'99 Volvo V40 2.0T wagon - thoughts?

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phillip.weston, Jul 26, 10:24pm
Hey guys, came across a tidy '99 V40 2.0T wagon pretty cheap in my travels. Am looking for something relatively modern and cheap for a daily driver and this seems to fit the bill. It's traveled 200,000kms but has a full dealership log book history since new. I am not sure when the cam-belt was last done - I will check when I go to inspect it today or tomorrow. I know the climate control can give issues too so will check that out also.

Does anyone know what the fuel consumption is like with the 2.0T and automatic transmission!

Car in question is here - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170884952129!ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1202

Thanks!

budgel, Jul 26, 10:33pm
As long as it drives ok you could hardly go wrong at that price.

Check out common parts prices though, I have heard a few horror stories about Volvo!

Didnt the V40 share the platform with the Mitsubishi Carisma!

phillip.weston, Jul 26, 10:50pm
yep the S40 and V40 were developed in conjunction with the Carisma, which is essentially the Lancer/Mirage platform. I would have thought it would be based on the 95-2000 shape Lancer/Mirage however sources on the web point to it being based on the earlier 1991-1995 shape which is ironic because they were one of the poorest performing cars as far as crash testing is concerned, yet the S40/V40 was the first car to earn an Euro NCAP 4 star award.

If you look at the engine bay and the suspension it's very obviously Japanese. A shame they couldn't do it the other way around - Japanese engine/transmission/electrics in a European chassis.

usdefault, Jul 27, 10:17am
I'd be very surprised if that goes for less than 4.5K.

Check if the transmission has been serviced as it's generally considered the week point on those cars.

pfemstn, Jul 28, 2:42am
cam belt very expensive $800 for parts, volvo no longer sell service partseg cv boots, kitsfor ps o/haul etc makes them expensive to run. dont pay to much!

pfemstn, Jul 28, 2:43am
auction pulled by seller!

phillip.weston, Jul 28, 3:05am
yep and sadly I wasn't the person who bought it. Oh well! Maybe they did me a favour. Cam belt parts can be had cheaply from overseas, being the modular engine they use the same parts as the 5cyl and 6cyl models.

phillip.weston, Jul 28, 3:05am
also I think it sold for about $2500.

budgel, Jul 28, 5:38am
Are you living in Aussie now!

phillip.weston, Aug 1, 1:42pm
hi budgel yes living in Brisbane and have been for almost a year now.

Something fishy is going on - it's been relisted but this time with a $3000 start=reserve rather than the original $2000 start=reserve. Either way I'm not prepared to pay more than $2500 for it as it would still need a RWC ($60-80 + repairs) and rego/plates/stamp duty ($400 for 6 months).

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Volvo-V40-automatic-wagon-1999-4cyl-/200800855008!pt=AU_Cars&hash=item2ec0a9e3e0#ht_1010wt_88

thejazzpianoma, Aug 1, 9:00pm
I haven't driven the 2.0T but they are supposed to go very well. Fuel economy should be O.K but nothing to write home about.

I would expect the engine is similar to the 2.4 5 Cylinder which I get on well with. Timing belt changes etc are easy enough to do and as you pointed out parts can be imported cheap.

Watch for sludge buildup from turkey's running mineral oil as I have found this can cause trouble with the variable valve timing solenoids etc. Watch for engine lights, stalling at takeoff and other performance issues which can point to VVT related problems. These are reasonable to fix but annoying.

I also expect that likely has the Jap 5 speed auto which was popular at the time. I would be looking very hard through that history for transmission fluid and filter changes. If it has not been serviced its well overdue for replacement. If it has been serviced regularly and you continue to do so using the correct fluid (I can fill you in more on that if you get it) you should likely get a bit more out of it yet. Like so many cars of the time the transmission is probably the most important thing to be happy with.

Hope that helps you if you do manage to get it down the track.

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 1:46am
I think it was the four speeder Jazz, the shifter only had D, 3, 2 from memory. I didn't get to drive it to go through the gears or check the operation of the engine. It started, idled and revved smoothly on the spot, only one thing I could mention is when I stopped it when warm and immediately re-started it, it hesitated to start first time round but winding it over again made it catch on. I stopped it and started it again after that and it started right up.

Oil looked fine under the cap, didn't see any sludge build up but it probably was due for an oil change. A note to anyone - don't remove the oil filler cap while the engine is running unless you want a shower of oil in your face and all over the engine bay.

It has a complete service history right up to about 160,000kms (last page in the stamp book) so I don't know its history for the last 50,000kms but looks like it's been reasonably well looked after. At 135,000kms it had a fairly major service with over $1000 spent (engine mount, brake rotors, fluids etc) but that was the only itemised service interval I could find.

usdefault, Aug 2, 4:00am
How come you didn't drive it!

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 4:14am
Is at an auction house and they have a strict no-drive policy which did strike me as being quite dodgy, but the whole outfit was very much like Turners and seemed professional enough. They had a quick assessment sheet inside the car and had no mention of any obvious faults, but I wasn't too comfortable going on that alone. I did move it about 10 meters forward and back again, but sadly that was the full extent of my driving it. I guess I better find an S40/V40 to actually make sure I would be happy to drive one of them!

usdefault, Aug 2, 4:39am
I'll keep you posted if i see anything local.

You definitely after a wagon!

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 4:53am
wagon would be nice but not essential. I just wanted something semi interesting for daily duties - my '88 Cressida just isn't cutting it. I spied the V40 at the initial $2k price and was very interested because it seemed like a decent car for the money. Am not really willing to spend over $3-4k for a daily as I plan on only being here another 6-12 months and don't want to eat into my savings too much.

I gather you are here in Brisbane too! The used car market just isn't the same here as it is in NZ! I'm far too used to finding early 2000's vehicles for $2000-3000 which rarely happens in Aus unless it's a Magna, Hyundai or a Kia (yuck yuck and yuck!)

usdefault, Aug 2, 5:55am
Yeah I'm in Brisbane, and you're right the market is just insane.

Prices are through the roof, no second hand cars seem to come with live plates or safety certificates and the asking price is usually 40 or 50 per cent more than you'd expect to pay in NZ.

thejazzpianoma, Aug 2, 6:03am
Ahhh the sneaky shifter. the 5 speed units (on the S60 anyway) do only show 321 (as odd as that sounds) so its still probably the 5 speed. My S40 knowledge is a bit patchy but they did come with both 4 and 5 speed transmissions and I am suspecting it will be the 5 speed because its the high spec 2.0T.

I would be a bit luke warm at those km's then since it dosn't seem to have been serviced. Up to you, you could roll the dice, service it straight away and perhaps get away with it. Pity its not a manual, surprisingly plenty of manual ones around in the 2.0T.

thejazzpianoma, Aug 2, 6:06am
Good idea taking a test drive. I havn't driven the spicy 2.0T version but I can tell you the lesser engines make for a solid but boring drive. While the bigger engine will definitely help I am not sure how much considering you are wanting something "semi interesting".
Good cheap safe well spec'd car for the money though.

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 7:29am
well anything is more interesting than my Cressida. though I do like its boat like ride and the 6-cyl just hums along - it's just not the most fuel efficient in the world and at the kms it's done it's very maintenance prone.

I have been keeping an eye out for things like Peugeot 406s, Citroen Xantia diesels, Volvo 850 & S40/V40s, even 5 series BMWs but nothing really has turned up. My commute to work is now only a 10km round trip (as opposed to 50kms before) but I would still like to do some long trips (drive to Sydney occasionally) so something with reasonable open road economy and comfort would be good.

usedefault as you said the cars with RWC and rego do seem to be much more expensive. unfortunately I don't have a 'hook-up' of anyone who does lenient inspections here - that seems to be the biggest set back for me. There are some reasonably cheap cars to be had with no RWC but all it takes is getting a car which has been neglected for years to be a giant pain in the butt trying to get legal again. My Cressida was last RWC'd just a few months ago but this time around it still needed brake rotors, ball joints, brake hoses, seat belt, oil leaks fixed, wheel bearings etc. Gah!

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 7:30am
also Jazz the 2.0T is the low pressure turbo version with 160hp/230Nm, the 1.9T S4 is the more potent version.

thejazzpianoma, Aug 2, 7:38am
The nice thing with the Volvo's is even though they are not all an engaging drive they are still a nice comfortable place to be. Would I be happy in one for a great Aussie road trip. yip!

I would add Alfa 156's to your list. Looks like they appear for sensible money now and then over there.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1999-Alfa-Romeo-156-White-M-Sedan-/280933175039!pt=AU_Cars&hash=item4168ec0eff#ht_1647wt_932

You could could do a timing belt on a 2.0 and possibly make a little when you sell it.

phillip.weston, Aug 2, 7:39am
yes I have seen a couple 156s pop up, but I would much prefer the 2.5 V6 and I would have to get a manual and not a selespeed. There was a nice black one with deep tan leather interior parked behind the V40 and I spent about half my time there inspecting the 156 too but it was outside of my price range at the time (though I did get a nice tax refund since which does help!)

thejazzpianoma, Aug 2, 7:40am
Trust me. they will both leave the GDI in the dust!
Good point though, I had forgotten that. The higher output engine is usually just referred to as the 2.0T when used in the larger Volvo's.

thejazzpianoma, Aug 2, 7:41am
Have you driven a 2.0 with the variator in good nick!
While not a top fuel dragster they actually go very nicely IMO,and fuel economy on your road trip should be great.

Still the V6 is a great engine too.

BTW, with regard to the selespeed, since you are only keeping it 6 months or so if its going nicely and a real bargain I wouldn't stress too much. Unless your commute is a real urban crawl. It would be quite nice on your road trips. Sort of a case of horses for courses, I wouldn't recommend one as a keeper, or one that you handn't verified was going well.