Looking to buy S40 D5 R-line Sport 2008...

Post 527038 by Zeb on 2012-07-24 19:25:53

Hi, I'm a newbie on this forum, and I am looking to buy S40 D5 in manual. What should I look out for when viewing and taking it for a test drive? How much should I pay for the R-Line S40 with 80K on the clock, on a 2008 plate? What sort of mods can I do to the car? I am planning to do this on the car 19' wheels, coilvers, exhaust system, decat pipe, stage 3 remap from RICA. I have spoken to them, and they told me I do not need to fit any aftermarket engine mods, a stage 3 remap will be fine on the S40. RICA stage 3 remap will take the S40 D5 to 256 BHP, 450 NM of torque for £720 inc VAT.

Post 527065 by turbo-tuner on 2012-07-24 21:02:33

Hi Zeb, it was me you spoke with. Stage 3 = 253 hp / 548 Nm. You definitely don't need to do any other mods. It's worth noting that the higher the mileage, the more wear and tear the car will have so you will have less life remaining in the various components. That said, the Euro 4 D5 engines and transmissions are extremely strong, so you shouldn't have any of the problems that were associated with the older Euro 3 models. Adam.

Post 527070 by LiamT4 on 2012-07-24 21:11:41

if you have a decat then you'll have to know a friendly mot station otherwise it won't pass the mot. One word of warning, if you fit 19s and have coilovers then you could have a very harsh ride

Post 527097 by Zeb on 2012-07-24 22:10:01

Hey Adam, I'm just hoping my car sell's soon so I can start to view a few S40 D5 :D I have done alot of mods to my current car, with coilovers and 19' wheels so I'm not too worried about the harsh ride, I can live with that. I have heard Shark90 peformance a company based somewhere up north, do Miltek Exhaust system for £500 for Volvo S40 D5 models, this is on my to do list, I know a mechanic where he can pass the MOT with decat pipe. I don't need to worry too much pn fitting a decat pipe, as it will pass it's MOT anyway.

Post 527115 by graemewelch on 2012-07-24 23:00:29

Dont need a cat on a diesel to pass mot. There is no emisions test. Just smoke test

Post 527307 by Wobbly Dave on 2012-07-26 00:45:52

I bought a S40 R-Design 2.0L last year for the wife. The handling is awesome.

Post 527308 by M-R-P on 2012-07-26 00:48:12

There's a lovely black one with nice wheels near my work, I keep meaning to take a pic... Evining Dave, Hows the family ;)

Post 527448 by Zeb on 2012-07-26 21:57:35

Hi all, I have planned alot of thing's for my next project car, i am hoping to get in white or black, Otherwise I will vinyl wrap the in White. Martin can you please take a few pics of the S40?

Post 528222 by scoobysn7x on 2012-07-31 17:07:48

I've had a black S40 T5 since January and I love it !!!, The only real weakspots I was told to look for were wheel bearings and front bushes, & wishbone bushes are a known weak point and go arould 50-70k, luckily the garage I got mine from spent £700 on it doing the afore mentioned jobs & a few other things so its been all good. You Sometimes get issue with the connector block on the passenger door, this will make the Ambient Air temp read funny, like -10 or -30 which is a fairly easy fix depending on which type of connector you have change a few times during the life of the Range. Other thing to mention if possible I would go for an SE lux or SE sport trim the two tone interior in the R Designs are a nightmare, the seats in the other halfs 2008 C30 look in worse condition that my 2005 with 50k more miles on (I have the full black leather in mine) I have to say I've had mine on 18's with the sport suspension and it was ok but I would'nt want to go any bigger, especially if you getting coilovers too, I went for a plain eggcrate grill on mine to makes it look a little meaner....

Post 528283 by Zeb on 2012-08-01 00:02:08

Looking very nice, I think I will get one in black :) No buyers for my current car yet :( still on for sale...I am selling my BBS LM's reps 19' with tyres for £650 if anyone is interested? What's the worse case scenerio with coilovers and 19' wheels on S40? Most S40 I've seen online come's with 2 tone leathers, can't seem to find one with black or cream leathers. I suppose I can fit aftermarket bushes and bearings, I think they are called pollybushes??? Even though you've mentioned about not to get 2 tone leathers, I will probably get the 2 tone leathers anyway. I've seen 2 on gumtree...heres the link: http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2008-volvo-s40-d5-r-design-sport-4dr-diesel-saloon-24/101306947 http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/2009-volvo-s40-d5-r-design-sport-4dr-24/100790081

Post 528288 by lance on 2012-08-01 08:14:52

I have the estate v50 t5 done my front end bushes but no wheel bearings yet, apart from no where to rest your clutch foot when cruising its my Favorite drivers Volvo i have owned by far and unless i win the euro and buy one of the limited addition polestar s60 i cant see it changing, nice 6 speed box great handling nice steering pleanty of tunning potential mines running 300 bhp and 350 lbft and is a real stealthy bit of kit and reasnoble running costs overall.

Post 528448 by scoobysn7x on 2012-08-02 01:43:10

To honest i wasn't saying don't get the 2 tone just more about being aware of what a nightmare it is, you`ll not get the full leather in an r design, but an se lux or se sport should have the full leather, the se sport also get the bodykit

Post 528779 by Zeb on 2012-08-04 23:25:35

HHhmmmm....I thought R design came with full leathers, that's a downside for me, will link into SE Sport. Do they come with heated seats?

Post 528780 by scoobysn7x on 2012-08-04 23:41:44

I know when my girlfriend got her C30 we looked at loads and all the r designs had the special edition interior white/black, the SE Lux had the full leather and heated seats but no bodykits, and the SE sports had the full leather and bodykit then some had heated seats some didn't presume it will be the same on the s40's

Post 528781 by LiamT4 on 2012-08-04 23:43:06

I'm just interested in why your going for a d5 to do a project on and not a t5?

Post 551480 by Zeb on 2012-11-30 23:44:05

Sorry for the late reply, just got rid of my car last week after a long wait of 2 months. I've found a D5 R-design in black for £6600 ONO, it's fully loaded with 100K miles, based in Nottingham. I have responded just waiting for his reply on the price I offered him. Reason I'm buying a D5 cause it will be cheaper in fuel, insurance, and road tax. I'v driven a D5 in the past, and that grumble noise from the engine made me want to buy the D5. The car is gear tronic, is there anything I should ask the seller? Is there any problems I should look out for on D5 engine snd gearbox?

Post 551484 by M-R-P on 2012-11-30 23:48:13

The slushbox on the phase 3 cars breaks after 80 or so K miles, worth asking about transmission servicing (that applies to P2 and P3 slushboxes, for different reasons)

Post 551491 by Zeb on 2012-12-01 00:13:16

Thanks, i will get in touch with the seller and ask about the slushbox service. I assume it will cost and arm and a leg to replace the slushbox? Heres the link of the ad, http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/volvo-s40-d5-r-design-in-black-with-dyn-audio-surround-sound/1002447706

Post 551492 by M-R-P on 2012-12-01 00:18:58

Arm, leg and possibly an internal organ or two. Will look at the link now...

Post 551493 by M-R-P on 2012-12-01 00:19:58

Sexy car tho, I can see why you're interested.

Post 551499 by Zeb on 2012-12-01 00:39:21

Lol you can say that again.....That's the only reason I want to buy this car, looks amazing. Is it worth checking out the car? From your experience and knowledge do you think the gearbox should be fine on this D5? This car has been on auto trader and gumtree for 2 months and was priced at £6800, back then I offered him £6000 cash and he declined the offer. Now he has priced it for £6600 ONO and I offered him £6250 cash. What worries me is the gearbox :( I've had bad experiences with gearbox problems with german cars.

Post 551500 by M-R-P on 2012-12-01 00:42:14

I would look for a history of gearbox services mate. That's a lot of miles for a geartronic. Not that I'm overly up to scratch with those cars/gearboxes mind, and from experience, you only hear the horror stories but 100K on an auto is still 100K on an auto.

Post 551501 by M-R-P on 2012-12-01 00:43:39

Although Nosh is currently running over 400bhp through his slushbox.

Post 551503 by Zeb on 2012-12-01 00:47:33

For an auto that is high mileage, I agree. Would it be best to speak to Nosh? That's the first thing I will do, ask about the gearbox service tomorrow morning.

Post 551505 by M-R-P on 2012-12-01 00:52:42

Yeah, give Nosh a shout, He's a nice bloke ;)

Post 551506 by Zeb on 2012-12-01 00:56:06

Thank's for the info, appreciate it :) I've just sent Nosh a message.

Post 552039 by Zeb on 2012-12-03 13:07:25

Update: Had a look at another D5 based in Gloucestershire yesterday, it's a SE Sport Lux done 41K, in black, fully loaded, satnav, sunroof, xenons, gear tronic. It's been serviced from volvo until 18K, then been serviced from local garages after, but it's not been stamped on the service book, so he is going to get it stamped this week. Took it for a test drive on the dual carriage way, very smooth and powerful. It was on for £8K, I offered him £7K which he accepted but now I'm thinking to reduce my offer to £6800. The seller showed me the mot papers, and the data from volvo for the service which was done. A few advisory on the mot, 2 front inner tread are on the legal limit, and N/S rear tyre is on the legal limit, he also mentioned the car will be serviced for my satisfaction this week, and will put 6 months road tax, mot expires may 2013. i was thinking to tell the seller, to fit new tyres, get the cambelt changed, as he hasn't checked if it's been changed or not, and get it serviced from volvo this week. The mileage is correct, as he showed me the hpi certificate, i also checked the mot documents online, and it's all fine. What do you guys suggest?