Thinking about buying a 98 V70XC..questions

[polara6t]

Car is selling for $1500. It has 155m on it. At 151m timing belt,water pump,brakes tie rod ends, and front tires all were replaced. The check engine light is on and owner is not sure why. He has owned the car for over a year and its always been on. The car has a cracked in the windshield and hood is painted in primer and there is no grill in place at the front of the car. The owner mentioned that the rear shocks need to be replaced. He is willing to negotiate on price. The owner said it was 1 of 3 cars he bought at a repo sale and it has been his daily driver. He needs a pick-up so that is why he selling the car. I'm thinking about driving 30 miles to see it so some questions..

The car is for my son to drive to school next year. It will get very little use but needs to be highway worthy..so

1-What should I really be checking on before buying the car and tips appreciated. I will do a CarFax report?

2-Anything to look for when checking out the car?


I know this is either a real bargin or a real bad idea.. thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Bob

[JRL]

Real bad idea

[polara6t]

Agree after thinking about it too too sketchy. But welcome any buying tips and specific watch-outs or maybe a different year as more reliable. Weclome any thoughts!

[JRL]

98-00 are about the same, except for one major item, the ETM (throttle body).99-00 have an electronic TB that FAILS.
(DO some research on it)
The 98 is not drive by wire, it has an honest to God CABLE
Otherwise, pretty much the same stuff to look for.
AC evaporators (ask an owner how old is his, if he says original, it's going to fail real soon or it already has and he put some freon in it to sell it)
AWD parts and pieces.
Bevel gear
Propshaft and the
Viscous coupling.

The proshafts fail every 100-130K miles
The bevel gear...depends on how well the car was cared for.
if a prospective car has mismatched tires... RUN away from it.
The tires MUST BE within 3/32" of each other.
You can destroy a propshaft or a bevel gear in 100 miles (or less) if you run one tire that's way off, such as your spare!!!

[polara6t]

JRL..thank you again for the insight. We have several months to find one. Plan on looking for a 1/2 owner 98 car with complete records to follow service and repairs..I know this is really the greens fees for considering a car like this.

Again my sincere thanks!

[dizzer55]

If this car is in Cincy, I think I found it on Craig's list too! I just bought my 98 XC wagon in March and am always looking for project Volvos as I have been messing with them since 1979! 82 Volvos later and fast forward to today! LOL

I got my 98 XC for $1500 and have already put about 2000 in it to get it up to snuff. It's hard to find deals on Volvos in Cincy and Dayton - it seems that the southern cities always have better cars - at lower prices.

Again, finding a bargain with low miles and records is never easy!

Bob in Hamilton Ohio

[JRL]

JRL..thank you again for the insight. We have several months to find one. Plan on looking for a 1/2 owner 98 car with complete records to follow service and repairs..I know this is really the greens fees for considering a car like this.

Again my sincere thanks!

Buy mine.
You WILL NOT find a better one, I can guarantee you that!

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15883

"Bargain" [sly] and an excellent Volvo do not go together

[mesaAZ2000XC]

That is a sweet one JRL, and a fair price. I've spent that much on my 2000 XC (bought it for $5,200.) and still have a CEL. These are such wonderful cars, even at $8,000.00, they are a good deal, which is where I will end up to get to stage 0.

[polara6t]

Buy mine.
You WILL NOT find a better one, I can guarantee you that!

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15883

"Bargain" [sly] and an excellent Volvo do not go together

No question its crazy nice...and understand that bargin and excellent Volvo=empty set...just a few Ks more than I want to spend for my son's college ride. The big knot is really less dollars in purchase price really just means more $$ in repairs sooner or later and with Volvos that can be serious $$. Vexing..love the cars but likley will go domestic to bring the equation a bit more into balance.

[polara6t]

If this car is in Cincy, I think I found it on Craig's list too! I just bought my 98 XC wagon in March and am always looking for project Volvos as I have been messing with them since 1979! 82 Volvos later and fast forward to today! LOL

I got my 98 XC for $1500 and have already put about 2000 in it to get it up to snuff. It's hard to find deals on Volvos in Cincy and Dayton - it seems that the southern cities always have better cars - at lower prices.

Again, finding a bargain with low miles and records is never easy!

Bob in Hamilton Ohio

Yep that was the one..sold it in a day to some "lucky" guy..most probably a master mechanic:D

[dizzer55]

If you are looking for one in Cincy, I would be glad to offer my opinion on it if you find a decent one! I look daily at Craig's for decent Volvos - best I saw recently was in Nashville - a 97 850 with everything done (new trans too) for 1900 - would have bought it in a heartbeat if i had the dough and no bills right now! It might be worth a drive to find the right Volvo

[polara6t]

If you are looking for one in Cincy, I would be glad to offer my opinion on it if you find a decent one! I look daily at Craig's for decent Volvos - best I saw recently was in Nashville - a 97 850 with everything done (new trans too) for 1900 - would have bought it in a heartbeat if i had the dough and no bills right now! It might be worth a drive to find the right Volvo

Thanks dizzer I sent you a PM.