I am a lifelong Volvo owner and currently own a 1993 Volvo 940 turbo wagon, a 2020 XC90 and a 2020 XC60. I'm happy with all of them but love the 940 most. My daughter is heading off to college in less than 2 weeks and has been saving for a car. I've found a 2009 XC70 AWD with the 3.2 Liter non-turbo straight 6 engine. it has 189K miles, one owner, all maintenance done at the Volvo dealership.

I may be a highly biased person asking a highly biased audience but I'm hoping for some unbiased advice. Is the engine and transmission on this car reliable? My daughter wants it to drive back and forth from school to home (130 miles one way) about once a month. Can I expect anywhere close to 300K miles out of it like my '93 940 wagon?

I want to make an informed decision so any guidance on common problems with this vehicle in general, and the engine and transmission specifically, would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

I am also a lifelong Volvo owner since the '70's. I currently own two 2007 XC70's, a 1990 Volvo 760 turbo wagon, a 2015 XC60 and to your point, a 2008 XC70 3.2 litre with 119000 miles on it, which I purchased when it had 100,000 miles. My objective opinions and observations. (a) The serpentine belt broke at 102,000 miles - when I was about 20 miles from home. I ignored the warnings, and drove it back to my house without the use of a water pump, power steering or alternator. The engine never overheated, and after replacing the serpentine belt (which was quite difficult) the engine never gave me another problem. The fact that it has a timing chain is a great plus and I stand by the robustness of the engine. (b) My ignition lock got stuck and I couldn't start the car. I bought a replacement from Volvo, which would not work. Apparently, it was a programming issue. Luckily, I found a YouTube video that showed how to fix the ignition lock problem. This was easy and the original lock now functions normally. (c) The front wheel bearings began to make noise, so I replaced them and the lower control arms/balljoints. I was surprised at this because my older XC70's with 221,000 and 175,000 miles respectively never had wheel bearing problems. (d) Last, but not least, the windshield has a major leak, which floods the car's rear driver well and also leaks into the rear-view mirror housing (which includes critical electronics). The windshield problem is apparently common in P3 Volvo's according to YouTube. If the car you're considering doesn't have this problem, then not to worry. As far as driving impressions, my opinion is that the older P2 XC70's feel lighter and handle more responsively. However, for normal driving, the P3 XC70 feels stable and safe.

 

The interesting thing with this car is all the things that this forum says will go wrong will. Engine mount replacement/ front struts . Big job with serpatine belt replace,AM radio not working etc etc But in other ways it’s a solid safe car. Just put money aside to repair it. My car is 15 years old and it has never been towed, unlike my Acura!

 

May I ask what’s a P2 and P3 when talking about your Volvo? I’m not a mechanic but go on this site to learn more about my 2007 XC70 that I love and want to keep running and dependable.

 

P2 refers to the generation of XC70's that span from 2001 to 2007. P3 refers to the generation of XC70's that span 2008 - 2015, Your 2007 model represents the final and in my opinion best of the P2 models.

 

Well, I have a 2008 V70 3.2 FWD. Bought at 4 years old with 89 thousand miles. 155 thousand now and it now needs all new motor mounts. It took forever to get the parts. It will be very expensive. I have done preventive maintenance that Volvo doesn't even mention because they don't care about long term use. You say dealer has done all the stuff but WHAT have they done to prevent failures in the future ? I kept the car thinking that repairs would be less than new car payments but I think I would have been better off buying a Toyota. I do like the comfort, size, looks and safety of the car and lack of all the more advanced touch screens and crap on new cars that can only fail. Clean or replace those sunroof drains. Volvo says every 7500 mile oil change to clean and check. All that being said your daughter will have lots of room to haul stuff and she is probably a "gentle " driver which would be an advantage. She will be safer in this car than any small car.