Used Car of the Day: 2007 Volvo V50 T5 AWD

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Want a car that's cheap, a bit of a project, and a stickshift? This 2007 Volvo V50 T5 with all-wheel drive will fit the bill.


The seller wants $2,500 as is or $9,500 if he/she fixes the "engine troubles." More specifically, the head gasket and valves and a "couple other things" started causing problems at 196,000 miles.

Apparently, outside of the engine, everything else is great -- the body is in good shape and the gearbox shifts well.

So click here if this is your cup of tea. If not, tomorrow's another day.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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6 of 26 comments
  • Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Kwik_Shift_Pro4X on Aug 04, 2023

    I'm sure parts in general are becoming scarce. A local garage has two older Volvo wagons sitting for at least 3 months now. Waiting for parts.

    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Aug 04, 2023

      Depends on the part and the model. What became the T5 was produced for a long time in turbo and N/A form (2.3, 2.4, 2.5) but some of the odd ball drivetrains are probably close to unobtanium.


  • Craiger Craiger on Aug 04, 2023

    I believe (not certain) that the V50 in 2007 was the same platform as the S60. A girlfriend at the time bought the S60. Miserable car. Huge turning circle. AWD clomped over bumps. Rode, handled, and stopped like crap. Slow. And it had some weird protuberance above the brake pedal that I would constantly catch my foot on. I told her to get a 3 Series, but she insisted that "Volvos are the safest cars!"

    • See 2 previous
    • 28-Cars-Later 28-Cars-Later on Aug 07, 2023

      @Craiger

      if its pretty new its SPA and not a P1 as shown above. Volvo implemented its Drive-E engine in mid to late MY16 SPA platform models in USDM, and it kind of sucked. I've read anecdotally by MY18 its "good" but if in the market I'd so serious research and carry an extended warranty. I also recently read a Volvo tech post which explained the earlier Drive-Es had its ECU mounted somewhere (without a heat shield) which cooks it and its $2,800 from Volvo to replace. Cannot use a junkyard ECU, I asked.

      The scuttlebutt I've heard is Volvo Cars fully completed its transformation into thinking I-am-Mercedes and they are not designed to be owned out of warranty after 2016ish (Zee Germans had this model since the late 90s, designed for two owners (leasee and CPO) and essentially recycled).


  • Theflyersfan Nissan could have the best auto lineup of any carmaker (they don't), but until they improve one major issue, the best cars out there won't matter. That is the dealership experience. Year after year in multiple customer service surveys from groups like JD Power and CR, Nissan frequency scrapes the bottom. Personally, I really like the never seen new Z, but after having several truly awful Nissan dealer experiences, my shadow will never darken a Nissan showroom. I'm painting with broad strokes here, but maybe it is so ingrained in their culture to try to take advantage of people who might not be savvy enough in the buying experience that they by default treat everyone like idiots and saps. All of this has to be frustrating to Nissan HQ as they are improving their lineup but their dealers drag them down.
  • SPPPP I am actually a pretty big Alfa fan ... and that is why I hate this car.
  • SCE to AUX They're spending billions on this venture, so I hope so.Investing during a lull in the EV market seems like a smart move - "buy low, sell high" and all that.Key for Honda will be achieving high efficiency in its EVs, something not everybody can do.
  • ChristianWimmer It might be overpriced for most, but probably not for the affluent city-dwellers who these are targeted at - we have tons of them in Munich where I live so I “get it”. I just think these look so terribly cheap and weird from a design POV.
  • NotMyCircusNotMyMonkeys so many people here fellating musks fat sack, or hodling the baggies for TSLA. which are you?
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