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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    2

    Default Newbie with lots of questions

    Hello and thanks in advance for any advice you can offer. New to Volvo. Just picked up a one owner, high mileage (186K) dealer maintained (same dealer all stamps done in the book) 2009 XC70 3.2 for what seemed to me to be a very fair price. It looks almost new and drives better and rides nearly as nicely as the Lexus RX we were originally focused on. The only apparent issues are a somewhat noisy blower (at low speeds) and a noise that the dealer identified as a bad rear strut. The dealer will not fix the blower but has agreed to replace the struts/fix the noise.

    This is going to be a spare vehicle that will come out in bad weather and used by a new teenage driver. I don't anticipate putting more than 4K a year on it. That said after a lifetime of driving and (attempting) to maintain older BMW's what am I getting myself into? I can turn a wrench for basic maintenance and (I have done valve covers and some basic suspension work) how hard is work like this with this vehicle?

    I would like to keep this for another 50K - is that realistic or will it nickle and dime me?. What maintenance items should I focus on? Not sure I what the expense or hassle (long drive) of going back to the dealer am I OK going to general local mechanic or should I try to find some independent experienced with these cars?

    Sorry for all these questions. Should have asked all of this before I took this plunge but where is the fun in that?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    Pleasanton CA USA
    Posts
    486

    Default

    Cars like this one were built with a 150K mile "PZEV" warranty of emissions system parts & labor to the Maryland market. Volvo honors these warranties.
    What if you found one in MD with 120K miles? That said, being a newbie to Volvo, you'll want to have a Volvo-mechanic who is familiar with P3s inspect any vehicle you're considering. Don't buy anything without full maintenance & ownership documentation.

    I'd stay away from the XC70 models with AWD. Adds major cost risk, and no practical use in VA. Avoid T6 model -- no 150K warranty in any state.
    Last edited by pbierre; 02-04-2019 at 08:34 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Toronto
    Posts
    3

    Default

    My 2008 also has the fan noise, common issue, going to get it fixed sometime soon but it is not cheap unfortunately. I've lived with it for the last year but opening up the dash to fix the A/C evaporator soon anyways so might as well swap the blower. The noise in the strut is a squeak or a crack or a bump or what kind of noise?

    It is a nice reliable car, should last you a while with basic maintenance, especially if you're not using it much.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2019
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    2

    Default

    Thanks again for the reply(s). I agree on the AWD factor. I hate driving around all that extra hardware for the few minutes a year we need it. We live at the very end of a dead end dirt road that every spring has the chance to become mud path. In addition to this all of my garage bays are below grade so there is no way to get out when it snows until l spend 2-3 hours plowing. Our last AWD vehicle melted down on me a year and a half ago and since then we have literally been snowed and or "mudded" in forcing us to put our vehicle a mile down the road to ensure we get out. Hopefully this purchase solves that problem. As for maintenance, every "square" in the service manual is filled out and stamped by the local Volvo dealer and then when they ran out of space (after 150K) they wrote the the service in the margins. I take it back to the dealer I purchased it from on Monday to have new rear shocks installed - per the dealer this is the source of the noise. I have not been able to find a local independent that claims to speak Volvo. Should I just take it back to the local Volvo dealer to develop a maintenance plan for it or should I be able to trust an independent for this?

    Thanks!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    1

    Default

    I have an '08 V70 that we bought at 148k and now has 205k. We take it to the dealer for oil changes (which are actually reasonably priced -- one thing about this car is it has a huge oil capacity, and you get upcharged by the cheapo places that don't expect to put 8 quarts in for your $19.99 lube job), and if the dealer IDs something that needs fixing, about 50% of the time we'll have them do it and the other 50% of the time we'll take it to an indy. Brakes always indy. Very little has gone wrong, and at this mileage, we're not doing anything "preventive" aside from the 7,500 mile oil & filters. We have learned to live with an occasional blower squeak (it often goes away if you turn the fan a little up or down).

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    California
    Posts
    22

    Default

    Take a look at his link it shows the high mileage items for the 3.2

    http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32504.html

    I would focus on

    High Mileage Maintenance items for 3.2
    1. Serpentine belt, tensioner, idler - replaced mine at 113,000 miles/10 years
    2. Brake fluid flushed (every 3 years)
    3. Coolant replaced (failure is oil or ATF heat exchanger internal leaks)
    5. ATF fluid flushed - search for Gibbons method (note: I used the modified Gibbons method)
    6. Power steering fluid and reservoir replaced due to noisy heavy steering
    7. Spark Plugs - replaced mine twice (every 50,000 miles, Volvo recommends 75,000 miles)
    10. O-Rings for Vacuum pump (~10 years or sooner if the leak is large)



    Typical repairs for high mileage 3.2
    A) Thermostat – replaced mine at 10 years (also replaced two coolant hoses)
    D) Engine mounts
    I) Anti-Drain back valve in oil canister housing failure


    I bought my 2010 S80 3.2 with 125,000 miles and here is what I've done so far

    https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...p?f=31&t=87687

    Have fun

    Paul

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