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Comments
Possibly it's the seat position -- I'm long-limbed, so my seatback is almost back to the b-pillar and I can see out the rear-door windows when I turn my head.
And that's another thing. I actually turn my head and look around before changing lanes...and if a headrest or pillar is blocking my view...I move my head to see around it, rather than blaming the car for having a "blind spot."
My $0.02
If I find anything else (e.g., different kind of mirror), I will be sure to post it. Hopefully someone else will do likewise!
lgammill
on Aug. 15 now an RN. Yeah! I need a new car. Drove a S70Se in Honolulu last week, loved it...came home to the Big Island (Hilo) and now waiting for a silver S70Se automatic to be shipped here any day now. Never owned an automatic as I love that zip and punch when you need it. The Volvo is definately much more of a car and indeed more $$. No 5spd here in Hawaii so I'm nervous about automatics. I live outside of Hilo about 20 miles to work. Help! Anxious and very nervous. Have always owned 5spd Hondas,test drove Mazda, Camry, 2000 Hondas, but I surely liked the luxury of a Volvo.
I really have to twist around to see out the back window while backing up...and have had some close calls... for a "safe" car this as a surprise...
Don't know any way around it .. just be VERY careful backing up.. lane changes don't seem to be a problem ..mirrors seem to be unobstructed as far as lane changes are concerned...
BTW... my sunroof is more like a hurricane roof.. anyone try a wind deflector to see if it reduces the noise and wind flow!
Just got home from work where someone rear ended me in my NEW VOLVO!!... hit us (was with my wife) pretty hard while we were sitting still .. not sure if anyone realizes it but those big comfy seats... felt like they just wrapped around us..VERY protective and secure.. I got out expecting to find the entire back end crumpled.. to my surprise...just the bumper cover was mis-aligned...no body damage at all!!! .. if I was in my other car.. a new Honda Civic.. I'm sure i'd be looking at substantial damage and some sore backs and necks.. a Volvo fan for life (just agreed to get a used one for my daughter .. I definitely want her in this car!)
The car has everything except a moonroof. We are fine with it. The dealer showed us the invoice price at 28,780. We'll need to pay something more than this price (anywhere from $100-500).
We like to know what kind of the price other people have paid for S70 SE. Thanks for your help!
and read my post above yours....unfortunate accident but i can attest.. think its the safest car i've ever owned.. and i owned mostly BMW's.
good luck!
B92
Scott
Good morning. Thx for the response. The car is coming off a 3 yr lease with 35k miles. I did think that at least for the next 15k miles I would be covered. This guy lives next door and his garage is immaculate. No visible oil stains.
The turn in number is $23k. That seems like a good whsle price. Let me know what you think.
Thx again.
B92
Car has only 18,000 mi. Has had one window switch replaced. Asking price $24,900. 3 questions: Ever heard of this model/trim designation? How does the price sound? Any known issues to look out for?
Owner purchased a 4 yr/50k mi. extended warranty. Do you think it's transferable? (Oops--4 questions) Thanks for any input.
1. We are in California. I don't which state you are in. Did your dealer charge a $400 advertising fee?
2. The car we are looking at has Auto and metallic paint. Do you have the same feature?
Per Edmund's data: SE's invoice price is $26,485, plus $1,000 for auto transmission and $320 for Metallic paint, it comes to 27,805.
CA dealer charges us $400 advertising fee, with destination fee $575, the total comes to $28,880.
Does this deal look fine to anyone? Thanks!
You are right about the business volume and the area we live in. We live in San Fransico Bay Area. The dealers are selling S70 very quickly here. we need another car very soon. I had an accident 3 weeks ago. My Infiniti I30 is a total loss. We just moved here from NJ 1 month ago. Anyway, I think this deal is not too bad. Thank you all!
I'm just full of questions, aren't I? It's like this: we knew that a big intangible "feature" that we got with our Volvo is the safety...but it's not like you can test the safety features on the test drive. So I'm always curious.
If I had to do it again, I would not have bought the Volvo. For a car that is work over $30,000, I should not have to experience the stress that I had so soon after purchasing the car. Has anyone else experienced this problem like I have? I would really appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks!
Knoxville
From my experience, the '98 S70s were quite reliable overall. The only widespread issue I know of was the cheap turn signal sockets that are replaced as the result of a TSB. If you don't get the new sockets then your bulbs will continue to fail. I had the fix done and didn't have any additional failures for the subsequent 20,000+ miles (I only had the car for about 32,000 miles before I sold it since I bought a S80 T6).
Thanks.
-rdo
rdollie@home.com
From my experience, the '98 S70s were quite reliable overall. The only widespread issue I know of was the cheap turn signal sockets that are replaced as the result of a TSB. If you don't get the new sockets then your bulbs will continue to fail. I had the fix done and didn't have any additional failures for the subsequent 20,000+ miles (I only had the car for about 32,000 miles before I sold it since I bought a S80 T6).
Thanks.
-rdo
rdollie@home.com
I have just over 800 miles on my baby at this point. Only problem -- I have a very annoying rattle in the back. Still haven't located it (but then again haven't spent much time trying to find it either).
Anyway, I love the car so far.
For dpares, my sunroof is very noisy as well. Tell us what you find out about that windshield thing so that it is no longer like a hurricane tunnel!
Also, I too (like sunliner) am very interested in the details of your little car accident. Glad to hear there was not much damage and that those great big seats did their job!
To lurker4 re: post #71. If you didn't already find out - I think the GT means turbo; the "A" means automatic and the "S" means sunroof. When I bought my car, they called it a S70 SE ASR -- meaning S70 special edition; automatic; sunroof (SR). Hope that helps.
Finally, someone posted about the stick vs. automatic. I have been an avid stick driver. My last car was a 5 spd. But with all of the traffic I drive in, I thought it was time for an automatic. I like it very much. The only problem I have is that sometimes it is difficult to get on the freeway, I have to floor it to get it up to speed -- and some of our northern California on-ramps are very short. You just don't have a lot of distance for acceleration. But once you are up to speed, I think it's great.
lgammill
I love the car and haven't experienced any major problems, besides the annoying frequency of bulb replacements. I am relieved to hear that other owners are experiencing rattles and shakes with their vehicles. However, I've begun to notice major creaking noises. Can anyone tell me what is the cause of this? I've babied my car from day one and can't think of any reason why these noises exist. I've been to my service advisor so many times and I think they may think I am imagining these noises. Anyway, any feedback would be helpful.
Thanks!
turbo_rush
Took our car to the body shop for an estimate yesterday.. seems the bill is about $1500 so far but I expect it to be more.. we got hit so hard that the peices of the front grill fell out due to the impact.. i didnt notice it at the time but they need replacing also.. the estimator said the trunk lid was out of line but not dented!..(not bad for such a jolt).. body seems fine but he says they'll check for alignment of the body to make sure, I also hear a noise under the car under hard acceleration.. suspect its the exhaust system..something is out of line or lose
.. I'm just astounded that the car held up as well as it did and how cushioned we were by the seats..
You dont realize it when you buy the car..you hear all the hype about safety but figure that any big car is just as safe..( maybe they are).. but when you come through something such as this with no real aches or anything broken, and the car holds up as it did ... it kinda makes you forget about the rattles and burned out bulbs etc ..etc... etc (of which mine has none of those...even after the accident).. Overall.. a GREAT CAR! ..
Thanks for the concern
plastic which rises about an inch above the roof
has a tendency to rattle (especially when going over a bumpy road) other times it is fine. I know
it's the plastic because when I touch it while
rattling, it stops. This only happens at speeds
over 20 mph. Does this sound familiar to
anyone ?
trippntn, could you be more specific about the issues with respect to periodicity? For example, do the turn signal blow more frequently than other bulbs (if so then your dealer probably hasn't replaced the sockets per the Technical Service Bulletin).
If your headlights are lasting over a year or so and you use DRLs then you MAY not have a problem here either.
Have you tried another dealership?
Thanks.
-rdo
rdollie@home.com
I believe the squeaking comes from the plastic rocker panel covers. A good quality silicone lubricant sprayed in the space between the edge of the top of that cover and the body will run down inside and stop the noise. Open the doors, and you will find this space just below where the weatherstrip fits on the body. I do this on my '98 S70 every six months and it seems to do the trick.
The S70 has about 1,400+ refinements over the 850 according to Volvo. The ride quality is definitely better. The light issue was associated with bad turn signal sockets. The fix is very quick and was done for most cars that experienced this issue at dealerships. I've owned T5 version of both and can tell you that the S70 T5 does reflect additional refinement efforts on the part of Volvo and the interior and exterior freshening is well done to boot. There's nothing wrong with the '97 850 - it's just a bit older in design.
Good luck.
-rdo
rdollie@home.com
The power is nice, and the car is comfortable, but for the price, I wouldn't expect so many problems. I definitely don't recommend it!
Downside? Of course there are some: a noisy engine (compared to a Honda or Camry or even GM V-6 anyway), the need for premium fuel (although the service advisor at my dealership says it really isan't necessary on the non-turbo) and when you do need non- warranty service, be prepared to pay big bucks, which is like most European cars.
I recommend the S-70. Since the model is being phased out, you can probably buy the base model for about $28K with everything, which is a lot of car for the money.
Would appreciate some advice.
S.
In general, I can highly recommend the Michelin Pilot XGT V4s for this car unless it is a T5 then I would go with the Pilot XGT Z4s. When you look up or buy these tires make sure the word 'Pilot' is in the name as there is an older discontinued tire of a similar name that is completely different.
Good luck.
-rdo
rdollie@home.com
Thanks for your advice regarding my post #99 on the Michelin tires.
Also, I am having a problem with my front passenger seat. Whenever you put your weight against the back, the seat clunks and the backrest moves backwards. The dealer said that it was not supposed to do that, but was not sure that replacement parts would fix the problem (considering the replacement parts were probably the same parts I have in my seat right now). It is a manually adjustable seat. Dealer thought that it might be something with the wheel that adjusts the back rest. Anyone have any problems like this with their cars?
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Also re: Post #101 -- My dealer told me that the break in period is 1200 miles -- i.e., avoid fast acceleration and breaking and don't use the cruise control.
lgammill
Scott
Thanks for the input. I don't have the car back from the dealer yet, and I will be sure to ask about the software download and/or replacement of the valve body.
I am disheartened to know that it is a new tranny in this model. I did my research (or so I thought), and I was trying to avoid cars that had "new" components, knowing that there are often problems with the new parts. I thought that by buying a car that had been around for a while, I was avoiding that issue. Not so, I guess.
I will also post my question on brickboard.com
lgammill
Tomorrow I am buying a '98 S70 5-speed, 61K, excellent condition....with the exception of no A/C, small oil leak, and (hopefully) surface rust on the tailpipe and muffler. Was supposed to take delivery today, but refused when the dealer didn't have these items fixed.
I've test driven it at length twice. Great ride, lighting/electrical/tires/new brakes/FM&CD all work fine. What else should I expect/demand/check/scream about before I sign the papers?
Thank you in advance!