Hi All,

I posted for the 1st time a couple of months ago that I was shopping for a V70. Well, we bought one....and don't like it. Not the V70's in general, just this particular one. Long story.

Anyway. I'm thinking of dumping it and replacing it with a very, very clean 98. 101,xxx miles, not a scratch or ding on it, 2 owner. BUT. It does not have the 3rd row in the back - which is a must for my family.

I'd assume that a 3rd row can be added along with the seat belt harnesses et. al., and that's the route I'm thinking of taking. But before making that plunge decided it wise to check here with the experts and see. Is this a job that most any Volvo shop can perform?

 

Something you can do yourself. Post a swap ad on Turbobricks, it'll see a lot more traffic.

 

Yes, it can be done. I bought mine out of a Volvo junkyard for $300 with belts and hardware. Which is a lot cheaper than I have seen on E-Bay. People think these seats are gold.

If you are buying a 1998 V70, try to get a 1998 seat or the previous year 850 seat, I BELIEVE!!! The guy at the Volvo yard told me that the slightly later V70 third rows have to be modded slightly to adapt to the spare tire in the 1998 models. This is all hearsay on my part, but I did overhear the Volvo parts guy talking to the tech that installed mine, and told him to be careful not dig a seat out of a 2000 or later for my 1998. Again hearsay. Take it with a grain of salt, but keep it in mind when looking for your seat.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if that is true. Th bodies on a 1999 and 2000 are different. I think 2000 was the year it changed to the more rounded look.

 

People pay that price, so why wouldn't someone sell for that price? It's convenience. I'm a junkyard guy myself for my BMW parts.

No, they changed in 2001.

 

Give this website a try. It connects you with auto wreckers in your area.

http://www.uneedapart.com

 

yes for a 98 u can put any seat in from the 850 up to a year 2000, as the round shape came in 2001. my volvo guy put my third row in my 98 for $200, but if your handy, you could do it. let me know where u have luck buying the 3rd seat, my 98 got smashed and my unpatient husband would not allow me the time to uninstall the seat before he sold it to the wrecking yard.. now i have a 99 and desparately need the extra seating.. AGAIN! and yes ebay users are asking an arm and a leg for them now.. i bought my first one there for $250, that was only last year. i cant find one for less than $1000 now.

 

You should never let him live this one down. You should check out that website I mentioned above. Saves time.

 

yes thanks chris, i had a quick look at the site last night, but seems i need to become a member to access the ads.. so when the kids give me a minute i'll do that.
the first car my husband gave to the wrecking yard with the 3rd row seat wasn't too bad as the next one we bought already had the seat, but then 7 months later i was hit again.. and as usual his impatience kicked in when i wanted that seat.. but he assumed we'd have the luck in buying another fully equiped car. he was so wrong, we could barely find a decent volvo out there. ive lost two 1998's due to idiots not paying attention on the road, now i have a 99 xc70 and i really dont love it as much . but i'll keep looking for that seat, cause there's no way im ever going to do minivan!

 

The place I'm getting the V70 from turned me on to www.car-part.com. Its a reasonably friendly site, you can just go there and surf your way to 3rd row seats. About half of the sellers have prices listed, the others say "call for quote" - which, from my point of view, is a good thing. (I don't have a problem pitching low ***** to anyone.)

Good news that anything from an 850 to a 2000 will fit, that makes things easier. Seems to me that swapping out the seats themselves is no major deal at all, the bigger job is the seat belts, seat belt harnesses and retracting hardware that hides behind the interior panels.

I'm going to try and tackle this job w/in the next few weeks. I'll take pics and post updates as I go.

 

[quote=DerrickW;194716]About half of the sellers have prices listed, the others say "call for quote" - which, from my point of view, is a good thing. (I don't have a problem pitching low ***** to anyone.[quote]

I never thought of it that way. I always skipped the "call for quote" because I didn't want to waste my time only to find out it was more expensive than one with a price conveniently listed. They put that there because they want to sell it. You can always say, "Well, others on this site are asking $100, what will make me not want to buy from them?"

What I can't stand is the "Add to cart to see savings". Annoying.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Volvo-850-V70-94-...#ht_500wt_1156

 

Just retrofitted a 3rd row a couple of weeks ago in my '04. Different seat, but similar process, I'm sure. Absolutely no problem! You can certainly tackle this on your own. Just be sure and do a little research to make sure you get all the trim pieces you'll need as well as the right color code. Picked mine up from a junkyard, which was a good thing. Got there, and they had the wrong color pulled! If you're having it shipped check and double check that color code if it matters to you. Good luck!

 

Do not forget that for it to work properly, you will need the middle seats back portion too. If your V70 did not have the third row, it will not have the slot for the third row to lock into (when in the up position). When the third row is set to the up position, it has a metal "key" that stick out and locks into the back of the middle row. This is so it does not fall back down when you accelerate.