prefixau
Hey all, have been trying to research this but Google is full of conflicting advice!
I'm after an inexpensive car (under $10K) which will be infrequently driven (perhaps only once or twice a week max), but has a lot of cubic capacity (I lug around lots of equipment on occasion), can tow my 1400kg race car a handful of times a year (so at least 2 tonne tow capacity), and is nice for the occasional interstate drive.
I owned a Ford Falcon Wagon a number of years ago which did the job great, but I really don't want to buy another one :)
I've always quite liked Volvo's.
Something like a high km (i.e. 180km plus) 2004 XC90 seems to fit this bill brilliantly. I'm just not sure how silly buying a high KM volvo are, or how they feel at high km - some cars survive well, some cars feel raggedy and like they're going to fall apart.
I'm mechanical-ish so minor/easy to fix component failure is fine, but I'd hate to buy something and find a critical component fails 3 months in and it's super expensive to replace.
Any advice?
Anyone selling? (I'm in VIC)
Spac
All about the auto...
Philia_Bear
Any reason a petrol manual 100 series is out?
Sub 10k with sub 150k km, lots of interior space (with rear seats removed)
Tows 1500kg easily
Will be highly reliable in use case defined
Lowered, they ride amazingly and will do interstate drives without blinking
prefixau
No reason it's out, just looking at options. A Volvo isn't suitable for towing?
Philia_Bear
prefixau;126112 wroteNo reason it's out, just looking at options. A Volvo isn't suitable for towing?
T6 with the gm auto is asking to be stranded in whop whop
prefixau
So what should I be looking at? I am completely new to Volvo's...
Philia_Bear
prefixau;126115 wroteSo what should I be looking at? I am completely new to Volvo's...
Not anything made before 07 unless s40/v40/v50/c30
So... pretty much nothing in your price range
Volvo had a bad run from 01-06
T6 motors had a shit gm gearbox (motor is solid)
T5 motors had a shit aw gearbox (motor is solid)
So unless manual (very very rare) there is just nothing Volvo...
prefixau
Doh. If I stretched my budget up to $15K, are there better post-07 options?
jamesinc
I used to tow cars with my 740T, it's technically not legal but the car was fine (with upgraded front brakes)
Edit: Old Merc ML430s make nice tow cars
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/woolgoolga/cars-vans-utes/mercedes-benz-ml430/1166843565
240
With that budget you could buy a mid 2000s XC70 or V70 and have it converted to manual and the result would be a comfortable, reliable and powerful car that would last forever... only big thing would be front suspension wearing out frequently. That would be dependent on you being happy to source the required parts for a conversion though.
That being said, manual ones do pop up occasionally for between 4 and 10k.
As another idea, look at the Subaru Outback with the H6 motor maybe
If refinement is no barrier... I can recommend a TF rodeo, bulletproof vehicles and enough power for towing. Manual better than auto for power and fuel consumption.
prefixau
I was considering a diesel auto XC70 originally, yes, but the XC90 has a slightly higher towing capacity.
My usual thinking with tow cars is they're better auto as manuals tend to wear out clutches quicker, just ensure the auto has sufficient cooling (I've always fitted a secondary cooler to tow cars). What makes the manuals better? Are the auto gearboxes a bit of a nightmare in these?
Philia_Bear
prefixau;126126 wroteI was considering a diesel auto XC70 originally, yes, but the XC90 has a slightly higher towing capacity.
My usual thinking with tow cars is they're better auto as manuals tend to wear out clutches quicker, just ensure the auto has sufficient cooling (I've always fitted a secondary cooler to tow cars). What makes the manuals better? Are the auto gearboxes a bit of a nightmare in these?
Both the 4 speed and 5 speed were never designed for the power made and used excessively large slip values to smooth out shifts at the cost of reliability
Also the xc90 had a defect in the axle shafts where the axle would feed piles of cv grease into the trans and kill it
Cooling is Not an issue on these cars
Volvos manual was made by gertrag and is highly overbuilt and near indistructable it's a way better option for early cars
07 onwards Volvo used a 6 speed AW box which is highly reliable but then started deploying the 3.2 motor which is a shit motor... the d5 and v8 07 onwards are very good though
D5 auto xc70 (07 on) is a really really good option!!!!
240
The auto gearboxes in XC70s literally have a 100% failure rate. So it's not even worth looking at them unless manual.
There is a 2004 manual XC70 on Gumtree at the moment by the way.
Which engine were you looking at in the XC90? Both the 90 and 70 were available in the T5 engine I believe, but the 70 is lighter... more power left for towing then, I would have thought.
Manual v auto... yes the clutch may wear out a little faster but autos are horrible to drive when towing, in my opinion at least!
Vee_Que
I prefer towing with an auto. No loss of drive, easier to reverse up weird angles. But yes. A 01-06 xc70 with an auto will leave you stranded. There is two manual ones available currently though. Big, comfortable cars!
prefixau
Outside of having a mechanic check the car over, what should I be looking for in a high kilometre manual XC70?
I have no idea what engine I am looking for. Would probably gravitate towards a diesel due to torque for towing but honestly open for what I should be looking at.
Philia_Bear
Manual xc70 in Aus is t5 or t5 or... t5
Service & repair history is main thing
prefixau
The two manual ones up on Gumtree have like 300k. That's still considered reliable-ish? I usually don't touch anything above 200.
Spac
Our older model (P80) manual XC70 had 300,000km on it when sold. It had been worked fairly hard for the last ~70,000km, including towing lots of the time, including plenty of other cars, and not being maintained particularly carefully for the last 30,000. It wasn't abused or neglected, but nor was it given the care and attention that I give to cars we a planning on keeping.
The turbo was tired but everything else seemed to be in good health.
My S40 (which has the same basic motor with a cylinder lopped off) has ~250,000km on it, and still runs beautifully (despite another tired turbo).
Judge each car on its individual condition, but 300,000 doesn't seem to be a problem for any Whiteblock that has not been seriously neglected.
deleted_user_2040
prefixau;126243 wroteThe two manual ones up on Gumtree have like 300k. That's still considered reliable-ish? I usually don't touch anything above 200.
How many kilometres a car has traveled is no indication of it's condition and or it's future reliability.
perko
If you're not going volvo, land rover discovery 2's can be had pretty regularly for about 6-7k.
Get the td5 diesel, drives well, plenty of space and tows comfortably (mine sits on 110 with 3 motorbikes on the trailer and a bunch of stuff inside).
Everyone goes on about reliability but to be honest there's a few common problems and if these have been taken care of then they're pretty much unkillable.