i'm looking to purchase a v50 2.0D SE. its on a 06 plate, 32500miles, titainum colour, very good condition, just at big service, warrenty till 10/09 or 60k miles. also got sunroof + the in dash sat nav. guy wants 10500 for it. any advice on the above car and also buying guide?

Hi Doesn't sound expensive to me, paid more than that for my 55 plate se sport 4 months ago from a volvo dealer. Check condition of tyres, service history and talk to your local dealer about the remaining warranty. Apart from that you're looking at a great car. Mine still does 48.6 mpg everywhere it goes, is very comfortable and I think looks great! Hope this helps. Jezza

Sorry to be the humbug here but I think it's only fair that you get both sides of the argument. I've had loads of problems with mine and certainly wouldn't buy another. Biggest issues are: 1. Only getting 37mpg on cross country journey to work. 2. Tyres last on average 9k. 3. Lots of niggly problems (parking sensors / air con / wipers etc). 4. Extortionate servicing costs (although this has been resolved by using a local independent). I know none of the above are that major but it's felt like one problem after another for the two years I've owned the car and there have been other one off problems. Maybe I have just got one of those cars that rolled off the production line on friday 13th, but then there are plenty of threads with similar issues. ...Just to remain balanced I agree that it's a great looking car both inside and out. The standard stereo is very good also and the materials feel good quality (no rattles or squeaks).

Whilst niggly issues can wear you down very quickly (I've only had three or four over the last year, first year of ownership and it's taken the shine of my nice toy) I do have to say your points one and two could well be related :) I get close to that MPG in my T5 AWD (mid 30's most of the time, on a motorway or country lanes) and use about 2.5mm of Pilot Exalto tyre per 20000 km's). Are you certain that you do not have a heavy right foot down those country lanes? Points three and four I can concour with - 2 days after my gurantee ran out my car broke down in Germany (I live in NL) 600+ KM's from home and I needed an emergency repair to get me home... Cost of real repear was 600+ euros (though the dealer paid 50%). This was 2 weeks after a 400 euros small service. But I would buy another in an instant. I love the thing - quick, comfortable and feels quality...

Admittedly the country lane route involves a lot of stop and start. I don't drive it fast as it tends to jump around the road every time it hits a bump but the nature of the journey does have an enormous impact on the mpg. However the tyre wear hasn't changed from when I commuted on the motorway (and got an average of 42mpg). Now they wear evenly. When doing the motorway journeys they always wore dead centre on the tyre. I took it back to the dealer several times convinced that the pressures were wrong (over inflated), but was assured they were correct. I tried other manufacturers but it made little difference (firestones were a slight improvement on life span but not a brilliant tyre).