Volvo V70 mk3. Problems to look out for?

[Megaflow]

I’m having a swap round of cars this year, my Cayman is going to get replaced with an M2, and the Focus ST with an estate something more for my other hobbies and load lugging.

A quick check of Autotrader reveals three obvious candidates, Octavia vRS, 3 Series & V70 mk3.

The Volvo appeals because I like the look of it, particularly the interior, and had an S40 a few years ago.

I’d prefer a petrol, but they are like rocking horse output… So diesel has to be investigated, D5 naturally.

What are the things to lookout for on the, particularly the D5 and the auto box, most seem to be an auto.

Thank you

[Davie]

I'd depend on the year / engine variant as the V70 had a variety of engine options but all were badged as the D5 ranging from the early 185bhp up to the 202bhp bi-turbo unit, still known as the D5, confusingly. The latter are generally a bit more spendy when things go wrong but no engine is devoid of inherent issues be it swirl flap, boost leaks, weepy cam covers, turbo issues etc etc. Always reads like a scary list but in reality they're all pretty solid, until they're not. I've got a 185bhp with a manual box, sadly a few goes with earlier Volvo autos scarred me for life... however mine has been relatively fault free despite it's 200k+ mileage. Lots on line about them but I wouldn't read in to it too much, much like female... sometimes it's best not to think about the multitude of things that could go wrong, just do your basic checks and jump in whilst hoping for the best.