99 xc70
 

Have been looking on the market for some time now. Have two candidates, and need to decide between them two.

They are both 99 XC70s. Both family owned and they are noth the second owner of the cars. One is with 117K miles, and the other is 135K miles. I drove both of them, and they both drove with no problems at all. They had the service records, and seemed like they did the required maintanence. the one with 117K miles had every single electrical thing working, no service lights were on on the dash board. No noise from the suspension, and transmission seemed to work good, kick down, and go up to the fourth gear. W worked, with 3 gear selected. The one with 135K, guy said he replaced the rotors at 100K, and done everything needed, also replaced the shocks too.
I am not too familiar with these cars, and my friend used to have a 2001, and he took it to the shop pretty much every two weeks for something. I have been reading online how there are lots of problems people are having and not being happy with the cost of repairs.

My question is; what things I should look into when deciding between cars. As far as I can tell, they both run very well, and they are both priced the same. and they are both the same color, with exterior in great shape.

Please help. I do not want to buy a car and have to take it in every two weeks to the shop.

Thanks

The 99 and 2000 models are the older 850 platform models and are much more reliable than the 2001 and 2002 models. The 01 and 02 models were the first year(s) of an entirely new model and had a few bugs in them. However we have an 01 and with proper maintenance it has been a decent car. As for the 99's, I would get which ever one you like and can afford.

They both ran just fine, and looked like maintained very well. But I have been reading all the reviews, and bad marks about the car, and it is just worrying me if I am taking a very expensive risk. Just read all this:http://tinyurl.com/b3rtrj

Check out sites like edmunds.com, and KBB.com for reviews as well

I have read those reviews as well. 3 out of 10 of the reviews are Good, and the rest all complain about the problems. Seems like check engine light comes on very frequently. I di understand that not all these cars are well maintained, but that is the problem. Does "well maintained" mean, paid big $$$ to keep the car running? If thats so, I guess this is not a car for me.

THe main cause of the check engine light coming on in these models seems to be either the oxygen sensors going bad, or the coolant temperature sensor. Both are easy to fix and are under $200. The coolant temperature sensor is under $50. As long as the oil changes were done regularly, transmission fluid changed when needed, and plugs and filters changed the car should be a smooth running and reliable beast.