Volvo Car Parts

I am thinking of getting a Volvo but I've been told that they are quite expensive for parts when they need to be replaced. Does anyone with a Volvo find this to be the case.!

There are not lots of 3rd party genuine but cheap parts importers like with most of the other makes.

I am told Euroline is good but am yet to try them myself. I personally just plan ahead and order from FCP Groton. Volvo NZ just take the piss with regard to pricing.

Remember you won't likely be needing parts that regularly so ordering online for the major service etc when it rolls around might not be end of the world.

If you get stuck occasionally and have to buy the odd small expensive part its also not likely a major so long as you are aware and accepting of that.

Do post what you are looking at, some have throttle body issues that can arise and cost serious coin if you don't know how to deal with them.

Overall Volvo can represent a lot of car for the money IF you buy the right one. Also consider VW, Audi etc though. VW offers similar excellent value with easy to get cheap parts. again buy the right one though.

Best advice with a Volvo engine is - use genuine parts.

Mine had been abused like hell when I bought it with 143,000 miles on the clock. (Old 1970, B30 3 litre).No oil changes for years by the state of it and the crud in the sump had to be scraped out.

Engine lasted less than five minutes after a total rebuild.No oil pressure (they didn't use the proper Volvo rubber ring on the oil pressure pipe.) and the core plugs popped out (they didn't use Volvo core plugs.)

Generally well engineered cars and well put together.

I'm looking at a Volvo XC70 2002.

Those would have to be one of the best value to buy cars on the market. 2002 is getting towards the end of the throttle body problems but I would suggest having a google to check as from memory 2002 is about the cut off date before changes were made.

Do check thoroughly for ex singapore cars as there are plenty floating around in that age group and avoid them in favour of NZ or Japanese new if possible.

I would suggest also getting it scanned on a proper Volvo diagnostic machine as part of a thorough check before purchase, the diagnostic machine will show if it has recently had transmission issues or anything nasty.

Remember cambelts need changing at 160'000km or 10 years for those from memory and its whichever comes first. By the way, even though they say 10 years I would personally not go past 7. I have seen some very sad looking belts around 8 years from those even with just 30K on the clock, not worth the risk IMO.Also, check for service history on the transmission and get it flushed and filled with the correct. worth saying again CORRECT transmission fluid. Volvo's use a very particular blend in their autos, you can either use the expensive stuff from the Volvo bottle or the same stuff at a much better price from the oil manufacturer which I can look up for you if need be.

Of the cambelt is due I would suggest doing belt, seals, tensioners, waterpump all together which can be ordered very reasonable from FCP groton. Grab yourself some oil filters, filter wrench and a set of spark plugs while you are on the go.

Any competant general mechanic can do the change but it does help them if they have the tensioner tool, which can be bought cheap on ebay if needed.

Best of luck feel free to hit me up with any questions anytime.

Just remember. thorough pre-check done by someone how knows Volvos!

Thanks for the advice, i have always had a Toyota and never had any major problems with it, but the Volvo cars have always been something i have considered purchasing for a long time. It's good to get some advice about them and other cars before going ahead and buying.

No problem. You get a million times more car for your money with the Volvo vs the Toyota in NZ at the moment. Some non-regular maintenance Toyota parts are starting to get out of hand price wise now too so could be a great time to change.

You should get an excellent reliable economical run out of the Volvo but you will need to take your time and do your homework to get one thats been looked after.

If you are happy to do a little bit of forward planning and go about things right you will be able to keep service costs right down.

BTW, if it turns out those still have the throttle body issues, you can greatly reduce the chance of having problems by giving the throttle body a good clean with the proper cleaner and lubricating the pivot points on the butterfly every year. You can do this yourself, its quite easy and there are plenty of guides on the sweedspeed forum etc.

Best of luck!

BTW, what sort of running are you doing and whats your budget!
You might find the Passat with 4WD a good option as well and possibly the A6 too. They have cheap parts available in NZ and are generally good reliable machines and nice to work on.

thejazzpianoma wrote:
BTW, what sort of running are you doing and whats your budget!
You might find the Passat with 4WD a good option as well and possibly the A6 too. They have cheap parts available in NZ and are generally good reliable machines and nice to work on.

I only really use my car for short journeys either into Auckland City or around the Northshore, occasionally i use it for travel to Rotorua/Tauranga/Mt Maunganui. although i would like to start to explore more of New Zealand and certainly travel down and around the South Island. so i would need a car that is reliable, can sustain long journeys, good space overall, is not overly expensive on parts, etc. My budget unfortunately is not as much as i would like it to be and so I'm probably looking at approx up to 15k and may be little bit more if i have to.

I really appreciate that you have take the time to give me such sound advice. as a woman who knows very little about cars i sometimes feel overwhelmed about going into a dealership etc. as i am always quite sceptical as to whether i am actually being given a 'spiel' orin fact the''correct advice'' .

Many thanks

Wow! Thanks sooooooo much. I'll take a look at those options you have suggested,you certainly know your stuff.
I'm sorry to hear that you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the daughter of a good friend of mine also has this terrible illness and has been so unfairly judged on many many occasions as being just 'Plain Lazy'. It's a fact that the people who call it her have obviously never researched Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
I used to get quite defensive and say to them No your just ''plain stupid''. where as my friends daughter would be more accommodating and say ''they are just not knowledgeable of the illness so therefore it's easier for them to make assumptions''.
It's difficult to see a young person work so hard to keep up with her life and also try to make the illness more recognised by a charity she is in the process of setting up.

Thanks for that, I would be keen to hear how she gets on with setting up the charity. I take it your friends daughter has been to see Dr Roz the CFS specialist! If not it may be worthwhile although I get the impression most people get issued with the same advice/treatment, which I am happy to pass on if its any help.

Just one other point in general about deciding if something is worth the money. There are "psychological" milestones with mileage. People tend to think of cars with less than 100K in one price bracket over 150K in another and over 200K higher again.

You often find price really drops back over the 200K psychological milestone as people often assume the car is getting into the last stages of serviceable life whether that's really the case or not.

Its worth considering what km's the car has when you buy it and what it might have when you sell it with regard to considering resale.

In terms of whether a car is very worn out or not, well that depends on how/where its been driven and how its been maintained just as much as km's traveled.

The name sounds familiar. I have just text her Mom to verify it. Like i said she is a Girl who intends to make the illness more Media Acceptable. She is dealing with it in her own way and sometimes when i listen to her every day struggles i could just ''cry''. which she ''would not'' appreciate me saying!

On a different subject i do like the look of a couple of the cars you have linked on to your message. I always thought i would buy a Volvo but i am quite taken with the Audi (which i never imagined i would be)!. I would like to pursue the Audi further and i am 90% sure that this is the Car for me.

Let me know your email address and i can always contact you on that. i have a few listings on at the moment - if you would like to send your address on to one of the listings then it would be private - because i obviously wouldn't respond to the ''question'' in order to make your address only available to myself. (hope that makes sense)!