Fear of AWD.

Yes, there are issues with the Viscous Coupling and transfer box- specifically the bevel drive to the rear axle.

i would avoid the AWD model.

Tim..

Unless you have a need for AWD in the winter, I would avoid it. If you really need AWD then look for an XC which will give more ground clearance than the V70AWD. The frontwheel drive V70 performs very well in snow in my experience clearance being the real limiting factor.

Larry L> Hi Folks:

For ten grand, you can get a nice Subaru with well proven AWD.

Heck, they're just Japanese Volvos, anyway.

Consumer Reports publish an annual report on used cars, including their repair experience by make and model. You can vew the info online for a fee

or free at most public libraries in the US.

If AWD is needed then yes Subaru is an option. In my experience the AWD is not needed on many cars that have it.

100,000 miles is nothing, the car is not even to the halfway point in its life yet. Just make sure it was well maintained.

True in general, but there's always the anecdotal example like mine own, where I've replaced the rear diff, one axle, and the viscous coupling on my '98 XC70 which all packed it in suddenly after 175,000km of meticulously dealer-maintained ownership.... $4500CDN thus far, and that was for *used* parts.....

Great cars, safe, but when problems occur with the AWD.... they're

*expensive*........

Personally, if I *had* to have AWD (four months snow here...), I'm looking at a recent Passat with 4-Motion, and the Subarus... not as refined as the Volvos, but Suby's AWD system is truly bullet-proof.... having had three in the family....

Best of Luck,

K.

I find that the main use I have for AWD in my V70XC is in rainy slick weather. When you have to pull out into traffic, it gives a great feeling of security to know that your tires aren't going to spin.

It is also nice to know that if it snows, I don't have to wait for the snow plow before I can go some where if I have to.

Before I bought the V70XC I had a Subaru Legacy and it is NO Volvo. The tail gate rotted away and had to be replaced. The final thing that did the car in was that the brake system was so badly rusted out that it had to be replaced. That is a safety item. If they can't make that right, I don't want to deal with them anymore. Also, the windshield visor failed in the down position, the drivers door failed in the locked position, and other numerous problems happened. It would go but it wouldn't stop and you couldn't see where you were going. Not a good situation. And all these problems on the Subaru were at 120,000 miles when a point where a Volvo is just getting broken in.

I wouldn't mind having AWD once in a while, mostly slick wet boat ramps, yeah, some would say I should get a truck but a 240 Turbo actually makes a darn good tow vehicle for the most part. Limited slip rear end is on the wish list, need to do some more homework on those first though.

< Snip > < Snip >

Thanks everyone.

Portland Oregon has very mild weather. We may see a modest accumulation of slow every 3 or 4 years, and that usually only lasts a couple of days.

So I have no interest in AWD for a car I use for daily transportation.

Yes, it does rain a lot, but I'm a native, and a competent rainy day driver.

I called someone at the dealership, who is holding the car for me, and told him to put it back on the block, because I have no interest in AWD. I was talking to a different person that the one who told me it had AWD, and this person assured me the car was front wheel drive.

So I went to the lot and got down on my knees to see for myself.

The rear axle consists of two long beams, each with a wheel hub on one end and connected to the opposite side of the car.

There is no drive shaft to the rear wheels visible under the car, and no rear differential with half shafts I'd expect to see for a car that drives the rear wheels.

Carfax is clean.

So, 100,000 miles on a clean and straight 98 V70 GLT front wheel drive. Does $9000 sound OK?

I appreciate the advice you people have offered.

Thanks Larry

Yo, Larry...

roll dem bones

Best idea is to run the car through Edmunds.com for an estimate on value. Be honest about your appraisal on condition though.

I agree that AWD would have very little value in your locale. For most people it would be a feature you would pay a premium for, use more gas and be just something else to break at some point.

For what it is worth my 960 had the limited slip differential, and it was really of little help getting the car moving in snow. It would not be a feature I would look for.

In some instances they can be beneficial though, especially with the turbo, I regularly find myself with one wheel slipping and spinning hard, if the road is even a little wet this is easy to do.

Larry:

Go with it. I live in an area where AWD is desireable, so I have the V70 XC AWD. I have had excellent reliability with it: absolutely no problems that weren't my fault (I hit a rather large pothole recently and bent the wheel, but that's been it.) Mine's a '98 that I bought in August 2005 for $9000...it's a darned good car.

Larry:

Go with it. I live in an area where AWD is desireable, so I have the V70 XC AWD. I have had excellent reliability with it: absolutely no problems that weren't my fault (I hit a rather large pothole recently and bent the wheel, but that's been it.) Mine's a '98 that I bought in August 2005 for $9000...it's a darned good car.

Just for the record, mine has 138,000 miles.

My experience with the RWD 960 with the limited slip diff was that both wheels would spin very easily in snow. I'm sure there was a marginal improvement in traction, but for me at least it was not of much help. And of course the low ride meant it would bottom out quite quickly.