Top Ten Things To Do When Searching For A Multi-Valve Volvo

Buying a used Volvo can be a successful and satisfying experience if you are armed with enough knowledge to determine whether the asking price on a particular Volvo is a good deal. You want to avoid getting stuck with someone else's problems and discover too late that the purchase price is only the "tip of the iceberg", when you find that your "new" car needs $2000.00 worth of repair and maintenance to make it safe and reliable transportation. The newer generation Volvos are considerably "higher tech" than the older Volvos and as such are much less user friendly to the do-it-yourself Volvo owner than ever before. The late model 850/S70 and 960/S90's have proven to be excellent Volvos with lower maintenance costs than the older 4-cylinder Volvos, but there are some potentially costly things to watch out for. As always, it pays to KNOW BEFORE YOU OWE.

1. When you are talking with a seller, ask about the Volvo's current condition. Specifically, if there is anything that needs repair or is not working properly. Pay particular attention when he or she answers the following question: Have you maintained the car well? If the answer is "Yep, I've changed the oil every 3,000 miles" or "It's been a great car, I haven't had to spend a dime on this car", BEWARE! This throws up a red flag. Do not buy this car without having a Volvo Specialist carefully inspect it before purchase. Changing the oil regularly does not in itself constitute good maintenance on a Volvo.

2. Try to start the engine cold. There should be no sputtering or hesitation. Pay particular attention to knocking or tapping noises coming from within the engine. A light tapping noise from the top of the engine is fairly common on multi-valve engines (850, 960) that have not been started for 2-3 days or more, but this raises a red flag to look closer and determine whether oil changes have been performed on schedule.

3. When raising the hood, look for obvious oil leaks on the engine, particularly fresh oily and greasy deposits on the valve cover around the oil filler cap, multi-valve engines should not leak oil at all and this indicates the flame trap system has not been serviced frequently enough to prevent clogging of the system. This is easily the most commonly overlooked single service item that we see. When a quick oil change facility changes your oil, they don't know to check the condition of the flame trap and consequently it eventually becomes clogged thereby pressurizing the crankcase and either blowing front and rear seals completely out or wearing them out prematurely. Rear seal replacement on an 850 is expensive, at 13 hours labor this job is in excess of $1000.00.

4. Check for paintwork and previous accident damage. In front, check to see whether paint is chipped off of the bolts and washers attaching the front fenders to the body and hood to the hood hinges. In the rear, open the trunk and look at the rearmost upper corners of the rear quarter panels next to the trunk lid, you should clearly see a half-moon shaped factory seam in this area. Its absence signals the presence of bondo filler and indicates the car has probably had significant rear body damage.

5. Turn the ignition key on to the second key position and check that all warning lights come on, particularly the check engine, ABS/TRACS and SRS lights. These should go out after starting the engine. If they do not or you see a flashing arrow in the instrument cluster or flashing lights on the transmission mode switch, BEWARE, any of these are potentially expensive fixes. Have these checked out by a Volvo Specialist who has the Volvo Diagnostic Tool to read the associated fault codes.

6. Check all functions of the power seats. Any malfunction can be fixed, sometimes as simply as resetting the seat computer with the Volvo Diagnostic Tool.

7. Drive the car. It should accelerate and stop smoothly. The presence of a pulsation felt in the steering wheel or through the seat while braking indicates brake rotor warpage.

8. While driving 960's with the A/C on, monitor airflow from the center vents while accelerating. If the airflow stops and then reappears when you take your foot off the accelerator this indicates a failure of one or more vacuum damper motors of the A/C system in the dash. We have devised a way to replace these damper motors without complete removal of the dash assembly for about half the cost at the dealer (still about $500.00 though).

9. Does the transmission shift smoothly from a stop on up to freeway speeds. Any malfunction is potentially expensive.

10. Once the Volvo has passed all of these inspections, schedule a time to have a detailed pre-buy inspection performed by a Volvo Specialist. All Volvos need at least some repair and it is not unusual to see a $500.00 list on a well-maintained car. You want to avoid the car with a $2,500.00 list as this indicates a history of neglect and a poor life expectancy for the car.

There you have it, 10 steps to help you select a good used Volvo. I personally go through all of these steps and more when evaluating a potential purchase for our inventory and it will help you weed out the good from the bad and the "don't waste your time" cars you are likely to run into.

Thanks, Jon K. Howes

Top Ten Things To Do When Searching For A Used 4-Cylinder Volvo

Buying a used Volvo can be a successful and satisfying experience if you are armed with enough knowledge to determine whether the asking price on a particular Volvo is a good deal. You want to avoid getting stuck with someone else's problems and discover too late that the purchase price is only the "tip of the iceberg", when you find that your "new" car needs $2000.00 worth of repair and maintenance to make it safe and reliable transportation.

1. When you are talking with a seller, ask about the Volvo's current condition. Specifically, if there is anything that needs repair or is not working properly. Pay particular attention when he or she answers the following question: Have you maintained the car well? If the answer is "Yep, I've changed the oil every 3,000 miles" or "It's been a great car, I haven't had to spend a dime on this car", BEWARE! This throws up a red flag. Do not buy this car without having a Volvo Specialist carefully inspect it before purchase. Changing the oil regularly does not in itself constitute good maintenance on a Volvo.

2. Try to start the engine cold. There should be no sputtering or hesitation. Pay particular attention to knocking or tapping noises coming from within the engine, if you hear these, look for the condition mentioned in #6.

3. When raising the hood, look for obvious oil leaks on the engine, particularly fresh oily and greasy deposits on the valve cover around the oil filler cap and on the top surfaces of the water pump. If you see these present, this indicates the flame trap system has not been serviced frequently enough to prevent clogging of the system. This is easily the most commonly overlooked single service item that we see. When a quick oil change facility changes your oil, they don't know to check the condition of the flame trap and consequently it eventually becomes clogged thereby pressurizing the crankcase and either blowing front and rear seals completely out or wearing them out prematurely. This situation can be corrected, but ill probably cost in the $500.00 ballpark.

4. While the hood is up on 240 models in particular, check the condition of the engine wiring harness where it plugs into the car harness (a gray plastic rectangular wiring connector located between the engine and the firewall. If you see severe insulation deterioration and bare wires within 2" of this connector be aware that sometime soon (2 weeks to 2 years) you will have to replace this harness at a cost of approximately $800.00. We see this problem most frequently on Volvos 10 years old or older.

5. Check the radiator end tanks, if they are plastic chances are this is the original radiator and will probably fail while you own the car. Metal tanks would indicate the radiator has been replaced, probably a plus for this car.

6. Look at the condition of the paint on the engine block and on the intake side of the engine. If you see burned paint flaking off, this engine has been severely overheated and it's life span has been shortened considerably. Walk away and don't look back.

7. Get down on your hands and knees and look at the condition of the floor pans under and to the rear of the front two seats. A small amount of corrosion you can live with. Severe rust damage is a deal killer (repair cost approximately $2000.00+) and can be a structural problem in extreme cases. While you are on your knees look at the point where the transmission bolts to the rear of the engine block. If you see fresh oil drips forming or a small puddle on the ground, this indicates a rear engine main seal leak and possibly other leaks.

8. Check for paintwork and previous accident damage. In front, check to see whether paint is chipped off of the bolts and washers attaching the front fenders to the body and hood to the hood hinges. In the rear open the trunk and look at the rearmost upper corners of the rear quarter panels next to the trunk lid, you should clearly see a half-moon shaped factory seam in this area. Its absence signals the presence of bondo filler and indicates the car has probably had significant rear body damage.

9. Test drive the car. It should accelerate and stop smoothly. The presence of a pulsation felt in the steering wheel or through the seat while braking indicates brake rotor warpage. While cruising at freeway speeds, press the button on the shift knob to disengage the transmission overdrive. Press the button again to re-engage overdrive; this should occur without lengthy delay.

10. Once the Volvo has passed all of these inspections, schedule a time to have a detailed pre-buy inspection performed by a Volvo Specialist. All Volvos need at least some repair and it is not unusual to see a $500.00 list on a well-maintained car. You want to avoid the car with a $2,500.00 list as this indicates a history of neglect and a poor life expectancy for the car.

Thanks, Jon K. Howes