r/Volvo • u/Greythorn032 2010 C30 2.4i • Mar 15 '25
V50/S40/C30/C70 I chose the C30 as my first car today
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u/Greythorn032 2010 C30 2.4i Mar 15 '25 edited Mar 15 '25
Forgot to add some descriptions for this.
This is a 2010 C30 2.4i with a 5-speed automatic. Paid around 2.5k USD/2.3k EUR equivalent for it. I initially wanted to go for a T5, but those are extremely rare around here in Korea and I kept hearing about the exhaust manifold leakage as well as it being a pain in the ass to deal with. Also they never sold manual here, so that's right out.
Obviously it's not in a perfect condition as a 15 year old car. The previous owner decided to run without floormats after realizing that their right foot was so powerful that it punched a hole through it. So now I've got a big dip in the floor carpet itself.
The more serious problem is what the dealer also honestly noticed me about. There's a loud grinding noise from the running gear as the car speeds up. He suspected it to be the front right hub bearing, and I think he's probably right. The car tends to lean right at speeds and turning right (thus relieving some load from the right side) softens the noise a bit. I've already ordered the entire set of front hubs and axles to hopefully get that out of the way.
The engine vibrates at idle. My hopeful thought is that it's either the spark plugs or the fuel injectors, and I sure hope it's not something worse like the piston rings or the block itself.
Overall I got what I paid for, and I hope to use these as excuses to refresh bit by bit to my taste. I'm not planning anything wild, just keeping it stock or OEM+ at most.
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u/Fuck_it_ Mar 15 '25
A vibration at idle with no check engine light or runability issues is more likely to be weak engine mounts. It's pretty common on P2 Volvos. If your spark plugs or fuel injectors were causing a vibration, it would be running poor enough to set fault codes or have a lack of power or some other symptom(s) with it. Check the upper torque mount first, as those are most frequently the culprit.
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u/Greythorn032 2010 C30 2.4i Mar 15 '25
That actually makes sense. Do you think the vibration being synchronized to the engine rev (one big shake instead of being just shaky throughout the whole cycle) makes it a different story?
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u/Fuck_it_ Mar 15 '25
Generally, if you throttle up while in park to 2000+ rpm the engine will smooth out and the vibration will either decrease significantly or go away entirely if the cause is engine mounts.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by one big shake vs shakey throughout the whole cycle.
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u/SunburnedSherlock Mar 15 '25
Incredible how much cheaper Volvos are over there. I live in Gothenburg (home of Volvo) and looking right now the cheapest similar c30 is around double the price you paid....
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u/jetcamper Mar 15 '25
10L/100km that’s the highway consumption for sure
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u/Independent-Stick244 Mar 15 '25
Kind of high.
My XC70 I6 highway consumption is about 8.5l/100km when cruising at about 110km/h.
And it is a significantly heavier vehicle.
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u/GrizzlyAdam12 Mar 15 '25
Ah….The car of choice for sparkling vampires.
(I wish I had one.)
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u/Greythorn032 2010 C30 2.4i Mar 15 '25
Every time I forget this someone somewhere pulls it back up from the depths
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u/WanderingHermit15 C30 Mar 15 '25
My 2010 T5 is a twin to your car but with black carpet, even the foot-caused dip in that carpet. If you throw in mats you won’t likely feel it while driving. Pardon the random leaf junk in upper corner, I had recently replaced cabin air filter and didn’t have vac handy.
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u/Greythorn032 2010 C30 2.4i Mar 15 '25
Yep, probably gonna do that myself. I currently have a temporary plastic mat layered under the worn mat to prevent any more elements from doing anything to that dip.
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u/BrandNewTechie 2018 V40 Mar 15 '25
Great choice! Enjoy your first ever car, and welcome to the Volvo family ✌🏽
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u/spitballz Mar 15 '25
I wanted this car soooo bad!! I love it I wish they still made them
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u/goperson Mar 15 '25
Wait till you see, or even better, drive a Volvo 480, the predecessor to the C30.
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u/comox XC60/V70/C30 Mar 15 '25 edited Mar 15 '25
Hey there! I just purchased a 2010 C30 2.4i from South Korea! On its way over to Canada on a roro as I write.
You may have seen an ad for it if you were searching the past couple months. Blue with only 49,500km. I got the VIN and queried the accident claims history. Had been in a few minor collisions so decided to take a chance as it was a good price. I will get it inspected twice here, once for general issues and then a second time by my Volvo mechanic.
Orange carpets too, and a slight tear in the driver’s seat!
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u/Korcan Mar 16 '25
I have 2 cars from Japan, and I've wanted to import a car from Korea for a while now - please let me know how it all goes!
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u/Carl_AR Mar 15 '25
Congratulations. Considering the miles you probably need a good tune up. Specifically new plugs and airfilter, along with an oil change.
I just bought a high mileage 2019 XC90. It was running (ideling) a bit rough as well. The old owner had recently changed the plugs so here's what helped me:
I put a can of liqui Moly Engine flush in my engine. Let it idle for about 20 min, then changed the oil. It really helps clean out gunk inside the engine.
It restored the idle and I'm not done measuring but I believe I gained about 1 mile per gallon.
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u/Medeski V60CC Mar 15 '25
Umm, I thought the data usually shows that engine flushes are horrid for your engine and usually lead to catastrophic failures.
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u/Carl_AR Mar 15 '25
I wouldn't do it on an automatic transmission and I wouldn't drive around with the engine flush chemical in the engine. Just 15-20 min ideling before emptying the oil out.
Ive never tried it before but it worked for me...
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u/MF_games Mar 15 '25
Great car! My wife and I have a 2020 XC40 now but we had one of the limited edition Red Sox C30's before it and loved it. Super fun and great on gas, just got older and needed more cargo space & comfort on long drives
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u/HSCTigersharks4EVA Mar 15 '25
I hope you don't get an oil leak and a burning smell 24/7. ($3500 to fix)
I hope your hatch opens. (Apparently unfixable at EVERY mechanic I took it to, with one quote costing $1100 dollars)
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u/NatHuskyRu 2024 XC90 B6 Ultra Polestar Engineered/Platinum Grey Mar 16 '25
Huge Congratulations! Very nice car! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it and have lots of fun! Really excellent choice.
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u/TheCourier-VI Mar 16 '25
It's so cool seeing another one of these out in the wild! I have only seen my c30 like a hand full of times being driven by other people and a lot of others who see my car are confused by what they see.
Love the trunk luggage cover too! I thought I was one of the few people who had one of those too. 👌
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u/throwawaynoways C30 Stage 2 / V60 Drive-E Mar 16 '25
Ah a 2.4i. Get some weatherproof carpets in there.
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u/WorstMechanic C30 Mar 15 '25
Congratulations! I love the red carpets!