What XC?

[Mannydog]

I am a newbie to XC'x although I had an 96 855T for the better part of 12 years. Was primarily my ex's car, but I drove it a lot and maintained it, and really thought it was and excellent car.

I need reliable AWD winter transport, and don't have a big budget. $5 - 10K, but the closer to $55k the better. And I do NEED AWD, since I have to be able to drive to Seattle over Snoqualmie Pass frequently. They get a lot of snow, but more importantly, they often post "Chains or AWD Only", and I have no interest in standing in the weather putting on chains.

That being said, I would like a wagon, since my other car is a sedan, and after looking at 325Xi's, (mostly too expensive) and A4s (underwhelmed with the quality and they are really too small for my taste), I have focused on Volvos.

It sounds like I could consider anything from a 98 to an 03 or so.

My biggest priority is reliability. I assume any of the different AWD setups, with 4 good snows, will get decent traction. the next factor is fuel economy.

I tried to do some searching on this site, but haven't really found the answers I'm looking for easily, so if you can point me to threads great, if not, I would love to get opinions here.

Thanks,
Michael

[JRL]

If everything is nominal traction is the least of your problems, XC's are quite good in the snow
For 5K you're looking at a WELL KEPT 98 maybe a 99 with miles over 130K
You can find them cheaper all day long but beware, these can cost a fortune to repair a non functional AWD
Little (to bigger) things can also be bad or will go bad.

Whatever you do.....

PAY THE $125 or whatever one hour of labor is out there and have a VOLVO DEALER or a reputable VOLVO mechanic check it out.
Do NOT take it to the mechanic down the street unless he's a Volvo specialist.
Good luck
I could sell you a decent one but transportation across the country would kill any deal on a 5K car

[Mannydog]

Thanks JRL. If going higher than $5k will get me a better chance at a car with a greater likelihood of not needing major work, I can do that. Trying to find the sweet spot for at least getting a thru couple of seasons reliably.

Appreciate your advice on the inspection.

Does anyone have any recommendations where to get one done in the greater Seattle area?

Also, could I expect to get a decent 2nd generation car for below $10k?

[JRL]

Only an 01 or an 02, you want neither
You may find ,a good 03 private for 10K

[Mannydog]

Pardon my newbie-ness, but why don't I want an 01/02?

[JRL]

Please do a search here and on every single Volvo website in the world

[tolian2]

Please do a search here and on every single Volvo website in the world

and you are in for a treat of reading about transmissions.
Also try carsurvey.org

[Refotsirk]

Hi from Sweden,
I would advise you to buy a V70 XC -00. Last year that is based on the 850. And the best, all sorted out.
New model XC70 (00-07) was based on the S80 and up to -03 it has some problems. From -04 on they are better.
AWD works fine and won't fail IF you have the same sort/brand/dimension/load class etc tires front and rear. If two of them are more worn than the others they should be put on the rear axle. That is if you have the visco type rear drive. Later Haldex equiped (was it from -02/03?) cars are not sensitive to wheel/tire size, they have though an apatite för consuming the ECU. About the same cost as for a new angle drive coupling. So, -00 or -04 on. A good service history and low milage (I'll put service before milage) is a good start. Wish you'll find a good one!
All the best/Kristofer, Sweden

[Mannydog]

Kristofer

Thanks for your considerate reply. I ended up spending a logos more than I I tended and getting a 2002 BMW 330xi 5 speed. The whole transmission thing scared me off of this generations of Volvos, and the search police attitude but some here turned me off of trying to figure everything out that I wod want to learn about Volvos, being mostly a newbie.

The BMW is a blast to drive gets 30mg on the hiway and feels like a new car despite having 66k on it.

[JRL]

Congrats
I hope you enjoy it