Volvo S70 2.0T Options

[gdsob74]

Hi People

Great forum you have here. Informative and rather unbiased.

Anyway, I need your advice on the Volvo S70 2.0T (2000 onwards). Am
planning to get one for my Mrs. Need your feedback on the following:

1. What's the maintenance like? I won't compare it to a Jap as I have owned
contis before (alfa 155 & 168) but I need a fair guide or ballpark figure
on the costs involved. Don't want to spend a small fortune just to keep em
running. My father had a 1996 850 SE and hell, the air cond kept failing
and had to replace it twice!

2. Availability of parts. Where can I source for parts other that the dealers?

3. Reliable workshops. I need someone to recommend me a workshop or two who
won't slaughter me during regular servicing and maintenance.

4. What's the fair price of this current model. I understand FA do sell
used ones here but are they similar to what Topmark has been doing?
Warranty, refurbished etc..

Anyway, will wait for your response. Cheers!

[ampangbear]

My humble opinion:-

Question 4
I do believe you should do your own checking. It's not difficult, pickup
the MotorTrader magazine and do your own research. Sometimes, the
advertisement section of local newspapers can also be used. Be wary
though, of unusually cheap cars.

Question 3
The list is already in VOCM'w website. They are contributed by members who
normally feel like they have been charged fairly (I coudn't imagine
someone advertising any workshop if they felt cheated, even somewhat). But
then again, there is no guarantee that a mechanic who charged fairly
Customer A won't turn his back and overcharge Customer B. It's just the
real world we are living in, man.

Question 2
So far, I don't have problems for my 855. Other members may want to advise
you further on this.

Question 1
I still believe the maintenance of my 855 is cheapER, (notice the
capitlised letters of "E" and "R") compared to other Continental cars. I
used to drive a Citroen long ago. Man, it was such a 'Pisau Cukur', I
decided to get rid of it, and got married! :D

Just my 2 cents...

[vol940]

ampangbear,

Waoow ... capitalised "E" and "R", .... for B777-200ER, means Extended
Range ... Nampak gaya you already got better FC on your 855 ke.

[ampangbear]

Dear Guru (Vol940),

I wouldn't say that my FC is great or perfect, but it was within my
expectations, before purchasing the car. :) If you know how to "work" on
the FC, it'd be a great point during the interview on the TT Night!

[RD2D]

Hi gd20b74,

Straight to your questions.
1. Maintenance cost for S70 - Part may be abit dearer than 850 but
maintenance should be comparable. Read more about it in www.vocm.com.my as
they are expressed quite detail by owners around M'sia. Use it as your
guidance
2. Parts easily available. Apart from FA & SM (VOLVO dealers in M'sia),
list of other parts shops are also in www.vocm.com.my.
3. Well replied by Ampangbear
4. You may try to refer to classifieds in Motortrader, Malaymail or
simillar columns as your guide or visit Volvo used car dealers e.g PA
Autohouse in TTDI who sells good condition used Volvo.

Good luck in your hunt.

Cheers.

[glock19]

S70 2.0T now very worth the money compared to new prices and if you get
one with low mileage and wonderfully kept, go for it. Safety and economy
all in one package with power to go along with it. If you feel that the
turbo is harder to maintain, get the 2.5 unit with gives you the same
power but at a higher road tax.

One thing that could annoy you will be the plastic knobs and lever which
could be sticky due to the recycle compound and our renown heat. Oh, one
expensive thing to watch out for is the steering rack. Make sure it's
good because in the market now, there's no subsitute parts but only the
Volvo originals. Used to be like RM2k but the prices have skyrocketed
because of some OEM issue.

[gdsob74]

Hey Guys

Thanks for the advice.

Ampangbear. Regarding your citroen I'm not surprised. My 168 was the
ultimate pisau cukur. Nice to drive but once it goes to the workshop,
Sungai Gombak looks like a nice graveyard for the damned thing :-)

R2 & Glock - Thanks for the info. Will find out more there. Hopefully we
can all do a TT of Volvo owners!

Cheers!

[glock19]

Volvo TT this Saturday at Bandar Utama, in short BU TT..... hehehehehe
you're most welcome to join and ask all sorts of questions....

[hohgch]

gdsob74:

I own the S70 2.5 and I believe the maintenance and parts are slightly
higher than that of the 850. If you read elsewhere in VOCM, I did mention
that I just did an oil, gear oil and ATF change. I use semi-syn. Engine oil
cost me RM150, oil filter cost RM24 and the ATF and gear oil cost me RM48.
All inclusive of labor.

I was also told that the S70 2.0T is much better than my ride. The engine
is better and the gearbox is also much better. Of course the price of the
2.0T is also higher compared to the 2.5. But I believe in the long run, the
2.0T will be a much better buy and bargain.

Hope that helps.

[gdsob74]

Hey Hohgch

Thanks for the feedback. Frankly I'm not too concerned about the basic cost
of standard parts. I make it a point that the cars are religiously serviced
at 5000kms regardless of engine oil.

It's the irregular parts maintenance that I'm worried about. Just 2
examples, when my 168 (2 yrs old when I got it) started having oil leaks,
they had to change the oil seals (2 units @ RM70 per unit - fair enough)
but what hit me hard was the labour as they had to take down the whole
damned engine! Another issue was a gearbox electrical failure I had. The
problem was a faulty relay at RM120 per unit but they had to take down the
gearbox and run through a diagnostic.

If you get what I mean, reliability is a big issue as my Mrs will be
driving it with my 1 and a half year old son. Don;t want the car to break
down due to faulty god knows what.

FYI I was hit so hard on the alfa that it cost me 22k in maintenance and
parts for 1 and a half years ownership. Now that is ridiculous! Call it a
downgrade but I've been with my Waja for 3 years and have no issues besides
the standard proton 'character'.

Cheers!