk the volvo forum for more info - a really useful resource
Also auto boxes need regular oil changes - which volvo doesnt specify. chk the volvo forum for more info - a really useful resource
I had one (In fact two) and let the first go when the MOT advisory started to mention the 4C shocks were maybe on the way out. I replaced it with a new one without 4-C. The 4-C was good and it could be hustled along a road, although as you know it’s not a sports car!
The 2013 on facelift dash is nicer to look at and the rear taillights are a bit different. Think from memory the tech was better.
Heated steering wheel was hands down the best £150 I ever spent on an option so look for one that has that.
Very comfortable car for motorway miles and was good in the snow.
The 2013 on facelift dash is nicer to look at and the rear taillights are a bit different. Think from memory the tech was better.
Heated steering wheel was hands down the best £150 I ever spent on an option so look for one that has that.
Very comfortable car for motorway miles and was good in the snow.
Morning sir...
I've had a couple, granted 2008 era cars so as far as engines, spec and such like go... the later cars do have differences so not that well versed on a few of the questions however as far as 4C goes, I'd avoid it like the plague. I've had a 4C equipped V70R and a 4C equipped XC70 and both were crap. The V70R nearly bankrupted me getting it all to work and even then, it was next to useless on anything but a fast, smooth road - in fact the only time I switched out of comfort mode was on Forrestburn. The XC70 that had it was just as crap... in comfort it wallowed around, never felt composed and in anything more firm, it was just a mess. It's nigh on 1.8 tons of raised estate car, it doesn't need to have stiff suspension as frankly, nothing else attached can cope with enthusiastic cornering. That and it's a fortune to replace.
Ditto many of the swanky features like power tailgates, bendy lights and the factor sat nav... nice to have but eye watering expensive when they start to go wrong. Thus, this time round I specifically hunted down a "popular Plus" model with standard (new) suspension and a manual gearbox and where I hated my last one with the 4C and many many electrical gremlins, I really like the current one. It's a 185bhp D5 and now on 205,000 miles and feels nice and tight, enough power to hustle along though they're hardly the thing for hurling down a borders back road at pace but it does cover ground ok, more so as potholes and broken surfaces don't seem to phase it at all. My father in law has just bought on too, a 2011 model with the 2.0 5 cylinder engine and it's pretty much on par with the power of my older D5 though his is a FWD car and you notice it, the AWD definitely feels much more planted on the road... obvious, crappy weather / roads.
Geartronics are a personal choice... I wouldn't have one, more so as every one I've had previously was either on the road out or headed that way. They're a sealed for life box according to Volvo but this is not good to adhere to and so sump drops, flushes and good fluid helps prolong the life but they can suffer issues. Usual rules apply, 30mins+ road test and then once up to temperature, work the box hard and go from park to reverse when stopped and make sure it doesn't bang in to gear, doesn't flare and changes smoothly. Rebuilds aren't cheap. The other thing that irritates me, is the manual mode is back to front. Pushing forwards to change up is counter-intuitive though again, personal opinion.
That sort of budget should get a good one and there's plenty to choose from, especially up here where they seems the choice car for horsey Karen types, old men wearing Barbour shirts and wannabe rural dwelling middle aged beardy types... and on the subject of rural stuff, they're fairly competent off road too. Granted, they're no Twisted Defender but they're surprising capable if you're brave, have the right tyres and don't mine removing a few bits of plastic off the underside when you get ideas above your station though oddly, the bespoke owners groups seems more interested in detailing them than using them to do what they're best at.
I've had a couple, granted 2008 era cars so as far as engines, spec and such like go... the later cars do have differences so not that well versed on a few of the questions however as far as 4C goes, I'd avoid it like the plague. I've had a 4C equipped V70R and a 4C equipped XC70 and both were crap. The V70R nearly bankrupted me getting it all to work and even then, it was next to useless on anything but a fast, smooth road - in fact the only time I switched out of comfort mode was on Forrestburn. The XC70 that had it was just as crap... in comfort it wallowed around, never felt composed and in anything more firm, it was just a mess. It's nigh on 1.8 tons of raised estate car, it doesn't need to have stiff suspension as frankly, nothing else attached can cope with enthusiastic cornering. That and it's a fortune to replace.
Ditto many of the swanky features like power tailgates, bendy lights and the factor sat nav... nice to have but eye watering expensive when they start to go wrong. Thus, this time round I specifically hunted down a "popular Plus" model with standard (new) suspension and a manual gearbox and where I hated my last one with the 4C and many many electrical gremlins, I really like the current one. It's a 185bhp D5 and now on 205,000 miles and feels nice and tight, enough power to hustle along though they're hardly the thing for hurling down a borders back road at pace but it does cover ground ok, more so as potholes and broken surfaces don't seem to phase it at all. My father in law has just bought on too, a 2011 model with the 2.0 5 cylinder engine and it's pretty much on par with the power of my older D5 though his is a FWD car and you notice it, the AWD definitely feels much more planted on the road... obvious, crappy weather / roads.
Geartronics are a personal choice... I wouldn't have one, more so as every one I've had previously was either on the road out or headed that way. They're a sealed for life box according to Volvo but this is not good to adhere to and so sump drops, flushes and good fluid helps prolong the life but they can suffer issues. Usual rules apply, 30mins+ road test and then once up to temperature, work the box hard and go from park to reverse when stopped and make sure it doesn't bang in to gear, doesn't flare and changes smoothly. Rebuilds aren't cheap. The other thing that irritates me, is the manual mode is back to front. Pushing forwards to change up is counter-intuitive though again, personal opinion.
That sort of budget should get a good one and there's plenty to choose from, especially up here where they seems the choice car for horsey Karen types, old men wearing Barbour shirts and wannabe rural dwelling middle aged beardy types... and on the subject of rural stuff, they're fairly competent off road too. Granted, they're no Twisted Defender but they're surprising capable if you're brave, have the right tyres and don't mine removing a few bits of plastic off the underside when you get ideas above your station though oddly, the bespoke owners groups seems more interested in detailing them than using them to do what they're best at.
I bought one!
2013 D5 SE Lux, 93k, has the ACC, BLIS, bendy lights, electric boot, lane wandering thing and probably some other stuff! It is a cat N but that meant it fell in to my budget, was around the same price as 2010/11 cars with ~100k+ miles. Recently had the timing belt changed and had a transmission oil change the day before I picked it up.
Loving it so far, I'd say it's as wafty as my old W140 S class was. So stress free to drive too.
Should be big enough to turn in to a temporary camper when I'm away marshalling at rallies and plenty of power to tow my wee Autograss car about.
2013 D5 SE Lux, 93k, has the ACC, BLIS, bendy lights, electric boot, lane wandering thing and probably some other stuff! It is a cat N but that meant it fell in to my budget, was around the same price as 2010/11 cars with ~100k+ miles. Recently had the timing belt changed and had a transmission oil change the day before I picked it up.
Loving it so far, I'd say it's as wafty as my old W140 S class was. So stress free to drive too.
Should be big enough to turn in to a temporary camper when I'm away marshalling at rallies and plenty of power to tow my wee Autograss car about.
Edited by Lugy on Sunday 18th October 13:40
Lugy said:
I bought one!
2013 D5 SE Lux, 93k, has the ACC, BLIS, bendy lights, electric boot, lane wandering thing and probably some other stuff! It is a cat N but that meant it fell in to my budget, was around the same price as 2010/11 cars with ~100k+ miles. Recently had the timing belt changed and had a transmission oil change the day before I picked it up.
Loving it so far, I'd say it's as wafty as my old W140 S class was. So stress free to drive too.
Should be big enough to turn in to a temporary camper when I'm away marshalling at rallies and plenty of power to tow my wee Autograss car about.
That looks great. I was reading this thread with interest as I am starting to look for one of these. Mainly for dog, load lugging, and when I need to transport a load of people. Can I ask where you found it and what Cat N is? I am assuming it means minimal damage? Price was I starting looking at the previous shape but upped the budget to 4-5k. The only thing that is a concern at my budget is the mileage which seem to be 150k++. At those miles I was assuming suspension refresh so starting to look at increasing the budget again...which wasn't the plan for a relatively cheap load lugger.2013 D5 SE Lux, 93k, has the ACC, BLIS, bendy lights, electric boot, lane wandering thing and probably some other stuff! It is a cat N but that meant it fell in to my budget, was around the same price as 2010/11 cars with ~100k+ miles. Recently had the timing belt changed and had a transmission oil change the day before I picked it up.
Loving it so far, I'd say it's as wafty as my old W140 S class was. So stress free to drive too.
Should be big enough to turn in to a temporary camper when I'm away marshalling at rallies and plenty of power to tow my wee Autograss car about.
Edited by Lugy on Sunday 18th October 13:40
Fulla said:
That looks great. I was reading this thread with interest as I am starting to look for one of these. Mainly for dog, load lugging, and when I need to transport a load of people. Can I ask where you found it and what Cat N is? I am assuming it means minimal damage? Price was I starting looking at the previous shape but upped the budget to 4-5k. The only thing that is a concern at my budget is the mileage which seem to be 150k++. At those miles I was assuming suspension refresh so starting to look at increasing the budget again...which wasn't the plan for a relatively cheap load lugger.
Thanks! It's the least bad write off category, non structural, panel damage only. It doesn't concern me to be honest, I intend on running it as long as I can so not fussed about lower resale value (plus it was cheaper to begin with).
On the plus side, they do seem to have held their value quite well, I've been looking at them for a couple of years now and the prices haven't changed a great deal I'd say, so you might not actually lose much money (running costs aside!).
I actually came across this on Facebook market place then found a better advert on eBay.
So I drove an XC70 today...the sales person told me it would be like a boat, they are a volvo specialist which I thought would be a safe place for my 1st drive.
Wow he wasn't wrong, it is a very odd feeling and at 1st I thought there was something wrong. I'd say I was out for maybe 20mins on country roads. So plenty of tight turns, up's and downs etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the car felt, no rattles and everything worked. The wallowing/boaty ride wasn't all the time, just an odd shimmer. But as I have read this is normal as it is an estate car jacked up...
I know the normal estate would drive better but my wife and I like the look of them.
Now I just need to maybe try a few more and see if I could get used to the odd feeling.....Be interested in others views.
Wow he wasn't wrong, it is a very odd feeling and at 1st I thought there was something wrong. I'd say I was out for maybe 20mins on country roads. So plenty of tight turns, up's and downs etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the car felt, no rattles and everything worked. The wallowing/boaty ride wasn't all the time, just an odd shimmer. But as I have read this is normal as it is an estate car jacked up...
I know the normal estate would drive better but my wife and I like the look of them.
Now I just need to maybe try a few more and see if I could get used to the odd feeling.....Be interested in others views.
Fulla said:
So I drove an XC70 today...the sales person told me it would be like a boat, they are a volvo specialist which I thought would be a safe place for my 1st drive.
Wow he wasn't wrong, it is a very odd feeling and at 1st I thought there was something wrong. I'd say I was out for maybe 20mins on country roads. So plenty of tight turns, up's and downs etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the car felt, no rattles and everything worked. The wallowing/boaty ride wasn't all the time, just an odd shimmer. But as I have read this is normal as it is an estate car jacked up...
I know the normal estate would drive better but my wife and I like the look of them.
Now I just need to maybe try a few more and see if I could get used to the odd feeling.....Be interested in others views.
I thought mine would be quite wallowy but I don't find it to be, I'd even say it was quite stiffly sprung, you certainly feel all the bumps. What year was the one you tried?Wow he wasn't wrong, it is a very odd feeling and at 1st I thought there was something wrong. I'd say I was out for maybe 20mins on country roads. So plenty of tight turns, up's and downs etc. I was pleasantly surprised by how solid the car felt, no rattles and everything worked. The wallowing/boaty ride wasn't all the time, just an odd shimmer. But as I have read this is normal as it is an estate car jacked up...
I know the normal estate would drive better but my wife and I like the look of them.
Now I just need to maybe try a few more and see if I could get used to the odd feeling.....Be interested in others views.
Lugy said:
I thought mine would be quite wallowy but I don't find it to be, I'd even say it was quite stiffly sprung, you certainly feel all the bumps. What year was the one you tried?
2008 model with high miles 208k with full Volvo SH. We actually went to look at a lower mileage car that was newer and around £8k. But when the 2 cars where compared the high miles car didn't look like it had an extra 100k miles and it was less than half price. This will be the car to chuck the dog in the back of and to load up with friends and family as my other car only has 2 seats.
We also looked at a XC60 and V70 but preferred the looks of the XV70.
I’m looking for an XC70 and I wondered if anyone could tell me how you spot the 4C equipped cars? Is there a switch in the cabin to change the settings?
Plus could anyone advise of the benefits of a facelift model v a late previous model? My budget is c.£15k so I could probably get a face lift car but I’m not sure (bar the lower mileage, newer reg) if the extra cost is worth it over the previous generation. I’d be new to Volvo ownership hence the request for advice.
Many thanks
Plus could anyone advise of the benefits of a facelift model v a late previous model? My budget is c.£15k so I could probably get a face lift car but I’m not sure (bar the lower mileage, newer reg) if the extra cost is worth it over the previous generation. I’d be new to Volvo ownership hence the request for advice.
Many thanks
Ive had a 2008 xc70 for 18 months, bought with 105k and just passed 110k, mainly used for tip/cash & carry/ trips to the beach etc . The 4c suspension is ok, I normally keep it in "sport" which seems like the best compromise and Ive just replaced the front shocks which are Monroe c2510s and got them on eBay for £500ish. Im planning on replacing the springs and top mounts soon as there's an annoying squeak now.
Mines currently got a some kind of exhaust leak coming in the cabin when the aircon is turned off and the car is stationary which is proving difficult to source. Other than that I really like it, but I am a middle aged, beardy wanna be rural type.
The 4c has 3 buttons in front of the gear lever labelled, normal, sport, advanced.
Mines currently got a some kind of exhaust leak coming in the cabin when the aircon is turned off and the car is stationary which is proving difficult to source. Other than that I really like it, but I am a middle aged, beardy wanna be rural type.
The 4c has 3 buttons in front of the gear lever labelled, normal, sport, advanced.
Edited by bungalow on Thursday 12th November 18:15
BigFatWombat said:
I’m looking for an XC70 and I wondered if anyone could tell me how you spot the 4C equipped cars? Is there a switch in the cabin to change the settings?
Plus could anyone advise of the benefits of a facelift model v a late previous model? My budget is c.£15k so I could probably get a face lift car but I’m not sure (bar the lower mileage, newer reg) if the extra cost is worth it over the previous generation. I’d be new to Volvo ownership hence the request for advice.
Many thanks
4C cars have ‘comfort’ ‘sport’ ‘advanced’ in front of the gearstick. In my experience the setting do nothing to change the ride. Plus could anyone advise of the benefits of a facelift model v a late previous model? My budget is c.£15k so I could probably get a face lift car but I’m not sure (bar the lower mileage, newer reg) if the extra cost is worth it over the previous generation. I’d be new to Volvo ownership hence the request for advice.
Many thanks
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