ok guys,

Alternator fitted (last thread) and car driving well again. Alternators break - I have no issue with this.

Now I'm looking at the other hopefully smaller issues...mainly a rough idle and a minor ticking noise when accelerating.

Reading up possible solutions, I have noticed this engine ( 2005 1.6d) is getting slated quite often for unreliability for many issues...Before I bought mine, I wondered why it needed a complete top-end rebuild @120k

So, rough idle? I counted an average of 10 seconds of being ok followed by 20 seconds of minor flutter. I'm about to drop in some injector cleaner and hope this will help.

Ticking? Possibly the same injector issue or maybe its normal. Car drives perfectly except for a very occasional dip/ flat spot that I haven't quite worked out why or when this happens yet.

Is this a reliable car in general? I assumed Volvo would be better than average so what might the future hold?

The car I bought is in amazing condition for the year with good service records and a whole host of major parts recently fitted...including an alternator! It has been very well looked after.

Thanks guys.

 

Probably not many here familiar with the diesel variant (which is too bad, though with the current 1.5x multiplier for diesel fuel in the US, the joy of owning a diesel has been much diminished). ;-)

Hopefully someone from a country with diesel Volvos can chime in...