I am soon to go check out a 2008 v70 with 235,000. I live in Maine & have really been wanting a Volvo for the rust resistance among all the other amazing attributes. My current car (Subaru) is on it's way out so been actively looking for a Volvo wagon in my area & pretty much every one that comes up needs a lot of work done which I do not do myself.
This v70 supposedly has all maintenance records from original owner & current owner who has had it for 2 years.

Anyone who can give me advice on repairs I will want to look for within these records to determine whether or not I go for it?

The pictures that I have seen look very clean & the owner attests to that & says that it has been immaculately kept up it's entire life. I'm pretty excited but at $4500 I want to be smart. (Comes with extra set of studded tires).

Thanks for any & all advice!!

 

1) does the car come with a maintenance history? You want to know when things like the timing belt was done (10 year/ 120K for most I-5s, if this has the I-6 then it has a timing chain). Was the PCV ever serviced? Has the transmission ever had a drain fill?

2) Can you do any of the work on your own? At this mileage, everything is old so any part may fail. Parts are available, in NE finding a local shop with experience shouldn't be that hard, but expect to have a steady flow of maintenance / repairs

3) Is this going to be your daily driver/primary car or do you have a plan B when the car is in the shop?

A couple pieces of advise: a) check the market price for high mileage cars - use national services like Autotrader to see what private sale/dealer are asking for similar high mileage models. b) invest in having a professional inspection done (car on a lift, check axles, brakes, exhaust, underbody, sample all fluids, test battery/alternator etc) c) get a Carfax report. Any accidents? was the car dealer serviced (most report maintenance), how many prior owners and where was it registered. Obviously southern cars are a plus (less salt/fewer cold starts).

Remember its not about what the body/paint looks like, its the drive train, suspension etc that will eat a wallet.

 

Thanks for your input. Yes- It comes with maintenance records all the way back to new. Have not seen them yet & have a list I'm planning to tick off as I go through them.

Here in Maine there is a rigorous, yearly 15 point State inspection. To get your sticker the brake system, body and chassis, defrost, electrical system, exhaust system, fuel system, glass and mirrors, horn, lighting system, odometer, steering, suspension, tires, and windshield wipers/washing system must be approved by a certified mechanic who can get in deep $#@t for passing a compromised car.

I can do minor work... oil change, filters, etc. but nothing major. I'm pretty handy & can learn but I don't have a heated garage & it's COLD here 1/2 of the year.

This would be my daily driver so I don't want to get into a situation where this car is in the shop all the time. I simply cannot afford that & I live in a rural area on the coast where I must have a dependable car.
Hmmm... I so badly need a car that is Hot dip Galvanized. So tired of the rust...

Not much available in my area & the clock is ticking on my Subaru.

 

The things the state checks are relatively easy to check/diagnose, and repair. Where a 235,000, 14 year old Volvo will get you are little electronic things and thing that most other cars don't have. case in point, in the last year my 102,000, 2005 S80 developed a vacuum pump (for the brakes) failure and an alarm failure. The first will only be found on turbo cars so the avg "all brands" mechanic would might well miss it. The alarm is simply a real pain to repair/replace for an alarm. Been working on my own cars for 50 years and both were somewhat trickier to diagnose and/or repair that I felt they should be. And my garage is pretty comfy.
It's a nice car but as stated above, the parts are old, plastic is brittle, and that is a lot of miles. I don't know how many miles you can expect, my 1 owner 1998 S70 ran me around 1000 dollars a year with me doing some of the work and only died at 300,000 because of an oil leak (cam seal) and my son ignored it and ran it dry.
My personal thoughts are always, "If you don't have the time and some basic repair knowledge, don't buy an old Volvo".
Also, I told my son who now lives in Boston to have a "winter beater" and let it rust.

 

I'd probably steer away from an older car in a state with rigid safety inspections. My son's S40 failed an inspection in Massachusetts due to rust on the brake hard lines. $2000 later on a car worth $2000 he was good for another year. As to the rust concerns, there are plenty of national buying sites where you can shop for a southern car (ie anything south of New Jersey hehe) that hasn't had saltly winters.