I visited a used car dealership today and I checked out a 2004 Volvo S40 T5 with a 5 cylinder engine. This particular vehicle has about 124,000 miles on it. It has heated leather seats, a moon-roof, and pretty much the other standard features that come on a Volvo S40. There are some minor nicks and scratches on the car. I took it for a short drive around the dealership lot to see how it worked. It seemed to run fine. The engine did not make any strange noises. The interior was in excellent condition, with the exception of the cup holder cover being broken. The vehicle had only 1 owner. The dealer was firm on getting $6,900 for the vehicle. It seems like a good price, but I wanted to do a little research and ask others for their opinion before spending a few thousand dollars on a vehicle. I asked the dealer if I could take it to a local mechanic tomorrow to have it inspected and he agreed. The questions I have are as follows:

1. Given the condition that I described, is $6,900 a good price?

2. When the mechanic examines it tomorrow, is there anything in particular that he should be looking for (in other words, any common problems/issues to look out for)?

3. Given the condition that the vehicle is in, how long could I reasonably expect to have this vehicle run without any repairs (excluding routine tire and oil changes)?

Thanks in advance.

 

The price sounds reasonable based on what you described. Did you check on-line sources?

New Cars, Used Cars, Blue Book Values & Car Prices - Kelley Blue Book
New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing - Edmunds.com
New & Used Cars for Sale, Auto Dealers, Car Reviews and Car Finance Advice

 

Yes, I checked those out for the value of the Volvo S40 T5. It's around that price from private sellers.

So given the condition it's in, how long could I expect it to run without major repairs?

 

Unfortunately, my crystal ball is in the shop and the car you are looking at is beyond my experience in miles. Mine only has 89K miles.
Stan

 

In my humble opinion, any car over 100k miles can break at any moment. If you are looking for trouble free service then you will need to buy a much newer car.

I bought my 2005 T5 AWD with 75k miles about 3 months ago for $9k. Nice looking car, runs well, good tires, etc. 5 minutes after paying for it the brake warning light came on (loose connector). Then after driving it home I noticed oil on my garage floor. It was a jury-rigged power steering hose. I replaced it for $70 with a custom made hose from my local hose shop. While replacing the hose I noticed drywall screws through the radiator support. Thinking I must be mistaken I removed one only to have my R134a suddenly leak out (pssssssss....) The PO had driven a drywall screw into the A/C condenser. No fix here, had to buy a new one.

124k miles? It will break. Sooner than later. Just be ready for it and know that the money you are saving on a car payment will more than make up for maintenance.