Hi I just signed up to ask for advice. I recently moved and I'm looking for a new car with my partner. We settled on a Volvo because we both like their reputation for safety and how the cars look. I've been reading quite a bit about the legendary reliability of the red block engines in the 740s and 940s, so I've been primarily shopping for these cars. I just realized today that v70s are going for about the same amount of money in my area, so I'm considering widening my search to include them. So... I'm looking for some advice.

I know Ford bought Volvo in 1998. How does the reliability of a v70 compare to a mid-90s 940?

Anyone have an opinion on cost of ownership? If I could get a '93 940 wagon or a '98 v70xc with similar mileage and minor issues, for the same price, which would be cheaper to maintain and drive over time?

I feel comfortable changing oil, brake pads, exhaust parts and other basic maintenance tasks. Is a v70 easy to work on like a 940?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice!

 

Ford buying Volvo didn't change anything until the P1 chassis, which is the 2004.5 and later S40/V50, the C30 and hard top C70. The P3 (2007 and later S80, 2008 and later V/XC70, 2011 and later S60 and the XC60) also have Ford parts.

The 940 is rear wheel drive and handles much differently than the 98 V70. Neither are all that hard to work on, but I do it professionally so I'm used to it. I actually prefer working on the white block cars if I had to chose. Usually because there's more rust to deal with on the older ones.

 

Thanks for the information about Ford, great to know. Working on a rusty car is no fun, thats for sure. I didn't think too much about how different handling would be but that's a really good point. Most of my cars have been front wheel or all wheel drive and my girlfriend's other car is an older Audi A4 so the v70 handling might be more familiar. I like the turning radius of the 740 and two 940's that I've test driven so far and the soft ride is pretty nice. I'm in the San Francisco bay area so snow and ice shouldn't be an issue.

What's your take on reliability? I think that's the biggest issue for me right now. I read that the 850's had some problems with the new engines and new design because they were first generation so I've been staying away from them. I'm going to probably be buying a 150k+ mileage, 14+ year old car either way so my strategy so far has been to try to find one that has service records and one or 2 owners with no accidents or major problems.

I think I'll test drive a few v70s along with the 940s I have lined up and see how it goes. Thanks for your help!

 

When you're looking at a car with that many miles and years, reliability is greatly influenced by the previous owners. One 98 V70 could give you all kinds of trouble if the previous owner neglected it while another could give you many years of relatively trouble free driving.

While the white motors were new, they stuck around for a very long time and are very reliable when properly maintained. The 940 is a simpler car though, so less to go wrong. Not that a 98 V70 is that much more complicated though.

 

That makes a lot of sense.

There are several ads for v70s with bad fuel pumps, is that a common problem? Expensive repair?

 

Yeah, fairly common. Its more expensive on an AWD because the tank has to come down.