ford galaxy

[TerryG]

at least that is comparatively cheap. Have you thought of trading it in for a classic that is easier to work on?

[rich.]

we shall be changing it later when ive bought something to replace mr 2 & i have some money... galaxy isnt a bad car but we had the belts etc changed by an idiot (saving us €250) at the time but we are paying for it now
volvo v70 has been approved by her indoors

[Luxobarge]

volvo v70 has been approved by her indoors

Good news Rich. Can I suggest that you join here:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/forumdisp ... rune=&f=16

Have a good read of the Buyer's guide in the Sales Section here:

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=68649

And when you're buying ask me lots of questions either here, via PM or on the Volvo forum - we need to make sure you get a good one!

Cheers

[rich.]

thanks luxo, thats a great site!! while im thinking about it does the rear passenger seat come with 3 full seatbelts & are the diesels a good bet? could you post a pic??
meanwhile back to the galaxy the fitter came today & the belt he was supplied with was longer than the original making the car sound even worse.. he got a new one & it sounds much better..

[Luxobarge]

Hi Rich,

Yes, the rear seats come with 3 belts, and some trim levels (mine included - most, in fact) come with an integrated child seat in the middle of the rear seat as well - go and look at one to see what I mean - the centre part of the seat folds down and in a very clever way expands and folds out to form a baby seat - cool stuff. You can get a conversion to put two extra seats in the back too, making it a 7-seater, but you sacrifice the full size spare wheel and have to replace it with a space-saver to do this, and it's only really viable for small children. Very versatile cars, these!

The diesels are generally pretty good, the phase 1 V70 used an Audi engine, and it doesn't seem to give too many problems. If you go for a disiesel then check if the belts have been changed, and if so, has the timing ben set up dynamically? The cam timing on a petrol can be easily done at home but the pump timing on a disiesel has to be done electronically with the proper Volvo diagnostic software - not that difficult, but not possible unless you have the kit, so worth checking. If you spend long enough reading the forum you'll soon build up a picture of the sorts of faults that people have, although generally a) they're pretty reliable and well built cars and b) they're also pretty easy to work on, and almost everything can be fixed at home.

You wanted pictures? Here's some of my car, let me know if you want more:

Cheers!

[rich.]

thanks mate! thats a really nice car.. can i have a quick pic of the rear seat please

[Luxobarge]

can i have a quick pic of the rear seat please

Cheers!

You can, but you'll have to wait for me to take one first and load it up.

[rich.]

thanks again, i can wait! im not in a position to buy one...yet

[Luxobarge]

OK Rich, here's a picture of the rear seat:



And here's one with the child seat folded out:



And now with the centre head rest fully extended:



Good isn't it?

Any more I can do for you?

As a guideline this car cost me £900, but I had to spend a further £1500 in parts to get it like this, with everything working and totally spot on. However, much of that was on service parts, and it had been fairly badly neglected - the annual spend on spare parts now is about £50, and I expect it to remain that way for many years to come.

So if you had a budget of £1500 - £1800 I reckon you'd end up with a good one. Spend any less, and you'll probably be spending the remainder on spares/labour - which is not necessarily a bad thing. If you look at one and it has ANY rust, walk away - these car's don't rust unless crash damage has been poorly repaired.

Cheers!

[rich.]

thanks mate that looks ideal.. just need a lhd diesel automatic now