hi all,

thinking of buying a 98 v70r awd. What should I look for? Will this car break the bank? What are peoples thoughts about it?

It's $30,000CAD, 85000km, looks very nice and drove great.

Advice please!!

Gowyn

Gowyn,
I have a 1998 v70 R and would agree with the previous respondent i.e. RUN!! Run fast and long away from this Swedish junk. Get a Mercedes. It's a lot more going in, but cheaper in the long run.

hmmm I would say don't bother buying a volvo at all. Basic wear parts are outrageously expensive. Front wheel hub assembly (think wheel bearing replacement) $203 plus labor, rear wheel hub assembly (think rear wheel bearing) $430(who knows what labor will be, I haven't replaced it yet until I can tell which side is making the noise loud enough), Center bearing on the rear drive shaft down to a mere $799 for a remanufactured driveshaft assembly. These are wear parts that just need to be replaced. It doesn't matter how fast you drive, how hard you corner, and how you maintain your car, there are no grease fittings. Now, my car is a '98 awd V70 with 118,00. I haven't included the air conditioner evaporator for $500 and the power window switch for $130. I will take some credit for wearing out two of the motor mounts, $26 (from IPD) and $105 from volvo.

DO you get the point? Figure out the cost per mile on this sucker. (18mpg in town at the best, 24 highway)

THe reason why thy newer cars last so long is that you have to replace all the parts every 4 years.

Run, don't walk from a newer volvo purchase, you can't afford to own one.

I am in Toronto and I bought a 99 V70R AWD in February. I love the car. The handling is the real plus with this car over the FWD T5, although the T5 does have better acceleration. The R has obviously better traction, better sportier suspension, bigger brakes etc. If you don't care about the AWD maybe go for a T5 with an upgraded suspension. The R is a great car. A 98 with 85000km for $30,000 is too much. I picked up my 99 for $31,000.00 with 87,000km on it and bough an extended warranty. You car should be no more than $27,000 I would think, I did allot or research before I bought mine, and prices are all over the map for the R model. There are 2 2000 V70 R AWDs currently for sale here in Toronto, 86,000km for $36,000 and 111,000km for $28,995 , if you can get the 2000 model go for it, it has 261HP (vs 98 236hp, 99 247hp)dual exhaust and a 5 speed automatic transmission (98 & 99 have a 4 speed) + some really nice wheels.

email if you need any more help

mrheavyfoot@rogers.com

well i own a 98 v 70r and am quite happy its got 98k miles on it and not much has gone wrong ...ok ..well lets just say it has not left me stranded i havent had any problems with the awd system cause i do the right maitanace like tires ....rotation...lube etc ...and remember I'm a guy that actually owns one .....so your getting info 1st hand ...but most of all its not an awd system you can not abuse ...like spining your tires on snow or dirt for fun ...thats what kills the awd ...i live in norther california and it only snows when I'm in the mountains during winter but my work some times requrires me to drive in some scary situations like white out on windy mountain roads ....thats why i own a volvo instead of a suv .(they like to flip over like dead cockroaches ) .. before buying i considered other options like the t5 ,glt ,cross country ...but owning a real R car got me to had over the money ...remember its an r not a glt or t5 or the cc its an r car man and if i had to do it again i would buy the r awd again well if they had the 5speed ??? its got the best brakes out of all the v70's acording to road and track

I'm from Canada, Vancouver area and I drive an V70 AWD. Depends where you are, if you are out East, I can perhaps see the use for an AWD but if I had to do it again, I get a FWD. My $.02, if you don't need AWD, don't get it. Everyone says a T5 with snow tires perform excellent in the snow.

Here in Vancouver, I need AWD like 2 days in a year and usually when it snows, the city shuts down and no one expects you to go to work :> Just think, for 362 days a year, I'm carrying an extral 500lbs or so of extra weight. You figure the gas and the lost of performance.
--
98 V70 AWD, IPD ECU, 'R' Emblem, K&N, Volvo Strut Bar, Dunlop SP5000, IPD Sport Spring

I bought a 98R with 45K miles for 26,000 last March. I have had none of the problems that are discussed on this board. A little common sense and proper maintenance goes a long way. The car loves mods, handles higher power better than the FWD cars do. You will love it.

Wills
--
98 R AWD Wagon IPD ECU, 2.5 Dual Exhaust, Dawes MBC, 94 854 turbo, IPD Goodies, 92 740 Rag Wag

A couple of recent threads concerning the AWD system and the V70R are:

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/index.htm?id=467326

http://www.brickboard.com/AWD/index.htm?id=508211

For the AWD Volvos all 4 tires must be exactly the same diameter at all times, or you will destroy the bevel gear/angle gear, they generally need to be replaced as a set of 4 tires, even if you only have damaged only one.

I bought a 98 V70R AWD with 55k in Dec 2001 for $21K that was in nice shape and maintained by the book. Things will break and they have! So far a rear door lock and my climate control have problems. Plus-make sure the car has a nice set of evenly worn "matched" tires on it. Otherwise mix/matched or badly rotated tires could have or can damage the bevel gear for the AWD $$$$$$. My personal opinion--if you don't need AWD, go for the FWD. The R is a nice car thou-goes like hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 98 awd with no problems (other than speeding tickets) here in Saskatchewan.We love the car, The weight, well, it provides a nice ride and gives us some added safety.I just feel good in it, it fits without the " ohhhhhhh... a BMW!!!! ohhhh aren't you making the money !!" attitude( I hated that). oUR VOLVO is worth 5x what we had into our 2 Beamers, which were lovely ,other than the snob factor.We had a 245 too---a real dog on all factors other than utility and character. den