We are considering purchasing a 2001 C70 Convertible. We test drove one today and liek it a lot. We own a 2003 S60 and a 2003 XC70. It's not as peppy as the turbo S60, but not as sluggish as the XC70.

Anything we should now/ask about this year, make and model?It has 95K mile on it with an undocumented service history, which does concern me. It's been garage kept and the exterior/roof look great. It had a slight wobble in the steering. Other than that it tested well.

 

Nice autos but consider the fact that it is going on eight years of age. I have a 2002 c70 that has far less than 1/2 the mileage that the one you are considering and it is a money pit. With that stated, I keep it because I truly enjoy the styling, interior, radio, straight line performance, and economy. Gasoline however is costly as the autos do use premium and you should use a tier 1 fuel.

If you do purchase the Volvo...........immediately have the timing belt changed. Failure to do so will be catastrophic!

r.

 

Fuel economy, 15 mpg in suburbia. Driving lightfooted doesn't help a bit. I use regular, because the fuel volume is too damn rich already, no performance difference noted.
Power window motors $800-900 each for the PART. You may need 2.
There is a glut of convertibles on the market. I'd pay about $6,000 if the body is perfect.
Timing belt! Do the water pump, seals, pulleys, and any associated bearings. A stretched belt does a lot of damage at 95k miles.
Clunky steering....normal. Volvo did not build a driver's car here.... but this can be changed. I will keep members posted on my suspension project. The end links are D student technology.
I changed the tranny fluid and the car drove much better. It's a good idea at 95k. If the engine oil is "tar", DON'T BUY THE CAR.
You should get another 100,000 out of the car if it has not been too abused.

 

Thanks for the replies. Our budget is under $9k. I agree, the market is saturated with them, but, unfortunately there are only a few local to our area.

We thought about a convertible Corvette but like the styling and interior of the C70 better.

From 1998 - 2001 is there really much of a difference in the C70? Should I go with one model year over the next?

Thanks

 

You would want to go with the 1998. Read the fourms about ETMs

 

A quick Google search show issues from 1999 - 2001. So a 1998 or 2002 model is preferred?

 

Either way you are looking at buying a fairly old vehicle, you could end up spending lots of money on repairs either way, or you could get luckey and get a great car, it's always a gamble with a car that old.

 

Agreed. We have had good luck with purchasing used cars thus far. We do our homework and always get a dealer inspection/survey pre-purchase.

Thsi will be a 3rd car, a fun to drive when it's nice out car.

What's the ETM issue and what's it going to cost me to resolve assuming it has not been addressed on one we find?