My mother has had her Volvo 760 estate for 15 years and it's getting near to change time. She will keep this car but will want a new replacement. She is 76 and has driven Volvos for 40 years and is obviously quite loyal. But she might be persuaded to but something else if it meets her needs:
1. Must be a large estate for carrying her music equipment around, trips to garden centres and ferrying 'all those old people around'.
2. Automatic tramsmission.
3. Climate control and sunroof
4. No diesels.
5. Nothing French or Italian.
6. She only does 6K a year.
7. She's a bit of a badge snob. (Yes I know how silly this is)
8. Leather interior.
9. Must be reliable.
10. She has a good pension and can afford 20K to spend outright, no finance. She is a business person and can do a good deal with any salesperson.
She likes the V70 but is there anything else that might suit her?
|
If I had 20 grand, and needed to fill all that criteria, I think I'd get the V70 to be honest.
Granted the T5, but a V70 nonetheless ;-)
Failing that, a Saab estate? It's only the diesels that are Vauxhall ripoffs isn't it?
I'd say a new Passat but she wants reliability ;-)
|
Well, a number of cars would fit the bill, but as a very happy V70 owner I'd certainly recommend it. My 2003 2.4T variant owned from new has been utterly reliable bar a turbo boost control solenoid failure (£40) last summer.
The 2002 V70 D5 auto that my brother recently traded in for a new XC90 was totally reliable and in fact impressed me so much it's a shame your mother won't consider a diesel. The D5 and auto box in a V70 is a marriage made in heaven; with oodles of torque, silky smooth shifting, and a cultured engine note it makes for a very relaxed and composed drive. Load the car to the gunwales and it still punts along nicely. Of course you still have to contend with smelly pitstops for fuel, and I can't defend that!
The 2.4T (and 2.5T from 2004 onwards) also marry well to the normal autobox though it is the D5 that impresses me marginally the most. For what it's worth, with manual transmission I prefer the 2.4T and 2.5T. I haven't tried a 2.0T in a V70 with auto box (and can only guess that this combination be available) but I have driven a 2.4 non turbo engine in both 140 and 170 horsepower states of tune and found both too torque-shy.
BTW - I wouldn't personally touch the Geartronic version of the automatic transmission as it can be troublesome. Also be aware of the expensive throttle body fault affecting pre 2003 petrol engined V70s by the thousand. 2003 and onwards versions (like mine, thankfully) have a different design throttle body that doesn't have the problem.
|
|
|
|
The latest shape E class estates are reaching the £20k level now; Mercedes Direct have a 2003 E240 Elegance Auto with leather and 26k miles for £21.5k. Thyey don't come much bigger, and as everyone wants the diesels 'd have thought it should be possible to get the price lower..
Peter
|
Bit ropey reliability wise though aren't they?
|
Very nice cars though.
|
|
She will skin me alive if I suggest something that turns out to be a bag of nails.
|
E60 520d estate, but you are looking at £26k
Different league to a Volvo and the extra cash will be retained come resale
|
|
|
|
|
for quality and reliability she would be better keeping the car she has ,the 700 series volvo is probably the best they made for room . mrs defender replaced her accident damaged 740 with a 940 as she didn`t like the newer models but dont know what to get her next ,please post back and let us know if she gets a new v70 how she likes it
|
|
|
|
Bit ropey reliability wise though aren't they?
It's all relative though; compared to a Volve I'm sure it'd be fine ;-) Feels much more expensive as well.
Having said that, I did read in one of this weeks mags that Virgin have a new deal with Volvo for the cars used for the Upper Class chauffer service; the cars are V70s and S80s changed every 12 weeks, and I'd guess they cover at least a thousand miles a week. Given that a new V70 is available with 14% discount through a broker, these ex Virgin cars will be under £20k I'd have thought...
Peter
|
|
Forrester.
|
|
Or an E60 525d,£21k on a 04
|
Yep - 1 E60 525d on AT at £22k with 40 k miles - www.ashgatecars.co.uk/GetDealer.do?did=1235&pageid...1
One used approved at Cooper Banstead with 27k miles for £24k (bet you can get it for£23-22 cash)www.cooperbansteadbmw.co.uk/usedbmw/
If it was me I know what I would go for.........
|
apologies - you said no diesel
my mistake, just assume everyone wants an D for this sort of car
you can get petrol touring E60s from about £20k
|
I would go for the bmw or an A6 - but a much cheaper one and do something more interesting with £10-15K.
Actually, I wouldnt get involved, if you influence her you will get the blame for any minor fault. I would crit the v70 but not too hard. Then if she buys it and all is well (although too many people post that their 1, 2 or 3 year old car is perfect imho, I want to know how they are at 7 or 8 years and 150K) then she gets to feel good about her choice. If it doesnt and the drop links fall to bits, the ship like turning circle gets on her nerves and the depreciation bites,etc. then she cant whinge at you.
|
Without doubt a Subaru Legacy Estate (3.0 best) and second choice would be an Audi A6 Avant. I get to use both. Wouldn't go near a V70, I have had the misfortune to have two - one on exchange for the first - and they were dire and unreliable.
|
Yep - Forester is too small for the requirement. Legacy (or the Outback with extra 2" height for ease of access) would be best.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
Subarus are no go I'm afraid, there's no dealer around here.
She has been to look at the V70 and seems very impressed so I expect she will end up with another Volvo. Interesting that some people have found it troublesome, I guess that's the power of the internet, a patchwork of different experiences.
I might try and get her to see the X-Type, all part of PAG afterall.
|
This is probably very predictble for me but a Honda Accord Tourer fits the bill. Bigger load space than the Volvo - more reliable than anything else mentioned with the petrol engined version and HJ says:-
"Really, they?ve gone back to where they were fifteen years ago with the 1985 to 1993 Accords: Bigger and better than mass-market fodder, but not quite in the rarified price range of a BMW or a Merc - The seats are ?set them and forget them? superb. Honda has concentrated on ensuring that drivers sit properly, with their bums in a hole at the back of the squab and their thighs and back properly supported. The fact that you don?t have to constantly fiddle to get comfortable on the move is testament to how good they are. Easily as good and maybe better than a SAAB?s or Volvo?s. Steering adjustment is up, down, in and out: the class norm these days. - So Honda can tick all the boxes. With the new Accord they?ve got out of the mass-market D sector and back to where the Accord used to be. The engines are good to drive and environmentally friendly. The controls are light. The handling is excellent. Noise levels are low. And everyone is well protected. Not bad at all".
The dealer network will also be far better than the others IMO.
|
|
|
|
Having said that, I did read in one of this weeks mags that Virgin have a new deal with Volvo for the cars used for the Upper Class chauffer service; the cars are V70s and S80s changed every 12 weeks, and I'd guess they cover at least a thousand miles a week. >> Peter
Do you know where they dispose of them?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just a thought Xileno - if she keeps this one for 15 years as she has the 760 she'll be 91. Let's hope she'll still be fit and well and driving safely then - but maybe something a little smaller but almost as capacious might suit her.
A Skoda Octavia would be ideal so it's a pity she's a badge snob.
Audi A4 Avant or Volvo V50 - depends how capacious it needs to be. I'm fascinated by the 'music equipment' - I wonder what she plays.... Mazda 6 and Honda Accord estates have a more convenient seat folding mechanism than the others above.
Mercedes B-class, like mine - worth considering as it's very comfortable once you're in, but you have to climb up slightly into it and she would have to see how she got on with that by trying one in a showroom.
VW Passat - may well be the best bet but she needs to be near a good VW dealer. There are a lot of VW-bashers on the forum - it's become fashionable as a successor to Renault-bashing, but in most cases it boils down to poor dealer service. A properly-looked after Passat ticks most if not all of her boxes (though if it were me I'd still have the Octavia and keep the change!).
|
|
She reckons the V70 is about the same size as her 760 in the boot. This is going to be important as she has all her musical instruments to transport. She plays the organ mainly but all sorts of other things as well. She wants to take all her stuff to the dealer to see if it will fit in the boot. Could be interesting.
|
Any news Xileno on what your mother went for in the end.
What ever it was I hope she gets at least another 15 years good service from it.
|
She hasn't made her mind up yet, she's been to look at the V70 and finds it's big enough for her needs though. The Accord and the X-Type are on the shopping list.
She said she will stop driving when she hits 80, time to fully retire from work.
|
|
|
|
