Purchasing Newer V70

an 02 or newer V70 will be much better than the early cars which were plauged with electronic gremlins.

If its an auto- check for slowness to engage gear, and excessive jerks when coming to a halt, and moving off- basically as it selects 1st. Insist on a fluid change (no interval is specified)

If its a D5, injectors will need changing at around the 100k mark, this is a £500 job.

Check for clonky front suspension, and irregular tyre wear.

Look for a comprehensive service history.

The 2.5T and auto box is regarded as the best combination.

Your issue with the S70 was very very unusual.

Tim..

Thanks for the info - actually, I am definitely wanting a manual transmission. I need to feel the car! As for the S70, my mechanic said he had seen it in a few other late-850's as well as some other S70's. I loved the car as always, but it had to go, before it really went. Paid $22, 500.00 for it, sold it for $2600 :( Thanks again for the info.

Gary

I've had great luck with a 2004 V70 2.5 T that now has 71,000 miles. I think you will find cars in that date range are comparable for quality.

I'm not aware of any of the engines used in that series with a documented tendency to lose compression. I would chalk it up to the random failure that is possible with any car.

The "R" being a performance vehicle it could well have been driven a lot harder than the average V70 or V70 T. It's useful life may be shorter than the odomoter indicates.

My suggestion would be to ask for documentation showing that all maintenance has been done on time. Also take the car to a skilled Volvo mechanic for a through pre-purchase inspection.