Volvo cars, how good are they?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Volvo cars, how good are they? (Page 1 of 2)

Posted: 1/1/2012 5:19:57 AM EDT

I plan on buying a slightly used convertible car and was thinking alone the lines of Lexus or BMW 3 . I came across the C70 Volvo and I may add it to my list. I do not know anyone that owns one so I can't get a first hand knowledge of how good they hold up. i hear stories from people who don't own one of how Volvos are always in the shop. Experience with them?

o -;

Posted: 1/1/2012 5:25:48 AM EDT

[#1]

I bought a new xc60 turbo awd in march 11 and love it. Runs like a raped ape and handles like a dream.

Also came w an extended warranty for 5 years with included maintenance and they also replace all wearable items in that period except tires for free.

Check to see if the car your looking t has the extended plans.

I think you will like the car.

Posted: 1/1/2012 5:36:43 AM EDT

[#2]

With Volvo it's a mixed bag. Some of the older runs go 300k miles, some of the new ones die at 65k. I lost a tranny after 65k and Volvo wouldn't cover it....needless to say, I'll never buy a Volvo again. YMMV

Posted: 1/1/2012 5:39:03 AM EDT

[#3]

..the transmision in your 65k Volvo..was probably Japanese, made by Aisin.

Posted: 1/1/2012 5:59:28 AM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
..the transmision in your 65k Volvo..was probably Japanese, made by Aisin.

I have three Japanese transmissions in the family.
265k miles and going strong
340k miles and parked (car body fault, not the drivetrain)
170k miles (low mileage replacement for the above car).

RWD Volvo's are great cars and will go a LOT of miles. The newer FWD cars? I dunno, the jury is still out. The FWD and RWD cars share a name (and not much else).

Posted: 1/1/2012 6:03:32 AM EDT

[#5]

IMO they were great before Ford owned them.

Thought about buying one around here when looking for my last vehicle. But the only dealer in the area supports BHO and consults for him, so pass.

Posted: 1/1/2012 6:24:09 AM EDT

[#6]

Used to have an S40. It was a great little car. It was the wife's daily driver. It had somewhere in the neighborhood of 120K miles when we sold it. I would not hesitate to buy another.

Posted: 1/1/2012 8:18:36 AM EDT

[#7]

my mom had a older (boxy style) like maybe 1985ish model year. She had it for about 15 years, several 100k miles on it and when she sold it, it was still running great and looked decent despite Mich winters and salt.

J-

Posted: 1/1/2012 8:21:23 AM EDT

[#8]

I like volvo

Posted: 1/1/2012 8:22:03 AM EDT

[#9]

...they're boxy but they're good!

Posted: 1/1/2012 9:24:56 AM EDT

[#10]

The girlfriend had an 03 V40 wagon that was a money pit of the highest order. At least once a month something would break that was over $500. I finally convinced her to sell it for less then it was worth because it saved money in not having to shell out the repair bills.

Posted: 1/1/2012 9:29:10 AM EDT

[#11]

pre-Chicom or post Chicom?

Posted: 1/1/2012 9:39:31 AM EDT

[#12]

I remember looking at the 240 and 244 models in the wrecking yard seeing all the body panels smashed in but the aluminum bumpers were not even damaged. Lol

Posted: 1/1/2012 9:57:18 AM EDT

[#13]

Dated a girl 15 yrs or so ago that had one.

Not sure what model ... had kind of a squared off box look to the fenders.

It was a complete POS. She was always having issues with it.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:02:39 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
pre-Chicom or post Chicom?

Forgot about that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang_Geely_Holding_Group

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:08:07 AM EDT

[#15]

The really old-school Volvos - the Amazon and the 200-series ("the brick") - are some of the greatest automobiles ever built.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:08:09 AM EDT

[#16]

My mom was always driving the S70, V70, S60, V70XC, S40 when she worked for a rental car company. They were always great cars and didn't have issues, other than S60's eating transmissions.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:10:51 AM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
My mom was always driving the S70, V70, S60, V70XC, S40 when she worked for a rental car company. They were always great cars and didn't have issues, other than S60's eating transmissions.

.. some of those - especially the 70 series - would often have small electrical issues, or little irritating shit like the rear interior panel on the station-wagon door that would get loose, and stuff like that.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:21:11 AM EDT

[#18]

Recently looked at cars for the wife. Did a lot of research, including asking the same question you asked, here.

Long and short of what I found was that Volvos made after about 97 (iirc) are shit and to be avoided like the plague. Jaguar, same way, same reason (again, iirc).

Looked at Land Rover Discoverys. Same story. Over priced hunks of junk that will cost you a fortune.

It's very enticing to see a car that went for 40-60k new that is only 10 or 12 years old with 80-100k on them for 6 or 7k. There's a reason they plummet in price.

Wound up getting a 03 grand cherokee (model year that had several identical before it. Important in that they iron out the bugs of the new model before your year). It's been a very good vehicle. Has the inline 6.

I've had very good experience with jeeps in general from a dependability and cost of maintenance point of view.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:24:23 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Long and short of what I found was that Volvos made after about 97 (iirc) are shit and to be avoided like the plague. Jaguar, same way, same reason (again, iirc).

Looked at Land Rover Discoverys. Same story. Over priced hunks of junk that will cost you a fortune.

Have owned both. Not true.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:28:19 AM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
...

Long and short of what I found was that Volvos made after about 97 (iirc) are shit and to be avoided like the plague. Jaguar, same way, same reason (again, iirc).

The newer jaguars are actually very good cars.

My folks recently bought a twin-turbo diesel Jaguar XF - gets about 400 ft/lb of torque and amazing speed & performance, and still about 40 mpg combined city/hwy.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:43:09 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:

Quoted:

...

Long and short of what I found was that Volvos made after about 97 (iirc) are shit and to be avoided like the plague. Jaguar, same way, same reason (again, iirc).

The newer jaguars are actually very good cars.

My folks recently bought a twin-turbo diesel Jaguar XF - gets about 400 ft/lb of torque and amazing speed & performance, and still about 40 mpg combined city/hwy.

I should clarify. During the time Ford owned them. I don't know Volvo's/Jaguar's current disposition but buying a new one would defeat the purpose of getting a 40k dollar car for 6k dollars as in a 12 year old one.

I know the 97 XJ?? I sat in was pure sex. It started great and purred like a kitten with only 90k on it. Rated at something like 330 hp and iirc a 6 speed trans, I REALLY wanted to get that car...for my wife, of course. But the ABS light was on and, on a foriegn car, it scared me away.

As far as Land Rover's quality. I believe there is a reason for the existence of the bumper sticker that says," The parts falling off of this vehicle are the finest made parts available" or similar.

There are miles and miles of reports on the net of problems, troubles, trends, warranty work etc etc on all of these vehicles. I spent almost a solid week researching and cross referencing this shit. At the end of the day, believe it or not, in my price range (6-9k) the Jeeps stood head and shoulders above the rest for a 4WD vehicle as far as reliabilty, maintainence cost, parts cost, initial cost goes. Of course someone else might come up with a different answer, depending on what's important to them. 4WD, durable, low maintainence cost trumped gas mileage and comfort for me. Others may be different.

I wish you could buy a car, new, like the old CJs were built. Plain jane. You could fix them with a screw driver and a pair of vice grips and do it on the side of the road. Nobody makes a simple car anymore.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:54:27 AM EDT

[#22]

I've owned and driven more Volvo cars than I can count. Here's a family photo from this spring.

I never meant to be a "Volvo guy" but it just kind of happened. As stated in the thread, they are hit or miss depending on model and year. Even within years they can be hit or miss, my 01 V70XC, which has been a fucking basket case for lots of owners was about as trouble free as I could ask of any car. I gave it to my nephew when he turned 16 and other than needed a bunch of bullshit done to it for the retarded NY registration laws the car has been good for him, too.

Being able to wrench on them yourself helps A LOT. When you do need to take them in, I strongly suggest taking them someplace that specializes in Volvo or at least has lots of experience with them. I learned that lesson the hard way when I took my non-running 240 to a generalist. Never again. Find a well recommended Volvo mechanic and pay them whatever they want.

We've had the 2011 S60 for about 9 months now, and yeah, it killed me to write that check knowing it was going to the fucking chicoms, but what can you do. The car has been fantastic and Mrs Fiver and I are both totally in love with it. We had the C70 shortlisted, but ended up letting practicality win. The odds are high I will be bringing one home this year or next though.

Sometime in the next 5 years we plan do to the "order a custom Volvo and drive it around Europe on vacation then have it shipped to the US" program.

Posted: 1/1/2012 10:56:57 AM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
I've owned and driven more Volvo cars than I can count. Here's a family photo from this spring.

Love the 240!

Had I know you had one, I would maybe have replied to some of those nude photos of yourself you keep IM'ing me.

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:02:15 AM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

The really old-school Volvos - the Amazon and the 200-series ("the brick") - are some of the greatest automobiles ever built.

The engine on the 200 series is bulletproof. They can not die.

Aside from an easily destroyed interior, MAF fuckery, and some easily solved annoyances like breakable odometer gears and electrical ghosts due to poorly thought out routes for wiring, the car is trivial to keep running even in its old age.

In 2011 the only thing that car cost me was gas, oil, and a new exhaust.

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:14:58 AM EDT

[#25]

I too have a small Volvo family, I have an 01 S60 T5, my fiance has a 01 V70 T5, and my father has a 01 S40. Being that 01 seems to be the most problematic year of volvos, they have still treated us well. There are a few dumb things, like tail light and reverse light bulbs burning out all the time, a directional that sometimes won't work. Probably the worst is the V70 is starting to get the throttle body slop that is common for these cars. Its really just a dumb design, its a plastic gear inside that wears out over time. Of course instead of being able to replace the plastic gear that would probably cost less than $20 at the dealership, you need to replace the entire throttle body to the tune of around $500.

As others have said if you can work on them yourself you will save a lot of money, but that goes for any car. Their parts tend to be expensive(paid $35ish for a replacement dip stick, $220 for a replacement siren). They also aren't always the simplest to work on, took me a good 4 or 5 hours to change an alternator in the S60, but I think that is also the nature of newer cars in general.

All in all though I like them, I think they perform well, look great, and are reliable, they often get written off as "old people" cars so most people don't realize these things about them.

I am hoping to pick up a "brick" to use as a winter beater for next winter.

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:16:58 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:
The really old-school Volvos - the Amazon and the 200-series ("the brick") - are some of the greatest automobiles ever built.

My first car was a 245DL

In other words, it was a 5 door station wagon.

It was bulletproof. I beat the Hell out of it. It was a great ski machine. Heavy and low power that never got you in trouble. The bumpers were indestructible.

I have an FJ now, but every once in a while I think back and wish I still had the car...to give to the son.

After the 200 models, I'm not so sure. I have always heard they are a mixed bag...

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:19:52 AM EDT

[#27]

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:20:06 AM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

Being that 01 seems to be the most problematic year of volvos, they have still treated us well.

I saw "01" "01" "01" in your first sentence and was thinking, man, this guy is either brave, a masochist, or just damn lucky

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:33:02 AM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6686/1272646813657.jpg

I believe there's a Volvo owner's club that you can only become a member of if you have been in a wreck, and Volvo engineers conclude that you would have died if you had not been in a Volvo.

A friend of mine in my old university had a 240-series. He hit a patch of ice on a highway exit ramp, skidded off the road and hit the ditch, flipped the car end-over-end several times, and I think hit a tree before ending up on the roof. Walked away without a scratch. I am not sure if he got to join the club, but he was probably close.

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:52:25 AM EDT

[#30]

Quoted:

...they're boxy but they're good!

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:53:10 AM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:

Dated a girl 15 yrs or so ago that had one.

Not sure what model ... had kind of a squared off box look to the fenders.

It was a complete POS. She was always having issues with it.

Enough about the girl, tell us more about the car.

Posted: 1/1/2012 11:57:57 AM EDT

[#32]

Quoted:
I plan on buying a slightly used convertible car and was thinking alone the lines of Lexus or BMW 3 . I came across the C70 Volvo and I may add it to my list. I do not know anyone that owns one so I can't get a first hand knowledge of how good they hold up. i hear stories from people who don't own one of how Volvos are always in the shop. Experience with them?

o -;

I worked for Volvo NA, a Volvo dealer then eventually opened my own Volvo Independent service shop. I can tell you first hand that there is no Volvo Convertible made worth having. Unless you like pissing away money just to look cool and have the wind blow through your hair. I won't get into too many details, as you guys would be bored to tears, but an import Volvo/BMW/SAAB/Mercedes is a total waste of freaking money. over engineered crap that because of proprietory technology, only the dealers can do most of the repairs on them, and they know it.

The old school Volvo cars (red motor) are the best ever built, and they had the share of problems, but would go the distance. The white motor cars are crap and always will be.

Yes I hate the company that took a perfectly good machine and turned it into a turd. Not that most manufacturers are any better these days. They claim they build them this way because it's what the public wants. Yada yada yada.

Junk

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:13:09 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
I plan on buying a slightly used convertible car and was thinking alone the lines of Lexus or BMW 3 . I came across the C70 Volvo and I may add it to my list. I do not know anyone that owns one so I can't get a first hand knowledge of how good they hold up. i hear stories from people who don't own one of how Volvos are always in the shop. Experience with them?

o -;

Problem wth C70s is the Asian Warner transmission. Make sure that the previous owner changed the tranny fluid ever 50K. If not have it checked out.

I've owned about ever model and the earlier C70's had transmission issues.....

That being said there is nothing like a used BMW - avoid them......

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:18:31 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:

Quoted:
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6686/1272646813657.jpg

I believe there's a Volvo owner's club that you can only become a member of if you have been in a wreck, and Volvo engineers conclude that you would have died if you had not been in a Volvo.

A friend of mine in my old university had a 240-series. He hit a patch of ice on a highway exit ramp, skidded off the road and hit the ditch, flipped the car end-over-end several times, and I think hit a tree before ending up on the roof. Walked away without a scratch. I am not sure if he got to join the club, but he was probably close.

No lie, the 240 is a tank with wheels. They are literally indestructible. A friend of mine got one for his first car when he was 16 and absolutely hated the thing. He still has it and it has something like 850k miles on it with the original motor and transmission. It's astonishing that most new cars today don't hold a candle to the 240 in terms of reliability and safety.

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:27:27 PM EDT

[#35]

I took a hard look at Volvos after a defensive driving course where 3 S40 Volvos were used. They handled great. When my wife and I decided to ditch the 16 MPG Explorer to better fuel she though about the RAV4 and CRV. The CRV was expensive. We drove a RAV4 and in less than 1/2 a mile I was done with the test drive. We realized used would have to be an option. We went to a Volvo dealer and got a fair deal on a S60. What a vehicle. Two years later we found an S80 V8 that was a great deal. The three kids were getting older and the extra room is nice (I really liked the performance and the room was second since I am the driver on trips). The only complaint (more with the S60 than the S80) is the bulb failure rate. I noticed that as well when I stopped a greater percentage of Volvos for defective equipment. It seems to be common.

Beyond the bulbs both vehicles have been great for us and I would not hesitate to buy another, that is unless Ford does too much meddling with them.

Mike

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:35:22 PM EDT

[#36]

Quoted:

that is unless Ford does too much meddling with them.

That ship has sailed, Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese. Only time will tell how that ends.

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:38:45 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:

As far as Land Rover's quality. I believe there is a reason for the existence of the bumper sticker that says," The parts falling off of this vehicle are the finest made parts available" or similar.

Easy to be critical if you have never owned one.

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:45:31 PM EDT

[#38]

Safety wise, I'm a believer in Volvo's.

In 1977 I was a passenger in a Volvo 240 that hit a bridge abutment at 50+ MPH, did three end over ends (plus a couple other weird maneuvers) and came to rest on it's roof on the beach below - I'm still here.

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:49:05 PM EDT

[#39]

Quoted:

With Volvo it's a mixed bag. Some of the older runs go 300k miles, some of the new ones die at 65k. I lost a tranny after 65k and Volvo wouldn't cover it....needless to say, I'll never buy a Volvo again. YMMV

very limited sample size but a co worker bought a 04 volvo and it was a complete lemon. He was so glad to see it gone when he traded it in. I do know the older ones 70-80's are pretty decent though.

Posted: 1/1/2012 12:51:42 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
..the transmision in your 65k Volvo..was probably Japanese, made by Aisin.

Aisin makes many of the current transmissions in new Volvos.

Posted: 1/1/2012 1:00:31 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
...they're boxy but they're good!

Beat me to it.

Posted: 1/1/2012 1:15:18 PM EDT

[#42]

1984 "Brick" owner here. 215,000 miles on this Gothenburg , Sweden mfg. beauty.
My daughter will get this car when she turns 16.

Posted: 1/1/2012 1:57:44 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:
1984 "Brick" owner here. 215,000 miles on this Gothenburg , Sweden mfg. beauty.
My daughter will get this car when she turns 16.

Little advice for an 84 240 owner. Find you a spare air mass meter and box it up, put it in the trunk for her. 0 280 212 002 is the bosch part number. Always referred to as the 002 mass meter. These fail quite often and the car won't run without em. And I'm sure you know about keeping the fuses clean and free of corrosion, a little dielectric grease helps too. :)

Personally I love those old 240's. Still know every square inch of that car, down to the color wires that run everywhere. Also if you find spare taillights for it, buy them and hang on to them, getting kinda scarce.

Just my 2 pennies

Posted: 1/1/2012 2:12:31 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:

Quoted:

1984 "Brick" owner here. 215,000 miles on this Gothenburg , Sweden mfg. beauty.

My daughter will get this car when she turns 16.

Little advice for an 84 240 owner. Find you a spare air mass meter and box it up, put it in the trunk for her. 0 280 212 002 is the bosch part number. Always referred to as the 002 mass meter. These fail quite often and the car won't run without em. And I'm sure you know about keeping the fuses clean and free of corrosion, a little dielectric grease helps too. :)

Personally I love those old 240's. Still know every square inch of that car, down to the color wires that run everywhere. Also if you find spare taillights for it, buy them and hang on to them, getting kinda scarce.

Just my 2 pennies

Also completely remove all of the preheater venting from the block that feeds the intake and stuff an old sock in that part of the airbox - that is one of the reasons that the MAF's fail - stuck valves feeding really hot air over them for hours at a time and cooking off the little filaments.

Unless you live in the antarctic, you don't need any of that preheater shit and it always does more harm than good.

Posted: 1/5/2012 10:51:18 AM EDT

[#45]

Quoted:
..the transmision in your 65k Volvo..was probably Japanese, made by Aisin.

Found a link to these transmissions. They are used in tons of cars both foreign and domestic. Where did you hear they were bad? They are good transmissions:

http://www.sonnax.com/publications/transmission/titles/aw5550-differences-between-manufacturers-part-one

Posted: 1/5/2012 11:00:35 AM EDT

[#46]

The old bulletproof 240s have nothing in common with modern Volvos, other than the name.

"Volvo" is Mandarin for "Hey look, we own a car company!"

Posted: 1/5/2012 11:03:17 AM EDT

[#47]

Quoted:
IMO they were great before Ford owned them.

Thought about buying one around here when looking for my last vehicle. But the only dealer in the area supports BHO and consults for him, so pass.

My 98 S70 (pre Ford) was meh-riffic. 12 hours to replace the ac condensor, shitty ac clutch, had to crank 4-5 times for the fuel pump to get charged up. Lots of little shit. 5 cylinder turbo was fun, leather didn't hold up well. Great car for tinkerers and diy-types who like working on cars a lot.

Posted: 1/5/2012 11:09:39 AM EDT

[#48]

05 S40 here. 103000 miles with no issues. I drive a lot of highway and get anywhere from 30-33 mpg. Took a pretty bad deer strike across the front and hood ($5500 in damage) and still drove the hour and a half I had to go to get home. Good in snow too.

Edit: bought it new in 04.

Posted: 1/5/2012 11:13:49 AM EDT

[#49]

Quoted:
05 S40 here. 103000 miles with no issues. I drive a lot of highway and get anywhere from 30-33 mpg. Took a pretty bad deer strike across the front and hood ($5500 in damage) and still drove the hour and a half I had to go to get home. Good in snow too.

Edit: bought it new in 04.

Got any pictures of that?

Posted: 1/5/2012 11:17:27 AM EDT

[#50]

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Volvo cars, how good are they? (Page 1 of 2)

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