ojeriojo
I am looking to upgrade from an old 2002 Camry with 240k km to a 7-seater to fit the family, and am interested in seeing what I can get for around $10k, to hopefully last 5 years or so without major issues or costs (10-15k km per year, mostly around town).
I have been looking at a range of vehicles below 150k km in the Perth area and recently came across some older XC90s which seem reasonably priced. Not knowing much about them, I tried to do some research which led me to this forum.
The consensus here appears to be to stay away from the 3.2, but is there anything to watch out for with the 2.5L LE or older T? As I am not a mechanic, is anywhere in Perth recommended for pre-purchase inspections and servicing of Volvos?
For reference, the ads below showed up on my searches:
LE -
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/nollamara/cars-vans-utes/2006-volvo-xc90-2-5l-turbo-awd/1173021703
LE -
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/lynwood/cars-vans-utes/volvo-xc90-2-5t-2006-7-seater-low-kms-only-139500-timing-belt-done-/1174018623
T -
https://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Volvo-XC90-2005/OAG-AD-15455344
3.2 -
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/st-james/cars-vans-utes/2008-volvo-xc90-wagon-auto-7-seater-luxury-12990/1168934446
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated!
kyril
Frank ogradys in Perth did a couple of checks for me when I bought my Xc90. They were recommended by Mark at Berry's here in Victoria. They were good.
I'm pretty sure most on here will tell you to delete the 3.2 from your search. They are cheap for a reason.
The 2.5s are generally reliable. Like all turbo motors though a good service history of oil changes is a must.
These cars are all over 10 years old and are going to need some love and care no matter how well they have been serviced in their past life. I would put money on it that the front suspension will need a refresh. Along with other things.
In general must things you will be looking at in your price range will need extra stuff done to them other than just servicing due to their age. If you have the time the xc90 are quite straight forward to work on with heaps of how tos around and plenty of help on fittings like thses!
Good luck with your search
ojeriojo
Thanks for the reply, that is great advice. The 3.2 is an easy pass, so I'm pleased I saw this forum. I'm in the northern suburbs, and Frank O'Grady looks like a good option.
I am conscious about the age but was hoping lower kms would compensate somewhat (i.e. these vehicles are a similar era but 100k+ km less than my current vehicle). I am hoping for a similar experience to my Camry which has mostly only required servicing, albeit I expect maintenance and servicing costs are generally higher for 7-seaters/SUVs. The kids and dog will do their worst to the interior and I hate the thought of depreciation in general, which is why I am reluctant to go for a substantially higher purchase price. Is my logic reasonable or should I look for newer vehicles which will have higher kms around the price point?
My biggest concern with the 2.5 XC90s was that they seemed cheap for the kms relative to other SUVs of the same era (CX9, Kluger, Territory) and I was concerned about higher maintenance and servicing costs for European vehicles. But if the reliability and costs are no worse than the other vehicles, I can look at them as a serious option.
Philia_Bear
You are never going to have camry appliance like reliability from a volvo XC90
The 2.5T uses the 5 speed AW Auto... its known to fail and fail alot... most of them got the software updated so they don't fail as easily... but they still fail and the car becomes worthless when it happens
The suspension needs front end rebuilds about every 100k km, there is the haldex system servicing and a pile of other stuff that you have to do to keep the car running nice but is not otherwise listed in the service guide books
Why do you need a 7 seater? are there actually >5 people to be transported? or you just want a larger car?
There are lots of really good and large 5 seat wagons that are better at moving people and have appliance reliability
For 7 seats...
Honda odyssey is one of my first thoughts for something that just works and is affordable
kyril
What @Philia_Bear said.
You are not going to get Toyota reliability with these. The gearboxes whilst better than the T6 gearbox are still prone to issues.
If you can get by without seven seats there are better options, if you want the big load carrying ability the 90 does swallow a huge amount of stuff in the rear.
I second the Odyssey for good realisable 7 seat transport.
ojeriojo
That is a good reality check, thanks :)
We are a family of 5 with potential for an additional passenger perhaps 3-5 times a year. We would also like to split up the kids for longer trips which would be more frequent (once a month). The advice re: a 5-seater wagon is sound and I would like to explore our options more fully, but the other half of the decision making is pretty set on a 7-seater.
We are less keen on the Odyssey from a styling perspective (more a people mover than wagon) and like the idea of AWD for the wet in a bigger car (again, the other half's view). But I realise everything is a compromise at our price point unless we go higher, depending on what we are willing to trade-off.
kyril
I can understand your position. My other half was dead set against the "people mover look" hence the reason we went to the xc90 even though she couldn't believe I was considering a Volvo. ( Or iced vovo as she refers to it!)
The Odyssey is about as car looking as you get out of a van. It has good safety features. The argument for AWD in wet theses days is not as good as it used to be with most cars having excellent passive/active driver aids including abs/ebd etc. And if the conditions are so bad that these don't help you in a car like this then it is unlikey that AWD will make much of a difference. How often do you get flash hailstorm/black ice in WA that would cause you to have some serious issues?
You are hardly going to be Fangio driving around 5 plus people.
It's a tough choice. Although not needing 7 seats all the time it has been very handy when the in law's come down and we don't have to take two cars to places etc
ojeriojo
Yours sounds like a similar justification to ours, given I prefer to be a single-car family to manage costs. But this could be a false economy if I am trading off higher lifetime costs to maintain one SUV.
The Odyssey is good advice which I can revisit. It doesn't seem to have come up in my searches so far, but I'll revisit my filters to see if I am excluding it.
Of the XC90s I posted, the first is the one I would like a closer look at if we still head down the Volvo path.
kyril
I'm not sure how these are aging but the Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 diesels are popular AWD seven seats. At the time they generally received positive reviews but not sure how they are holding up after 10 years.
Interior fit and finish are going to be light years from the Volvo but if they are holding up well generally mechanically then these could be an option for you.
Essbos
Get the Volvo. ...and roadside assist
Meet more people, see more of the side of a road once in a while, study the inside of the mechanics shop.
Experience the anticipation of checking freight tracking numbers waiting for essential parts to arrive from far off locations and the joy of every successful smooth direct gear shift while it lasts.
Or get a honda or similar, and wonder what might have been.
ojeriojo
Santa Fe is one we would like to have another look at.
The concerns were exactly that we were unsure of reliability for that age and higher repair costs associated with diesels in general (partly influenced by a pre-purchase inspection experience for a 2009 Pathfinder), including the emissions control aspects (specifically, trips required for DPF regen, though not sure if this was/is on the Santa Fe). It is difficult to know where to go for advice for (non-Volvo) vehicles outside of Whirlpool, which is why reading and posting on this forum has been so helpful.
I appreciate all of the advice in this thread even if it now looks like I appear to be further away from joining this forum permanently as a Volvo owner than I first anticipated :)
kyril
Don't get me wrong. I love my V8 xc90. It's 10 years old but people don't believe it when I say that. It drives better than the wife's 2011 ve11 sportwagon. And it just eats long distance trips.
The interior is a great place to be and is so versatile.
All that being said though, unless you plan on doing a bit off the work your self there are some maintenance items that you will be looking at as bear said.
For example I'm about to do the whole front end including steering rack struts control arms tie rods endlinks etc and it will be over 3k. The rack being a third of that.
I'm getting masons to do it here as I'm not going anywhere near the rack but the rest of the items I could do myself.
But if you find a good indie mechanic the actual servicing shouldn't be that far away from any other car. I do my own oil changes brake changes etc and ordering the parts in from overseas works out cheaper than buying them here. I just wait to autosuperbarn etc have penrite oils on special!
kyril
I find whirlpool and productreview good sites for customer feedback. Product review I don't tends to be less opinionated than whirlpool.
https://www.productreview.com.au/p/hyundai-santa-fe-2006-present/m/cm-2006-2012.html
ojeriojo
Thanks for all the advice. I'm surprised at such a positive result on Product Review; most products seem to attract a higher proportion of posters with the worst experiences.
We assessed a range of SUVs/4x4s over recent months including the Santa Fe but it dropped off our radar. But after some more research and soul searching today, it seems far more economical than our other options and the best overall fit for our needs.
We are thinking of increasing our budget to $15k where there are a number of Santa Fes around 2011/2012 with kms closer to 100k than 150k. We paid $15k for our Camry 10 years ago with 70k km, so if I can get something with more space and higher specs at a similar changeover price then I will be pretty happy. I just hope the reliability can match it for the next 5 years or so.
And I'm probably better to wait another 10 years for the kids to leave to own a luxury European car anyway!
Ex850R
The Honda has that same gearbox as the 2.5t iirc. That's why you don't see many around anymore.
Lots of peeps drive xc90s around Melbourne and xc70s as well. Some are OK for 2 or 300000k for the lucky peeps, getting a good one is difficult though!
What happened to the 6 cylinder with the GM box being a good choice?
Or the D5 later 2000s models being fine?
@Rob can attest to the xc70d5.
Good luck!
Maybe just jump in!
morgan
2 gearbox failures in my 07 Honda Odyssey, lucky 2nd was under warranty, never again , nice when going but slow and expensive to maintain
bigal
Damn autos ruin cars. Buy manual!
DW42
Not as nice-looking or well appointed as the Volvo or Honda, the Toyota Avensis Verso is a reliable smallish 7-seater. The newest of them is 2010. My other half drives an 06 model which has been practical and free of major problems, but boring.
Canoe
Stick with the camry. Buy another with lower Ks. Or get a 240 wagon, do it up, and you will have a classic that will out live any "XC" series. The cargo area in a 240 wagon is huge.
VolvoDeger
Ok just reading this post on reliability and this should be a last thought as your family comes first, in a crash situation I know what I would want to be in as I’ve spoken to customers of mine that have been hit by a train and sitting on the front of a semi going down Geelong freeway sideways and have walked out, even my wife rolled her v70 three times and climbed out with police telling her luckybyour in a volvo. The Xc90 has had one fatality and that was because the car went over a cliff so all cars have issues but some are kept quiet if only you knew. So make your call on what your family’s safety is too you.
