I love my 99 V70!

They don't do real well in snow.

That's not snow - that's sheet ice! Even so, the V70 did better than most until it clipped the corner of another vehicle which was sticking out into the road.

Don't be scared. You really have no choice but to assume the timing belt hasn't been done, so it will need to be scheduled immediately if you buy the car. The price should also reflect that - otherwise, there is negotiating to be done.

An awful lot of owners sell a car when the first timing belt replacement is due. They see the cost of ownership suddenly rising and jump ship.In any event, if you don't know when the belt was changed, when should it be changed next?

Mike

What snow. That was glare ice and nothing did well, especially parked cars. When cars slide sideways, you know there is no traction. Here in PA where we get over 30 inches of snow annually, I have had no problems in 40 years with my Volvos, even the old 240's which "were bad in snow". It takes some common sense to drive in snow. The most dangerous vehicles on the road are the 4x4 pickups which get overconfident and smash up spectacularly.

A car that young that "only" averages about $1k a year in repairs is not a great vehicle. We bought our '96 Camry sedan in '99 with 99k miles on it. In the first *five* years it cost us about $400 in repairs, and about $1k *total* for repairs and maintainance over the whole five years. From 2003 until about six months ago, it cost us about another thousand in repairs and maintainance. Now, with 160k miles, at 12 years old, it's starting to cost as much to maintain as your Volvo. I'd like to sell it.

I don't doubt that the Navigator will do half as well...

On Jan 25, 7:49 am, Stephen Henning wrote: What snow. That was glare ice.

Oh, really?

It was snow.

I live there.

We had a couple inches of SNOW.

No freezing rain.

Note the color is WHITE: snow.

Yeah, the heading of the clip talks about ice, but it fell as snow.

Usually out here the snow doesn't stick: this time it did.

The bumper car scene is a steep hill in downtown Portland.

"Mr. V" wrote:

When wet snow freezes it forms white ice. When snow gets packed, it forms white ice. When cars slide in snow they push the snow ahead of tires, especially when sliding sideways. None of the cars sliding were pushing snow. When cars slide sideways on frozen snow and packed snow they don't push the snow, they slide on top as the cars in the video did. If it is just below freezing, the weight of the cars forms a wet layer under the tires and cars slide effortlessly as in the video.

I lived in Portland 21 years. We had two types of snow, slush and frozen slush. I remember one state football championship game that was played in the snow between Jefferson and Gresham. When players were tackled they would slide about 10 yards on the ground and throw up a wake of slush.

I'm not so sure about the .

My 98 V70 has cost me over £4,300 (~$8,000) in servicing and repairs since the middle of 2003 (I've covered ~60,000 miles) compared to £5,500 for petrol (~$11,000 for Gas) and the 1st years repairs were all done under warranty.

Servicing is about 30% of my total running costs and in the UK petrol costs about $10 a gallon.

I know my next car will be something reliable and cheap to repair (probably a VW or one of it's derivatives like SEAT or maybe even Skoda).

Richard Web pages:

for caravanning, for my personal web site and because I love the email address.

150,000 miles on a Volvo is not young, but middle aged. Volvo owners spend money on their cars, not because they have to, but because they want to. Most problems are not fatal and seldom ever to the cars break down. But they do have symptoms such as check engine codes that are treated. The owners don't drive them into the ground like they do econoboxes but keep them in good shape. My '95 850 seldom needs repairs, but always gets routine service, new tires, a new battery, new brake pads, and serves me well. Today it is like new, inside and out. It drives like new. The proof is in the resale. A Volvo wagon with 180,000 miles sells in one day to the first person that looks at it. I know, I have done it 8 times.

Richard Cole wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

That's a lot - what went wrong? You could buy another for that money. Mind you, the car could be almost 10 years old. We traded an S40 for a 2001 V70 wit 70k on it in 2005 - no big bills yet but we do a lot fewer miles than you. Having a lot of trouble with tyres deflating and the headlamp bulbs have both gone last week. We are in UK too.

E.

E.

Nothing special, several electrical problems fixed under warranty (I don't have the invoices for these), new throttle cable, new sunroof module, new exhaust system (all that was wrong was the rear bracket was bust), new thermostat, new drivers window switch pack, new coin box, new ignition key lock, new MAF plus servicing (including 1 cam belt change). Nothing major (apart from the exhaust when a £5 weld job would have done) and the main dealer servicing charges,

Richard

Web pages:

for caravanning, for my personal web site and because I love the email address.

Richard Cole wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Main dealer charges I expect being the lion's share? It seems like a huge amount for what, 3 years? Surely you could have got ATS or likewise to fit a new exhaust bracket. We've had ours serviced at a Volvo specialist in east London but not a main dealer. The last service was about £200 but the one with cambelt is coming up this year, and I will have to buy 4 tyres.

E.

Bloody hell!! We have a 97 S70, and its cost next to nothing over its so-far

92k miles, other than scheduled servicing. I have had to have a new electric window switch pack though.

It feels hardly run in and gagging to do another 100k of trouble free miles. (touch wood)

Tim..

Maybe they sell fast where you are, but here they are worth little. And your points above don't refute my basic one: that a car requiring $1k a year in repairs and maintainance is, at very best, unexceptional in ownership costs and not "a great used car."

Yes, you could see the first vehicle left no tracks in the "snow" on the roads, but did in the snow when it went across the sidewalk. But what amazed me the most were the people standing around as the cars bounced off each other and various poles etc.