Best FWD Volvo?

240 · 2016-01-31T08:35:26+00:00

Stay away from anything with 6 cylinders and/or 5 speed autos. 5 cylinder cars with manual transmissions are great.

Spac

So many well priced V50s around lately. Just wish more f$&kers had bought manual ones...

I did like the one where the mechanic advised that the undersize brake rotors needed to be replaced "so they didn't shatter". FFS people.

Ex850R

Best FWD Ovlov?
An AWD one!

240

That is in contrast with what Philip Bear said...
Anyway the point is - if one picks up a V50 with reasonable km and service history can it be a reliable daily driver for a few years?

Philia_Bear

240;73174 wroteThat is in contrast with what Philip Bear said...
Anyway the point is - if one picks up a V50 with reasonable km and service history can it be a reliable daily driver for a few years?

Under 100k km and it will last to 200k no issues

That Said
Stuff still applies as noted above

Id aim to spend 13-15 and look for a d5 s40
They are massively better than a t5 assuming you plan to put hwy km onto it

AshDVS

If looking for a good 'appliance car' 2.4L FWD is very tough to beat. @Philia_Bear has already mentioned what to be wary of, and thats a good summary.
850 onwards saw Volvo models become a bit harder than other things on front end components and front brakes. You can do most service items/replacements yourself with common hand tools, so dont let it worry you too much.

If you're chasing an AWD one specifically, Jeremy has a nice V50 T5 AWD (auto) for sale. Not sure of kms, but I do know where it came from so it'd be a decent car.

lasercowboy

On the advice of @Philia_Bear and others, I got a 2010 S40 2.4i auto as my daily commuter, and I have to admit it's a very easy and nice car to waft about in. The level of kit and comfort is high, it's got enough poke to get you out of trouble when you need it, it's blindingly quiet and refined on the highway, it's fairly good looking, and mostly flies under other people's radars which I really like.

240

So is the 2.4i the best motor to go for then? Or is it sort of even between it, the T5 and the D5? From a reliability/cost point of view, I guess.

@AshDVS thanks for tip about Jeremy's V50, where is he? Only cars in NSW can be considered at this point.
When you say that there is more stress on the front end suspension etc - is it basically a given that new suspension wil be worthwhile in any case? And how much money should be factored into this?

Is there any different at all between an S40 and V50 other than the body style?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/charlestown/cars-vans-utes/v50-volvo-wagon-76-000km-excellent-service-history/1108926661

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/condell-park/cars-vans-utes/2008-volvo-s40-le-sedan-auto-2-4l-534/1101849877

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Volvo-S40-2007/SSE-AD-3577766/?Cr=5

possible contenders?

Ex850R

Its easy andc cheapish to ship cars around. I was havin a laff about my P80s in the wet on boost really , AWD is good in them for wet traction.

sucksqueezebangblow

Got to really test the wet weather traction last week. I've never had an AWD before so flooring it off the mark in the rain is a bit of a novelty.

jaykenneally

Thanks for the recommendation @AshDVS but my V50 sold as of today finally. Was quite a good example, had 165,000 on it :)

240

Further to the discussion of FWD Volvos -
As I mentioned a while back someone I know is looking at possibly getting an S40 or V50. Several nice low km ones have come up but a 2010 diesel model for only $10k caught my attention.
However, although this person does 20k+ km per year most of that is short trips, which I'm led to believe isn't good with a diesel because the DPF gets clogged or something.
What's the advice on this?

Also out of interest, why did you sell your V50, @JeremyK ?

@lasercowboy what did you find were the things to look out for when you bought your S40?

jaykenneally

We service a few diesels at Berry Motor Group and indeed the short driving doesn't do them many favours, especially if they are serviced at Volvo's 15k intervals. We recommend every 7.5k for all the white block cars, especially diesels. They definitely clog up DPF and other filters, mostly because the owners drive them sedately, as in they never go above 2,000 rpm. Sometimes the diesels need a bit of a "burn off" so to speak....

I sold my V50 mainly because it cost twice, almost three times as much as my 1997 V70 did. I drive over 50 kilometres a day, and the V70 would last me two weeks on fuel whereas the V50 would struggle to do one. Lets not even mention the insurance cost between a $4000 car, not financed and a $14000 car, financed.

The V70 costs a lot less to run in terms of maintenance as well, as it is a 2.5 20V naturally aspirated, 1997 black badge model. It will also soon be a manual, so really, whats going to go wrong with it? The V50 however, within the short space I owned it for, the air conditioning died, the alternator died and I had some concerns about the all wheel drive system.

Don't get me wrong, Berry did the right thing with that car and made sure it was all good, and all the faults that occurred could easily happen on my nearly 20 year old V70, so Im not being biased here. It also had a warranty which was a huge temptation for me to keep it over the V70.

The main reason I sold it was just the cost. When all I do is drive it to work and back, the V70 did the same job for a lot less money. I've since gone through the V70 and fitted all the luxuries the V50 had to it, such as heated and electric seats, bigger wheels with better tyres, soon it will get the extra dash speaker and better stereo, and so on. Really, I'm not much of a materialistic person and for what I do, the V70 more than excels. I have the Cross Country Manual as the show off car haha.

I would honestly put my V70 down as one of the best front wheel drive Volvo's. You cannot go wrong with a black badge. Sure, its a brick, but its just such a good car, I really like it. Ive put that car through hell and it just keeps going.

240

Thanks for that Jeremy, certainly gives some perspective. I know that if I was buying a FWD Volvo for myself I'd choose the V70! If I could find a manual one that is. (And your logic is the reason why I only have a 240 - it does everything I need it to, so why spend more on a different car...)
Sadly the person for whom I'm looking for a car will only settle for an auto, and it needs to be a newer model. The V50 then, still seems to fit the bill fairly well.
(Another consideration is a VW Passat, anyone with experience of these?)

Thanks for the tip abnout diesels too. Perhaps petrol might be the way to go in this case.

Chris

Have a good trawl through vwwatercooled. Like any car, especially European, you'll see some who love their Passat and some who will never touch a VW again. Definitely avoid the DQ200 DSG (7 speed dry clutch) and be aware the diesels (a) canhave injector problems that leave you stranded albeit VW will replace them for free (b) are stuck in the middle of 'dieselgate' at the moment meaning many will be recalled for software changes that may or may not affect driveability. VWs are not unfamiliar with electrical glitches, and AWD versions can be troublesome.

Like most Euros you need to find good independents to maintain them, but they are out there and easy to find. VW dealers don't have a good rep, and in my personal experience are the reason I had a VW group product once but never again.

morgan

I'd go for a diesel Skoda Octavia Rs wagon over a Passat , same car but better looking , sportier interior and a fair bit cheaper

nickm

Chris

All of my above comments also apply to Skoda. They are good cars in many ways though do have the same issues as VW because the mechanicals and electrics are fundamentally the same. You also need to accept that you buy cheap but will probably have to sell cheap when the time comes. Dealers are woeful, avoid.

240Joe

We have a 2016 Passat, have only put 4000ks on it but we love it, it has stacks of features, looks good and is great to drive. Fingers crossed it won't have any of the talked about issues!

jaykenneally

240;74858 wroteThanks for that Jeremy, certainly gives some perspective. I know that if I was buying a FWD Volvo for myself I'd choose the V70! If I could find a manual one that is. (And your logic is the reason why I only have a 240 - it does everything I need it to, so why spend more on a different car...)
Sadly the person for whom I'm looking for a car will only settle for an auto, and it needs to be a newer model. The V50 then, still seems to fit the bill fairly well.
(Another consideration is a VW Passat, anyone with experience of these?)

Thanks for the tip abnout diesels too. Perhaps petrol might be the way to go in this case.

No problem! I have a P2 XC70 as well, and that was always a good car until the auto gave up. It's even better as a manual. Mums P2 XC70 is a later (2006) model and has had no issues yet, so I'd put them down second :P And yes, the P80's are even better as manuals, which is why mine soon will be! Yeah I have a 240 as well, its good but for the amount I drive the P80 does excel it a bit in terms of quietness, comfort, refinement, power etc.

The V50s are good, the autos are not problematic in them like some of the other Volvos. I did really like the V50, it was sporty, looked cool, made me the coolest out of all of my friends, super comfy, really easy to drive. I liked it alot, just couldn't really afford it. Certainly couldn't justify it. Don't forget Im an apprentice, and I need to spend whatever extra cash I have on tools, school fees and other things, invest in my future, so to speak.

I hear alot of bad press about VW's so Ive always stayed clear but I have quite a few friends with them and never have any issues, so yeah. Just avoid the DSG and the Diesels (diesel in any case for stop start driving!).

Chris

If it's auto it will be a DSG, no torque converter option for years. The one to avoid is DQ200 on the lower powered petrol models. The rest are wet clutch so better, if still not a box I'd greatly desire to keep beyond 100k's.

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