Hello! First post! Let's see.... I've spent the last 12 years on the dark side. Namely Saabs. Had 8 of them. My last a heavily modded 9-5. Only one Volvo about 15 years ago. Had my fun with Saabs. Now I'm rekindling interest with Volvos.

Leads to the question...

Having lurked here for a month I think I get the gist with most of the S40 issues and quirks (if no quirks then it's a Hyundai). I've come across a quite decent 2005 S40 T5 manual at a dealer. 56K. No P.O. receipts, but title is clean. After much back-n-forth for a month I got the price down from $11.5k to $9k total OTD. I see no issues other than rear humming from wheel when driving. Which after reading here leads me to thinking it's brake related? Don't recall what the issue was though.

Not sure where my question is here other than a real hypothetical one - Is $9k worth it for 05 S40 T5 manual, clean, drives well with no P.O. records?Only apparent issue is humming from rear wheel when driving. My thinking was the car would be worth more if it was private party with record of repairs. Considering it has none I was thinking $9k seemed decent to gamble with.

2005 S40 For Sale

 

I paid $9k for my 2005 T5 AWD with Auto. That was 2 years ago. According to Kelly Blue Book $11.2k is the suggested dealer price in excellent condition.

The humming from the rear could be several things. Usually it's simply a bad tire. Sometimes it's a wheel misalignment (worn or broken strut mounts, etc). A bad wheel bearing in my experience has always been a grinding noise that progressively gets louder. I've only heard brakes make noise when they are being applied. Never when just driving.

 

In regards to the noise from the rear of the vehicle, here are some diagnostics you can perform. If its brake assembly related, the noise will change when you apply or release the brakes. If its a wheel bearing, the sound will change when you shift the weight of the vehicle, such as when turning. When tires are the cause, they are either scalped or just a cheap brand like the type Town Fair Tire sells. With bearings, I always replace both sides. On your particular vehicle they are very easy to do.

 

I always use NADAGuides.com to check value. It claims $9,500 is a good clean trade in value price which is where I like to buy.

Dealer now-a-days always strip a car of records good or bad. They don't want people getting hung up on silly things like, "Firestone did an alignment? I hate Firestone, never mind." Some people will choak on 1 lost oil change receipt from 2011, like it really matters.

 

Appreciate the info guys!