Volvo C70 Convertible - 2006 and Newer

biancar · March 2006

Is a white leather interior terribly impractical? Of the choices given for the C70, I like the white the best but wonder how it will hold up.

qbrozen · March 2006

now that i've read a couple of articles on the EOS, I have to admit I will definitely take a look at this car when it arrives and compare to the C70. They are claiming it will be a big price difference, so it could definitely attract buyers away from the pricier Volvo, in spite of the extra luxury Volvo may offer.

volvomax · March 2006

Just keep it clean, should be fine.

volvomax · March 2006

I don't see the EOS as a real threat.
First off it is smaller, esp in the back seat.
Second, while the base price may be alot lower, a loaded EOS won't be cheap.
VW's pricing has gotten out of whack recently.
A loaded Passat costs almost as much as an S80!
Third, you will still have to deal w/ VW service, a shorter warranty, no loaners etc.

biancar · March 2006

Does Volvo cover the first three years of standard maintenance like some of the other luxury cars do?

qbrozen · March 2006

oh, i'm sure comparable cars won't have such a big price difference, but it could be this is where volvo is making a mistake, IMHO. I think they SHOULD offer a base model. The S40, V50, and S60 can all be had with few ammenities for a reasonable price, so why not do the same with the C70? If they offered a base 2.4i for a hair under $30k (just like the EOS), they could attract so many more buyers.

I haven't seen either car in person yet, so I can't comment on size or anything like that. I think the Volvo looks much sexier, that's for sure, and one review in particular did say the back seat in the EOS would be tighter due to the way the top folds.

Like I said, it will be a matter of comparing them in person. Lease deals aside, I can afford a $30k car, I can't afford a $40k car.

cambro · March 2006

OK,

the Cambridge dealer got a C70 early and tonight I played with it for the first time.

Initial observations:

1) saw the hardtop in action & it's totally cool but I can easily see how over time this thing could be trouble (wonder how many times they test it for reliability).

2) the car is beautiful with the top up - a true coupe with a natural looking roofline.

3) the trunk is huge with the top up, but good luck with top down.

4) rear seats are pretty comfortable and spacious.

5) leather seats looked great & high quality (although I'm staying with the haverdal).

6) I'm gonna get it even though it will lack the ipod connectivity (see previous post). satelite radio & CDs will just have to do!

I'll give more info after I test drive it sometime this month.

millenr · March 2006

I just received word from my dealer that my custom C70 in now in the production schedule. he said that he could only order 3 custom units this year and that i was the first. however, the delivery date is set for July 3 - seems like a long time.
anyone else have similar experience? what is leadtime for other's delivery?

volvomax · March 2006

Problem is, no one wants a base convertible.
At least not in this market segment.

volvomax · March 2006

Most 06 C70's are scheduled for July and August. We got 12 cars, only 2 are due in June and they are the earliest.

qbrozen · March 2006

Problem is, no one wants a base convertible.
At least not in this market segment.

I don't think I can completely agree with that. Not when BMW sells far more convertible 325s than 330s and M3s in the luxo segment, and Ford sells more Stang V6s than V8s in the middle-class convertible segment.

blamb3 · March 2006

I posted this a few weeks back, so at the risk of being redundant: I ordered a custom C70 in december and was told March/April delivery. Have since been told delivery in late June, so I cancelled and will re-order. It makes no sense to me to get a 2006 with the 2007 coming out in August.

millenr · March 2006

so when will you actually get the C70 - in August or will you order in August?

blamb3 · March 2006

The dealership is fairly confident that they will be able to deliver the 2007 in August - thus far they haven't been right about too much - but it looks to me like it is Volvo that has been the source of bad information. I currently have a convertible so I'm not concerned about the car arriving a couple of months late. I trade every 3-4 years so I'm totally uninterested in getting a 2006 1-2 months ahead of the 2007.

volvomax · March 2006

The Mustang isn't in the segment.
The 325's aren't sold w/ vinyl guts and 5 speeds.

volvomax · March 2006

2007's may be later than August.

At this point we really can't promise any dates for the 07 C70.

qbrozen · March 2006

The Mustang isn't in the segment.

which is why i stated it as a different segment. i wasn't sure what you wanted to group the C70 with, so i brought up 2 different segments, and stated them as such.

The 325's aren't sold w/ vinyl guts and 5 speeds.

you're right. Because it comes with fake leather standard, not vinyl. A base 325ci would be closer to a theoretical C70 2.4i, while a 330ci would be more in line with a C70 T5. Keep in mind, volvo would be cheaper in both cases, which would be to its distinct advantage.

cdk2 · March 2006

OK...with much consternation after reading some of the posts on this board and others, I contacted my Volvo dealer where I ordered my C70 3 weeks ago. At that time, I was not "guaranteed" delivery in May, but they strongly suspected mid- to late May for their 4 production slots for the 2006 model.

Well.......maybe not.

Now, after talking to the owner/manager, it appears that Volvo will not be delivering my order (from mid-February !!!!) until the end of July (July 27 to be exact). How could this possibly be the case?

First, how could Volvo not anticipate this a little better and have their new CONVERTIBLE ready for an early spring delivery?

Second, why would the dealership tell me May delivery, in all likelihood? I feel like I was lied to.

And third, how could they be that far off, over 2 months ???

This is the frist Volvo I am buying...after this whole fiasco, it may be the last.

volvomax · March 2006

A couple of things to keep in mind.
1 Just because you give a dealer an order doesn't mean the dealer can fill the order. volvo works on an allocation process. I can take 100 C70 orders, I'm only getting 12 cars.
2 Given the allocation process, an order can only be transmitted when there is an open vehicle in the pipeline.
3 Volvo itself has told dealers that the first cars would be available in April, however this was back in Nov that they told us this. Since then they have continuously revised their estimates.
4 Volvo has revised the 06 producion numbers downward since they first gave us the info. Originally we were told to expect 20+ cars for 06.

For whatever reason, Volvo doesn't feel comfortable in releasing the cars early. Better to allow them to handle the launch as they see fit.
Volvo has kept the dealers apprised of the situation. If your dealer is giving you incorrect info, shame on them.

volvomax · March 2006

um fake leather is vinyl.
I would challenge you to find a 325ic w/ "leatherette" and a stick.
A BMW buyer may not be willing to pay for the 330 engine, but they do want nice 325's.

Keep in mind, dealers all stock whatever sells. Personal preference doesn't enter into the equation.

qbrozen · March 2006

according to bmw, leatherette is NOT vinyl.

i know the vehicles exist because people ask for trade-in prices on the real-world trade-in values board.

hey, you don't have to stock a C70 2.4i, but I still think Volvo should offer it, and I'm sticking to that opinion. Its along the same lines as Ford offering a Shelby Mustang or Subaru offering a SpecB, or whatever other special cars you want to insert here. Its a matter of how it looks on paper. A cheap base price would get more folks in the showroom. Why else would all manufacturers advertise their "starting" price?

kyfdx · March 2006

If it isn't vinyl, then what is it?

It might not technically be vinyl, but it is some sort of synthetic plastic...

Reminds me of the couch we had when I was a kid. It was naughahyde..

As far as I know.. you only have three choices for interiors... Cloth, vinyl or leather... You have to put it in one of those categories...

But, volvomax is correct... The only non-leather 325Ci convertibles I've seen are custom orders. The last one I ran into was a euro-delivery model... It had just been unloaded at the local dealer... Had the german plate still on the front (not sure how that slipped by).. And, the sticker was only about $41,500...

With the ED discount, it was probably the cheapest 325Ci convertible on the planet..

330Ci convertibles have leather standard..

regards,
kyfdx

qbrozen · March 2006

oh, i'm not arguing. Ask BMW why its not vinyl. I'm just the messenger.

The fact still remains that the car is available in a lesser version. Maybe once Volvo has to start discounting the C70 they will realize they should have offered a cheaper version to begin with.

And, yes, i know that comment will get some folks in an uproar, but, let's face it, I (along with alot of other people) thought discounts would never happen on the R ... how wrong we all were.

biancar · March 2006

Do you know what the '06 production numbers are now?

I was thinking about doing an overseas delivery in the fall for an early '07, but now I'm thinking might as well wait until next spring. Don't get my hopes up too far and all.

Have you been told when the dealers can expect getting their demo cars in? My local dealer has me on the list to come for a test drive, but doesn't know when that will be.

volvomax · March 2006

I haven't heard a final number, but it will only be a few thousand cars.
I believe the number for the world for calender year 06 is 16,000 units. Half to the US.

The demo cars should be released from the ports the last week in March.

cambro · March 2006

Hello again to all the future C70 owners!

I saw that New Car Test Drive recently published a review of the C70. It's a great review but they almost say nothing negative which makes me wonder if they're truly independent. I know the C70 is an awesome car and all.

Anyway, here's the link for all of you to read.

http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=2006_Volvo_C70&ReviewID=1914

Happy reading!

cambro · March 2006

OK gang,

I'm getting closer to my end date to make any changes in my C70 order. So I'm enlisting you all for help on this.

I've chosen the Magic Blue Pearl color with beige seats and umbra interior. I know it's hard to picture without a brochure (why hasn't volvo made these yet :mad: ). My other color scheme is a silver or flint grey color with the offblack interior.

I'm worried the the blue pearl will be too "sparkley" for a guy (image gurus step up), but the off-black interior seems too much darkness.

Any wisdom from the community? :confuse:

biancar · March 2006

I think the Magic Blue, beige, umbra combination sounds great. I agree with you completely that an off-black interior would be too dark. Even though it's a convertible, unless you live in a 365-day a year beautiful climate, you'll be spending plenty of time with the top up. Black interiors feel like caves to me - no like 'em.

And silver cars, any silver cars, look boring to me. Just personal taste from having grown up in Michigan where silver and gray cars were praised for their ability to hide the salt and slush stains in winter. So I have a negative reaction to them.

I'm considering two combinations: blue with white, or red with white. Loved the picture in the review of the red with white, that's the first time I've seen such a good photo of that combination. Might be the winner.

volvomax · March 2006

The Magic Blue has an almost purple cast to it.
It is not one of my favorites.
It is available on other Volvo's, maybe your dealer has an S60 or S80 in Magic that you can see.

hsmolin · March 2006

Magic Blue and beige should be a hot color while its new and shinny. It looks so close to black on some of the other Volvo models that I think it will show a lot of nicks and scratches.

I ordered the magic blue with leather cream interior on March 4th. Scheduled but not guaranteed to arrive 2nd week in June.

Good luck to you.

Has anyone other than a professional reviewer driven one of these yet? They are supposed to have limited demos at the dealers this month.

hsmolin · March 2006

I saw from your original message that you were going to trade in a 2003 SAAB convertible. You said that the dealer was giving you a $1,000 discount on the new Volvo C70. Congrats, because I couldn't budge the Volvo dealer a bit. I am also sort of trading in a 2003 SAAB convertible with under 15K mileage. How was the trade in value on your SAAB? Did he beat you up on that?

cambro · March 2006

vmax,

Is the color always purple or only when the light hits it? Not to big a deal but like I said I want a color combo that's sporty more than anything. I think silver/gray with black interior is the sportiest but it'll be quite dark with the top up, no?

tonight I saw a black metallic C70 at the dealer here in england. it reflected the light so brilliantly & with color that i almost thought it was the magic blue. unfortunately only plain black is offered in the US :mad:

morevoer, i got a letter from Volvo HQ stating they won't allow me to use interior code #5671 (haverdal beige seats with black interior molding). they said volvo of NA only allows certain combos - this isn't one of them. :mad:

I'm going to test drive the C70 next week once the local dealer get's it operational (demo show tonight). BTW, they did a stereo demo tonight with the Dynaudio system - it totally rocks despite no aux/ipod connector.

also, i got to play with the sat/nav system. i know it's an expensive option, but i really liked how it hides away when not in use (i know - effective gimmick).

anyhow, only 5 months till i get mine!

blamb3 · March 2006

I have several problems with the trade in value of my Saab. I don't think there is much of a market here(Wisconsin), the car was in an accident and though the frame wasn't bent and the body shop work was superb, I'm looking at a used car valued as fair condition. My mileage is 41,000 according to Kelly and NADA I would be looking at low 20's in trade. I originally went to purchase another Saab at the dealership where I bought my current car and they offered me $15,500 needless to say the last car I bought from them will be the last car I buy from them. I was only offered $17,000 at another dealership, and $18,000 at a Volvo dealership where they would not give me a discount. The dealership that will give me a $1,000 discount will give me $17,500 for my car - both they and I would be happy if I were to sell the car outright- because of the tax consequences I'ld need at least $19,000 to come out a little ahead. So that's the long story. I'm getting killed on the trade-in, but they'll give me the discount with or without the trade. I'm dealing with a small dealership and everyone I talked to who has done business with them has nothing but good things to say about them.

laurasdada · March 2006

Re: Trade in value: The straight shooting Internet Sales Manager at the Acura dealer where I ended up buying my TL said, "I'll start paying Kelly/NADA trade-in value for your trade when you start paying MSRP for our new cars."

I got a good deal on the TL (invoice), killed on trade on my beloved Chrysler 300M. But, I'm happy enough...

volvomax · March 2006

Well, this could be a long explanation.

Saabs don't trade well anywhere.
Heck, I can't even get a bid from our local Saab dealers.

Kelly and NADA are not sources that dealers use for appraisals.

volvomax · March 2006

Some lights, the magic blue is almost black. But in direct sunlight it does have a purple-ish cast to it.
In the US Magic Blue is available w/ Quartz cloth #5681.
We don't even have a #5671 interior code here.

biancar · March 2006

How can you find out color codes? If I get the Calcite Cream interior, is the roof also a whitish color or is it gray or something else?

I'm thinking of Passion Red with Calcite Cream - so what would the interior roof be, is there a choice?

Or the light blue with Calcite Cream - again, is the rest of the interior grey?

blamb3 · March 2006

It was obvious to me nobody was using NADA or Kelly, but what do you use for trade in values? How inflated would you say that Kelly and NADA are? Given all this how does a person find out a fair price for their used car? I'll be reordering as soon as orders are accepted on the 2007 C70. As long as I'm picking your brain - there are as few Volvo's around Wisconsin as Saabs - can I hope for a better resale value with the Volvo?

millenr · March 2006

I've ordered the light blue with the calcite cream interior - delivery scehduled for July 3 (which is their first custom delivery). I did not see nor did the dealer offer a choice on the roof interior color. Doesn't the roof interior usually match the rest of the interior?

biancar · March 2006

I would have thought so, but a few posts back Cambro said "I've chosen the Magic Blue Pearl color with beige seats and umbra interior."

That was the first time it even occurred to me that possibly the rest of the interior might be a different color than the seats.

Maybe one of the dealer guys can comment on this?

When did you put your order in? I'm still torn between ordering here vs. doing an overseas delivery.

cambro · March 2006

The interior fabric on the roof is the same color as the interior color. Note that the color combos are 2 parts: upholstry (seats & door panels) and dashboard/molding. So if you order the umbra interior with beige upholstry, only the seats, armrest, and door panels will be beige.

biancar · March 2006

Do you know what all the choices are? For Calcite Cream interior (seats and door panels) what choice is there, if any, ofr dashboard and molding?

hsmolin · March 2006

biancar:

excuse my ignorance but can you explain an overseas delivery?

thanks

cdk2 · March 2006

millenr- when did you place your order?

millenr · March 2006

I put order in with dealer in Dec so that I could be in line to order a custom auto. He told me at that time that the car would be in in March. He actually placed the order end-Feb and now the delivery is July 3. He only has about 3 custom orders that he can place.

Coincidently, I went by another dealer tonight to see if he had a demonstrator in and he said it would be in next week. He also said that he would have about 12 custom autos in and that the first would arrive in May.

Interestingly, he said the reason for the delay is that with the top going up and down, that there is a firing pin, like a spark plug (didn't quite understand this), but they had to get permission from US government to allow it to be imported and almost didn't get it approved. Never heard this one before. He was not surprised that the smaller dealer that I am dealing with won't receive his custom cars until June/July - only the larger dealers were getting cars early.

biancar · March 2006

hsmolin asked about overseas delivery.

Basically you order your car through your local dealer, who places it with Volvo in Sweden. The deal is Volvo gives you two airline tickets to Sweden, one night in a hotel, AND about 7 - 8% off the U.S. cost of your car. (Depending on options: typically you get the discount off the base price of the car, but options are full price, so depending on how loaded up you get your car, the overall discount might seem like less.)

Then when you pick your car up at the factor in Sweden, you get a factory tour (usually, although sometimes it's closed), lunch, a few other little goodies, and then you're on your way to take a European vacation. Could be two days, two weeks, two months, up to you. Insurance is included for two weeks; more than that you have to pay for European insurance. Volvo has some nice travel packages for 3 - 7 days around Sweden and the surrounding countries, which you can take advantage of it you want.

Then you drop the car off, either at Gothenburg or at any of about 13 or so other ports (Amsterdam, Bremerhaven, Brussels, for example), and they ship it to your local dealer.

Advantage is price, the "free" vacation (can cost you a lot, of course, depending on your own tastes and how long you stay), and getting your car custom made for you.

Disadvantage is it takes a long time: you have to put your order in two to three months before pick-up, then you go, then it takes maybe 6 - 8 weeks for shipping it back to you. If you're trading in a car there might be some uncertainty there; you agree to a tentative trade-in value to be confirmed if the car, come trade-in time, is in the same condition as when the agreement was made.

For the C70, the big disadvantage is that OSD won't be available until around September. If you want a convertible this summer, you're out of luck there. Which is my standpoint, and why I haven't yet jumped either way. Plus I want to drive the car before ordering, anyway.

The Volvo website has more information, and there are some on-line forums discussing it.

hsmolin · March 2006

biancar:

Thanks so much for your thorough explanation. I'll keep this in mind for when I have more time, hopefully in retirement, to consider placing an overseas order.
In the meantime I ordered the C70 in magic blue with cream leather interior on 3/4 with an expected delivery on 6/14.

My order is subject to an acceptable test drive that I expect latter this month.

I currently drive a 2003 SAAB 93 convertible that has 200hp with a turbo charged engine. The SAAB turbo has plenty of throw back in your seat kick with the turbo. I hope that the Volvo C70 will be at least as enjoyable to drive from a performance standpoint. I'm not getting that feeling from the reviews.

That same T5 engine as Volvo has in its wagon (v50 I think) has not gotten very exciting reviews. Most reviews think Volvo's T5 has a rubberband feel. The dealer points out that the C70's engine has about 236lbs of torque at 1500 rpm that gives even power throughout.

Only a test drive will tell.......

Anyone test drive one yet?

qbrozen · March 2006

I currently drive a 2003 SAAB 93 convertible that has 200hp with a turbo charged engine. The SAAB turbo has plenty of throw back in your seat kick with the turbo. I hope that the Volvo C70 will be at least as enjoyable to drive from a performance standpoint. I'm not getting that feeling from the reviews.

I've never heard a favorable professional review of the Saab convertible.

biancar · March 2006

The SAAB turbo has plenty of throw back in your seat kick with the turbo. I hope that the Volvo C70 will be at least as enjoyable to drive from a performance standpoint

I don't think the Volvo is going to give you the same throw back in your seat kick. It's designed to be more of a highway cruiser. Somewhere I saw that the 0 - 60 acceleration was right at the dividing line between "sports car" and "not a sports car."

I see a lot of SAABs around here (northern Virginia), so they must be popular. While the Volvo certainly will compete with it, I suspect they are going for slightly different markets, both affluent. SAAB maybe is more performance oriented, less luxury, while Volvo is the reverse. The whole look and feel between the two is quite different.

flheat · March 2006

I also have the crystal Blue on order; but am getting the off black interior. I currently have an dark blue A4 Cabriolet with the light tan interior that is very dirty appearing and nearly impossible to clean but then I keep my top down 95% of the time here in Florida.

I am kind of discouraged with a 7/06 delivery. Will this be a 2006? If so, when will the 2007's be out?

Has anyone seen what the inside roof looks like? Can all the steel bars be seen inside?

Volvo C70 Convertible - 2006 and Newer

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