Hey all

I've been looking around for a newer car for a while. I checked out a 2005 S60 2.5T with 151K miles. I looked over the car, and test drove it, it was very clean, no rust underneath, no visible body damage, and the engine bay clean, no CEL. However, the hood panel was a different color, which concerned me, the owner said "it was like that when I bought it".

I had it taken for a pre purchase inspection/safety/emissions inspection today. It passed safety & emm easily, just had to replace a couple bulbs. The mechanic said "I can tell its been maintained, I would not hesitate to ride this around" which was a lot better than I expected and pretty much sold me on the car. I told the seller I will buy it this week, since the inspection went well. I talked him to $3k which is about the KBB average for a "very good" condition model, and a little less than most other mid 2000's Volvos in my city.

The seller didn't have any paperwork unfortunately, but he said he had replaced the radiator (a common problem I hear) in the past 5 years, and the mechanic could tell a coolant leak was patched. The mechanic pulled up the Car Fax and said it had like 40 reports, which could be due to an accident, but most of the work was done under warranty it showed, under 50K miles.

I'm sure at this milage it will start having some problems soon, i'm kinda worried about the transmission/turbo. What are some common problems from this generation? Are parts expensive? What should I be sure to check before I give him the cash? I expect to immediately spend a few hundred $$$ in preventative maintenance, what do you recommend?

I won't drive this to work (I take the light rail) so I'll probably only drive it 2-3 days/week. My plan is to keep it for a few years to about 180k, then sell it. if I get that far without a major part failing, I'll be satisfied.

Thanks a ton

 

invest in a copy of the carfax - my bet is that if it has 40 records, the car was serviced at a dealer (since most indy's don't report maintenance records). At 150K miles things to look for are when the timing belt was done - this car is 120K miles or 10 years unless you have the B5244S7 motor, then its 150K miles/15 years. Either way your car should be on its 2nd timing belt/tensioner/pulley. PCV systems tend to clog up - so make sure you check for postive crankcase pressure. These cars can develop issues with the VVT gear, particularly if the oil wasn't changed often enough. After that its mostly maintenance and fixing stuff as it comes up. Suspension rubber tends to get hard after 15 years so I'd recommend a professional inspection to look at the condition of bushings, control arms, tie rods etc. Also look at the condition of all fluids - if your radiator was worked on, you should have nice clean green coolant. Check brake fluid color, check power steering (uses ATF so it should be a deep red) etc.

 

Thanks a ton for the response. A timing belt is something I am planning to replace in the next year (if not 6 months) if it hasn't already been replaced. Also want to flush the ATF. I am planning to pick up the car today.

 

on the ATF flush, you have a choice of two methods - doing the drain/fill process (easier for DIYers) or the full flush which opens the system via the hoses to the tranny cooler to pump out the old fluid while new fluid gets added. IPD used to sell a kit for the 850/V70s (lol a bucket and some hoses). Just remember to check which fluid is required (ie 3309 vs Dex-III) if you do the work - specs are in the Owners Manual.

 

Unfortunately the deal fell through. I searched the VIN and found out it was salvaged and rebuilt in 2016, even though I asked him if it was clean title. I didn't feel comfortable paying Blue Book price (about $3k) for a rebuilt title, so I offered him $2200 and got pissed and said "absolutely not, thanks for wasting my time". Kind of a dick about it.
Its a shame because the car seemed really clean mechanically, but I just wasn't willing to take a chance on a rebuilt title car if he wouldn't budge on price. Next time, I will check the VIN before making an offer.