My wife and I are looking closely at a used V70; we're very impressed with it and it seems a super car, exactly what we're looking for. It seems well taken care of and in excellent condition with 113000 miles on it.

I'm wondering if there's anything in particular we should be aware of or ask about insofar as reliability, wear or any issue that may cause unpleasant or unexpected surprises down the road if we go ahead and make the purchase?

Any help or information at all will be greatly appreciated, and thanks very much in advance.

 

The 2 big issues have been the automatic transmission and the electronic throttle. Check the transmission fluid and if it's burnt smelling or any thing other than a brownish red give serious consideration to what you might be getting into. The car should idle smooth, and accelerate smooth. The ETS is warranted for 10 years, 200K. If it goes bad, there are better replacements than the Volvo one for less than $700 if you do the work (which I understand is straight forward).

I also have a 2001 V70 T5 auto. I have 100K on the ticker and have had NO problems other than the ABS failure. These generally fail around 80K, so yours might have already had this done. If not, this too is a very easy fix you do yourself for less than $125. If the transmission on this one is good it might be a good deal, and then I'd do a flush right after I got it. This too you can do yourself for around $80.

Hopefully the prior owner can provide all the maintenance records.

Jerry

 

According to a "leading consumer magazine" whose website I belong to, for '01, trans, drive system, electrical are all black circles (bad); fuel system and engine are 1/2 black which is poor, but engine cooling system is average. That source, for what its worth, suggests '04 and up much more reliable. Remember, the '01 was a first year model, as with the S60. The trans issue is well documented here, too. But this site tends, I think, to draw those with problems looking for solutions. The problem is if the trans decides its had enough, you're looking at $4K or so. As Dirty Harry once asked:
"Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?"