Hello Everyone,
New to Volvo brand and new to this forum. After reading forums/blogs and test driving couple of used XC70 I think I'm ready to buy one. Combination of practicality with luxury and T6 performance makes XC70 ideal and interesting car.
One specific XC70 I'm looking at is 2012 with T6 engine, 80 k miles and all options for 15,900 listed on Autotrader by one of Volvo dealers. From Carfax report it appears that first 11,000 miles the car was a rental car, then leased. Should I stay away from renal car altogether ?
Any advise on buying used XC70 ?
I'm also looking at 2016 with T5 turbo, 40k miles for 31,000 and remaining extended warranty 7y/100k. Price difference is huge and would rather buy older car but worrying about potential high cost of future repair and/or immediate maintenance.
Any advise from all of you Volvo owners and experts will be highly appreciated.
J

 

I don't think your questions are specific to Volvos - you are asking what's better, to drive a 2012 vs 2016 given the different entry costs. My view is that cars continually get more reliable, yet more complex so theres a trade off in terms of frequency of repairs vs cost of repairs. My view is you should carefully consider your driving needs and finance goals. Both cars should have the price reviewed relative to their markets. I read a recent analysis which suggests that car depreciation accelerates once they reach 100K, suggesting the best time to buy used is with 25K and sell at 100K. The CPO and similar extended warranties remove any risk against big ticket repairs) so that's a strong plus. My key questions would be how long do you plan on owning this car? How much do you drive each year? Can you afford down time for maintenance? Generally the older the car, the more value gained by doing your own work. Finally, think of the feature benefits from the newer cars. Back up camera for one, better phone integration is another, not to mention smart safety features. My two cents would be, if you drive a lot and can afford the 31k, go for the newer model. If you have mostly short commutes and lower mileage, the 2012 might make sense.

 

mt6127,
I really didn't expect such a quick and quality response, much appreciated, your points well taken and it all make sense. Thank you.
As I'm in technology business newer car tech features, including safety, are cool to but not necessarily must have. In fact I'm looking for a used XC70 that's safe and fun to drive (in any conditions) to... train station, just couple of miles away, plus weekend errand runs (take the dog to the park and winter drives to local ski slopes, kind of). I don't expect to add more than 5-6k miles per year. Depending on car reliability I may keep it for 3-4 years. I would hope to eventually sell or trade it in for another newer Volvo, V90 Cross Country hopefully (way too expensive as new plus I don't really believe in buying brand new cars).
With that said and by your recommendation I will most likely go for the 2012.
But what about the fact it was a rental car with 3 other owners since ? I'm afraid some people take "pedal to the metal" approach while driving rentals, often taking car to mechanical limits which may in turn have negative impact on engine longevity.
Any thoughts ? I would definitely prefer one owner car but those are hard to find.
Buy at 20 sell at 100k makes sense financially, definitely, specifically with valid manufacturer warranty, expensive though. Do you happen to have a link to the analysis you mentioned ?

Thanks again for your response.

 

Not too many rental shops offer expensive cars like an XC70 to regular drivers - its typically a premium exec rental which gets factory maintenance. Similarly most lease contracts require maintenance so its likely the car had been maintained by the standard schedules. Lets face it, somebody renting/leasing and XC70 by choice fits the Volvo persona, ie not the same as the Mustang 5.0 renters... besides I don't think driving a car "hard" wears out a car where failure to properly maintain service intervals certainly does.

 

Thanks mt6127, all good points.

Now that I decided to buy the 2012 I started researching this particular model reliability records. It appears that the 3.2L Inline 6 cylinder engine has low friction pistons issue which usually leads to excessive oil consumption, oil leaks, etc. To the point that Volvo replaced pistons and rings on large number of 3.2 engines with regular 3 ring pistons. . Apparently it's a hit or miss but with my luck I'm sure that will be my case. I'm reading mixed opinions on this, though.
https://forums.swedespeed.com/showth...-than-expected