Bozatwork Correspondence

Like a Venus flytrap, occasionally outsiders get caught up in the REVolution. Mostly, it's a misplaced attempt to help someone buy a used car or deal with current car issues. You might find this correspondence between one of the REVolution staff and someone who goes by the handle "Bozatwork"; it most certainly accurately reflects many of our thoughts here.

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Photo: WreckedExotics.com

Thank you for your response, comments and most of all your courtesy. It’s the only form of payment that means anything to me, frankly. And I really appreciate it. I will attempt to address each of your points. But, before I do, I’d like to point out something obvious; people make judgments based on emotional qualities and experiences that may or may not have any bearing due to time and technology advances. I mention this because this is going to come back around in our discussion. I hope that folks out there will consider this and reevaluate their prejudices when considering a car purchase, be it new or used. I am no different and catch myself doing exactly that. The best way to combat it is to do research. For example, I’m dead set against German cars. That’s because of a wide variety of factors that I won’t repeat. But I know there are outliers; German cars that aren’t nearly as bad as I think they are and quite good purchases.

Photo: caradvice.com.au

The Volvo booster seats and the third row can be purchase from eBay and installed on any V70. All you need is a socket wrench and a few moments on weekend. You can do it if you’re not in the least mechanically inclined, though it sounds like your skill level is much higher. That’s a good thing and something to factor in. Taking a quick gander on eBay, I see the booster seats run about $100 to $200 with shipping, depending on the exact model and interior color. I know for a fact that in the Mark 1 V70 (1998-2000), there are no tools required. You simply lift, unlock and reverse the process with the replacement. I don’t know if it’s that easy in the Mark 2 (2001-2007 – pictured above) but I would be surprised if it was much harder to do. It’s most likely exactly the same.

Photo: tabautosales.com

The Volvo third row is a little harder because you’ve got to install the back seatbelts. But like I said, you are looking at a bit of time with a socket wrench and that’s it. A quick look at eBay resulted in a guestimate of $200-$500 for the seat cushion and back. You’d need to really dig into it to get a real price. And again, it depends on while model, color, etc. I think if you want a V70, it’s probably just smarter to find one with the third row, if that’s what you want. They are not rare by any means.

Photo: Wikipedia

It’s worth addressing the comment about the XC90. While this is a good vehicle, there are severe mechanical issues. These can be addressed by choosing the model variant wisely and I’d be happy to talk with you about that more. But I think there are bigger issues. I don’t equate sitting up tall (inches from the road) to fun. Would you rather drive a Ferrari or a G-wagon if what you’re looking for is fun on the twisty roads? If you don’t agree with me that’s fine, but that’s a personal choice. But the XC is too SUV-like for me, too tippy but then again, I didn’t even choose the jacked-up version (Cross Country/XC) version of my V70. I would rather be closer to the road. The second issue is the backward-facing third row in the V70 as compared to crawling in to get a baby seat in the forward-facing third row in the XC90. Only you can answer this conundrum. I don’t know if you have to have three at once but if you do (I believe that’s the whole issue here, right?), then the V70 would involve a much simpler, more comfortable process of opening the lift gate and leaning in. I think it would be worthwhile actually trying it on both vehicles to find out for you.

Addressing Volvo maintenance, I have to agree that the Mark 2s are not nearly as reliable. My observation is that they will drive you mad with lots of little things going wrong. I have a Mark 1 for a reason and it wasn’t because they are cheaper. I’d be surprised if an E320 is much cheaper or less of a headache to maintain.

Photo: cardomain.com

So is a V70R worth the headache? That’s tough to decide. From a truly dispassionate viewpoint, what’s it worth to you to have a 7-passenger vehicle that does a 0-60 in 6.2 seconds? A Mark 1 V70R does the same in a comparatively (especially compared to many modern cars) slow 7.6 seconds. These are not quick numbers but it’s worth noting that these cars are extremely easy to upgrade the performance. They are also known for their high mileage. A friend just sent me a picture of his odometer that just turned over 300,000 miles. They also handle better than most SUVs and CUVs but again, there are plenty of other cars that handle far better. The truth is that the V70s are still a bit oriented towards a luxury ride.

Photo: Wikipedia

Again, I’m not the one to address M-B maintenance costs. You’re probably looking at an older model and I’d think that the costs are not very good in comparison to, say, the CX-9 I suggested. I highly recommend that you take a look at the E320s in your area, figure out which model years are in your budget and then look around online at what folks are experiencing with this car. I highly recommend a resource that I use all of the time, Carsurvey. Frankly, they sound like nightmares to me but here’s a fairly typical subjectively positive review of the C320:

http://www.carsurvey.org/reviews/mercedes-benz/e-class/2002/

Photo: Wikipedia

I’m glad you pointed out my seemingly inconsistent dislike of the Honda Pilot. How could I love the Odyssey and MDX but hate the Pilot? I’ll tell you; the Ody is utility personified and the MDX gives you AWD in a superior package. But, like certain DTers that know who they are, sometimes you actually DO need AWD. BTW, most people who do DON’T need AWD, they just need good snow tires. In that case, the MDX makes perfect sense. The third row in the Pilot has 32.1 inches of third row leg room, the Ody has 42.4 and the MDX has 29.1 inches. The MDX is far more compact and, in my opinion, more fun to drive. You give up nothing but 3 inches of third-row leg room and gain so many things over the Pilot. Let’s be realistic; if you’re an adult that has to sit back there, there’s only one answer between the three – the Ody. If you need AWD, then get the Acura MDX.

Hilariously, many of the Pilots running around are 2WD. Again, the Ody makes for sense and the Pilot looks like it was designed by Spongebob. If any of my fellow gearheads out there have a Pilot, I apologize if I insulted you but this is my opinion. I wrote just the other day where I watched a dad shove his kid up and into a Pilot in a Home Depot parking lot, turned and the kid fell back out onto the pavement. The Ody would have been at least a shorter fall…

Photo: Wikipedia

I understand your reluctance towards Mazda. But you should know the following; the slushbox in your mother’s 626 was known to be troublesome. You didn’t mention the year; my guess is that it was a 1994-2002. In that case it was probably the Ford-made CD4E (LA4A-EL in Mazda-speak) four-speed transmission, they were really bad. All vehicles with this transmission suffer the same issues. That includes not only the 626 but also the Mazda MX-6, Ford Probe, Ford Contour, Mercury Mystique, Ford Contour, Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute, Mercury Mariner and Euro Ford Mondeo. It’s not Mazdas fault, but Ford’s. There were made in Ohio.

Mazda didn’t learn their lesson and installed a Jatco 5F31J five-speed transmission in our MPV, as well as a long list of cars by other manufacturers; notably Nissan. They’re junky too. Mazda is clearly not the only company who’ve made bad transmission choices. Honda is a particularly guilty party in that not-so-select club.

Photo: Wikipedia

The Mazda CX-9 features a F21 six-speed automatic made by Aisin. It’s known to be a very reliable unit and it’s used by a vast array of manufacturers including Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Lancia, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury, Opel, Peugeot, Range Rover, Renault, Saab and Volvo.

So here we are back to my observation about past experiences coloring our current views. Yes, your mom had a bad experience. Things are different. If you want a seven-passenger car that’s fun to drive and really reliable you’re doing yourself a great disservice not checking out the CX-9.

Phew. So that’s a lot of jibber-jabber to ponder. But here’s the kicker…I think you know that what you really want to do is just buy a sporty sedan. You have your LX for the rare times you need to haul people and bad weather and your wife has a vehicle that can move people, too. Though it’s been fun to consider what’s out there, there’s very little reason for you to realistically consider a vehicle such as the ones I found you. What I propose to you is to resubmit your original query to DT as “Find me a RWD sports sedan for $10-15K that will be reliable with low maintenance costs.” That’s really what you want and all you really need isn’t it? You’d end up with a sedan that would fulfill your desire for a vehicle that’s more fun to drive that a “normal” everyday car.

Bozatwork ended up buying a fantastic used Honda Odyssey.