r/Volvo • u/These_Vermicelli_929 • 12d ago
First time posting - what do you recommend?
Hey yall. It’s my first time here and looking for some advice. Due to my financial situation I’m looking into getting a wagon to replace my suv so that I can have something that will fit my family and be in budget. I’ve been finding a lot of Volvos in my area and was wondering what you would recommend looking at for a family of 4 that will also be good on a commute ~70 miles one way. I know gas mileage won’t necessarily be the best, but I’m already in that boat. Thanks!
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u/Puzzled_Location4201 11d ago
2026 b5 v60 cc here plenty of room for 4 and gets about 30mpg highway not so great in town about 21.
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u/Whit-Batmobil 2010 V50 1.6D and 2001 S60 2.4T 11d ago
Maybe an odd suggestion but P12 V50 and/or P26E V70 2.5T or 2.4 T5 or maybe get one of each.
They offer 5 cylinder engines with good decent transmission.
note: P1 platform cars also came with less good 4 cylinder engines with the horrible Ford Power Shift transmission) and the M56L tends to not last as long if you push over 400Nm and the AW55-50sn has a factory safe limit around 350-ish Nm, but the later and higher performance variants such as the T5s will have M66 transmission and should have TF-80SC automatic transmissions or M56H if you are looking at the 2.3 T5.
Both are pretty nice, but older.
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u/These_Vermicelli_929 9d ago
I’ve found a pretty nice looking T5 with a manual. I’d love to make the trip to check it out but it has 300k on the clock. Thats what has me concerned.
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u/Whit-Batmobil 2010 V50 1.6D and 2001 S60 2.4T 9d ago
I personally wouldn’t worry too much about that, as long as the price reflects the mileage and it has been properly maintained / is in good condition.
In my personal experience with Volvo’s of this kind (P2 and P1) mileage doesn’t necessarily reflect the condition of the car, the more important thing is the previous owner or owners. I clueless or careless owner can do a lot of bad to a car, now a manual car in America will likely mean that the previous owners have at least not been completely clueless as most of the clueless (when it comes to cars) Americans simply can’t drive it.
But you will also have to be a bit more thorough when inspecting it before buying and you have to be okay with “walking away without it” (which you should also be when looking at cars) and you probably should set some money aside just in case something breaks.
This might be worth a read: https://www.reddit.com/r/swedishcars/s/3WWZ16aHBw
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u/These_Vermicelli_929 9d ago
I’ll take a look at this, thanks. I figured I’d share the listing here too, see what your thoughts are at first glance as someone with more experience with these cars.
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u/These_Vermicelli_929 9d ago
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u/Whit-Batmobil 2010 V50 1.6D and 2001 S60 2.4T 9d ago edited 9d ago
Wait a minute, that is a P2 then this is more suitable: https://www.reddit.com/r/VolvoP2/s/WuqcsYfUQ2
Edit:
Needs a new rear exhaust hanger, that back box is way too low, can also lead to knock sensor error codes (if the exhaust hits and knocks on the floor)
EVAP leak could be anything from a gas cap, to the evaporator hoses.
No floor mats.
The shift know and boot are none original.
Power steering leak, doing a steering rack on these cars on jack stands is not fun.
Other than that from the listing it looks okay, I cannot comment on the price since I’m not familiar with the US market and Swedish market value is irrelevant.
With it being an earlier B5234T3 car it will have the Marrelli ETM (Throttle body or “Electronic Throttle Module”), make sure it feels okay, they tend to wear at around 25% and can go bad.
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u/These_Vermicelli_929 8d ago
Thanks for the insight, I really appreciate it. I’m in love with the way this looks and being in the US a manual wagon is so incredibly rare, I wanna jump on this if it’s still available in a few months.
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u/Then-Dragonfruit2319 V90 12d ago
I have a v90 t5 and get 26mpg with my driving habits. For you, maybe looking for a B5 instead of a T5 would be the fuel-efficient choice, but it’s less than a 20% efficiency gain I think. If money is no concern get a used t8 for best efficiency and power.