I have been thinking about a used vehicle. In the last two decades I have driven a truck or and SUV. While researching I have found in my area people really like trucks and guys will pay a premium to own one. SUV's are fine there are a couple I really like. Jeep Compass and the VW Tiguan. My sister in law came to town and her rental for this trip was a Volvo S 40. Man I really liked that car. If anything could get me into a sedan this is it. So, tell me about your experiences with Volvo. Expensive to own, repair, and reliability?

I had a 2005 S40 for 9 years (it was my wife's daily driver). It was a very nice car and was dependable.

I drove Volvos for 35 years but gave them up because a) new ones got too expensive and b) Volvo was bought by a Chinese company. You can get a lot more car these days for less money from Toyota, Honda or Mazda.

Volvo is going entirely electric for the 2019 or 2020 model year - good luck with that.
That might make getting parts for the older cars harder and more expensive.

If the S40 isn't too old and is in good shape, you'll enjoy owning it.

Repairs are expensive, as well as parts. Small dealer network.

we had 850 in daily use for 22 years. Was superior in many ways. While basic mechanics were still very good condition, no one could make the wipers work without recurring squeak/streak, various dash annoying noises, & after welding the driver door back on a few years ago, the passenger door was ready for major repair. Seat heater kept wearing out. Little things, etc.

Residual value? No body damage, looked nearly like new, good leather, excellent stereo, turned out no one would pay as much as the new car dealer.

Time came to replace & after shopping current Volvo line, was struck by just how much they've increased in price while the models we drove were still pretty much no real 'value' advantage. We bought Subaru Legacy.

After 2 years in the Legacy, don't miss the Volvo.

I drove Volvos from 1973 until early 2000 when Volvo had to buy back my 1998 S80T6 as a lemon. I think I had 8 or 10 cars in that time. 2 were bought new. The rest were pre owned as they say.

I was very happy with all of them, very well done cars, good power, excellent handling, the safest cars on the road, great mileage for the size, very comfortable and reliable. The 1979 245 with 4 speed OD transmission was my favorite, I think. I had 330k miles on it when I sold it to Mike, the plumber. No telling how many more miles he put on it.

The S80T6 was a fantastic car, beautiful, turbo charged, etc., but there was one problem. The AM radio was bad. It would drift, lots of static, noise, etc. I complained about it in my first service call at ~600 miles, and every time thereafter. After 8 repair attempts, I started going to another dealer. They worked on it, replaced this and that, but after another 8 repair attempts, they said there was nothing else they could do. I told them “there was one more thing” and hired a lemon law lawyer.

This gal wore them out, drove them nuts, very polite, very professional. I thought that nobody at Volvo had ever experienced a lemon law claim.

I would have been quite happy if they had said, “we’re sorry. We know you are a long time Volvo owner and we want you to be happy. Here’s another car, same model, different color, fewer miles on it but we don’t care. The radio works perfectly. Let’s swap and it’s on us.”

Well, they didn’t say that, and eventually had to refund my money except for a few hundred dollars representing the time I drove it before complaining, and paid my lawyer for driving them crazy for a few months. I took the money and bought a Mercedes SL. I haven’t driven a Volvo since.

I’ve had several Lexus for ~15 years, even better than Volvos.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I have been thinking about a used vehicle. In the last two decades I have driven a truck or and SUV. While researching I have found in my area people really like trucks and guys will pay a premium to own one. SUV's are fine there are a couple I really like. Jeep Compass and the VW Tiguan. My sister in law came to town and her rental for this trip was a Volvo S 40. Man I really liked that car. If anything could get me into a sedan this is it. So, tell me about your experiences with Volvo. Expensive to own, repair, and reliability?

I had an '05 S40 T5.
Great car. Drove it until it had about 195,000 miles. I donated the car last Christmas.

Did typical maintenance to it that included

Oil,
Couple of batteries
Headlamps
Struts,
Brakes
Motor mounts
Timing chain

Had some small problems like an actuator on the driver's side door, and headliner falling down, but otherwise, a very very solid car.

Drove it all over New England as well as the South. Did fine in the snow and in slippery conditions.

You can find mechanics to work on it locally in most larger cities; it does not have to be a dealer.
Overall, the car never let me down.


--K

M wife and SIL both have a volvo and I love both of them...

About 1-2 years ago, Volvo launched their new large SUV XC90, full-size sedan S90 and full-size wagon V90. Very impressive cabin design and materials. Despite an optional and unique supercharger / turbocharger combo powertrain, the Achilles heel has instead been the electronics.

Volvo just launched a mid-size version - the SUV XC60 that borrows heavily on the look and feel of the larger XC / S / V90. I expect Volvo will release sedan and wagon variants shortly, but don't know when.

The smaller Volvo sedan and wagon 40 variants are also likely to follow. If you want to pursue a new S or V40, now is a great time (especially if this is indeed its last model year) as no dealer wants the "last-ten" product on their lot.

Strongly suggest you check out Consumer Reports! I trust their quality-related reviews. If you don't subscribe to Consumer Reports, your local library is a good option. That's what I do!

Happy car shopping and good luck!

My 2005 S60R was a great car, comfortable, quick and good looking. Then the electronics and brake problems started. cured me of owning another Euro car forever.

I guess I must have sailed under a lucky star. I have a '99 S70 that generally takes about a car payment's worth of parts every 4-5 years to keep up. It still accelerates like a raped ape, the turbo has no appreciable play from new, and it uses about a quart of oil every four thousand miles or so. I did just drop about 180 bucks to buy a GROM unit that will give it bluetooth streaming ability, but I don't count that as a maintenance cost. I also just bought a Chicom knockoff of the Volvo VIDA DiCE diagnostic software. It'll help me dial in the finer points of the EMS. And I don't really need the updates to that software for a 18 year old car. It's pretty much chewed meat already. There's great parts availability (good parts, not crap) in general for these too. It also helps to know what brand parts to buy so you aren't buying junk (URO, Swedish Engineering, etc).

I guess it makes all the difference when you work on them yourself rather than being at the mercy of strangers.

Mine runs great is almost old enough to vote. YMMV.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 83v45magna,

I had a S60 with turbo, and an S80 V-8. Loved them both. Great, but the occasional trip for things other than oil changes etc can be a bit spendy. Safe cars and I loved the comfort of the seats.

Owned from new a 2012 S60 T6 AWD for 2 years, never any issues. Traded for a new 2015 XC60 T5, which we've had for 42 months. Daughter and SIL just got back from Sweden to see their 2018 XC60 T6 T6 R spec. Expecting delivery in 2 weeks. My two have been 100%.

I love my S80. Had a 850 wagon for 13 years.

Repairs are fairly expensive but I didn't have many.

I only buy used ones with a Volvo warranty. They offer 7 year 70,000 on pre-owned cars.

BTW my wife and 2 of my 3 daughters also drive Volvos.

Best value is buying a 4 to 5 year old car.

My 850 had 50k miles when I bought it. Sold with 230k miles. It still ran but I wanted something different. I am sure it is still on the road.

I recomend getting a turbo, t5 or T6. I would not buy one without a turbo. Super fun to drive.

I had a 1992 Volvo 240GL that I drove for 20 years. However, I don't think they make them that well any more. Upkeep was expensive if you took it to the dealer. I always changed the brake pads with Volvo parts. I changed my own oil and did other minor maintenance. All in all, a great car. I my consider a new one for my next car but I've been very pleased with my 2012 Ford Fusion so I may buy another one of those or a Lincoln MKZ. Oh, and I had 186,000 miles on the 240GL and it still ran good when I got rid of it.

Ex had an XC70 V70XC (forerunner to the XC70) that we drove to California and back in December one year. The car was probably eight or nine years old at the time and I never thought twice about doing it. It was a great winter car and we drove it through the worst snow I have ever driven in through a lot of Nevada and into California (think Donner Pass...). Never any maintenance issues, but the dash electronics would sometimes go nuts and you would lose the odometer/clock/etc for a while.

Boss has an S60 that he's had about 14 years, but he's only put 60k or 70k on it.

My wife drove a 2010 XC60 for over four years, racking up over 130,000 miles during that time.

Very solid vehicle, and roomy. We did have a recurring issue with the City Safety feature by which it would randomly activate, usually at inopportune times. Had the unit and windshield replaced a couple of times to no avail. We just manually switched City Safety "off" every time we got in the vehicle from then on.

She recently traded out of that vehicle - considered another Volvo but wound up going another direction. We'd still potentially buy another one down the road.

I'm in my 2nd xc70 wagon, the 1st was problem free for 179k, the 2nd and current car is a 2012 with 104k. No issues, plenty quick with the T6 and great in the snow. The singular difference maker for me are the seats. I've yet to sit in any car that had a better more comfortable seat.

I've added a hitch for my bike rack, rails for a a Thule box and my two GSheps fit into The back easily. Really is the perfect car for me.

SIL had one. If you drive one of those on long trips, better hope it doesn't break down in the hinterlands. There are huge swaths of the country where there's nobody who can work on one.

Owned four Volvo’s.

S60, 2 V70’s and an XC 70.

Love the cars. All the stuff you need and nothing you don’t. Simple. Intuitive. Smart. Safe.

....It’s Swedish after all.

Best seats in the automotive world.

Always wanted to take their overseas delivery option.

Would like an XC60 or V60 now but funds don’t allow thanks to a new 2017 JKUR. Never any real big maintenance headaches on any of mine. Just routine stuff.

It’s a shame they are going all electric after next year. Maybe I’ll grab a last more year gas. We’ll see. Otherwise they’ll lose me.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
SIL had one. If you drive one of those on long trips, better hope it doesn't break down in the hinterlands. There are huge swaths of the country where there's nobody who can work on one.

This is an issue of concern with our daughter's V70. A great car and pretty reliable, but when Volvo-specific components go bad it gets pricy fast.