Hello all, I am considering purchasing a 1998 V70 wagon from a private owner to replace my aging "War Horse" 1990 740 GL with 180,000 miles. I am regrettably retiring the 740 due to multiple problems that among other things include a winshield washer resevoir that is cracked and wil not hold fluid, failing brake hoses and rotors, heater that squeals and chirps loudly (bum heater blower motor I assume). Anyway, the V90 I am looking at is in Good to Excellent shape and priced at 7,000 USD. The problem is that this car already has 146,000 miles on it! Now I know our bricks can run for a good long time but isnt that mileage a tad high for a 1998. This really concerns me as in my job I drive app. 500 miles per week so it wouldnt take me long at all to start really piling on the miles. Needless to say I know next to nothing about the V70/90 series of cars so I would appreciate any input from the group on what to look for during pre purchase. Any problems specific to this series that I should know about? And finally is 7 grand a decent price for this car. Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!
Considering buying a 1998 V90
Feb 03, 2005
9 Replies
A V90 and V70 are two totally different cars. The V70 derives from the 850, while the V90 is actually the familiar 960!... which is a decendant of the
760/740... so it will be like your car, with a way nicer interior, better suspension, bigger and much smoother 6 cylinder (Inline, not Vee) engine, electronic climate control (12 years and no problems with ours in our 960 - and it's a Canadian car (ie - more abused by our massive temperature swings summer to winter)...Thanks Rob, I realize I was unclear in my initial post. The car I am looking to purchase is a 1998 V90. thanks again!
OMG!!!
Rob, Thanks for the response. What I meant to say was that I was unclear in my initial post because the topic says looking to buy V90 and then the first sentence of my post says considering buying a V70. Any other advice from the group?
The S90/V90 are two of the last RWD cars made by Volvo. As Rob pointed out, they're very luxurious. The inline-6 used in them was the basis of the inline-6 used in the S80. It is an interference engine, but should be fine with routine maintenance. At 140,000 miles, I think you should consider replacing the water-pump, tensioner and timing belt - if the owner has not done so recently.
Beverly
Thanks Bev, Do you guys think that 7,000 USD is a fair price for this car or can I do better? Thanks
If the owner has replaced the timing belt at 100,000 and the tensioner and waterpump at the same time, I would call that a fair price. If he hasn't, I would drop your offer to around $6500, as it will cost you between $500 and $600 to get that done, and I cannot over-emphasize the importance of making sure that you don't have an old waterpump can be unexpectedly seize, or a tensioner that fails.
Beverly
With full service records? Or not?
About 20,000 miles per year, which is on the high side. Still not a lot compared to Irv Gordon's 1966 P1800 with 2 million miles (over
50,000 miles per year, not including the miles he "didn't get credit for" when the odometer broke).V70 = 850. V90 = 960, which is a descendent of the 700-series.
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