850/early V70 T5...owners feedback sought please

[y2blade]

im fairly new to volvo's and i have a 850 20valve Wagon which i love ,esp the noise,she goes ok for a old girl and love the size of the car it feels very safe and sturdy.

i am currantly looking into getting a T5 (either a 850 or a early V70 model)


basicly im after owners feedback plus any niggles/common faults to be aware of with these models.

thanks in advance

[Pot Bellied Fool]

y2blade said:

im fairly new to volvo's and i have a 850 20valve Wagon which i love ,esp the noise,she goes ok for a old girl and love the size of the car it feels very safe and sturdy. i am currantly looking into getting a T5 (either a 850 or a early V70 model) basicly im after owners feedback plus any niggles/common faults to be aware of with these models. thanks in advance

Hi & welcome to PH.

I had a 10valve 850 for a while but it was a bit gutless. There's a problem with those that can cause all sorts of fun & games - comes up on the diagnostic as Cam Shaft Position Sensor error and the engine keeps cutting out. Replacing the CPS is an easy DIY job and if that doesn't cure the cutting out problem, then clean the contacts in the fuel pump relay (under the fusebox) - saved myself a fortune over dealer faultfinding on this.

Anyway, onto the T5's...

I got rid of the 850 and got myself this instead.



It's a '96 on a P so one of the early V70s (which was only a facelifted 850 really).

They can be heavy on front tyres, mine had a fault where the seatbelt warning lights wouldn't turn off but a quick check of the circuit diagram & a snip soon sorted that.

I've done about 10,000 in just under 6 months and it's never missed a beat. Cost me £177 for a service at an indie specialist. Stunning performance for something its size - it's never going to hustle through the country bends but it doesn't do badly

I average about 22mpg around town (some dual carriageway on the commute) but that's an 11 mile commute so it's going to be running from cold for much of it. On a longer m-way run I get 28-29mpg, more if I kept it down to 70-80mph.

Very smooth, very comfy. (all leather, aircon etc) and can carry allsorts in the back. Back seats fold flat without having to take out headrests which is always a niggle in some cars. I've got the auto and it does what it says on the tin.

There's a minor oill leak on the main engine bearing (quite common apparently) but we're just keeping an eye on that as it's not too bad at all.

Mine came from eBay but do check the buyer out carefully if that's how you're going to go. I paid about £4k for mine with 90,000 on it and plenty of history but you'll see some fetching much more, even with starship mileages on them.

Watch out for ex-Police T5s. Although regularly maintained, they'll have been to the moon & back and may have been soundly thrashed on pursuits. Might not be a bad buy if you can get one at the right price though.

Good info always at www.honestjohn.co.uk/index.php?url=/carbycar/index.htm

Cheers - PBF

[don kalmar union]

Your best resource will be to check the Volvo Owners Club site www.volvoclub.org.uk.

There is a stack of really good stuff there.

Regards, Don.Norchi.


www.kalmar-union.com

[pdV6]

For V70s, try:

www.volvo-forums.com/f69-1g-1998-2000-s70-v70-v70xc-forum.htm for the V70 "classic"

or www.volvo-forums.com/f68-2g-2001-v70-v70xc-xc70-forum.htm for the 2001-onwards models

[y2blade]

cheers guys

at the moment im just looking into it,thanks for the feedback


anymore????

[KM2]

I've had a 850T-5R for 11 years now, from new. it tended to be utterly reliable for the first 190k km (close to 120k miles) but the stuff then started. AC is an issue and when the car reaches 8 years pretty much all the components will die one by one, so try getting one, which has had all of it replaced already. Some of it will not require much in terms of parts cost but it might take more than a day or two to take it all out, so labour might be expensive.

At 225k km the engine went pop in spite of regular servicing and normal driving. Factory fault, heard of several others to whom it happened at similar mileage, so worth considering how many miles you want to make. The turbo's from what I heard and experienced, last well (mine has over 220k miles now). If it is an autobox, check the gearbox oil. Some gearbox sensor had to be replaced on mine as well, since supposedly it wasn't detecting what gear the car was in.

Generally the car is reliable and I personally much prefer the interior over that in the V70, where a lot more cost cutting has already crept in.

As for running costs I found the fuel manageable but the tyres die quickly, you basically need a set of four every 12-13k miles, which can cost a bit, especially if you do high mileage. Hope it helps

(as I posted it at the Gassing station)

[y2blade]

thankyou mate

tbh my shortlist is looking like....

Volvo850/v70 T5
Audi A6 2.8 avant
subaru legacy 3.0 (although i havent had a look at one in the flesh yet)
saab 9-5 estate (although yet to look at one in the flesh)

[KM2]

If your budget stretches to one of the new shape Legacies, I'd most definitely go for that one It really is fun to drive and has by far the best chassis of all the options. Don't know what the old one was like, though.

[y2blade]

my max is £5k

BUT if i can get the "right" car cheaper so be it

[T5ER]

Hi mate i have 2 T5`s one saloon and one estate,i have not had any problems with either but i do prefer the estate over the saloon it seems to ride better and more comfortable

[greatgranny]

This looks nice and low mileage from Autotrader



1998 VOLVO V70 2.3 T5 5dr T5 Estate
72,885 miles, Red. excellent condition, new engine @41000 miles ( volvo changed), full service history, MOT may 2007, tax end december never been used for towing( to my knowledge) new Discs and Pads all round, Alloys, drives excellent. criuse controll, airconditioning, leather, abs, 6cd autochanger, just serviced,volvo foldaway dog guard, reluctant sale, new car forces,rcl. £4,300. OVNO
Telephone: [phone]
Price: £4,300

Edited by greatgranny on Tuesday 12th September 14:27