Hello!
Recently I've been doing a lot of lurking and occasional commenting on here, and now I think it's time to formally introduce myself. My name is Colin, I'm an aircraft designer/wantrepreneur, and I come from the world of rallycross and E36 M3s! Super happy to be here.
So I've been trying to quell my interest in rallycross (I'd rather invest in my ideas at this point but it's SO MUCH FUN), and I've always thought that a fast AWD manual wagon is one of the best all arounders a person can drive. I was looking at B6 S4 wagons, Subaru WRX wagons, STi hatchbacks, and a car I've always had in the back of my mind, the Volvo V70R. My requirements were manual gearbox, AWD, refined interior (I drive about 65 miles a day), some good power, and obviously AWD.
I currently own a 1999.5 VW Jetta TDI 5MT that was awful for everything except for the 10,228 mile road trip I took it on, as well as a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS Coupe which I absolutely adore. I'm certainly getting rid of the Jetta after I put the intake manifold back on, and I would LIKE to get rid of the subie. But I'm not sure that's gonna happen. Car love.
Anyway, so I've been idly searching for V70Rs for a couple months now, and stumbled upon the Craigslist Finds thread on swedespeed. Loved it, but be careful because they don't have everything. In fact they didn't have the best car I had found in the area for quite a while: a 2006 V70R 6MT in Sapphire/Nordkap with 100k on it... the one I ended up buying.
The PO had it since 39k just off lease, and it was dealer serviced until a couple days ago when I picked it up. Luckily I had a Pre-Purchase Inspection done at a different Volvo dealer though, because they found the angle gear to be not working at all. I was completely ready to walk away when the PO said that he would have the job done on his dime and keep the sale price as is! SO STOKED. One of the rear dampers has been replaced because it was leaking, and appears to work perfectly. It's amazing the difference in connectedness to the road!
So: while it's not a perfect example, it still makes me very happy to drive something so civilized/capable/fast/spacious after either driving a boring slow car (TDI) or a loud unrefined-but-hilariously-fun car (my beloved subie).
Some issues I discovered right off the bat (that weren't picked up by the PPI oddly?)
- Cruise control doesn't engage. There is no message being shown. The word "cruise" appears on the dash, but when I hit the + button nothing happens. A friend recommended the clutch position sensor. Ideas? Another piece of info that the emissions inspector discovered: it starts up without your foot on the clutch. Does that mean my clutch position sensor is definitely kaput? Most cars have a safety interlock that keeps you from starting until your foot is on the clutch.
-Low oil level light comes on every once in a while. I of course checked the oil level, and it's fine. Is the sensor known to fail?
-Some slightly buzzing speakers in the back when I crank it. I'll have to look for some replacements. I had a BSW audio kit in my M3 which are basically Rainbow speakers in the stock locations with the stock amp and I LOVED the sound.
Until I get more pictures up I just wanted to say Hello R Forum! I hope I'm here for a good while.
Recently I've been doing a lot of lurking and occasional commenting on here, and now I think it's time to formally introduce myself. My name is Colin, I'm an aircraft designer/wantrepreneur, and I come from the world of rallycross and E36 M3s! Super happy to be here.
So I've been trying to quell my interest in rallycross (I'd rather invest in my ideas at this point but it's SO MUCH FUN), and I've always thought that a fast AWD manual wagon is one of the best all arounders a person can drive. I was looking at B6 S4 wagons, Subaru WRX wagons, STi hatchbacks, and a car I've always had in the back of my mind, the Volvo V70R. My requirements were manual gearbox, AWD, refined interior (I drive about 65 miles a day), some good power, and obviously AWD.
I currently own a 1999.5 VW Jetta TDI 5MT that was awful for everything except for the 10,228 mile road trip I took it on, as well as a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS Coupe which I absolutely adore. I'm certainly getting rid of the Jetta after I put the intake manifold back on, and I would LIKE to get rid of the subie. But I'm not sure that's gonna happen. Car love.
Anyway, so I've been idly searching for V70Rs for a couple months now, and stumbled upon the Craigslist Finds thread on swedespeed. Loved it, but be careful because they don't have everything. In fact they didn't have the best car I had found in the area for quite a while: a 2006 V70R 6MT in Sapphire/Nordkap with 100k on it... the one I ended up buying.
The PO had it since 39k just off lease, and it was dealer serviced until a couple days ago when I picked it up. Luckily I had a Pre-Purchase Inspection done at a different Volvo dealer though, because they found the angle gear to be not working at all. I was completely ready to walk away when the PO said that he would have the job done on his dime and keep the sale price as is! SO STOKED. One of the rear dampers has been replaced because it was leaking, and appears to work perfectly. It's amazing the difference in connectedness to the road!
So: while it's not a perfect example, it still makes me very happy to drive something so civilized/capable/fast/spacious after either driving a boring slow car (TDI) or a loud unrefined-but-hilariously-fun car (my beloved subie).
Some issues I discovered right off the bat (that weren't picked up by the PPI oddly?)
- Cruise control doesn't engage. There is no message being shown. The word "cruise" appears on the dash, but when I hit the + button nothing happens. A friend recommended the clutch position sensor. Ideas? Another piece of info that the emissions inspector discovered: it starts up without your foot on the clutch. Does that mean my clutch position sensor is definitely kaput? Most cars have a safety interlock that keeps you from starting until your foot is on the clutch.
-Low oil level light comes on every once in a while. I of course checked the oil level, and it's fine. Is the sensor known to fail?
-Some slightly buzzing speakers in the back when I crank it. I'll have to look for some replacements. I had a BSW audio kit in my M3 which are basically Rainbow speakers in the stock locations with the stock amp and I LOVED the sound.
Until I get more pictures up I just wanted to say Hello R Forum! I hope I'm here for a good while.