Considering buying a 1999 Volvo V70 XC AWD A 5dr Wgn AWD XC Turbo
 

1999 Volvo V70 XC AWD A 5dr Wgn AWD XC Turbo 120,000 miles

I am going to look at this this weekend. Anything I should look out for?

This is going to be for a college student that needs transportation. I do all of my car work, like recently a timing belt on a 2003 VW Passat.

One concern is tires.... As an AWD, I guess the tires have to match,in fact when you go to the tire store many will not let you buy 2 tires as they all should match so you don't blow the transmission/transaxle. Is tire life on these good?

Are these easy to work on? It appears Volvos last a long time. Is this a good model?

Thanks,
Larry

I was born old
 

Hello, Sorry to sound like somebody's cranky old father from a movie but no college bound kid needs an 11-12 year old AWD turbo-charged car. Yes the matched tire requirement is in full effect. And the car needs premium gas (or at least some percentage of premium in the tank). You didn't mention price. Obviously if it's cheap enough it's worth the expense of constantly matched tires and the risk of the bevel gear going out. Posters claim to have added drain and fill holes to the old bevel gear-which I would do if one of these came my way. Some people will warn you about the ETM being of weak design, which it is. But the XeMODeX unit from Canada fixes the problem and modernizes it for ~$600 IIRC. A FWD 1998 would be ideal. There will be enough stuff to maintain on a 1998 FWD to keep you busy without adding ETM, $gas and AWD doubts. Kira

$3000
 

Sorry, the budget is $3000, and the car is that...

I was attracted to the car for safety, and I see many with over 200,000

Also, the car spent most of it's life in the south, no rust at all, important in Maine where most cars become rust buckets.

We need 2 years.

Go For It (if it's OK upon inspection)
 

Hello, If it sounds smooth on a smooth road...A 1998 XC I test drove growled while driving in deep falling snow (I was lucky to hear it). Change all the fluids-including the bevel gear-if you get it. Since the car has a space saving spare you might consider getting a matching 5th wheel and tire and include it in your rotation. This way if you trash a tire you still have a set of 4 you can rotate. Also, don't forget that the rear drive shaft is removeable if something goes wrong with the bevel gear. If any of this sounds silly to you-or if rotating the tires is a pain-then DO NOT but the car. Do you own a code reader? Search the following subjects on these boards; heater core replacement, ingntion antenna ring, spark coils, turbo oil return line, thermostats. No alarms here, just a list of little things people have made interesting points on. Kira

Would 2wd be better?
 

I just saw a V70 FWD for $2000, 120,000

I am inclined to pass on the tire expense/AWD problems after researching and your comments

Since you asked it that way...
 

Hello, A 2WD would be adequate if you're not in the need of AWD. Keep in mind that the 2001 and 2002 model years have a high incidence of transmission problems. It's a big contributing factor to thier presence on used car lots. I read about a place which will rebuild a valve body for $600, if you send it to them. My local transmission guy, who I trust, would charge ~$3,200. Posters on this board commonly cite $4,000 as that transmission's rebuild price. If you can get a 2003 you'd sleep better. Kira

1999 volvo v70xc. "Srs" light is on how can I troubleshoot?

Hi,

Just saw your posting. I am thinking about buying the same kind of car. What is "bevel gear" and ETM ?

Thanks.

Starting in 1999, all the V70 derivatives started using electronic throttle (no physical connection from the pedal to the throttle). That is ETM. That is a noticeable failure point especially on the 99. They can be repaired. For the original owners having them replaced at the dealer was a pretty rude shock because of the price.


On the AWD cars, there are several things extra to go wrong. They use a mostly ordinary FWD transmission. There is an angle gearbox that picks up power from the front differential and sends it back to the rear of the car through a driveshaft. The angle gear is connected to the front final drive by a splined sleeve. These three components all have specific maintenance problems with them that you should be able to read about in some other threads. It is very easy to convert to FWD and many people do just that, rather than pay $X,000 at some point to keep it working.

bevel gear = angle gear in the transfer case of the transmission to power the drive shaft to the rear wheels.

Lovemyawd
 

I have 08 s60 128000 love my car also had 02 xc70 awd bu t make sure awd works mine didn't on my 02 found used b3vel gear assmbly for 450 plus install

99xc70
 

Def ask when timing belt water pump was done if no idea best to do one water pump runs off timing belt best to do both at same time