I'm considering a 2005 S40 for my daughters first car. She'll only be driving to and from school, about a 10 mile round trip. This one looks to be in very nice condition and has just a bit over 100K miles.

My question is, when I go to test drive and evaluate this car what things should a look for in this model with this amount of mileage? Is there anything major that tends to go out at this time? The car has been on this lot for over 300 days so that does concern me a little. However, there do seem to be a lot of S40's for sale around here so that could be why.

Thanks!

John

 

Here's what I'd look for:

1) can you get the maintenance history (ie when was the timing belt done etc?)

2) does everything work as expected (cold AC, no check engine lights, no idle or power issues

3) get a professional inspection - suspension, engine oil leaks, coolant tests etc. Test for PCV (crankcase pressure).

typical problem areas = timing belts are due at 10 years/100K miles, AC compressors can cut out on warm days due to clutch gaps (needs a reshim not a replacement), coil packs / connectors can age and may need replacements, VVT (variable valve timing) gears can get sticky if the oil wasn't changed frequently enough and then odd electrical/sensor bits can go. IMHO, 100K miles is not high at all - my 95 850T has 200K and is my daughter's daily driver...

 

Thank you very much for the advice. If maintenance records aren't available are there any other ways to check whether the timing belt has been replaced? If that had been done by a dealer would that show up on something like Carfax? I've never seen a Carfax report so I have no idea what they contain.

What's the typical cost of a timing belt replacement and is it something a weekend wrencher can do? I'm not knowledgeable enough to do something like a engine rebuild but I do things like replacing the front hub assembly on my 3/4 ton truck and transmission work on my '45 ******.

 

effort has a couple of variables. You probably want to do the water pump (adds time, not complexity) and check to make sure none of the front seals are leaking. The added complexity is from the VVT gear on the exhaust cam - there's a procedure for getting the timing correct that you'd need to follow. A full kit with pump, tensioner, timing belt and serpentines shoud be in the $200 range. Add replacement idlers/seals and you should budget $300. Then I'd budget $300 for shop time (assuming 80-100 an hour is the local rate for you).