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View Full Version : Purchasing mid 2000's XC. Info please...



DennisM
10-16-2012, 07:48 AM
Hey folks,

New to the XC Forum. I've been a member of the www.turbdieselregister.com since October of 1999, and my member number was in the 700's. We now have over 35,000 members! So, I know the benefits of a good forum, and owner experience. Thanks for having me.

So, we had an 850 wagon in the mid 90's, and my better half has been unhappy since the day it sold. Also in the 90's. (The sale not the wife). So, she has been all about the XC Volvos and now I am ready to buy one.

I'm looking at a 2005 to 2007, wagon, and I am wondering about anything in particular that I should be wary of, or look for in my pre-purchase exam.

Also, with the different engine, transmission combinations, what kind of "real world" fuel mileage are you getting, and what kind of driving do you do regularly. (City, suburbs, rural hwy, interstate, etc.)

Right now, I have found a 2005 with 68,000 miles for about the mid $13,000's. Since I live in Maine, I am thinking I will try to purchase in North Carolina though, and pick it up at Thanksgiving, to get out of the Rust Belt, that is upper New England. (Calcium Chloride eats cars).

I would appreciate your thoughts and guidance.

Cheers,
Dennis

JRL
10-16-2012, 02:37 PM
05-07 XCs are generally pretty darn good
If you want me to find you a GREAT XC please contact me.
Many are available now, these are from PA South.
PA cars are usually just fine but there are a few right now available to me (wholesale) in NC that look pretty good

Thames
10-17-2012, 05:31 AM
Bought a 2005 XC earlier this year. Very happy, lots of mileage (180,000 KM) but still runs like new... that's why I bought it.
Very well maintained. Im aware I will face a few electric issues, the first one I had is the windshield water pump. Took an hour to remove the front bumper, find the pump, realizing that removing the bumper was not necessary (but quite easy in fact), and bought one on eBay for 30$ shipped (instead of 80$ at the dealer).

Next issue ?? well... we'll see!

MacNoob
10-17-2012, 12:22 PM
Go check fuelly.com for gas mileage tracking. My '07 is at 10.6L/100 km (22.2 mpg US) based on nearly 20,000 miles of tracking.

Thames
10-17-2012, 12:46 PM
Please tell me you're doing 10.6 on highway and not city... Im more in the 16L range (city)...

Astro14
10-17-2012, 01:42 PM
That's got to be a mixed use number...

We get about 24-25 US MPG highway, closer to 19 US in the city...22 sounds about right for a mix of city/highway...

My T5 gets about 10% MPG higher in all conditions...despite the more powerful engine, it has fewer rotating parts (sources of drag/friction)...

billr99
10-17-2012, 02:25 PM
Go check fuelly.com for gas mileage tracking. My '07 is at 10.6L/100 km (22.2 mpg US) based on nearly 20,000 miles of tracking.

With my '02 I typically see around 10.1L/100km for a mix of driving that trends more toward 2-lane highway versus in-town or freeway. I've seen as good as 8.7 but that was nearly all freeway at an average close to 120km/hr. I've also seen as bad as in the 11s but that was numerous short trips mostly in-town and in the winter.

Cheers,

Bill

MacNoob
10-17-2012, 06:38 PM
Go check fuelly.com for gas mileage tracking. My '07 is at 10.6L/100 km (22.2 mpg US) based on nearly 20,000 miles of tracking.

That's mixed use. This is not our daily commute car (Honda Insight for that, uses exactly half as much gas) but gets occasional commute, Saturday shopping, and all of our long trips. I would say that mileage at a guess is pretty close to 50/50 city/highway.

I can certainly see 16L/100km in 100% heavy stop &go city traffic, especially in cold winter weather.

http://mefi.us/images/fuelly/sig-metric/59955.png (http://www.fuelly.com/driver/corvair/xc70)

DennisM
10-17-2012, 10:23 PM
Thanks everyone. Evidently, I am not getting notices of response to my post. I'll check on it manually more often. JRL, I'll get in touch with you tomorrow if I get a chance before work. Just got home, headin for bed.

The fuel mileages are what I was figuring they would be for real world. We have a Mini Cooper that gets 35.5 and my Dodge Ram Diesel 2500 4x4 gets 20.5, but it has 200,000 miles on it now, so it is semi retired. So, we aren't the greenest people around, but we aren't too bad. I have to dump the Dakota that gets 16! We were looking at an Outback in the same age range as the Volvo's, and they seem to get about 25mpg for my use. I would rather pay the extra $27.00 per month for fuel to have the XC-70 Wagon. Don't know what it is, but I am really liking that car. A wagon. Go figure.

bbbuzzy
10-18-2012, 05:57 AM
2005-2007 XC70's are great, IMO. You mentioned a 2005 with 68K for just under $14K. I think you can do better. JRL,who frequents this forum, often has seemingly well-maintained vehicles available with fair pricing. Since you are not far from me, if JRL has nothing you want, you might check out the Boston Craigslist as well. There is a "dealer" who posts there frequently with nice looking vehicles for lower than your price ceiling. I have no idea if he's decent, or whether his inventory is good, just passing along my observations (http://smdwoods.com/).

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/cto/3340806069.html


Good luck with your search and hope you find a good one.

DennisM
10-18-2012, 06:18 AM
Thanks. I'll be checking with JRL tonight. The one I was thinking about was in Saugus. I found it in AutoTrader on line. I spoke to the man for a few minutes and it sounded like a very nice car. May actually be. I asked if there were any accidents, he said no, perfect. It was listed as a private sale, so you gotta' figure the owner of a car knows its history right?

Arranged to take the next day off to go see it. (That is a day without pay, not vacation) Wife had a Carfax sitting on the kitchen counter when I got up in the morning.

3 prior owners. 2 Commercial, one private.

Then, bought from auction.

The guy in Saugus is a "dealer". Didn't disclose that until asked directly as he had listed it as a private seller.

Car had one accident. Extent of damage not listed on carfax.

Frustrating.

We (I) am really trying to get a car from further south, as I want something that hasn't been driven through the Calcium Chloride its whole life. I would like a couple rust free years. I have been looking in North Carolina, around Charlotte, because I will be going there for thanksgiving. I could drive back. Unfortunately, the dealers seem to be getting the cars at auction out of Florida. Nicely appointed, but. . . no heated seats. It is often times 20 below zero f (-28 C) and leather seats suck the life out of you when they are that cold.

Boston is still in the rust zone, but at least they use salt. I may take a look. Thanks Buzzy.

DennisM
10-18-2012, 06:23 AM
Thanks for the Craigs list post. A bit high on the mileage for me. It says only 102K. That is about 20,000 miles per year. I would be looking in the 60,000 mile range. That is about 3 years of life lost to miles. Nice looking car though.

JRL
10-18-2012, 06:32 AM
There were a couple of gorgeous XCs from Fl and TX over the summer.
They were for sale (wholesale) for over 3 months, no one from up here would touch them without heated seats.
However, many/most from the NC/SC area have climate package.
I'll give you the entire skinny tonight

You WILL pay more for a 60K mile XC, not many left with miles like that

DennisM
10-18-2012, 06:35 AM
Cool. I appreciate that JRL.

I was wondering, is everyone running Premium unleaded? Or is mid grade ok? For some reason I was under the impression that our mid grade is the same octane as the premium in Europe. I can't remember now, and the Peugeot that we were driving in Ireland. . .was a diesel! Those europeans are so darn smart!

bbbuzzy
10-18-2012, 06:38 AM
For what it's worth, my XC70 has lived for 7.5 yrs in NE Mass, near the coast. I'm not far from you and we salt the roads in my town. I'm not sure if it's NaCl, CaCl2, MgCl2, or some blend or other salt. No rust on the Volvo, no signs anywhere that corrosion is coming soon to any body panel of any of my vehicles (ie: no tiny bubbles on the wheel arches). I wash the car every now and then, have it detailed 1-2 times/yr, and store it indoors at work and at home on most days. I think the galvanizing process used in manufacturing these days (and in 2005), has produced cars that have a lot less problems with rust. I have no fear of any car that has been in the northeast, as long as maintenance has been properly performed. Good luck.

DennisM
10-18-2012, 07:16 AM
I have noticed that the bodies of the Volvos seem to be holing up well. I am thinking more of what is going on underneath though. I have had to replace all of the brake lines in my Dodge Ram, and my Dakota, and two exhaust systems. The Ram now has a Stainless steel system. Just going underneath either of them, makes me feel it is time to dump them both. Pretty disheartening. You can't do any work underneath without it being a major issue, as the bolts are rusting away, and everything breaks. I send some work out, and pay exorbitant shop fees, just so I don't have to deal with it. If I buy a New England car, especially a Maine car, it will be after I see it on a lift.

I found out about the brake line issue when the metal line broke behind the fuel tank in the Ram. We have pretty tough annual safety inspections up hear, especially if you aren't born here, and if you don't where camouflage. Safety inspections cost me about $1200 per year. Anyhow, last year I went straight through a red light at the intersection by the Maine Mall, across 3 on-coming lanes before I could turn into the forth. Fortunately, it was 10 at night, so there was not a bunch of cars to collide with. That has made me a little gun shy, so don't take it personally if I am hesitant on your advice. On the contrary. I appreciate it very much, and will keep it in mind.

JRL
10-18-2012, 12:10 PM
You will get that on New England or upper NY state cars ( road salt capital of the world)
Fact of life
Mid NJ and South cars, not so much
89 (mid grade) is fine, that's what I run

MacNoob
10-19-2012, 06:19 AM
I was under the impression that our mid grade is the same octane as the premium in Europe.

Nope, the actual octane is very similar, but EU uses a different rating system than North America so you can't compare the numbers directly. The EU number will be about 5 higher for the equivalent octane. So 87 here would be 92 in EU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

DennisM
10-19-2012, 07:13 AM
Nope, the actual octane is very similar, but EU uses a different rating system than North America so you can't compare the numbers directly. The EU number will be about 5 higher for the equivalent octane. So 87 here would be 92 in EU.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating


Ok, so that was a surprisingly interesting read. While I am sure that our pollution control requirements have messed up some of the great engineering that is provided by many or our fine EU auto engineering friends, I seriously doubt the compression ratios have been altered in the blocks/heads.

So, our Octane ratings (RON) usually run about 83-85 for Regular, 87-89 for mid grade and 91-93 for Premium.

If we are supposed to run "premium" fuel in our EU built cars, then we would need to run the 91 Octane (US). The British Standard for Petrol is 97 Octane for premium. Using the -5 figure, that leaves us still buying super unleaded. :(

The nice thing about the gas stations here is, when the price of oil drops, they drop the price of the regular grade, and hang the mid and premiums way up on the top end of the scale. Because, lets face it. . .if you drive a 2008 XC with 95,000 miles on it, you can obviously afford to pay thirty cents more per gallon. [nonono] Agh! There I go. . .

MacNoob
10-19-2012, 08:50 AM
So, our Octane ratings (RON) usually run about 83-85 for Regular, 87-89 for mid grade and 91-93 for Premium.

If we are supposed to run "premium" fuel in our EU built cars, then we would need to run the 91 Octane (US). The British Standard for Petrol is 97 Octane for premium. Using the -5 figure, that leaves us still buying super unleaded. :(


RON is used in EU, AKI here.

Reg is usually 87, Mid 89-90, Premium 91-92 or so.

In most conditions XC70 will run fine on 87 but 89-91 will give you more power and maybe better mileage. The manual says something like "AKI rating 87-93, 90 recommended"

DennisM
10-19-2012, 09:03 AM
Thanks for the correction. I'm usually buying diesel. I guess my memory isn't as good on the octanes at the pump. I'm happy to run Midgrade, if the car will be happy.

Thanks,
Dennis

avatar77
10-21-2012, 11:19 AM
Dennis,

I got my 05 XC 70 with 89k on ebay a few weeks ago for $9640. It was a ebay bid auction from a independent dealer. But the car was serviced at a Volvo dealer it's whole life one owner black/black. Drove it back from Alabama to NY, approx 1100 miles. So far I'm happy with it. I also have a 95 Volvo 850 GLT with 165k that runs great. I'm selling that to my old co-worker. Good luck with your search and check the price ranges, I'm sure you can get a decent deal.

Regards,

Jay







Thanks for the correction. I'm usually buying diesel. I guess my memory isn't as good on the octanes at the pump. I'm happy to run Midgrade, if the car will be happy.

Thanks,
Dennis

DennisM
10-22-2012, 05:20 AM
Thanks. I have my eye on one right now. With any luck, it will be sitting in my driveway before long.