Prompted very much by SWMBO I may spend a wad of the hard-earned on a 54 plate Volvo V70 D5S. It's up at 20k, which seems about right for what Volvo franchises charge. Not my cup of tea at all but I'll only get to fill it up.
We are negotiating, and we are at 13.6k to change with the px being a 2000X Audi A4 SE saloon (which is in very good nick and low on the miles). I think there is another 500 to squeeze but SWMBO disagrees and wants the deal done.
Any views? I don't want the hassle of selling privately due to work commitments
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Sounds like the deal is more or less bang on the money.
The new car is cheap for what it is - none on the Trader on a 54 under £20k at all - and the p/x is more or less Glass's average. You might get another £500 on the p/x up to good but bear in mind that it's £1k below the next cheapest 54 plate D5 at a franchise.
And if SWMBO wants it done, remember what the MBO stand for... go in there, negotiate one last time and if you even get a free set of mats to keep some face, do the deal.
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Do yourself a favour, shed the Volvo and get the Audi !
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To be honest, we have tried that and now we're going back to Volvo. Audi used to be great but now they seem to be slipping back in terms of build quality, refinement, etc... Local dealer falling into the arrogance trap too.
SWMBO delighted with the move to the V70 and the deal was good financially.
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and it doesn't help that neither of us likes the A4 these days and while the outgoing A6 Avant was OK in theory it is just about impossible to buy a year old version without leather interior.
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BC: if I remember correctly, you aren't too keen on diesel power, but nevertheless, what's your opinion of the D5?
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Not my cup of tea, very noisy at start up and though it's quite well subdued at nromal speeds the drone never goes away. If it was my car I would not have bought it. Hugely better than the V50 diesel we tried back to back with this one though.
To drive, I found the D5 very slow especially from pick up, but my last Volvo was an 850 T5 so no contest really. I must say the V70 seems very well built and handles very tidily for a big barge.
As I was reminded above, just remember what the MBO in SWMBO means.
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I run a Volvo D5 concurrently with a Boxster S and, to be honest, in day to day driving probably find the Volvo faster. It's a different style of driving though - try to drive it like a petrol and it just doesn't work. If you're not used to diesels it will take you a while to get the best from it.
It is quite rough at start up from cold but gets a lot quiter as it warms through and at speed.
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Trouble is, after over 100,000 miles behind various types from Audi to Ford to GM, I still can't stand the roughness and noise of diesel engines. Still the Volvo is not mine and like you I will soon have a Boxster (not an S) for the few miles I drive in the UK these days.
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No, they're not as smooth as petrols no matter how much people pretend they are. As a day to day car though in the UK, they are quick in the areas which really matter in day to day driving, economical, lower on tax, easier to resell and these days are not that much rougher than petrol. In other words they are a bit of a "no brainer" choice on many models. I drove a Renault 1.5 dci last week and in all honesty if it hadn't been for the rev counter I wouldn't have known what type of fuel it used. I'd prefer a large petrol V8 but.....modern diesels have nearly as much torque and make so much more financial sense.
Enjoy the Boxtser btw. I'm pretty sure you will.
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Thanks, I cover less than 5000 miles a year in the UK these days so it's about what is nicest to drive. For work (in Spain) I have a Focus Platinum 2.0 petrol and I love it.
I think the love affair with diesel in the UK is all about tax really. A lot of people get them as company cars to save the tax hit. Ironically I think they make most sense in big barges like SWMBO's new one.
We will soon get a "scare" about pollutants and HMG will up the BIK tax for diesels I'm sure.
This week I have a hired Golf 2.0 TDi. Life was never supposed to be a bed of roses.
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Two weeks on and sheer disappointment and quite a bit of anger are setting in.
Disappointment at the poor build quality and general fit and finish it's a mobile rattle. Disappointment too at the way it burnt 60 odd quid's worth of diesel in 400 miles despite the "info centre" claiming a 700 mile range (still showing 200 miles left in tank when I put 67 litres into the 70 litre tank). Not refined at all, especially at at motorway speeds and pretty slow too, the engine just doesn't pick up at any revs. SWMBO says it is a "shed". I took it 200 miles on the motorway yesterday and I concur.
The anger is much more serious though and I am taking the issue further, much further.
The car came from a franchised Volvo dealer. When buying it I asked if it had been a hire car (some V50s there had been) and was told that it hadn't. I asked where it had come from and was told "from Volvo". So, the V5 arrives and the previous owner is a daily hire company........!
The dealer principal has not responded yet. Volvo HQ don't really want to get involved.
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Something certainly doesn't seem right, BC.
Neither my brother's V70 D5 SE auto or my V70 2.4T manual have any squeaks or rattles bar the obligatory one from the load cover 'cassette' when the cover is extended (the long thin transverse plastic strip that covers the mechanism flaps around if the frequency of bumps is just 'right' and there is no retracted cover underneath to stop it doing so).
Ignoring my substantially chipped 2.4T and looking at Bro's D5, it goes remarkably well and returns impressive MPG. Bro is not known for a light right foot, and yet regularly gets well in to the forties. Keep the motor spinning between 1500 and 3500 RPM and it goes like a scalded cat, even from a standstill if the torque converter is loaded against the brake before releasing the latter. Main road overtaking is very impressive; get up and GO, all seemingly without revs or effort. There is no point driving it like a petrol engine and revving it hard, exactly as has already been explained. 3500RPM is adequate for even quite spirited driving, and there's really no point going beyond 4000. I also find the D5 engine beautifully married to the auto box, and I normally like neither diesel engines or anything other than a clutch and stick.
When it comes to refinement, yes, Bro's D5 is substantially noisier than my 2.4T at very illegally fast motorway speeds, though at 70MPH there's little in it. The D5 does however transmit more vibration through the bodyshell under kickdown in second and third gear, this being felt in the soles of the front passenger's feet if they are resting on the bulkhead.
Still though a mightily impressive car, and I hope you can get whatever it appears is affecting your new purchase sorted with the minimum of fuss. Out of interest, if your wife gently drives the car away, can you hear the turbo spool up? On Bro's D5, this is very audible from outside the car as soon as the revs rise above tickover.
Anyway, good luck.
There's a superb car in there trying to get out.
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Mods - edit button please!
Both done. DD
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It is not being driven like a petrol by us even though my wife has a large lead plate in her right foot! I suspect that in it's past life that's exactly how it was driven. You can hear the turbo "spooling", it whines quite audibly from about 1200 rpm.
As an experiment I tried 2400 rpm in top with cruise control last night and the "info centre" showed instantaneous readings of between 28 and 32mpg. See previous note about "info centre" though. That's baout 75mph on the clock and 70mph in reality. Overtaking? I would want several miles of clear space before I tried it, there is simply no pick up at all.
Please don't misunderstand me, a lot of this evidence (like the dreadful build quality and finish) was there before we bought the thing and we just didn't spot it. The misrepresentation is just unacceptable though.
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As an experiment I tried 2400 rpm in top with cruise control last night and the "info centre" showed instantaneous readings of between 28 and 32mpg.
To have this, and pants performance, something, somewhere, is fundamentally wrong! This is way, way, lower than Bro sees at this speed and in fact is lower than I see with my chipped 2.4T petrol.
Try posting on www.volvospy.com as this forum is frequented by a number of Volvo mechanics who often give useful advice. I do know for example that D5 injectors are known to fail prematurely (and are hideously expensive to replace) but this normally occurs at a higher mileage than your car has apparently covered.
Agree about the speedo error: With full satellite coverage (so maximum accuracy) my GPS gives 70MPH when the speedo is reading 76MPH.
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Sorry to hear of your problems.
I've got a D5 auto and always return 43 - 45 mpg and I don't hang about. Volvo had a recall on the air turbo pipes (or something) which could be problem which caused poor performance and economy (I'll try and find out exactly). The D5 in real terms it's much faster than my previous petrol BMW 523se and my wifes MX5 1.8i.
Find yourself a good Volvo dealer. My local one isn't very good (in fact pathetic), so I go to Newbury which is much better.
Have you got the geartronic or automatic. I have the standard automatic which seems much better than the supposedly better geartronic?
WipeOut
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It is a manual. Thanks for the tip, Newbury is only about an hour from my house in the UK.
Today the car is with a tame Volvo trained engineer. I am with the solictor over the misrepresentation matter.
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Not sure where you live, but I would avoid the garage which is the home of the Royals. I hope Reading this helps.
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I'm taking delivery of a V70 D5 with 185 Bhp through new 6 speed box middle of August. My decision was made after meeting with a couple of sales guys driving XC70 and V70 D5. They both do around 35 K per year and are on their second Volvo in 4 years. They are both planning on ordering new ones. Previous cars were Audi A6 and C-classe Mercedes. The main arguments for Volvo seem to be the D5 engine, overal build and the front seats. I'd say Volvo and Saab seem to be doing things others aren't when it comes to ergonomics?
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With the exception of a harsh ride of sharp bumps, my old Volvo S80 was by far the most comforatble car I have had, both for seats and ergonomics. Everything was in the right place.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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"I would not (or feel unable to) recommend [company name] of [town name]. I am happy to give further details via e-mail." is a valid statement which I would not remove.
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Driving in a generally fairly spirited manner I get something just a bit below 40mpg (38-39mpg) on an 04 (05 model) D5 manual. If I make the effort not to drive like I stole it mid-40's at a steady cruise is easy to get. The fuel light normally comes on at about 550-570 miles and around 600 miles per tank is the norm.
Sound like there is something seriously wrong if you are struggling to overtake and getting 30mpg. As I wrote further up the page I don't find I have to adapt overtaking opportunities much swapping between a Boxster S & a D5.
It shouldn't rattle either. Being an estate and having a large cabin it might echo a bit more to minor rattles but nothing like you describe.
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In the interests of experimentation, I tried the 70mph fuel consumption test. At a true 70.6mph (GPS speed) on cruise control on a fairly flat bit of the A12 over about a 5 mile length with the engine warm and in 5th the "instant" readout varied between about 40 and 55 mpg and the overall average (reset at the start of the 5 mile section) recorded 48.6 mpg.
This is in a 05 model D5 SE with about 9k on the clock. Obviously cars vary, but if you're getting 30, it really does sound as if there is something wrong.
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Thanks pd - very much appreciated. Mine is a 2005 MY D5 S with 13k up.
The engineer's report says that it seems likely that the car was run on petrol at some time. Quite a few other things have come to light too and I need to speak to the Volvo dealer and the solicitor before posting about it.
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