‘I’m a mechanic – this £1,000 used car has Swedish style and will last forever’

A has taken to to that offers plenty of space and a reliable powertrain, even with a particularly high mileage. has been a mechanic for more than 55 years and regularly posts videos to his YouTube channel to help drivers lower their running costs and avoid expensive mistakes when .

In , Scotty recommends that used car buyers looking for a reliable estate car on a budget consider a second-generation , stating that they can cover impressive distances with basic care. He explained: “This one is just a baby with a little less than 200,000 miles, and sure, it’s a typical Volvo – the leather seats are a little bit ripped, and some of the plastic has cracked, but it still runs pretty good. There’s no arguing that this is a well-built, safe vehicle. Just listen to the door when it shuts – this is one solid car! Sure, it can be a bit of a gas [petrol] hog around town, but these old station wagons can just go and go with little maintenance.”

Built from 2000 until 2008, the second-generation Volvo V70 was the company’s executive estate model, following in the footsteps of Swedish icons like the 240 and 850 by offering the same levels of build quality and space.

Whilst the styling now looks rather long in the tooth, the V70 still offers a decent amount of equipment for a 25-year-old model and a choice of petrol, diesel, and bi-fuel engines that can be run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

Buyers can get behind the wheel of a used Volvo V70 from around £1,000, with a £2,500 budget able to get drivers either a particularly clean example of the standard car or the all-wheel drive XC70, which features a more rugged, Scandinavian appearance.

Later in the video, Scotty noted that the V70 is also an incredibly spacious car, with hefty roof bars adding to the 485-litre boot.

He added: “Of course, these things have a tremendous amount of space – just look at that trunk [boot]. And, of course, for those family vacations, you’ve got your classic roof racks, so you can carry even more if you’re off to Disney World!

“You’ve got front and rear disc brakes and airbags all over the place – Volvo were one of the biggest innovators in safety. They also sold enough of them that parts aren’t a big deal these days. I can get parts from these things all over the place.”

The mechanic also praised how safe the Volvo is, recalling how his customer’s model got into an accident but only came out with a few scrapes.

He continued: “Talking about solid, this customer’s Volvo was parked outside my garage about a year-and-a-half ago. There was an alcoholics anonymous meeting down the street and a woman came out of it in her SUV and proceeded to smash into the Volvo – I felt my whole house shudder.

“Her SUV was sitting with the right front axle broken completely off and her bumper torn off and lying in the street. Look at the Volvo. There’s a few scratches on the plastic trim, and that’s basically all that happened to the Volvo!”