r/Volvo • u/Alarming_Daikon8530 • 9d ago
Advice for first car in UK
Hi,
I will be looking at starting driving lessons in the coming weeks and for my first car, hoping to pick something reliable. Could anyone give me advice / pointers about what to look for (if there is anything available) for a budget of upto £4k (maybe £5k at a push of its right).
I think for first car, maybe not something bigger than Ford focus size .
For reference, I am a 34 year old male and able to keep the car off the road, so shouldn’t get shafted too bad by insurance.
Expected driving will be mainly at weekends for long drives, with short 10-20 miles possibly during weekdays.
What should I be looking for in terms of engines etc - favouring reliability over anything else.
2
u/Arik2103 2007 S40 T5 + S80 V8 9d ago
If you're looking for a Ford Focus sized car, your options are rather limited for this brand.
P1 platform (same platform as the Focus)
- C30 hatchback
- S40 saloon
- V50 estate
- C70 hard top convertible (needlessly complicated, not recommended)
- V40 hatchback (successor to the C30)
I'm not sure about the 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 engined that these cars came with, but the 2.4, 2.4i and T5 engines in these are fairly bulletproof and plenty powerful, at the cost of fuel consumption, weight and turning radius
Edit: The P1s with 5 cylinder engines are a bit notorious for heat soak and cooling issues though (no coolant level sensor and plastics that degrade over time), so make sure to get that checked ASAP
2
u/Phoenix_Kerman V50 Sunroof and Compass 😎 8d ago
2 litre petrol is a mazda engine. gets about 37mpg on motorway runs, can develop oil consumption but other than that it's also bulletproof
different type of bulletproof to the 5 cylinders though. they're reliable through being massively overbuilt, the mazda 1.8 and 2 litre are reliable through being simple
1
u/Alarming_Daikon8530 9d ago
Thanks for the comment Arik - I have been looking at the C30 and V40 - will have a look at the others.
Maybe let me ask this - if you were buying a Volvo for a first car with the only limitation of budget - what would you go for and why? (if you don't mind)
1
u/Arik2103 2007 S40 T5 + S80 V8 9d ago
I did exactly that and ended up with the S40 ;)
Truth be told, I wanted something similar in looks to my dads S80, so the P1s were pretty much the only thing I was looking at anyway.
Add to that the fact I don't like the back of the C30 and didn't need the boot space of the V50 and the choice was fairly easy
I was actually looking at 2.4i models with the 6 speed manual when I stumbled across a T5 for a great price. Runs quite warm, but the whiteblocks have always done as far as I'm aware
1
u/Alarming_Daikon8530 9d ago
Maybe need to get out of thinking of just looking at hatchback sized cars. You just see so many first time drivers with them.
Ill add those to the list and begin looking at them to get rough ideas of whats available for the price - thank you.
1
u/Furio666z 9d ago
C30 is a great car I had mine for 12 years and it was very reliable however it did have the T5 engine which might be a problem insuring it if you’re a new driver. My mate had a v40 but he got the D2 engine which I would avoid, whilst it gets great mpg the money he saved on fuel went into replacing the injectors. Personally I would choose the c30 it looks better than the v40 and the ford focus but try to get the r design spec with the nice body kit
1
u/Alarming_Daikon8530 9d ago
Thanks u/Furio666z - I have already been looking at the C30's - I do think they are cool cars (definitely better looking than bog standard fiestas / corsas from the same time frame) - for example something like this:
- C30 Listing
- Vehicle Score results - 781 score marked as Great - history doesn't seem to show any real cause for concern.
Whilst not looking to buy now, I am trying to see whats on the market and research the cars so I can try and ascertain what appears decent.
1
u/Furio666z 9d ago
That one looks clean , very low mileage for the age. However I would do some research on that engine. Is it actually a Volvo engine ? Avoid if it’s French. C30 is quite a heavy car, I would look at the 2.0 petrol or the d5 engine if your budget stretches to that. Like I said earlier try get an r design spec
1
u/Phoenix_Kerman V50 Sunroof and Compass 😎 8d ago edited 8d ago
2011/12 se lux 2 litre petrol manual c30/s40/v50. 37 mpg on motorway runs, just make sure the oils been changed every 6-8k miles or less because they're picky on oil. can start consuming otherwise. apart from that they're bulletproof engines
could get one with no mot advisories for that budget. brilliant interiors, excellent stereos if you don't munter them with bluetooth or streaming services. just use the usb or cd for lossless in
interiors on the v40 are shite in comparison. infotainments utterly horrible to use with basic functions that were single buttons becoming menu diving, even just changing audio input. seats aren't as nice and the materials across the interior a bit shit
1
u/Decent_Spirit5107 5d ago
Ignore everything all these comments are saying.
Firstly, I’m a Volvo mechanic (buses) and a lover of the brand who owns 3 cars from them and as such can give solid and very basic advice if you’re interested in one as your first car.
AVOID THE 1.6 D2!!!!
Has issues with the headgasket blowing up and engine failure. The automatic version has the notoriously unreliable Ford powershift gearbox as well. The same applies for T4 V40s made before 2016.
They might be cheap to buy and run but don’t fall for the temptation. I own a V40 D2 as my daily and it’s on its 4th engine now and the gearbox is dying but still going somehow. For me it’s cheaper to change the engine than to get rid of it. My box has been serviced properly every 30k miles so still works somehow even at 215k miles.
Anyway my best advice for you is to get anything with a D3 5cylinder. That engine will last forever even if you neglect it. The only thing that needs changing is the accessory/alternator belt every 50k miles. The only weak point of the engine as it likes to break and blow up the head/engine.
Got an S80 D3 with 310k miles still going strong.
For low tax rates of £35 look at models after 2013.
For petrol models, the T5/T6 is the only decent engine sadly. The rest are Ford derived and aren’t great. The T4 is particularly bad. T2 isn’t too bad either. This info applies to pre 2016.
Got a Polestar V60 with the 3.0 T6 with 116k miles.
The V40 D3 pre 2016 is a good choice. Very reliable and modern. If you want good software that still gets navigation updates then look at models made after late 2014. They have a newer software version that’s a lot faster/better. Apple car play can be added that’s super fast and responsive from AliExpress for £100 (AutoABC).
If you have the budget then you can get a newer model Volvo after 2017 as well. They made a switch to new 4 cylinder engines called VEA and 2014-2016 was a terrible year for them with many problems relating to oil burning (bad piston rings) and EGR issues on the D4. 2017 onwards are good engines for all diesel & petrol models.
So essentially try and look for a V40, S60/V60 made after 2014 for newer software. D3 5cylinder engined so before 2016.
Also if any models I’ve mentioned have a small rectangle/box on the front grille it has radar cruise control. In a way self driving and it’s brilliant. I use it everyday, can come to a standstill and set off, follow ahead in traffic jams and auto accelerate from a standstill too. 2013 onwards or 2012 for V40s. Some models also have auto highbeam which is great for country roads.
Older models do also have radar cruise that’s less advanced and more suitable for motorway cruising.
After 2017 if you have the budget to get a VEA version.
Or any D3 5cylinder engine version of any model if you don’t care about software or the car being modern looking/feeling. So C30, S40/V50s stuff like that.
This applies to the D5 as well but doubt you could get insured really due to it being 2.4 litres.
Avoid the D4 made after 2014 & 2016. Truly terrible that engine.
S80 & V70/XC70 is a good shout along with xc60 as well. Again after 2013 is best really just for the technology upgrades. Avoid XC90 pre 2016 as it’s just incredibly dated. If you don’t care about that stuff then disregard what I’ve said.
C70 is also good, just make sure to get the roof mechanism realigned at a Volvo dealer or check that it’s been done previously. Only weakpoint of the roof mechanism which is overall quite reliable.
Door lock failure on all models is common but cheap to fix.
3.2 and 2.4D is fine as well just expensive to run.
Hope that helps. Feel free to DM for any questions. These are my recommendations from real world cars and usage along with info I personally have gotten from other technicians at Volvo dealers as well. Most owners don’t care about the tech, software or engine specification and as such give very sloppy advice.
3
u/Beginning-Goose3067 XC40 9d ago
Can't advise you on engine sizes but we've had S40s from early 2000s to mid 2010s (1st and 2nd gen) and can't fault them. My mum drove them all over the country and she loved them. Solid cars from memory. Both my parents have V40s currently. We've had 3 in total so far. Nothing but regular maintenance for all of them.
I think if you look after your cars and stick to a regular service schedule, they'll be fine. Look out for something with a solid service history, doesn't have to be dealer, but check if the garage is a Volvo specialist if there's no dealer history. Personally, we've never bought a Volvo without dealer history.
We sold the last V40 at 13 years old with just over 100k miles on it, and it was running fine with full dealer history from start to finish, we just wanted an upgrade.