My dog is the proud new owner of a Volvo V70R

Not mine, etc...

This car popped up yesterday on the New England Volvo Club classifieds. It has high miles on it, but it's only $1400. It's in Medford, MA.

Seller's words:

Awesome T5 with stylish R model cosmetics, V70 R bumpers, egg crate grill, there are so many upgrades that it is hard to differentiate it from a 2000.

Car has 220K miles, a new steering rack was installed last year, including upper motor mounts, brakes, plugs, cables, and other maintenance updates. The heat works, air conditioning blows cold, seat warmers works, car has new battery, all season tires have lots of treads left. The interior is mint with the wood trim package, and a nice sounding stereo, everything works in this car. This Volvo is the extremely quick Turbo 5 cylinder with over 240hp, it passes inspection each year, it starts right up, runs very well and stops perfectly. It is my second daily driver and I decided to let this one go.
Car could use an inexpensive $200 tie rod repair to make it flawless but as with Volvos it goes on mechanically. This is an inexpensive well kept, safe, reliable car that runs great in the city and on the highways daily.

In reply to Woody :

Thanks, I've been searching for a p2 V70R 6spd lately and this car was on CarGurus for awhile at $2500 and was 20 minutes away. I looked recently and it was at $1500 and then the next day $1000 so I had to go check it out. I was very hesitant with 274k on the clock but this thing ran and drove great, no suspension noise or major things wrong. Needs cel checked out, engine mount and the usual tailgate  fix. Gonna try and figure out timing belt change as well. 

I don't listen to the radio all the time, but this is currently bugging me.

They disconnected the battery at the shop. I thought I had the code, but I don't. I may be able to get the code from the dealership (big "maybe" on a 22 year old car), but it's a holiday weekend and the parts department probably won't be open until Tuesday.

I may actually swap in a new radio, simply because I have one down on my shelf and I'll probably be snowed in all day tomorrow with nothing else to do. 

The radio pulls out easily and people sometimes write the code on the top. Slide it out and check if you can. Also check your owners manual. I wrote mine inside the front cover. 

In reply to dculberson :

I just went through all the books page by page and I came up empty. I’ll probably pull the radio in the morning, but if I get that far, I’m swapping in the Blaupunkt. 

One of the reasons why this car appealed to me is because my father bought an 850 GLT new in 1986 and I absolutely loved that car. In fact, my wife and I used that at our wedding instead of renting a limo. 

But when I bought this car, I was a little disappointed.  Time had loosened everything up quite a bit, and it was a long way from that solid feel that I remember from my father’s 850. 

Now, with the new KYBs, strut mounts, and the new motor mounts, it’s a lot closer to the car that I remember. I took it for a long ride today (with the dog), and for the first time since we bought it, I can imagine ourselves taking a long trip in it. 

We are very happy with this car. 

Woody said:

In reply to dculberson :

I just went through all the books page by page and I came up empty. I’ll probably pull the radio in the morning, but if I get that far, I’m swapping in the Blaupunkt. 

If the radio is original to the car you can easily get the code by going through the volvo site. http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9331/~/obtain-your-radio-code. I was skeptical at first when I needed it for my 850 but gave it a shot and had the code in an email a minute or two later and it worked. 

In reply to EvanB :

Thanks. I’ll give it a shot. 

EvanB said:

Woody said:

In reply to dculberson :

I just went through all the books page by page and I came up empty. I’ll probably pull the radio in the morning, but if I get that far, I’m swapping in the Blaupunkt. 

If the radio is original to the car you can easily get the code by going through the volvo site. http://volvo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9331/~/obtain-your-radio-code. I was skeptical at first when I needed it for my 850 but gave it a shot and had the code in an email a minute or two later and it worked. 

Thanks! They sent me the code almost immediately. I have to do the "two hour reset" thing, but I'll let you know how it turns out.

So after the mandatory two hour waiting period, I entered the code that Volvo sent. Then it said Repeat, so I did. And then again, as prompted. At this point, it locked me out again.

I played the two hour game again, tried the code twice again with no luck, and said, "Screw it, I'm pulling this radio out of the dash."

And there on the top, was written a completely different code.

Radio works again.

If you beat your head against a brick wall long enough, eventually you succeed

In reply to Woody :

I'm not one to say I told you so...

In reply to dculberson :

But I’ll be the first to admit that you made me look!

Also...this has to be the automotive world’s easiest radio to remove. 

Woody said:

Also...this has to be the automotive world’s easiest radio to remove. 

I was trying to figure out how to explain that when you didn't look on top of it for a number, as soon as it was suggested.

Doing wagon stuff in the Dog End:

My dog acquired a Volvo wagon today, although she was too preoccupied with the new tennis ball thrower to notice. 

While I was driving it home I was reminded of this thread since the radio was locked out. I decided to pull it out and check the top before emailing Volvo and sure enough the code was there. My friend who was over was amazed at how easy it was to pull out. 

I'm impressed by the factory dog net for the back seats but I know my dog will never stand for riding in the back when there is a perfectly good passenger seat up front. 

In reply to EvanB :

Your dog is always welcome to any front seat of my cars. 

In reply to EvanB :

Oooh, an XC!  From the text I thought you'd bought an 850 or something.  Very nice!

Good, now we can do a turbo upgrade since I apparently have a ton of K24s kicking around.  (Narrator:  Swapping turbos in chassis on a AWD model looks like it will suck.  A lot.)

In reply to Knurled. :

Swapping turbos in a FWD model looks like it would suck a lot, I haven't even looked that far on this one yet. 

Xc70 turbo swap is the same, after you pull the transfer case.  Transfer case is easy except for that one damn bolt...

XC90 pretty much needs the cradle dropped, at least on a six.

In reply to EvanB :

I decided that if I do a 4T4 turbo, the engine is coming back out.  All the turbo lines and stuff are directly over the angle gear, and the engine mount.

Violet and I went for a walk the other day. When we got back to the car, there was an older woman looking at it in the parking lot.

She said, "Is this your car? I used to have one just like it. My God, this thing is perfect!"

Knurled. said:

Wow, that has almost exactly half the miles of my Volvo.

 

I dig the fuel gauge marked in gallons and not fractions of a tank.  Is it anywhere near accurate?

The fuel tank capacity is 18.5 gallons. The gauge was showing about four gallons and I just put 15.8 gallons in, so it's close, but not perfect.

We have put about 2600 miles on the car at this point. Most of the trips have been around 20-25 miles. Violet has been with me for most of those miles. I still can't think of a better car for our needs.