222 replies to this topic

[Socalfem]

T5Hammy, on 28 August 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

Welcome to VS pam, I just recently picked up a 98 s70 T5, it had 165k on the odometer and so far the only issue was the alternator going out (expensive if you dont do your own work and a real PITA if you do) which seems fairly common around that mileage. Mines already up to 177k and running great, the previous 2 owners had the maintenance records in the car and it was well taken care of.

Its a great car and they are very affordable considering what you'd pay for a comparable bmw or mercedes of the same time period. shop around a bit and you will probably find a good deal.

What part of orange county? I grew up in Yorba Linda.


Hahaha you guys are funny.....I am in San clemente...
I am looking at San Diego , orange county and LA craigslist, but as I can see they all seem to be over priced by what I'm seeing here.
Wasn't sure if craigslist is sketchy for buying cars from private party since you maybe have no recourse??












I like it, Spence if you made a porno as Captain Spence I dare say I would watch it...No homo.

[Swag Swag]

T5Hammy, on 28 August 2011 - 04:51 PM, said:

I like it, Spence if you made a porno as Captain Spence I dare say I would watch it...No homo.

I am soooo holding you to this.I might just buy a handycam and film myself doing weird Sh*t in a sailboat captain costume just so you have to watch it hahaha

Back to the topic haha

You really have the same shot of getting screwed by a private party seller than a dealer or used car lot. That's why it is very necessary to have a buyers inspection completed. The good thing with most of the people selling on CL is that they know it's a bad sellers market right now do most of them get tune ups, new tires, and fix what needs to be done before they sell it. Most independent car lots don't have the same motivation as a private party seller. That's my 2¢

[Socalfem]

questjah, on 28 August 2011 - 09:06 PM, said:

I am soooo holding you to this.I might just buy a handycam and film myself doing weird Sh*t in a sailboat captain costume just so you have to watch it hahaha

Back to the topic haha

You really have the same shot of getting screwed by a private party seller than a dealer or used car lot. That's why it is very necessary to have a buyers inspection completed. The good thing with most of the people selling on CL is that they know it's a bad sellers market right now do most of them get tune ups, new tires, and fix what needs to be done before they sell it. Most independent car lots don't have the same motivation as a private party seller. That's my 2¢

That makes sence to me....so a buyers inspection is where the party let's you take it to a mechanic or do you have to have a mechanic come with you?
I don't have a mechanic, know of a few but other than that. If the seller has all the records then do you still need a inspection done then ?

Thanks guys

[Swag Swag]

A buyers inspection is basically this

You find a car. Take it to a Volvo shop, I would recommend a Volvo specific dealer cause they 1. They know what they are looking for and 2. The check list for the inspection is going to be more layed out/more in-depth than a local lube shop.

The mechanic won't come with you to see the car, so basically your first inspection of the car is going to be you alone. This will be the step of weeding out POS cars with bad paint and not taken care of interiors. Go on a test drive, and see if there are any noises/vibrations/ect that are obvious to find, you don't have to make sure the cars perfect, just that an overall observation, the dealer will test drive it on the buyers inspection (or request them to) so they will be able to find nothing that you miss

As for finding a dealer, there is a section on the main forum page of Volvospeed about vendor/shop reviews scroll through it and see if you find any place local to you. If there isn't, I'd start a thread/topic requesting if any So-cal people know of a good dealer. Secondly call around for prices for the inspections itself, usually there will be two prices, one for just an overall inspection and one for an inspection including compression testing the motor, id obviously go for the full inspection. So id probably go and look at a couple of cars and take the best one you looked at to go insect it, no need to have them all inspected. Also Judging a repair shop from online reviews on yelp or google will not always be the best advice, cause in my experience only people who like to complain write reviews giving shops a bad name, that being said you can tell a lot by the shop of how willing they are to helping you over the phone

With s70's all being around the same price, don't settle on the first one you see, unless you think it's perfect. Paying $5k for a S70 with bad paint but under 100k miles shouldn't happen, you'll find a nice car, might. Take time but you'll find one.

I was just in San Clemente last week. I wish the roads in redondo were at least kind of close to the roads down there, it's gonna take some getting use to haha

[Socalfem]

Thanks Spence
The dealer will test drive it on the buyers inspection? What do you mean?
My budget is max $4800
So we shall see
What's wrong with redondo roads ?

[Socalfem]

http://orangecounty....2561742888.html

[Swag Swag]

The dealer will test drive it on the buyers inspection? What do you mean?
Yes, but you might have to tell them that's what you want to be done,but they should do it for ya

My budget is max $4800
So we shall see

You should have a issue finding a nice car for that


What's wrong with redondo roads ?

They suck hahaha, actually it was more of the roads in outer LA, I just remember driving arond looking for houses, and thinking it's gonna take some getting use to haha

[Socalfem]

questjah, on 29 August 2011 - 12:41 AM, said:

The dealer will test drive it on the buyers inspection? What do you mean?
Yes, but you might have to tell them that's what you want to be done,but they should do it for ya

My budget is max $4800
So we shall see

You should have a issue finding a nice car for that


What's wrong with redondo roads ?

They suck hahaha, actually it was more of the roads in outer LA, I just remember driving arond looking for

houses, and thinking it's gonna take some getting use to haha

I hear LA has major pot holes

[Swag Swag]

Socalfem, on 29 August 2011 - 12:47 AM, said:

I hear LA has major pot holes

Understatement, I think there might be some Chilean miners stuck in a couple of them

[Garrett S.]

I bought my S70 last year with 92k, very low but no the previous owners had not maintained it so I have dumped a ton of cash into it trying to fix it and I just replaced all of my front suspension to find that the frame is bent (hinting at an accident which carfax didnt report) and I need to figure out how to get it fixed. Should have gotten it inspected at a dealership....

Other than that I love my 1999 S70 T5 though and other than replacing a lot of stuff I love its look "refined 850" and the fact that its resonably quick. (I got big plans for the future)

[Socalfem]

Spence......I SHOULD have a problem finding a nice car for $4800 ?????

Anybody....how much does the 100000 mile maintenance cost ?

[Swag Swag]

No no no, my bad, SHOULDN'T

Btw here's a list of what needs to get replaced at what service, the list says it's for 99-00 but it's the same for all 70 series cars

http://new.volvocars...anty_04.html#60

The big service is at 105k, major tune up, plus timing belt replacement, runs around $6-700 so make sure it's beed done hahaha

[Socalfem]

questjah, on 29 August 2011 - 08:01 AM, said:

No no no, my bad, SHOULDN'T

Btw here's a list of what needs to get replaced at what service, the list says it's for 99-00 but it's the same for all 70 series cars

http://new.volvocars...anty_04.html#60

The big service is at 105k, major tune up, plus timing belt replacement, runs around $6-700 so make sure it's beed done hahaha

Thanks , that's helpful ..I bookmarked it !
Hmmm see and I thought it was at 100000
I found 2 s80 (starting to like those) 1999 & 2000 but they are way over priced compared to KBB

[Swag Swag]

Run away from S80 T6 models, don't even consider them, just walk away. Money pits to say the least!!!

[Socalfem]

questjah, on 29 August 2011 - 05:14 PM, said:

Run away from S80 T6 models, don't even consider them, just walk away. Money pits to say the least!!!

Ooooh...what about the 2.9's ???

[Swag Swag]

Not that bad. Honestly I'd only recommend an S80 to somebody who fully knows what they are getting themselves into. A s80 with electrical issues will ruin your life haha

[Socalfem]

questjah, on 29 August 2011 - 06:12 PM, said:

Not that bad. Honestly I'd only recommend an S80 to somebody who fully knows what they are getting themselves into. A s80 with electrical issues will ruin your life haha

Oh man....glad I'm on here

Ok, knowing what my budget is, what would you recommend , year model etc. .?

I'm getting overwhelmed hahaha

[scandalo]

Let me chime in. I may be from the midwest but I consider myself seasoned on these cars.

4800 should get you into a 98 S70 or V70 very easily. I got my mom into a 98 V70 XC for a little more than 4k with 100k miles. VERY nice ones will run you between 4500-6500 depending on the seller, miles, maintenance, and interior/exterior condition. Cars with blemishes here and there go for 3500-4500 with relatively low miles.

The nice thing about these cars is that they have no major issues or fail points so if you are worried about something major being overlooked just because of the model don't be.

99-2000 a few things were changed and there was a recall for the electronic throttle so that is the main reason I shy people away from those cars. Otherwise mechanically they are very very similar.

As far as I know timing belt intervals were changed in 98 to every 75k miles so if you get one that has around 100k make sure it has been done then or otherwise you are going to have to do it soon. There should be a sticker on the timing belt cover(black cover on the passenger side of the engine) with the date and miles the belt was changed. If it isn't there look around the engine bay. It should be marked somewhere as any mechanic worth his weight should write it down somewhere in the engine bay. Hope fully the seller will know when it was changed anyway but just in case...

As has been said don't jump on the first car you see. These cars have generally aged well and they are going for cheap right now. Some people seem to think because it is a Volvo it will run forever and therefore it is worth more than a similar car with the same miles. I see a lot of this dealing with local CLers. Don't let them push you around and make sure to ask the hard and important questions.

These cars will run for 300k BUT you must be diligent with maintenance. Take care of the car and it will take care of you!

Edited by scandalo, 29 August 2011 - 06:51 PM.

[Socalfem]

scandalo, on 29 August 2011 - 06:49 PM, said:

Let me chime in. I may be from the midwest but I consider myself seasoned on these cars.

4800 should get you into a 98 S70 or V70 very easily. I got my mom into a 98 V70 XC for a little more than 4k with 100k miles. VERY nice ones will run you between 4500-6500 depending on the seller, miles, maintenance, and interior/exterior condition. Cars with blemishes here and there go for 3500-4500 with relatively low miles.

The nice thing about these cars is that they have no major issues or fail points so if you are worried about something major being overlooked just because of the model don't be.

99-2000 a few things were changed and there was a recall for the electronic throttle so that is the main reason I shy people away from those cars. Otherwise mechanically they are very very similar.










Wow good info....thanks so much

As far as I know timing belt intervals were changed in 98 to every 75k miles so if you get one that has around 100k make sure it has been done then or otherwise you are going to have to do it soon. There should be a sticker on the timing belt cover(black cover on the passenger side of the engine) with the date and miles the belt was changed. If it isn't there look around the engine bay. It should be marked somewhere as any mechanic worth his weight should write it down somewhere in the engine bay. Hope fully the seller will know when it was changed anyway but just in case...

As has been said don't jump on the first car you see. These cars have generally aged well and they are going for cheap right now. Some people seem to think because it is a Volvo it will run forever and therefore it is worth more than a similar car with the same miles. I see a lot of this dealing with local CLers. Don't let them push you around and make sure to ask the hard and important questions.

These cars will run for 300k BUT you must be diligent with maintenance. Take care of the car and it will take care of you!

[Swag Swag]

scandalo, on 29 August 2011 - 06:49 PM, said:

As far as I know timing belt intervals were changed in 98 to every 75k miles so if you get one that has around 100k make sure it has been done then or otherwise you are going to have to do it soon.

True, I mixed up 850 with 70 series intervals, Every 70k is correct.

The ETM issues with a 99-00 car I guess is a bad point against the car just cause of the one time cost to replace the unit. However you said you were looking for 98's so I don't think this will concern you.

The west coast market seams to be a little more inexpensive than cars from the NE just by seeing this above post.

Cars that I would be looking at if I were you

98 S70's
94-97 850's
S40/v40's