Volvos

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pat56, Jan 17, 2:11am
Anyone know anything about '99-02 turbo & non T 2.0l Volvos. Any thing to look out for.
gtrmotorsport, Jan 17, 4:45am
throttle bodys wear out causing surging Volvo can upgrade the ecu to allow for the wear otherwise there is a repair kit out there or new throttle body. airflow meters give greif. accelerator pedals give greif. top and lower engine torque damper bushes break often.swaybar links at front wear out fast and rattle. front lower suspension bushes break often. front bottom ball joints wear out often. depending on the witdth of timing belt 21mm 0r 24mm replacement intervals 21m is 60,000km 24mm is 120,000km. they have dual plate sumps that dont use gaskets and are just sealed with a glue they leak often and are a pain to fix. electric winow master switch breaks expensive they get clunky/stick when they are on their way. windscreen wipers usually catch on the bonnet when operating. brake rotors wear out they are one shot wonders pad change is also rotor change.
pat56, Jan 17, 7:02am
Thanks for that. Will pass on to the lad.
tim8069, Jan 17, 7:04am
Wow good info man, really assumed they were good cars
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 7:31am
Actually, pick a good one and they can be great cars and exceptional value in NZ. However there is one key drawback, there is no 3rd Party parts importer in NZ and Volvo themselves absolutely take the piss on pricing.
However if you are happy to order anything major online then you can get around that.
jcwholesale, Jan 17, 7:39am
With all due respect, none of those are major and most of those issues are common to many other makes and models
tim8069, Jan 17, 7:42am
Although that is a lot to happen to one model of car don't you agree! Some cars may have a few of those issues, any car that has them all would obviously be a stay away model. Note he says often, fair enough at some point in a cars life it may require a balljoint or two.
And from what jazz says, the parts are likely expensive or hard to get.
jcwholesale, Jan 17, 8:00am
The issue when you ask a question like the orginal poster has, any problem that has been fixed by someone on possibly manys Volvo's he may have repaired would be quoted as an issue, it is human nature to do that. Lets pick a common so called reliable car and do the same. A corolla. I put more oil in Corolla's than any other single model, where does it go. So use oil, wear out CV's under 80kms, interior trim wears prematurely, rust in many places, radiators block early, rough idle usually airflowmeter.
Now not all Corolla's are like this, but many I have had, suffered from one or more of these issues. I am sure the Volvos are the same.
Another thing,, many euro's require brake pads and rotors at the same time. It improves braking preformance hugely, BMW, Benz, VW, Mondeo's Vectra's. So that is not a fault.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:01am
The V40 is currently ranked about the 6th most reliable car in the world. Have a look and see if its still there if you want www.reliabilityindex.co.uk

Parts in NZ are expensive but not at all hard to get. If you are happy to do a little ordering online before you do major servicing its not a problem. If you are a busy person and not happy to do a littleeasy legwork now and then for the sake of a huge amount of car for very little money then they are not for you. Unless of course you don't mind paying more for parts. which probably still works out good value overall given the economy and purchase price etc.
tim8069, Jan 17, 8:08am
Yeah I'd have to agree with you there, if that is the case and GTR is covering a broad range of Volvos, and not just the 99-02 2.0's. I know nothing of them, and was commenting on what I read. As for human nature! Maybe for some, not all.
carmedic, Jan 17, 8:13am
Really!
I??
craig04, Jan 17, 8:15am
S40 is ranked at #7 (behind Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan) with the Corolla at #1. Of course when you sell a car with no features, nothing can go wrong.
gtrmotorsport, Jan 17, 8:22am
Just commenting on the V40 V70 series of that year. yes they wear out like normal cars do but they seem to be harder on their parts. i have found that the fitment of aftermarket parts espically suspension comonents last longer than genuine ones. they are a good car when you get the ones assem in netherlands but the jap ones are just pigs a have a large fleet of volvos on my books from Amazons P1800's to the more common V and S Series and latest and greatest V8's. Stay away from the S80 6Cyl 2.9T the S80 5Cyl 2.5T are good. Just try to get a europ assem one and you will be fine.
tim8069, Jan 17, 8:22am
Haha, good point Craig, and thats a really good site carmedic, I will have to keep them in mind for work, we are forever going through dealerships and waiting 2 weeks for Euro parts
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:24am
No I am out of the loop with them and may have spoken out of turn. Will be sure to try them next time so many thanks for the heads up.

As for expensive the world over I have been getting bits cheap as chips from FCP Groten. But that may be a function of the U.S dollar at the moment more than anything helping things along.

Thanks again.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:25am
If you are waiting on parts for Euro may I also suggest:

Dino Enterprises - Fiat new and used
Italian Auto Centre - Fiat and Alfa
Qualitat - VW/Audi
Startech - Mercedes

All those places are very quick, know what they are doing and their prices are sharp.
craig04, Jan 17, 8:27am
What is wrong with the S80 2.9T! I rather like the look of them.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:27am
No features + 30 year old technology is an even better combo!
craig04, Jan 17, 8:28am
Yeah you're right. The S40 isn't that cutting edge.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:31am
Not a super expert on the S80 so take this with a grain of salt. Having looked into doing a cambelt on one it looks very very tight. Would love to know if its as tricky as it looks. Two turbo's I guess could add to the cost, they are not something you would be expecting Fiat Punto service costs on. But then they don't give Fiat Punto performance either so I guess if you went into it with your eyes open!

I am liking what I have seen so far with the 5cylender motors BTW, cambelt change was straight forward, economy and power is good and I am tentatively optimistic.

I am yet to have even a fraction of the experience with them that I have had with the Fiats though, but so far not too bad aside from being more tricky with parts. but it looks like we may have an answer for that now.
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:32am
Was actually poking at the Corolla!
Yes the S40 is more basic but its still a very well equipped vehicle, I wouldn't say it was behind the times like the Corolla tends to always be.
gtrmotorsport, Jan 17, 8:35am
Yeah i do too i think they look quite nice and drive nice and go like a cut cat. But electronics a big sore piont dam i spent 6k on one once to get all its warning lights off . Yaw sensors, Abs Pump, air flow, boost sensors, occupied seat sensors. Then there was the one with a 4k bill and another with a 2.5k bill. The motor is Good just the electroncs let them down.
tim8069, Jan 17, 8:36am
Wicked & noted thanks for that jazz, being a toyota dealership, and being isolated in Wairoa, we have quite few choices for overnight, though its surprising what you can get overnight sometimes, even out of Auckland
thejazzpianoma, Jan 17, 8:38am
I am a little weary of carsurvey, I do use it as a bit of a guide but take it with a very very large grain of salt. I think there are a few things that skew the results.

* General thought pattern of the owners group. Toyota people for example expect reliability and tend to ignore/forget faults

* The attitude of the demographic that owns that vehicle

* Local dealerships (This one is a biggie when you get into the nitty gritty of whats happened)

Like I said. I do take a look now and then but don't let it be the sole reason for a decision.

That said, I have not had an XC70 but have been playing with much of the same mechanicals and am tentatively optimistic. I suspect if you took your time and picked a really nice one you might get an excellent run.
carkitter, Jan 17, 8:39am
So how do you explain 4 Hondas in the top 10 which have variable valve timing , totally unique EFI and ABS systems (not Bosch), unique auto trans design and a myriad of other mechanical, electrical and hydraulic gadgets! Not short on features at all. Just short on excess weight, complication and price.