|
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
Click here to see
info on 4 cylinder Volvos
|
