It was 3 am. It was a moment of weakness, wrapped in boredom, and buried in my comforter. I was sure my wife was asleep, so I rolled over and fired up my phone. I shielded the screen so that, if she were to stir, she wouldn’t see what I was doing. Then I began scrolling.
There was no specific destination in mind, but, as most of these little digital forays go, I was looking for something exotic to me. Maybe Swedish? Usually, wherever I start, it ends up Swedish. I found a few of the early generation CrossCountry Volvo wagons I liked for sale nearby on Facebook Marketplace. ‘That could be fun!’ I casually thought to myself, before moving on to stickshift trucks. Eventually, I got tired and went back to sleep.
That was about a month ago, and ever since that moment, I’ve been bombarded with reminders that what I need is a P2 generation XC70, and that I need to lift it in a very specific way. I have a car that I like, and while I’ve pondered replacing it, it’s not something I can do right now.
The algorithm doesn’t want me to love one I’m with, it wants me to love a 2007 Volvo XC70 with somewhere between 130-180k miles on it. It won’t stop.
From Facebook Marketplace To Instagram To Every Conversation
When I speak of “the algorithm,” I’m giving a name to various recommendation engines across a number of platforms. While they’re weighted to work in slightly different ways, the goal is always to produce a reaction in me that can lead to more engagement, and therefore more commerce for the platform itself.
In exchange for my attention, I can buy or sell a car through a terrible and mostly awkward process. I think anyone who uses Facebook Marketplace knows that it’s a deeply broken system (it also offered me up lactation cookies and a bandana from the scariest man I’ve ever seen in my life). It has scale, though, and over time, it learns what my deepest and darkest desires are. I just logged in and was immediately offered three Volvo wagons, a Taurus SHO, a Honda moped, and a Baja.
I’ve owned two Volvo wagons before, so I’m always at risk of having a third, but it’s mostly the RWD ones I’m into. Ideally, I want another car with a manual if I’m going to replace the car I have now. Also, I’m not trying to necessarily replace the car I have right now, but this is how brains work.
If it were just Facebook Marketplace, I think I’d be ok with it. It’s a classifieds platform, that’s the gig. But somehow, Instagram (also owned by Meta) got in on it, so this happened next:
That’s a lifted XC70, also a P2, and it now just looks right to me.
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And then this:
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That video is promoting the diesel engine available in the P2 in Europe, but not, so far as I know, offered in the United States. This is a little more recent, and it’s so on the nose that it almost hurts to look at it (although I sent it to my wife and friends):
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Damn, got me. It’s true, nobody will remember how much I made (enough) or how many hours I worked (more than enough). No, they will remember my… 18-year-old Volvo wagon I don’t even own? What’s screwed up about this is that it’s worked on me.
The Algorithm Is Tuned All Wrong
You could argue that Facebook merely unearthed a yearning I had within me, and the constant bombardment of cars for sale, reels, and posts was helping me admit to myself what I want.
Alternatively, I might argue that the Internet was supposed to be about discovery, or at least I thought that was the whole deal. What social media and “the algorithm” are doing is finding the dopamine receptors in my brain and firing them up like one of those fireworks displays gone wrong on Instagram.
The algo is now creating something a bit like The Entertainment from David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. While that particular novel is mostly read on public transport by people hoping desperately that they’ll get asked about it and that the inquirer will be so impressed with the description of the book that they’ll jump their bones right then and there, it also has a point. Within the novel, there’s a film that’s so entertaining that it overwhelms the viewer to the point that they can no longer take care of themselves. Entertainment as an irrepressible addiction.
That’s what’s happening to me, but with old Volvos. It’s also what’s happening with HBO, Warner Bros, and Netflix. HBO is kind of an incredible place, producing shows that aren’t necessarily ones that the algorithm would think to produce. There’s The Sopranos, The Wire, and Flight of the Conchords. All shows I don’t think would end up on Netflix originally, because what Netflix does is largely make shows for the algorithm.
This doesn’t mean there’s not a place for that. Is It Cake is a TikTok and Instagram fad that’s been turned into a game show, and I still enjoy it. You can have both, I suppose, but just being told what to think and enjoy by your inner kinks doesn’t feel healthy to me.
Would you get another The Wire from the algorithm? Or would you just get 900 variations of Love Is Blind and a show called Six-Seven?
I Still Want One, Though
When I have downtime, I’ve been going on the various platforms to see what’s available. It’s not that I’m going to pull the trigger anytime soon, but now I must inform myself of the market for when that moment comes.
I did try to convince a friend who was looking for a cheap, safe car for his kid to check out this 2003 model, which has 191k miles on the clock but otherwise looks good. Perhaps I can learn something from his experience.
There’s this one on Facebook marketplace that seems to be the top of the market, due in part to its curiously low miles (too low for me, I think). Having fallen so deeply and regularly into the rabbit hole that they’ve erected a cot for me, I am mostly convinced I’m going to get a clean stock one and do the work myself.
A company called Bad Swede has a two-inch lit kit, and that seems about how much space I’d want. That, plus some wheels and A/T tires, and I could have a car that’s comfortable on the inside and unstoppable on the outside.
Why? To what true end? I don’t know. It’s just who I am now.
If I wanted to go bought-not-built, there’s a 2007 Ocean Race that’s fairly close to my aesthetic:
I do like the shimmering dark blue from the other Ocean Races a little better, but I’m not that picky. I also appreciate that this doesn’t have some obnoxious LED lights on (yet).
Obviously, I do not have a parking space for it. I do not have the excess funds I want to dedicate to it. If I want to drive a Volvo, I can always ask Volvo, and they’ll send me one. I could be putting this energy into making my own BMW better, but now I do this. This is my life now. My wife and child are sick of hearing about the low-pressure turbo inline-five and how it’s probably not a maintenance nightmare, and that people complaining are mostly thinking of the V70R…
Send help (or Volvo links).
Top graphic images: Volvo; DepositPhotos.com
I’m so glad I quit Facebook and Instagram as well as avoiding all the other social media platforms. (This place doesn’t count. It’s an enabling platform.)
I’ve beaten the algorithm by giving it too many inputs!!! If I just spend ALL my time aimlessly looking at all kinds of cars for sale it can’t figure out what I really want and trick me into buying it! Haha, victory!
Ohhhh I should try that.
Yeah! I’m actually shopping for a first gen XC90 for the wife but did I also look at other Volvos, Minis, Fiesta STs, Acura TLs, and I don’t know what else today? You know I did. Am I very ADHD? You know I am!
As someone who had a close friends with one of these? No. No you do NOT want this thing.
A: It gets HORRIBLE fuel economy. His gets 13-15MPG
B: They aren’t reliable. His has been in the shop. A lot. And its always super expensive even for something minor.
C: My take: To me they simply look like a Volvo that ate way too many cheeseburgers and has NONE of the charm of the old Volvo with the square bodies.
245dl and nothing newer.
Both of these are true, but we still love ours (non-XC 2001 V70 T5). Fits anything inside, sounds great, starts every time (even if expensive to fix), and IMO the non-XC models are probably the best-looking FWD estate cars ever.
We simply avoid unreliable brands in general. As in 1996 Tacoma, 300,000 miles, never been to a shop. Same with the Camry we once owned. Also ridiculous amount of miles, no real problems. Its nice saving money and not worrying about some annoying, inconveniently engineered thing some european manufacture didn’t think all the way through.
Meh, I’m willing to deal with higher repair bills if it means a nicer interior, comfier seats, and crash safety peace of mind. It’s all about what you like and are willing to trade for it. I still consider a car reliable if it starts and doesn’t strand me, so the Volvos do well enough. My dad’s previous V70 even made it to 247k before he let the timing belt go.
The problem is that the algorithm wants you to have many 2007 Volvo Wagons. This won’t all magically stop when you buy one
And when you DO buy something, you will have no peace until you also review it. Home Depot desperately wants me to review a small rectangle of glass that I bought last week.
Lowe’s is just as bad. And Sam’s Club wants a review of my store experience EVERY time I buy something there.
I bought a tarp at Harbor Freight and they wouldn’t stop emailing me about it. HF should not insist on getting my reviews, though. Their products get the description that they deserve.
It’s when you actually buy the P2 Volvo that your life is truly ruined—especially if it’s in the 130K-mile range, which is when the car takes stock of all of its consumables and decides it’s really, really hungry. I’ve made that mistake twice, and, having also had several E39s, you are so, so, so much better off with the 530i it’s not even funny.
If I had more space I’d have all of them.
I had a V70. No car has consumed more of my knuckle flesh. Every part was somehow crammed into a tiny hole surrounded by broken glass and required the removal of: one 13.5mm bolt at a 30 degree angle, a hose clamp of a design never used before or since, and a nut that would fall into the engine bay and was only replaceable with another that shared its thread pitch of exactly i where (i^2 = -1)
So you’re saying I want a p3?
What you want is a 1987 Honda Accord Aerodeck
Always a P3!
Bizarrely, I have a ’15 V60 and you just described what it’s like to work on anything in its engine bay, too. I have literally wept tears of joy after spending hours trying to remove and replace a hose clip in a position that likely requires removal of the engine rather than me contorting my body like a Cirque du Soleil performer for hours on end.
It’s a Volvo thing some of us understand!
While I can’t disagree that they demand wrenching, they’re not THAT bad.
Everything is a 10mm unless it’s an 8mm. The hose clamps are mostly stupid oetiker but any time I remove one, i throw it away and replace it with a worm screw clamp. Any of them on the car already are 7mm nut.
I drop fasteners into all of my cars, such is life when you work on your old junk. A magnetic pickup is essential. I’ve not found trouble with replacement fasteners. I bought a box of harbor freight nuts and bolts, no issues anywhere thus far with weird fine pitch fasteners yet.
There is some truth to getting a socket onto a few things. You do have to think creatively and having a good selection of extensions and universals is important. I’ve found that on my Volvos, the 1/4 inch sockets and extensions are very handy for tight spaces. I’ve not encountered anything nearly as bad as the rear nut on the back of the tandem pump for my shitty old Mercedes with the ABC suspension. That was probably THE WORST example of an impossible reach I’ve ever dealt with. I still have the funky wrench that I had to buy and bend up to reach that bastard. Still have the scar on my wrist from undoing the hydraulic line nuts that were on so tight, they shattered a line wrench and sent my wrist into a sharp bit of the body.
I’ve only had to replace the alternator on my p3 (twice, don’t buy a reman) and it wasn’t too bad. The newer ones are a bit more sensitive with the electronics though. I had wire harness going through the driver door that cracked a wire; door electronics died. As this problem was starting to show up, it would throw errors on the the LIN bus. Guess what else is on the LIN bus? Yep, the alternator. It was very non-intuitive that one a short in the door harness would cause charging issues, but it did. Once I read about how the LIN bus works and understood it better, it made sense, but until you understand it there is a lot of puzzling involved.
“While I can’t disagree that they demand wrenching, they’re not THAT bad.”
Next time my turbo coolant line needs to be replaced, you’re my first call! 😉
Why would they need to be replaced? They’re hard lines. I mean, it’s not exactly fun to get the oil feed/return and coolant feet/return all lined up perfectly to tighten them, but that’s why you don’t tighten the turbo manfold until you get the bolts threaded a little.
I suppose my perspective is not very even; I’ve been under/in/around this wagon a LOT.
I remember looking at a V70R as a potential fun project car. I quickly noped out of there when looking at reliability.
Then I looked at a B6 S4 Avant, then read about the rear mounted timing chain and had to sadly put that dream to bed.
Why can’t desirable wagons be more reliable!
The algo haunts me too. Currently it’s old Land Rovers, specifically Discovery 2’s and P38A Range Rovers.
I’ve already been down this path yet here we are again.
First of all, congrats on a great choice, but I’d recommend the non-turbo version if you want dependability. In 2011, we bought a used 2001 V70 fwd, non-turbo and it was and is a great car. Underpowered, but basically trouble free. I gave it to my oldest son when he and his wife had their first child back in 2015, and it’s still his daily driver. He does all his own work, using parts from Rock Auto, and it’s just a fantastic car. Comfortable, dependable and free of any major problems. Otoh, we also had a 1998 XC70 turbo before that and it was very problematic, mostly due to the awd system and the turbo.
Sorry. The algorithm has decided. All Hail The Algorithm.
I once found a silver over RED P3 Volvo V70 in Florida. It was glorious. It was $9000. I should have bought it.
How many miles?
I wanna say it had around 70k at the time. Keep in mind this was probably 10 years ago now. But, here I am still thinking about this silver station wagon with red leather….We bought a Honda CRV instead and I felt the same way about it as you did your Subaru. I do not understand how those (even that genre) sell so well
I’ve been looking longingly at well sorted older GMC Suburbans (around ’78-’91) so now my algorithm shows me exclusively late 90s/early 2000s examples that are full of rust and miles.
“Hey, do you remember that cherry ’91 Silverado with the split tailgate and front bench seat? That sold for below market when you had no spare cash?”
“Here are 20 2003 Tahoes that have been beaten to within an inch of their life, squatted, and abandoned. The owner’s also want 20k for them.”
-Mark Zuckerberg, Probably.
I suffer from this issue. My current poison is mid-2000s high-mileage Nissan Elgrands that I’ve convinced myself would make a great family camper. The idea is they’re dirt-cheap but should be reasonably reliable with the 3.5L V6 and 5-speed auto (these cars pre-date Nissan’s CVT wilderness years). Fuel consumption won’t matter as it’ll just be a weekend trip car, and once it hits 25 years old I can put it on club registration (much cheaper than regular rego). It’s also a sneaky way into convincing my wife on the utility of a sliding-door people carrier for when we eventually replace our SUV.
That’s the argument, but honestly it’s still a bit shaky whether we want to deal with the upkeep of three cars at this stage of our lives (two kids under 3, we have no spare time). At least I’ll have plenty of ads to look at as marketplace continues to bombard me.
As one who owned a very nice ’04 V70, no you do not. Lovely cars to look at, not lovely cars to own or to drive. WAAAAY more expensive to run than an equivalent German, and it’s not even close. They age like milk.
P3s are MUCH better (with some exceptions, model years matter), but they have some serious wallet-melters as they age too, and they still drive like poo compared to any of the Germans.
Mine was an ’06 but same. Very comfortable highway cruisers and lots of cargo space but everything else was so unsatisfying.
I shudder to think of how much I’ve spent “maintaining” my daughter’s ’04 V70. 82K miles and purchased in Dec of 2018 with EVERY record and handwritten notes from the original owner who cared for it with an open checkbook. Sold it to us for only $1,400 because he just wanted to make sure it was going to a good home.
7 years later it’s never left anyone stranded, and it got my daughter through college and countless road trips across the 5 boros and tri-state area…but it hasn’t been cheap! I’m over $11K (no exaggeration) into service and repairs, and when I decide to move on, I’m sure it will give the next owner no trouble at all, LOL…it’s like the family dog that pees in the house or chews something up from time to time, but you look the other way because you can’t give up on it!
My dad’s take on it has always been hey, I’d have rather have spent $12k on a Volvo I like instead of using that money to buy a 2015 Honda or Toyota something.
Problem is I could have spent the same amount on a BMW and it would not have sucked. I’d owned 13 RWD Volvos and thought I knew about what to expect. I was wrong.
Yeah but you have to want a BMW. I don’t.
Then buy whatever floats your boat. Might even be a P2 Volvo but it sure didn’t float mine for what it cost to run and what a pain in the ass it was.
Mine was similar – one owner 100K, full dealer service history. I paid $4500 for it. Beautifully kept. A few known issues when I bought it, and I went *completely* through it stem to stern – my Covid project. And it just imploded, despite being the most basic, FWD 2.4l non-turbo. I spent a good $6-7K on mine in two years, all DIY other than I did pay a shop to do the timing belt/water pump service on it. And it stranded my mother twice (ended up as her car) in the few months she drove it full time (the second time a very expensive CEM rebuild that took two tries to get right) before it had to go. And then it stranded the new owner two weeks after he bought it when the electronic throttle crapped out. I haven’t heard from him since, so same, probably has been mostly fine (that electronic throttle was about the only common thing I didn’t replace). I would have kept it had it still been my car, but I gave it to my mother when her car drowned in Hurricane Ian, and while I could deal with aging car issues, she could not, and I was the one who got the phone calls. That car very much hated her.
The problem with them is that if you DIY as I do, they end up costing FAR more than an equivalent German because they are so wed to the dealer for anything electronic, and the parts are surprisingly more expensive too. And given they drive like crap relatively speaking, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Hindsight being 20:20, I should have just spent a bunch more money and gotten a 2nd BMW wagon, then I would have just gotten mom a new car in the first place when her’s drowned. But I was looking for a bit of a cheap ‘n cheerful 2nd car load-lugger at the time.
It was pretty but it sucked:
https://flic.kr/p/2ktEh42
Mine is a 2.4 non-turbo as well….less to break, but it finds a way. And guess what? I had a CEM replacement as well to the tune of $1800 a couple years ago, and now the instrument cluster needs to be removed and repaired as it acts like a Poltergeist has taken over…..
It’s not if, it’s WHEN those things will crap out on these cars. I had mine rebuilt by Xemodex in Canada, which cost $800. Took them two tries though, which was fun. Assume for $1800 you had yours replaced. Supposedly Xemodex upgrades various parts to make them more reliable – they definitely put MUCH bigger heat sinks on the CEM.
Cream of the crop is 2007 P2 XC70 Adventure Series. They were the last P2 batch produced, and include the 3.5mm audio input in the arm rest, HU850 stereo (really pretty good), 12v outlet in the cargo area, and 17″ wheels. I have one with 180k miles on it — bought with only 80k — but I’m keeping in for another 20k miles or so.
Forget the P2 Volvos; you want a P3. A V60 R-Design (with the 3.0T6) or the XC70 with the 3.0T6 are both excellent choices.
There are a few P3 T6 XC70s floating around my neighborhood and I have to admit I’m a bit curious about them.
We own two. They’re great—dead reliable, surprisingly fast (compared to how much of a dog the 3.2s are), and they haul anything. Don’t expect great handling and the repair bills are usually $1-2k per year, but other than that they just eat up the miles like it’s nothing and are super comfy while doing it too.
I have recently be noticing P3’s, so I’m intrigued. There is still some old-school Volvo “stateliness” to them, and there are still beautiful examples around me. I’m at the point in life where I’m not rich, but I can kinda have the things I want, and I’ve always wanted a Volvo wagon. 2’s and 7’s in good condition are getting thin, and I just don’t have time or facilities to be constantly wrenching on it. My thoughts would be to buy a wagon, do some road tripping and camping, lightly and tastefully add a few modest “off road” upgrades, then sell after 2 years or so. Would this be ok? Am I crazy?
Yes…but be careful of which engine you get. Avoid the 4 and 5 cyls. The happy spot is a 2015 XC70/XC60 with the 3.0 T6. Make sure it’s been serviced (serpentine belt service/water pump every 100K, occasional fluid changes, coil packs). I’d recommend a stage-0 service if not. Otherwise, they’re solid, quick, and comfy companions. Swedespeed is an awesome resource and FCP Euro is great for parts/ know-how.
I was a Certified Volvo Nut™ for 20 years, but they lost me when they went FWD. The algorithm knows this and sends me every RWD Volvo that gets listed for sale anywhere.
Good luck finding one, but I think what you really want is a 2013-2016 V60 Polestar.
In the US, we only got the 2015-2016 V60 with the 3.0 T6.
I’d much rather have the Turbocharged 3.0L I6 than their Supercharged + Turbocharged 2.0L I4 that makes the same power. Yeah it’s cool to have both a turbo and supercharger, but they’re apparently not all that reliable and replacement parts are nearly unobtanium.
I have a 2015 V60 R with and I6 and it’s been great in the 6 years we’ve owned it. From my recollection they switched to the I4 in 2016 (in Canada)
Fun Fact… I keep track of all the US 2015 V60 R designs on Vinwiki. Small world. Great cars!
Matt,
I scratched that itch in 2022 when I bought out and sold a perfectly fine, leased 2021 Tiguan SEL and bought a 2004 XC70 with 52K miles. It wasn’t my first color choice (tan exterior), but the rare chocolate brown leather interior was in mint condition, it had a solid maintenance history with no accidents, and it was one of the lowest mileage XC70’s on the eastern seaboard.
I shipped it from VA to NJ, and the dealership was your standard, smaller used car lot that surprisingly didn’t play any games with me. I paid about $13,000 with shipping, and I drove it for about 5-6 months before I sold it on Bring a Trailer for a tidy profit. I was able to get all of my money back, including registration, taxes, insurance, payments, plus a little more for my trouble, so I can’t really complain.
Why did I sell? I failed to mention that I also maintain my daughter’s ’04 V70 and son’s ’05 V50, and I came to my senses and realized that having 2 Volvo’s approaching 20 years old was enough, LOL!
Sell the BMW and go for it!
See, he gets it!
I just really want a volvo v8. Man those things sound great when uncorked.
Is that an F-111 Aardvark in the background?
Yes! I’m trying to figure out the one behind it now.
Sabre?
I’m leaning toward that era, for sure. But the downward angle of the horizontal stabilizers on the tailfin make me think F 84 Thunderstreak.
Beat me to it! Yeah also the main wing joins mid-fuselage.
I’m in the market for this car come July and I swear if you guys algorithm your way into this costing me more than it should I’m going to be mad.
Matt, what you really want is a V70 T5 five-speed…I know I sound like a broken record but it’s SUCH a good car.
had one, 300whp, was a blast!
Not to sell you, but the seats in the P2 Volvos are among the best ever put in a vehicle. Wildly comfortable, with just enough lateral support to hold you in place through whatever spirited roads you feel like subjecting your wagon to.
Whatever you do, don’t look into the P2 R market. S60Rs especially are a great combination of fun and practicality for very little money. But the 4C shocks are a big gotcha. Guess you could buy a P2 S60R with blown shocks and lift it like an XC…..
I always say just get a T5 manual…most of the speed without ANY of the R headaches.
but the blue gauges!
I went to great lengths one day to pull the blue dials out of a wrecked V70R in a yard. I got them home and realized what a cluster-fuck (heh. I see what I did there) to swap them over. Thankfully, the R had lower miles than my T5, so it didn’t bork the mileage, but it didn’t work as the R was an ’04 and my T5 was an ’01..I then tried swapping the gauge faces. I got as far as the temp gauge when I realized I couldn’t ensure the calibration was correct. So I ran it for the next four years with three “normal” V70 gauges and one wonky “blue” R temp gauge.
I love that square butt . . . this is a no kink-shame zone, right?