Manual trans. on new V70 a rarity?

My wife and I are interested in buying a ndw 2004 V70 volvo wagon with
a manual transmission in southern california. So far two dealers have
told us that "ther ain't no such thing" and that the care would have to
be ordered special. How come volvo doesnt make this car with the
manuall trannsmission? We like the 2.4 L engine with no turbo, but the
2.5L with turbo would have been ok too. Just can't get them. Are
these dealers BS-ing me? they say that los angeles volvo drivers don't
buy manual transmissions. sounds like baloney to me.

thanks1

John

 

In the US Volvos with manual transmissions have been very few and far
between since the late 80's, it sucks, but the majority of the population
seems to want an automatic, I can't even think of an even somewhat upscale
domestic car that's even available with a manual. I always find it strange
how car dealers advertise an automatic transmission like it's some sort of
great feature, can't stand the things myself, they're everywhere though, not
exactly a rare option.

 

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,

There's no problem in getting a V70 with manual transmission in Europe - so
Volvo *does* make them. It's obviously a marketing thing whereby US
customers - rightly or wrongly - are deemed to be incapable of coping with a
clutch pedal and manual gearchange - possibly in the same way that they're
incapable of coping with a manual staircase when there is a lift (elevator)
anywhere in sight.

 

I think what they're trying to say is that nobody keeps one with a
manual transmission in their new car stock, that the car would have to
be special ordered. It certainly shows the manual transmission as
standard equipment on the US Volvo website. I don't know if the manual
transmission is better now than it was back in '98 when I bought my V70
- I thought that the automatic was better, and so bought my first car
with an automatic. I wanted one with the cloth seats - even though
leather was an option, every stock car had it. So I had to special
order my car to get it that way, which is what you'll have to do.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

Volvo sends the dealers what they think will sell best. Anything else
is special order. If you really want the car you can special order it.
No problem. If you want to save money, you can get the exact car you
want through European Delivery and save more money that what the trip
costs. In fact the last couple times I used European Delivery, they
paid for my airfare and hotel, customs fees, home delivery and I still
saved about 10% on the price. Also, I got exactly what I wanted: no
leather, no sun roof, and no option other than shiftronic and the winter
package.

If you are serious about a manual transmission, try the shiftronic. I
love it. When I am accellerating, the automatic mode is better than a
manual. When I am decellerating or descending, the manual mode is
better.

 

: My wife and I are interested in buying a ndw 2004 V70 volvo wagon with
: a manual transmission in southern california. So far two dealers have
: told us that "ther ain't no such thing" and that the care would have to
: be ordered special. How come volvo doesnt make this car with the
: manuall trannsmission? We like the 2.4 L engine with no turbo, but the
: 2.5L with turbo would have been ok too. Just can't get them. Are
: these dealers BS-ing me? they say that los angeles volvo drivers don't
: buy manual transmissions. sounds like baloney to me.

: thanks1

: John

Not to knock your desire for a manual, but the constant shifting in stop
and go traffic gets old fast.

 

I'm sure it's not his first car with a manual, not all of us have to deal
with stop and go regularly, and when I do there's rarely a need to shift,
just idle along in 1st and hit the clutch when I get too close to the car in
front.

 

They have a V70 2.4L at the dealer I go to with a 5 speed stick. I don't
think the 2.5T can be had with a manual tho.

They are not really common tho... I know someone who was looking for a used
V70, had to have cloth interior, manual shift, no turbo, and it had to be
red/burgundy..... He ended up buying some other car, a minivan I think (yea
i'm confused too....)

 

The leather and automatic thing.... when they come "standard", essentially
even tho they are optional... This is an excellent bargaining tool... We've
gotten quite a few "free" options this way.

 

Yes, I totally agree with this. There are just certain places in the world
where a manual tranny SUCKS.... The Greater Toronto Area being one of
them.... Tho I think my left leg is now stronger then my right leg, but the
autobox makes it so much nicer, especially in the mornings when most people
just have to have their coffee's in the car (I try to avoid this as much as
possible, wait till I get to work).

 

So, there is an additional cost to have a dealer custom order the car the
way I want it, instead of picking any old slag from the lot?

How much are we talking about here?

 

The only problem is the wait. The may find one somewhere if they're
smart enough to know you're serious, or it may have to be build
specially for you.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

NOTE: new address!!
Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)

 

No. In fact in some areas there is a premium for picking up a car off
the lot since there is no time in the penalty box like there is with a
special order. By the same token, there are usually no discounts on
special orders either. Sometimes there are discounts on cars on the lot
if the dealer isn't moving his inventory.

 

Should be able to knock the price down thru bargaining just because you have
to wait.... But that's just my logic.

 

The dealer will say that you elected to wait. He will also require a
downpayment.

 

Exactly, that's why I said through my own logic.... If you are good at
bargaining tho, many things can be accomplished.

 

Hmmm - the manual transmission is supposed to be the default state with the
auto extra on the plain Jane V70 for 2004. We just bought a 2.5T V70 which
has the auto by default (we got the geartronic auto - works well). In
looking at several we saw 5 V70s with manual. I'm sure you can find one if
you look.

All that having been said - the geartonic is a great option - you shift it
just like a motorcycle - no clutch. This 2.5T scoots like a frightened cat.

If you can pay the price you should drive both before deciding.

Bill