I'm hoping you guys can help me out with a future purchase. I recently found a 98 volvo s70 t5 for sale in my area. It has about 193k miles on it. The only performance upgrades done to the car is it has a K&N Air filter and a Suppertrap Exhaust. I test drove it the other day and it seems like its shifting fine and it started up fine. The guy says he used the car to commute to work 5 days a week and its 130miles round trip everyday 5 days a week. Mechanically the only thing I found wrong with it is that the AC is currently not in working order. Which for where I live is no big deal. I'm just not sure that's a sign of something bigger in the future. He has every single service record on the car (like a binder full of receipts). He says he takes the car to a local shop to get the tires changed or the oil changed and everything else he has done at the Volvo dealership. The timing belt was last changed Aprox 80k miles ago. He always runs Premium gas in it as well as synthetic oil. I was wondering if there is anything else important I should be looking for before I actually purchase this car. I fell in love with it when I went and test drove it and since then I haven't been able to keep my mind off of it. The interior looks brand new no tears in the leather or anything like that. What do you guys think is a fair price for it? Thanks for all of your future input and if I do end up buying this car you can bet you will be seeing me around a lot in the future.

 

I hope this helps you, I bought a 98 S70 T5 last year around this time, the air didn't work but took charge and lasted all summer. I got the car from Toyota dealer for $3500 which included tax title and license and it had 190 K with no visible rust and strong engine, and as you when the car rolled around the corner I fell in love with it. One year later I still love the car it's fun to drive however, there has been some issues and these issues I attribute to high miles and age.

In Jan. the heater fan failed cost $105, sunroof leaks haven't fixed yet used appears to be around $200, steering rack failed $240 and it was a pain to replace, right lower ball joint failed $113 part is on order will fix when arrives. The car requires at least H rated tires set of 4 Coopers cost $450. The car is over due for timing belt change and that will be around $250 should be changed every 60K with turbo. None of these things are all that surprising for a car with this many miles and 11 years old but be prepared to put some money out after the purchase, so I guess my advice is this; if the seller has maintenance records check them over real good looking for the items listed above and negotiate with the seller keeping in mind that you will end up spending some money to maintain / repair the vehichle. When I was looking for the car they were going for between $3500 with high miles to $7500 with low miles. The car you are looking at seems to be like my car and like I said even with the repairs it is still a joy to drive and from all I have read the 98 was in some ways better than the 99s but I don't know that personnaly. Keep in mind that the prices above are parts only. Hope this helps.

Good Luck,
Philsmall

 

Thanks for the info. I expect that the car will not be perfect and I planned on changing the timing belt ASAP if I do buy it. The guy I am might buy it from is selling it for a little cheaper then what you paid and it has those few upgrades I mentioned in the first post. I think I'm going to buy it. The last volvo I was looking at was an 850R in really nice condition and I waited to long and lost it.

 

I have a 98 S70 T5 and LOVE it!

Really great car, fun to drive; Overall a solid vehicle.

Hope you enjoy it as well!!

 

I got a '98 GLT for $4950, so I'd imagine you should be looking at a $3,000 to $3500 price tag. I'd definately buy it if I were you. The nice thing about '98's is that they have the drive-by-wire throttle and in '99 the S70 got switched to the Electronic Throttle Module which gives a lot of people a lot of trouble.

 

The guy I'm talking to wants to sell it to me for 2500$ I was planning on taking it to a mechanic to have to it looked at but I honestly think from looking at they way he took care of it their is no major problems. Just going to have the timing belt replaced. I was told whne replacing the timing belt if you are one tooth off you will screw up your engine permanently. Is that true and is it hard to not notice if it's on wrong or not? I would like to save the money and do it myself but I don't want to screw the car up.

 

$2500 can't go wrong do it!

 

Yes, you have to have it on there correctly or else you will screw up the engine permanently. It's not quite as hard as it sounds, there is a mark that you line up so that it will be in the correct place to put the timinb belt on. However, finding the mark can be a challenge...

$2500 is a great price! I'd say go for it!

 

ASounds like a deal to me as well. Some people just don't try to drain ever dime out of things they sell. I really like our S70 GLT and would do it again. The T5 is a really nice car. I recently purchased a '95 850R and I like it more and more everyday.

I had to fix the AC in my 850 and it costed $650 with a used compressor. It would not take a charge and had slug in the system that had to be flushed out.

 

Yeah, I'm going to the bank tomorrow and getting the loan. I have my dad telling me he doesn't think it's a good idea because of how many miles are on the car but he hasn't even looked at it yet and he's no mechanic. I really appreciate everyone's input on this. I can't wait to drive this thing home.