Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Right. And anything he spends on that in the next 3 years 36k miles also counts in the cost of the used car versus buying new. I think spending $2600 to warranty $8700 would be silly even if it was bumper to bumper.
Maybe I didn't make it clear-- I don't plan on keeping the warranty coverage for the full 3 years. I'm going to cancel it after the first few months
I'm including it for this comparison to be fair to the NEW car which would have a full 3-5 year warranty. Obviously if you compare used and new without the warranty the used car appears much cheaper, but you're short changing the new car's warranty
OP I think you made a good buy on that car, especially in HI were I presume prices to be higher. I have a 20 year old Volvo 850 wagon (predecessor to the V70) and have been looking to upgrade to the 2005-2007 model years. The nice thing about the 2005-2007 years is they use most of the same parts from the 2001-2004 time period as well, making parts availability better, but they have more modern ergonomics.
First thing I would do is make sure the timing belt has been changed on interval. It's more of a time thing than a mileage thing especially in your case. Second I would conduct at least one if not two transmission "drain and refills". It's very easy. Basically drain the transmission and fill with new fluid. This refreshes the fluid (mostly) without any sort of traumatic force being put on it. Should cost you no more than $50 in fluid even using expensive stuff.
Buy oil filters with check valves in them (assuming similar issues in the 850's) online. Purchase 10w-30 Mobile 1 oil and DIY every 5k miles. Another issue is the PCV system, as long as it's kept clean it should be OK but with over pressure it will blow your rear main seal, causing an oil leak. Not a big deal, just keep adding oil, but it's annoying. I finally fixed mine when I swapped my transmission but it is a $1k+ labor repair on these cars if you don't DIY. Plus the $500 PCV service. Using quality oil helps prevent it getting clogged.
Where you went wrong is the financing of it. The warranty also might be great to have for a month or two. Make sure everything is good. Then cancel it. Anything that happens will probably happen soon. Sounds like that is your plan.
These cars are very easy to work on. Check out www.matthewsvolvosite.com for good info. Mine is 20 years old with 185k miles.
OP I think you made a good buy on that car, especially in HI were I presume prices to be higher. I have a 20 year old Volvo 850 wagon (predecessor to the V70) and have been looking to upgrade to the 2005-2007 model years. The nice thing about the 2005-2007 years is they use most of the same parts from the 2001-2004 time period as well, making parts availability better, but they have more modern ergonomics.
First thing I would do is make sure the timing belt has been changed on interval. It's more of a time thing than a mileage thing especially in your case. Second I would conduct at least one if not two transmission "drain and refills". It's very easy. Basically drain the transmission and fill with new fluid. This refreshes the fluid (mostly) without any sort of traumatic force being put on it. Should cost you no more than $50 in fluid even using expensive stuff.
Buy oil filters with check valves in them (assuming similar issues in the 850's) online. Purchase 10w-30 Mobile 1 oil and DIY every 5k miles. Another issue is the PCV system, as long as it's kept clean it should be OK but with over pressure it will blow your rear main seal, causing an oil leak. Not a big deal, just keep adding oil, but it's annoying. I finally fixed mine when I swapped my transmission but it is a $1k+ labor repair on these cars if you don't DIY. Plus the $500 PCV service. Using quality oil helps prevent it getting clogged.
Where you went wrong is the financing of it. The warranty also might be great to have for a month or two. Make sure everything is good. Then cancel it. Anything that happens will probably happen soon. Sounds like that is your plan.
These cars are very easy to work on. Check out www.matthewsvolvosite.com for good info. Mine is 20 years old with 185k miles.
My brother is a mechanic (on the mainland) so I checked with him and he said they're good cars and told me things to look for before buying.
I actually got the warranty after buying the car, because the low gas mileage scared me. Nothing seems to be wrong with the car but 16mpg is way too low for a 205hp FWD vehicle.
I took it to the best rated mechanic here and had them put in 5W-30 full synth that I brought in, but the filter I brought was the wrong one so I have to go back to have them replace it with the correct filter... I would do it myself but it's only accessible from below. So I'm not sure I'd say they're easy to work on!
I have limits for my used cars: less than $10,000 max (out the door); pay cash, under 75,000 miles, no older than 5 years. I'm not brand loyal. The great thing about used cars is that you can always find reviews regarding safety/performance/overall satisfaction, etc.
I rarely buy new. If I do, it would be, for example, a new 2015 when the 2016 comes out. So still new, but not the latest model available.
Less than $10,000 for a low mileage, moderate mileage, desirable car? I haven't seen that in years.
My brother is a mechanic (on the mainland) so I checked with him and he said they're good cars and told me things to look for before buying.
I actually got the warranty after buying the car, because the low gas mileage scared me. Nothing seems to be wrong with the car but 16mpg is way too low for a 205hp FWD vehicle.
I took it to the best rated mechanic here and had them put in 5W-30 full synth that I brought in, but the filter I brought was the wrong one so I have to go back to have them replace it with the correct filter... I would do it myself but it's only accessible from below. So I'm not sure I'd say they're easy to work on!
16 mpg is pretty good for that car with city driving. The motors pre gas price increase weren't nearly as high strung. Volvos have never been good mpg performers. It's a 5 cylinder turbo, keep in mind.
Buy two 6 ton jack stands and a jack. Or just some Rhino ramps. I have both, both do the job. Yes they are very easy to work on. The jack stands are much more versatile though. These cars are great IF you do the work yourself. If not buy a Toyota.
16 mpg is pretty good for that car with city driving. The motors pre gas price increase weren't nearly as high strung. Volvos have never been good mpg performers. It's a 5 cylinder turbo, keep in mind.
Buy two 6 ton jack stands and a jack. Or just some Rhino ramps. I have both, both do the job. Yes they are very easy to work on. The jack stands are much more versatile though. These cars are great IF you do the work yourself. If not buy a Toyota.
16mpg mixed
But mostly city. The instantaneous display shows what I would expect, like 30mpg at cruise at 60mph. I'm really surprised how low even city mpg is though, since I have a pretty light foot
Some tasks look easy, like the spark plugs which I plan to do soon. I've done it on a BMW and it's basically the same on these cars
I just bought a 2005 Volvo V70 2.5T with 70k miles and I'm not sure that really made sense.
The price was $8700 and with 11.5% interest over 4 years the total price is about $11k. Fine, but there's no warranty. So I added a Wells Fargo engine and powertrain 3yr/36k warranty for $2600 which comes out to $65/month (yes generally a bad idea but I can cancel it whenever I want).
So I've spent almost $14k for a 10 year old car with 70 miles. My payment is $290/month. In 5 years I'll probably have put another 70k on it and it will be worth $3000 maybe.
Wouldn't it have made more sense to buy a new VW Golf Sportwagen for $23k? I'd have a more reliable vehicle with a full warranty. If I got 3% interest over 5 years I'd be paying $436/month. The car would probably be worth $15k.
If you look at it as cost per year, I'm paying $11k to own a vehicle for 5 years, while if I bought new I'd be paying $8k. That's not even factoring the benefits of reliability, and the gas mileage (30mpg vs 17mpg).
Conventional wisdom says that buying new cars is a bad idea, and I think conventional wisdom is dumb (and so am I)
How about doing the math with comparable cars? A new Volvo and a new VW Golf aren't exactly comparable. Then factor in that the idea is to pay cash (or at least not get raked with an absurd interest rate). Lastly, that warranty is a total joke. You have not proven that conventional wisdom is dumb, you have proven that you have the ability to make poor buying decisions.
For some people it makes more sense and for others it makes less sense. Purchasing used vs new depends on so many factors that you cannot come up with a general answer that fits everyone.
For some people it makes more sense and for others it makes less sense. Purchasing used vs new depends on so many factors that you cannot come up with a general answer that fits everyone.
X2!
I purchased a new car for my job last fall. I just wanted the cheapest transportation available that would work year-round in rain, snow, cold, heat, wind, etc. I originally planned to buy used, but because I drive 30-35K miles per year, I finally decided that buying new was the better answer for me. I bought a Prius. I'll drive it for another year or two and trade for another new one. I like having free maintenance (a Toyota gimmick) and no worries about repair bills, which had become VERY expensive with my old pickup. I think if you don't drive much, an older used car is probably cheaper. But also more of a gamble.
If you buy used, buy a car that is easy to work on, has a good track-record and the parts are widely available and cheap.
Used Volvo, yeah, I would steer clear.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
